...and then Roman says, “The real crime is, down a waiter, I had to wait 45 minutes for a gin and tonic.” <Chef’s kiss.>

I realise you are examining a specific scene here but wanted to agree on the love thing. Love matters a whole lot to the show i think, different forms and expressions of love, how it is imperfect and can be abused and how it can inspire and inspire darkness.

I think Grampa Ewan cut off Greg’s mom already too, didn’t he? And he’s clearly a man who uses the promise of inheritance to bully and shame his side of the family, all of whom are probably miserable fuckups in a different way.

I still have hopes for them! I think it’s wrong to see this as a total betrayal by Tom - in a way, he’s just trying to live up to the way he thinks Roys behave, the way his wife expects from him. It’s him saying “you want me to be like you? OK, this is me being like you...”

I think you could see Greg, and really Tom too, as the show demonstrating the effects of such abuse in real time, as opposed to it largely already having happened for the siblings by the beginning of the series.

Most definitely! I also read a lot of self-hatred inTom’s belittlement of Greg during that scene.…

The look on Gerri’s face after she watched Roman finally stand up to Logan was just amazing (and a great quick cut). Even better on a rewatch, in fact, because now we know that she knew what Logan had done. She so much wanted Roman to side with Logan, but nope. They then cut quickly back to her again when Logan is…

Gerri, stone cold. Not fair to call it a betrayal of Roman because she was always honest about her motivations, but it felt like a betrayal. Just brilliant.

I’m doubtful that could happen, the shares are the shares, if Logan is getting his bag, the shareholders get theirs as well if they cash out.

I agree Greg is in some sense the least sympathetic character because he seemingly has the least reason to be so awful. It is easy to see him as just a shallow person enjoying clawing his way up in status (from the endless middle towards the bottom of the top! with 20 of his own Gregs! and arguably King of France?).

I love how Shiv recently made it explicitly clear to Tom that their relationship was always fundamentally transactional, to the point she called Tom unfair for trying to make it into something different. She had a point, and yet she failed to understand that Tom truly accepting that view meant he would start thinking…

That speech was one of my favorite parts maybe of the whole series. It said so much about both characters. And lest we forget, Caroline made a similar type of toast at Shiv’s wedding. (“After my own fashion, I love you”)

Logan vs his Kids’ evil is essentially Gatsby vs Daisy and Tom, yes? Do you prefer your evil self-made or do you hate the vapid, destructive children of privilege more?

 But I think, to me, the point is that Logan won against the other two either way. If Roman sides with him, he gets to show that Roman will betray and hurt them (and he’s free to betray Roman at his own leisure). If Roman doesn’t side with him, he gets to hurt them by pretending that Roman siding with them hurt Roman.…

I hear you! I also don’t think Logan really cares about Roman being on his side but it would just be a win over the other two. Like taking the children from Caroline was more about her losing than genuine care or love. And yes, love means a whole lot on this show, just not to Logan.

I mean, did Logan really care about getting Roman in this side? He had already won. If Roman chooses him, he just refuses to give him the position Roman betrayed his siblings for. If Roman doesn’t choose him, he gets to pretend Roman is not getting the position but would have if he’d betrayed his siblings. It’s not…

Tom’s actions are the perfect microcosm of how entrenched power remains entrenched. “I’ve never seen Logan get fucked”, Tom says...but the reason he doesn’t get fucked is that people like Tom are so convinced of his un-fuckability that they grovel at his feet to prevent it when it is barreling straight towards him.…

As someone who focuses too much on Tom, I find it fascinating how Shiv and Greg contrast the type of love Tom gives. With Shiv, he’s clingy and desperate to be with her all the time. It’s kind of sweet but sets off some minor red flags.

That toast didn’t decide anything.

As someone who loved Tom right from the pilot episode, and has always felt Matthew Macfadyen is remarkable as a very difficult character, I was really thrilled at his ascent up the ladder into Logan’s graces.

Boy, Shiv sure did live to regret that toast, huh?