Secession (Succession)

Logan decides to split his inner circle into two camps: he, Tom, Karl, Frank and Hugo depart for Sarajevo (which has no extradition treaty with the U.S.) while Roman, Gerri and Shiv are sent back to New York.

On the plane, Logan states that he plans to temporarily step back as CEO, and fields opinions on who out of Shiv, Roman and Gerri would be a suitable figurehead.

Kendall, meanwhile, places calls to most of Waystar's senior management, hoping to sway more members to his side; Frank listens to his offer of a position inscrutably, while Shiv hangs up on him.

Justine Lupe (Willa), David Rasche (Karl), and Fisher Stevens (Hugo) were promoted to series regulars for season 3, and are all credited in the opening titles for the first time in this episode.

Additionally, the episode introduces Sanaa Lathan, Jihae, and Dasha Nekrasova in their respective recurring roles as Lisa Arthur, Berry Schneider, and Comfry, all of whom Kendall hires to his side.

[3] Scenes set in Sarajevo were filmed in the village of Ellenville, New York, with the Honor's Haven Retreat & Conference—a wellness resort—standing in for the fictional Hotel Clio, where Logan and his executives take refuge.

[6] "Secession" received largely positive reviews, with critics praising the episode's performances, fast pace, and seamless reintroduction to the series' narrative.

Noel Murray of The New York Times was impressed with how much narrative ground the premiere was able to cover in a short span, writing that episode "barrels forward, generating much of its tension and humor from the people who are on the periphery of Logan and Kendall’s feud and are scrambling to keep up.

"[7] Anita Singh of The Daily Telegraph awarded the episode 5 out of 5 stars, particularly praising Jeremy Strong's performance for "[embodying] all the contradictions of Kendall’s character: the ego, the vulnerability, the recklessness and the self-doubt."

Hadadi called Strong "excellent at careening between emotional extremes" as Kendall, and praised Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin's performances as "a master class in fractional degrees of nuance."

"[10] Reviewing the third season as a whole, Lucy Mangan of The Guardian declared that the series' writing remains "immaculate," but called the premiere "particularly plot-heavy," stating that it offered "less room for the delicate characterisation that customarily leaven[s] the script and make[s] you wring your hands with [its] deftness and intelligence.