WARNING: The following contains SPOILERS for Succession!
Roman made two reckless firings in Succession season 4, episode 6 that could have some major consequences. Still grieving for his dad only days after his passing, Roman has been the only Roy who has worn his emotions on his sleeve in season 4. Stepping up as co-CEO of Waystar with Kendall has already had its challenges, specifically dealing with Gojo CEO Lukas Matsson, who had been more concerned about purchasing Logan’s company than the death of the man himself. Roman and Kendall tried to prevent the sale with Matsson from happening out of spite, but are now meant to mind the shop as the deal finalizes.
While Roman’s emotional outbursts and reactive behavior are understandable signs of his mourning for Logan, the people around him are not quick to show him support. Roman’s spiraling volatility has resulted in some heated situations between him and two very seasoned professionals who are technically his subordinates, at least for the time being. It’s evident that Roman is trying to emulate his dad’s ruthlessness now that he’s sitting in his executive chair. However, people like Joy, the head of Waystar Studios, and Gerri, who knows the true Roman underneath it all, aren’t fooled by his false bravado. They both realize the grave mistake Roman has made by firing them in Succession season 4, episode 6 .
Roman Firing Joy Will Have Legal Consequences
Roman went into his meeting with Joy with the simple idea of giving her whatever amount of money she needed to make successful blockbuster movies. When Joy tried to discuss a business matter involving ATN’s conservative lean and how that might affect Waystar Studios’ public reception, Roman didn’t want to hear it. He doesn’t care for Joy’s plausible business concerns and becomes irrationally impatient with her. On the defensive, and with his partnership with Kendall already fracturing in Succession, Roman suspects she doesn’t take him seriously and fires her after feeling mildly disrespected. Joy was quick to seek out counsel for wrongful termination in response, since Roman failed to follow proper company procedures when firing her and really had no substantial reason to.
Roman firing Joy on a whim proves that he has no interest or sensibility to handle matters brought to him by Waystar’s senior employees. Roman simply views Joy as another expendable subordinate whose fate is entirely dependent on his temperament at any given time. Joy did make a subtle, sarcastic comment about the nepotism that got Roman the title of co-CEO, which was all Roman needed to fire her. Joy is very successful in her own right and has a network of powerful friends that Roman disregarded with ignorance. He basically handed Joy a golden ticket for her promotion by firing her, since Joy now has him on wrongful termination. She is likely gearing up for a lawsuit which she has substantial proof to win.
Roman Firing Gerri Will Lose The Confidence Of The Board & Matsson
Gerri addresses Roman’s irrationality for firing Joy improperly, which Roman views as another subordinate questioning his power. Roman feels even more challenged by Gerri after she tells him that he’s nothing like Logan and is a “weak monarch” which again makes Roman incredibly defensive. Roman fires Gerri on the spot in order to feel the strength of his dad’s former position and to reassure himself that he is in charge. In a way, Roman is able to feel a closeness to Logan by walking in his shoes and wielding his former power, but that strength is not believable or effective in Roman’s hands. Gerri can see right through Roman, but her honesty is too much for him to handle maturely.
Roman firing Gerri is likely not to be permanent and will only end up embarrassing Roman if he tries to put it into effect. Gerri is already approved by Succession antagonist Lukas Matsson to be a board member after the merge with Gojo, which means that Matsson could just override Roman’s decision and rehire Gerri once he’s officially in charge. Matsson and the board of Waystar executives, including Karolina, Frank and Karl, would lose further confidence in Roman since Gerri is an essential part of their team. Both the Waystar board and Matsson will lose confidence in Roman if Gerri is actually fired and will likely try to push Roman out if he continues to make rash executive decisions for personal reasons.
Roman’s Firings Show An Insecurity That He’s Not Fit To Lead
At the end of Succession season 4, episode 6, Roman plays an edited video of Logan saying that Roman is basically a failure and a joke, sent to Roman by Kendall in a betrayal. Roman plays it repeatedly, which highlights his deep insecurity that no matter how hard he pretends to be like Logan, he will never actually be him. Roman’s firings of Joy and Gerri are his lame attempts to present himself like the powerful Logan, but, in reality, are foolish and will only end up embarrassing him and pushing him out of his leadership role. If Roman chooses to not walk back those firings out of insecure stubbornness, his brief time as a Waystar executive could be extremely short-lived since he will have made two powerful enemies and lost the confidence of his peers.
Once Matsson finalizes the deal, Roman will not have his father’s rank or reputation to lean on, which both Joy and Gerri can take advantage of in future episodes of Succession. He will most likely be forced to settle with Joy to avoid litigation or offer her a promotion to make up for his unprofessional behavior. Now that Roman has crossed Gerri in a potentially irrecoverable way, Gerri could reasonably turn on him in the future. Roman might have lost one of his closest friends and confidants who knows his insecurities very well. With only four episodes of Succession left until its series finale, it appears to be a very bad time for Roman to start burning bridges, especially with Matsson set to become the new face of Waystar.
