Succession: Kendall's Infertility
Oct. 27th, 2025 05:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
itsnotmymindIn the Succession finale, it is revealed that Kendall is infertile.
Well, not exactly.
What happens, exactly, is that Roman says that in Logan's eyes, Kendall's son and daughter weren't "real". He goes on to say: "One is a buy-in. The other is half Rava, half some filing cabinet guy, right?"
(Sidenote: Logan may have thought Ken's children weren't "real", but I don't think Roman actually feels that way. We've heard him bitch about Kendall's parenting for seasons without a hint that he didn't consider them Kendall's children. In Vaulter he even says to Ken that Ken "can't even hug (his) own kids". I don't think Roman in With Open Eyes is expressing his actual opinion - he's just being an asshole.)
We already knew Sophie was adopted. She is clearly not Kendall and Rava's biological child. But we didn't know anything about Iverson, nor why Kendall and Rava chose to adopt Sophie. Revealing that Iverson is "half Rava" and not biologically related to Kendall heavily implies that Kendal was the one who was infertile, and Iverson was likely conceived with a donor sperm.
(Sidenote: I think Kendall responds to Roman with the level of violence that he does because he feels guilty about his children - he knows he hasn't been a very good father.)
Some of the commentors on TV Tropes had another idea. They argued that Iverson is Kendall's biological son, but Logan said he wasn't because he was ashamed of Iverson's autism spectrum.
I don't think there is any basis for this. It's not impossible - we know very little, after all. But it's not my reading of that scene and I don’t think it's the intended reading. When Roman says Iverson is "half Rava" he doesn't cite Logan - there is no indication that he is repeating something only Logan said.
There is one scene, back in season 2, which takes on a different meaning if we assume Kendall is infertile. In Hunting, Logan is moving around the table, messing with everyone there and trying to get a confession of betrayal. Leaning over Tom, he says, "Here's a strategy, Tom: Why don't you pipe down till you come and tell me I've got a grandson coming?" Then Logan says, "Or are you shooting blanks?" For this line, the camera shows us not only Tom, but Kendall sitting quietly beside him. A subtle humiliation by Logan of his son.
Well, not exactly.
What happens, exactly, is that Roman says that in Logan's eyes, Kendall's son and daughter weren't "real". He goes on to say: "One is a buy-in. The other is half Rava, half some filing cabinet guy, right?"
(Sidenote: Logan may have thought Ken's children weren't "real", but I don't think Roman actually feels that way. We've heard him bitch about Kendall's parenting for seasons without a hint that he didn't consider them Kendall's children. In Vaulter he even says to Ken that Ken "can't even hug (his) own kids". I don't think Roman in With Open Eyes is expressing his actual opinion - he's just being an asshole.)
We already knew Sophie was adopted. She is clearly not Kendall and Rava's biological child. But we didn't know anything about Iverson, nor why Kendall and Rava chose to adopt Sophie. Revealing that Iverson is "half Rava" and not biologically related to Kendall heavily implies that Kendal was the one who was infertile, and Iverson was likely conceived with a donor sperm.
(Sidenote: I think Kendall responds to Roman with the level of violence that he does because he feels guilty about his children - he knows he hasn't been a very good father.)
Some of the commentors on TV Tropes had another idea. They argued that Iverson is Kendall's biological son, but Logan said he wasn't because he was ashamed of Iverson's autism spectrum.
I don't think there is any basis for this. It's not impossible - we know very little, after all. But it's not my reading of that scene and I don’t think it's the intended reading. When Roman says Iverson is "half Rava" he doesn't cite Logan - there is no indication that he is repeating something only Logan said.
There is one scene, back in season 2, which takes on a different meaning if we assume Kendall is infertile. In Hunting, Logan is moving around the table, messing with everyone there and trying to get a confession of betrayal. Leaning over Tom, he says, "Here's a strategy, Tom: Why don't you pipe down till you come and tell me I've got a grandson coming?" Then Logan says, "Or are you shooting blanks?" For this line, the camera shows us not only Tom, but Kendall sitting quietly beside him. A subtle humiliation by Logan of his son.
