"Vaulter"
Lawrence: Everyone here fucking hates you.
Kendall: I think I can take it.
Kendall: I think I can take it.
Logan sends Kendall and Roman to take a look at Vaulter, the small journalism enterprise he acquired in the first episode, to see why it's not doing as well as Logan would like. Although Lawrence proves uncooperative, Kendall is of the opinion that it can be saved, while Roman is for gutting the operation entirely. Logan agrees with Roman and sends him to do the deed.
Meanwhile, Tom is eager to get to work at ATN, and sends Greg around to see what can be improved. Greg suggests digitizing the company, which Tom takes as his own. Shiv later tells him that Logan had offered for her to be CEO. She quits/is fired from Eavis's campaign.
Tropes:
- 0% Approval Rating: Not that Kendall is hurting for this status in any arena of his life, but Vaulter (whose staff skews young and progressive) has always held him in special contempt. Ironically, he might have won some respect and enjoyed a fleetingly rare moment of triumph had he stuck to his guns as to the division's worth, but he's compelled to torpedo the whole operation on Logan's behalf. He even dismisses an offer to publicise his personal valiance in fighting for its survival, either aware of the gesture's hollowness or too hollow himself to bother.
- Actually Pretty Funny: Shiv manages to at least get a smile from her brother when she affectionately makes fun of how he either worships Logan or wants to kill him.
- Big Brother Instinct: Connor sweetly asks if Roman’s okay when he’s coughing, oblivious to the fact Roman is choking down giggling at the thought of his presidential campaign.
- Call-Back: After being told to gut Vaulter, Kendall snorts some coke to try and deal, and practices a smile in the mirror like Shiv did in the hospital.
- The Chain of Harm: Kendall might be getting horribly abused by his dad, but he still put an entire media company out of a job “because my dad told me to”.
- Double Standard: Shiv points out how Roman can be COO when he’s an overgrown toddler, and for her to be CEO she needs years of training.
- Dramatic Irony:
- Tom gleefully says that the cruises scandal from last season was dealt with, not knowing Greg is sitting on some incriminating information.
- Roman is worried about his brother getting crushed forever by Logan if he (Roman) squeals on something, not knowing that Kendall is his dad’s pet at this point. He also frets to Shiv over potential rivals to his presumed inheritance of Waystar, floating Tom as one such, unaware that his sister and confidant has already been named.
- Evil Is Petty: A thoroughly defeated Kendall strikes back at the world by stealing a battery pack from a rude cashier's shelf and binning it the moment he steps outside.
- The Glomp: Sophie hugs her dad for giving her a theme park birthday, but Kendall looks like a trapped animal and can’t hug back.
- Kick the Dog: To Roman, that Kendall is tasked with dismantling Vaulter, "his baby" and the company he is introduced acquiring, is a sign of their father's cruelty, making sure that Kendall stays in line.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Roman notices that Kendall, who is touch starved and at least attempts to be a better dad than Logan, can’t even hug his own kids now.
- Pet the Dog: Roman and Shiv make game attempts to talk to their walking corpse of a brother and try to figure out what’s wrong. Of course Roman does it by calling him a broken robot and cum dumpster, but he’s still trying.
- Sleep Deprivation: It’s left unsaid that Kendall probably got help working for 36 hours with the aid of a lot of coke.
- Spiteful Spit: A disgusted Vaulter employee sprays Kendall with one after he terminates the entire division.
- Stealing the Credit: It's Greg who realizes that ATN wastes a lot of resources because a lot of their operations are analog. Tom takes this idea and posits digitizing ATN as his own.
