‘Succession’ creator Jesse Armstrong settles “underline or crossed-out” debate
Jesse Armstrong, the creator of the hit comedy-drama Succession, has appeared to settle a debate that emerged after the fourth episode of the show’s final season. This is the “underlined or crossed-out” discussion.
In the episode, following the death of business tycoon Logan Roy, an important typed document was discovered that appeared to name his son Kendall as his successor as the head of the family’s media empire, WayStar Royco. However, an ink line under the son’s name and moved up through it, prompting debate about whether his name was underlined or crossed out.
As the NME reports, at a Financial Times event at the weekend, Armstrong heavily inferred what the answer to the question was. “This is the sort of thing I would have hated to do while we were still doing the show,” he said. “But if you were going to cross out, you wouldn’t start out underneath, would you?”
The Succession creator then put his index finger to his temple, suggesting that those in the audience use logic. The interviewer then responded with, “underline”.
Meanwhile, in a recent interview with Variety, Sarah Snook, who played Shiv Roy in the hit HBO show – Logan’s youngest child and only daughter – suggested that her character sabotaged Kendall’s chances of taking control of WayStar Royco. She said this came after watching her brother putting his feet up on the desk of their late father.
“I think it’s just pure instinct,” she said. “I think it’s a trigger response. It’s scratching an open wound that is always there with the siblings. And this was in the script in the big print — when she sees Kendall put his feet up on Dad’s desk? There’s something in her that goes like, ‘Ahhhhh!’ Sorry to swear, but, ‘Motherfucker!'”
Watch Armstrong discuss the scene below.
