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S02.E10: This is Not for Tears


preeya
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S02:E10 This Is Not for Tears (season finale)

Summary:  On the Roys' grand Mediterranean yacht, Logan weighs whether a member of the family, or a top lieutenant, will need to be sacrificed to salvage the company's tarnished reputation. Roman shares his hesitations about a new source of financing, as Kendall suggests a familiar alternative. Shiv proposes taking her open marriage with Tom to another level. Connor finds himself in an unenviable position as reviews of Willa's play roll in.

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9 minutes ago, Deanie87 said:

Holy shit that felt good! 

Those are literally the 2 words I typed to my boss right after the episode ended.  He's the only one I know IRL who watches.  Everyone else I know is stupid, of course.

What a great episode!  First, my stomach roiled when I realized Kendall was the blood sacrifice.  I literally felt sick.  Then I cried real tears as I watched Kendall accept his fate (or so I thought).  And when he was encouraging toward Roman at the dinner.  And when Roman expressed shock and upset about Kendall.  Oh, this show!

What am I going to do until it comes back?  I can't wait for what promises to be an all-out war between Logan and Kendall.  I wonder if Shiv and Rome will be side with Logan.  And what will happen when Kendall's role in the waiter's death inevitably comes out?

And where was Marcia???

Edited by CouchTater
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That. Was. Awesome.

I haven't even watched the inside the episode bit yet. I'm still processing.

Kendall did me so proud. I had a feeling it was coming when Logan gave his "you're not a killer" speech. And then there was also something to Kendall's reassurance to Roman (also that look he shot him) that made me think there was something else going on.

Speaking of Kendall/Roman, I've said this before, but I adore that relationship...again and again they prove that they're the only siblings who actually, genuinely care about each other. That look on Roman's face when he realized it was Kendall...and then Roman not even caring that he'd been made COO because of what it meant for Kendall. Just great stuff.

About midway through the episode, I was starting to doubt what I'd said in the other thread about Logan preparing Shiv in the last episode for it to be Kendall, but then Shiv threw in that "What about what we talked about?" when Logan was mulling over his decision, which I guess puts another spin on Shiv going after Tom in front of everyone, right? If, at that point, she knew/believed Logan had already made up his mind to go after Kendall, thus leaving her free to pile on Tom, knowing that it was all for show anyway?

Speaking of the pile on, Shiv going after Tom (regardless of whether or not she actually thought he was in danger), looks that much worse when compared to the way Roman went into attack mode on Gerri's behalf.

I'm sure I'll have more to say once I read everyone else's thoughts. What a fantastic finale, and how wonderful it is already knowing we're getting a S3.

Edited by northboundtrain
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Looks like Kendall is a 'killer'.  Take that Logan. That was nasty the way Logan said that. I had a feeling that Kendall was Logan'S choice for a blood sacrifice and I hoped Kendall would stand up to him by the episode end.  Too much time was spent with Logan literally prepping a 'broken' Kendall to take the fall. Logan'S last speech to Kendall was incredibly fake and disgusting.  Smug bastard!  Can't wait for next Season. The funny thing i5s that I feel that Kendall just gained some respect from his father.

I was surprised and pleased to see a serious and non- snarking Roman, a ballsy Tom  and a feeling Shiv.

Edited by ShannaB
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5 minutes ago, CouchTater said:

What a great episode!  First, my stomach roiled when I realized Kendall was the blood sacrifice.  I literally felt sick.  Then I cried real tears as I watched Kendall accept his fate (or so I thought).  And when he was encouraging toward Roman at the dinner.  And when Roman expressed shock and upset about Kendall.  Oh, this show!

What makes Roman's reaction even more poignant for me is thinking about how much it must have meant to Kendall to see his brother so upset on his behalf.

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I wonder if Shiv and Rome will be side with Logan.  And what will happen when Kendall's role in the waiter's death inevitably comes out?

I think Shiv will side with Logan...not only did Logan listen to her about Tom (well, from her POV...I don't think Tom was ever in real danger because Logan clearly wanted it to be Kendall), but she still wants to be his successor.

Roman's in a stickier spot. We know he cares about Kendall and has a history of wanting to work with Kendall to oust Logan. But, on the other hand, Logan just made him COO and he's still got emotional sway with Roman...I don't want to dismiss that out of hand, especially since that sway was strong enough to get Roman to abandon Kendall during the vote last season. And Logan will, of course, be keen to get/keep Roman on his side by any means necessary.

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You are telling on yourself if you are rooting for any of these folks.

I find the show delicious because we get to see how awful they all are. They all may stay wealthy and in control, I like this show  solely to mock them and dismiss them all as abhorrent. That’s what they are in fiction and in real life. 

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Logan didn't think Kendall would flip.

But sacrificing Kendall was bullshit anyways, since the investor told Logan that he'd have to go, not anyone else.

Shiv might have saved Tom with that last-minute plea but Logan's a killer so if he was going to sacrifice Tom, Shiv wouldn't be able to save him.

Except for Greg and maybe Tom, everyone on the chopping block would have been financially set for life.  Even if Logan screwed the sacrificial lamb over about taking care of them, they should all be worth millions.  Hundreds of millions in the car of the Roy siblings, except for Conor.

However, them throwing each other under the bus made for entertaining dinner table conversation.

Gotta watch again but some of the scenes stand out:  Tom as dead man walking just didn't give a fuck, took the chicken right off Logan's plate and put it back on.

Why the hell are they eating chicken on a yacht in the Mediterranean anyways.  Chicken is for poor people!  Chicken is unacceptable!

I don't quite get how "Gregory" got to be a big enough deal to be a potential sacrifice.  But there he is, on the yacht in fucking capri pants, getting a pedicure.  BTW, maybe it's for the best that Tom and Shiv didn't have a threesome with the woman who handled Greg's fungal toes.

Then he says rose champagne isn't his favorite, while lounging on the deck of a big yacht with a helipad and a plunge pool.  

Well at least he didn't say "I am not drinking any fucking Merlot!"

When did Roman get so business savvy, able to read the room so well?  And all of a sudden feeling loyal to Kendall, family over the outsiders?  Near-death experience made him oh so wise?

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Even though I keep reminding myself that Kendall is a terrible person who didn’t report the car accident and stole batteries from the bodega, I had to cheer for him at the end. If anyone deserves to be the blood sacrifice for the cruise ships, it’s Logan. He kept a guy he knew was a molester in charge of the cruise ships.

We saw a spark of humanity in all three younger Roy kids in this episode. It took Shiv a while, but she seemed to finally grasp that she hurt Tom.

It’s sad, but I think Roman and Gerri have the healthiest relationship of all the show’s couples. At least they are honest with each other and try to help each other.

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Jock Ewing said to JR that you have to leave a man with his dignity, you can't humiliate him because he won't have anything to lose when he strikes back.  Logan Roy just learned that lesson the hard way. 

Excellent episode! 

I'm so glad Tom told Shiv how unhappy he's been. I think she'll appreciate him standing up to her and loving him, or I'm a mug [shrug].

Edited by Drumpf1737
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1 hour ago, Deanie87 said:

Logan is so loathsome (well, most of them are, that roundtable discussion about who should be the fall guy was cutthroat), but Logan seems to take some kind of pleasure in his cruelty to Ken.

Kendall's the only one of his children that Logan seems to have contempt for. Logan doesn't like him, respect him, or "love" him (as he probably tells himself he "loves" the others), and Kendall's finally seemed to really, really realize it.

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His speech line about being sadder with Shiv than being without her was so good and of course, Shiv now respects him, just like Logan now respects Ken.  She is a chip off the ole block.  This show is so stinking good!

That was a great line from Tom.

At the beginning of this season, there was an interview with Sarah Snook that said that Shiv had some serious stuff in her past that Tom was aware of, and that that past informs why she stays with Tom. I really thought we would get more of that backstory this season, but it seems like the writers just want to keep it subtext. In any case, I think Shiv does need him, in a sense, and that's why she was so emotionally affected by his threatening to leave her.

Edited by northboundtrain
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13 minutes ago, northboundtrain said:

Kendall's the only one of his children that Logan seems to have contempt for. Logan doesn't like him, respect him, or "love" him (as he probably tells himself he "loves" the others), and Kendall's finally seemed to really, really realize it.

I wonder if perhaps Kendall isn't actually Logan's son.  He certainly shows warmer feelings for Roman and Shiv (by Logan standards, anyway).  Even Conner seems to be tolerated better than Kendall.  

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34 minutes ago, Athena5217 said:

Even though I keep reminding myself that Kendall is a terrible person who didn’t report the car accident and stole batteries from the bodega, I had to cheer for him at the end. If anyone deserves to be the blood sacrifice for the cruise ships, it’s Logan. He kept a guy he knew was a molester in charge of the cruise ships.

And for all of his faults (and obviously there are lots of them), Kendall seemed truly upset and angry about what went down on the cruise ships so I hated that he was going to be the one to take the fall for them. Logan turned a blind eye, at the very least, Roman and Tom where both pretty dismissive of it and even Shiv was keeping with the Roy line when she spoke with the witness in the last episode.  None of them are good people, but I still think that Kendall seems to be the most sensitive to other people. 

And I'm kind of fuzzy about what happened last week (?) when Shiv called Kendall on the plane to give him the heads up about Logan backstabbing all of them.  Could this have been planned by the kids all along?

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Kendall for the win.

I think that Logan was never going to give it to Shiv and Roman could be pushed around to the way Logan wants things. Connor was never in contention. With Kendall, he had to break him in order to get his 100% loyalty but then he had to push him a little bit more. 

Who's the killer now?

I think it's the first time in a long time that Shiv actually realized that she should not take Tom for granted and actually showed that she does care and maybe even loves him.

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So, there was a very obvious cut during Kendall’s statement to a manila envelope in Greg’s hands when Kendall said “I’ve got documents that prove what Logan knew”.

Did Greg pick a side and give his Pants Papers to Kendall?

Was Kendall planning this all along? Urging Logan to meet with Stewy, knowing Stewie would tell them to fuck off? Forcing Logan’s hand?

Was Roman in on it? Killing the private money option to also force Logan’s hand?

 I feel like there’s been a lot more private scheming going on to get to this moment than the audience has seen.

Logan’s dismissal of Kendall not being a killer may have given Kendall the fire he needed to eviscerate Logan publicly but I don’t think what we saw was some last minute decision from Kendall.

 I think we’re going to find out a lot of Logan’s “pals” had a hand on the knife.

Brutus didn’t stab Caesar all alone after all.

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2 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

I am torn between “GO KEN” and “Logan set this up and I can tell by the look of pride on his face.”

I don’t even KNOW, but I love it.  

They kept the camera on Logan’s face so long, I was waiting for a little smirk to prove this was the plan all along but since his expression never changed, while I agree it was a look of pride, I don’t think it was his plan. 

I loved it. I feel like maybe sending Naomi away so unceremoniously, having to grovel with Stu yet again, and then being denied his Dad’s approved for the gazillionth time might have just been too much and he finally cracked. That, or this has been an excellent season-long-con. 

Unrelated, but it was also satisfying to have Tom finally verbalize the fucked-up-ness of proposing an open relationship on their wedding day moments after confessing to cheating. 

Edited by BrooklynRat
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Holy Shit! I swear, my jaw actually dropped when Kendall flipped on Logan at the press conference. Yeah, whos the killer now, dad? You know, I think it was Logan's "NHI" comment that really caused Kendall to finally snap out of "dads plan makes sense" mode and truly turn against him. He has been so broken by his guilt over the waiter that died, and he on some level seemed to find absolution with his father telling him how its alright and that this was a tragic accident, but hearing his fathers lack of caring about human life, the life that Kendall took, just caused him to lose any illusions he had about Logan. Logan doesent care about anyone, not the people who he has hurt and not his own family, and Kendall is pissed

A lot of big twists in characters this week, with Tom actually taking a stand, Shiv showing loyalty and love towards Tom, and and Roman actually taking things seriously. What a great season, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, I cant wait to see what the fallout from this will be.

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I was wondering if Kendall's kiss on Logan's cheek was a sign of upcoming betrayal sort of a "Judas Kiss".    If not spontaneous then he had it planned for awhile. Kendall did seem interested when Shiv came to talk to Tom after her talk with Logan. Maybe he knew at that point it was him. 

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@gadzooks. I noticed the Judas kiss too and it gave me hope that Kendall would do just what he did.

There was some foreshadowing of this finale in the episode in which Kendall killed the internet company, whatever it was called.  And he did so after Roman had called for the elimination of that company, which turned out to have been a shrewd assessment on his part. So we have been forewarned that Ken is capable of the double cross and that Roman is good at sniffing out a con.

Greg actually arrived and left with Kendall.  Of course he had been assigned to keep tabs on Kendall, he has been living in Kendall’s place, and I have always suspected that Greg had a second set of the papers he copied. Why wouldn’t he? So maybe this had all been planned, as others have suggested, but I doubt that either Roman or Shiv was part of it.

Such a great cliff hanger!  A really well done show.

Edited by luckylou
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Just to add in case it wasn’t already mentioned - I think that Ken was recording the conversation with Logan because the camera zoomed in on Ken’s sunglasses - the metal arms- when he was on the treadmill and then zoomed in on his hands holding the glasses when Logan said that Ken would admit that he knew about the cover up.  Of course that conversation includes the boy’s death, but maybe Ken is ready to come to terms with that...

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1 hour ago, lampwick said:

Just to add in case it wasn’t already mentioned - I think that Ken was recording the conversation with Logan because the camera zoomed in on Ken’s sunglasses - the metal arms- when he was on the treadmill and then zoomed in on his hands holding the glasses when Logan said that Ken would admit that he knew about the cover up.  Of course that conversation includes the boy’s death, but maybe Ken is ready to come to terms with that...

Ooh, I like that. Especially since Kendall would need some way to get out from under the threat of blackmail if he was going to make a move on Logan. I definitely got the feeling that Kendall's decision wasn't spur of the moment. He seemed like he was steeling himself all episode long for what he was about to do. Hell, he might have immediately guessed Logan's move when Logan tried to scapegoat him during the DC hearing. 

I'm surprised that Greg decided to jump aboard Team Kendall. That seems like the way riskier move at this point. No guarantee that Kendall's going to come out top. I guess the biggest thing was the fact that Roman was willing to offer Greg up as a target so he figured he had no real relationships to Roman or Shiv, while Kendall has always been decent to him. 

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I don’t think Shiv was in on it. She was way too upset talking to Logan.

But I do wonder if Logan was in on it. I can’t help but think it’s ‘better’ if someone else outs Logan than if Logan just fell on his sword. It doesn’t look like a cover up if someone else throws him in the fire. And it is still a cover up, I think.

Marcia was present by her absence.

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7 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

I don’t think Shiv was in on it. She was way too upset talking to Logan.

But I do wonder if Logan was in on it. I can’t help but think it’s ‘better’ if someone else outs Logan than if Logan just fell on his sword. It doesn’t look like a cover up if someone else throws him in the fire. And it is still a cover up, I think.

Marcia was present by her absence.

I really wondered about this too.  Even the way that Logan put his finger up to his lips to keep Shiv and Roman quiet while Kendall made his statement.  Frankly, if this was a shock to Logan why didn't he erupt?

This situation is more complex than what meets the eye.

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(edited)
2 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

But I do wonder if Logan was in on it. I can’t help but think it’s ‘better’ if someone else outs Logan than if Logan just fell on his sword. It doesn’t look like a cover up if someone else throws him in the fire. And it is still a cover up, I think.

Same thought here. I was skeptical from the phone call Logan had with the shareholder when he "volunteered" to be the sacrificial lamb.

I'm leaning toward the possibility that Logan orchestrated the whole take-down speech. His demeanor was much too calm when he was watching Kendall's speech.

Edited by preeya
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3 hours ago, loki567 said:

That seems like the way riskier move at this point.

Maybe not.  Remember "Grumpy Gramps" wanted Greg to stop working for Logan.  The fact that he's now had a hand (with Kendall) in the takedown may have secured that $265 million payday.  Certainly Greg is done working for Uncle Fun.  

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16 minutes ago, preeya said:

Same thought here. I was skeptical from the phone call Logan had when he "volunteered" to be the sacrificial lamb.

I'm leaning toward the possibility that Logan orchestrated the whole take-down speech. His demeanor was much too calm when he was watching Kendall's speech.

We did watch him the entire season repeatedly demonstrate his complete and total command of Kendall.  Was this episode the first sign of Kendall attempting to kick his way out by offering protest when Logan indicated Naomi had to leave?  Or did compliance when it actually meant something to him to send her away finally prove to Logan that Kendall was 100-percent his puppet? 

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I'm looking forward to Greg's autobiography, Benign Fungus.

When Logan was asking Shiv to choose who to be the blood sacrifice, was he asking her to choose between Tom and Kendall or just asking her to choose someone? I thought it was the former but then after Shiv said something like "I can't choose." and before Logan left she said "Just not Tom." So I was confused whether she DID actually choose by saying "not Tom" or if she didn't.  It's hard to follow these people's conversations much of the time because the dialogue is so realistic.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was suspicious about Logan being involved in the take down of Logan. I like the idea that Kendall finally broke from Logan's influence but either way, the fall out from this will be very interesting.

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Was the investor on the phone with Logan played by Julian Sands? I checked IMDb and couldn’t find a credit at all. It was blurry video calling, but I had a Julian Sands vibe from the voice.

Roman generally skeeves me out in a really hilarious way, but the hostage experience seemed to have matured him. I liked him standing up for Kendall, standing up for Gerri and pointing out that the cash deal was unlikely to happen.  I feel like Roman standing up for Kendall was a flashback to Kendall standing up when Logan popped Rome in the mouth.

I like Jamie Laird (Danny Huston) a lot. I think he’s just a deal broker and not a WayStar employee, right? That’s why he was pushing for the deal. He would make a pile of cash on it. 

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Lots of great callbacks in this episode, but my favourite was a callback to Boar on the Floor when Tom spitefully called Karl a "sausage thief." Ha!

12 hours ago, scrb said:

When did Roman get so business savvy, able to read the room so well?  

He has always had great intuition (that's why his nasty little insults cut so close to the bone), and he's more business savvy than people give him credit for. He knew from the jump that Vaulter was a garbage website that Kendall was overvaluing, something that Kendall, with his Columbia MBA, couldn't see.

This was less about business savvy and more about people savvy, though, and Roman is an excellent judge of character, which is why he cares so much about Gerri and has little use for anyone else in the Waystar executive ranks outside his own family. With respect to Zeynal, he probably has a great idea of what coked-up, meaningless bullshit sounds like, because, well, Kendall.

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And all of a sudden feeling loyal to Kendall, family over the outsiders?  Near-death experience made him oh so wise?

Why not? I think that the only thing that can truly change a person is trauma, and Roman was legitimately traumatized by what happened. I don't think it made him any wiser--he has always been smarter than everyone assumes--but it certainly seems to have made him more serious.

Edited by Eyes High
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7 hours ago, lampwick said:

Just to add in case it wasn’t already mentioned - I think that Ken was recording the conversation with Logan because the camera zoomed in on Ken’s sunglasses - the metal arms- when he was on the treadmill and then zoomed in on his hands holding the glasses when Logan said that Ken would admit that he knew about the cover up.  Of course that conversation includes the boy’s death, but maybe Ken is ready to come to terms with that...

I feel like the fact that he himself brought up the boy is proof he wasn't recording the conversation because why do that? The papers were really all he needed--frankly, if it came down to a he said/he said who would ever believe Kendall was the mastermind over Logan? Kendall was exactly right when he said it was absurd for anyone to think Logan would be paying out millions in settlements without knowing exactly why. 

Kind of interesting watching Connor get put in his place by Logan here too. I mean, his place has always been obvious but here he was told flat-out that he was an embarrassment and his throwing away money was childish too. (Which made the "first born son" comment more weighty.)

Connor also looked a lot like Ewan in this ep.

You know, on one hand Kendall turned himself into a killer here, but otoh he sort of took Logan's idea that maybe you don't have to be a killer these days. Because it was Logan who didn't care about any of those unreal people and that's what Kendall said.

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I'd also like the acknowledge the "tom and Gerri" reference to the cartoon.  

Roman has always seemed savvy with people.  He can read people pretty well, but he often weaponizes that ability with people who he considers beneath him. 

His ability to read the situation was interesting and surprising.  I guess he was that kid in school who was goofing off in class but somehow aced the exam (insert joke about being on the crew team here)

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Roman certainly isn’t brilliant, but he has some savvy. He got lucky with Vaulter, but at the time of the acquisition, it wasn’t a bad deal. Internet markets are hot one second, trash six months later. Roman is certainly never going to be the person who makes the trains run on time. He only knows that trains exist in the vaguest manner. 

Anyone could have read that the guys in Turkey were never going to hand over the cash and it was a bad, bad deal. Laird was pushing it because of the cash he would make. Karl probably had a total blackout and didn’t remember the meeting. Roman didn’t surprise by recognizing the obvious, but he did surprise me in voicing it to Logan. That showed more backbone than I thought he had.

I mean, this is the Roman who got his tooth knocked out by his father and then turned around and said it was all okay and didn’t call Logan out when Logan said he wasn’t sure if he’d even made contact. Roman standing up to Logan was a HUGE deal.

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3 hours ago, Dminches said:

I really wondered about this too.  Even the way that Logan put his finger up to his lips to keep Shiv and Roman quiet while Kendall made his statement.  Frankly, if this was a shock to Logan why didn't he erupt?

This situation is more complex than what meets the eye.

That would be something, for Logan to fall on the sword.

But again, he's such a huge presence on the show.  The cast is full of great actors but not sure anyone could fill the void if Bryan Cox is sidelined.

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3 minutes ago, RealReality said:

I'd also like the acknowledge the "tom and Gerri" reference to the cartoon.  

Roman has always seemed savvy with people.  He can read people pretty well, but he often weaponizes that ability with people who he considers beneath him. 

His ability to read the situation was interesting and surprising.  I guess he was that kid in school who was goofing off in class but somehow aced the exam (insert joke about being on the crew team here)

Roman would ace the test because he would have scouted out the smartest student and found a way to copy off of them. 😉

3 minutes ago, scrb said:

That would be something, for Logan to fall on the sword.

But again, he's such a huge presence on the show.  The cast is full of great actors but not sure anyone could fill the void if Bryan Cox is sidelined.

I don’t think Logan taking the fall for the cruise line in anyway sidelines the character. I can somehow see Logan going into rehab for something or saying it was effects from his stroke or that he’d been suffering from prior strokes, etc, to get out of it. I also don’t see him going to jail. Logan being called out by Congress doesn’t take him off the board.

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