"Kill List"
Matsson demands that most of the company's leadership head to Norway for the GoJo renegotiation at the company retreat, which the characters are all anxious about. The various division leaders meet their GoJo counterparts for a "culture check" while Roman and Kendall meet with Matsson to try and meet his prior offer. Matsson also wants ATN, in conflict with the siblings' original plan to merge it with Pierce, and against Logan's wishes.
The Roys take the rest of the day to convene and counter. In the evening, Kendall tells Roman he wants to tank the deal. Meanwhile Matsson tells Shiv he sent his employee Ebba multiple liters of his blood after their relationship ended. Kendall has Greg tell a journalist that the mood is bad at the retreat and tells the team that they will either take the deal sans ATN at the original price or the deal with ATN at a high premium.
Kendall and Roman insult Matsson further. Matsson counters with an offer everyone is pleased about. In private, Shiv speaks to Tom about moves at ATN but receives a call from Matsson. The Waystar employees go over the list of people Matsson is thinking of firing.
Tropes:
- Affluent Ascetic: In marked contrast to the Roy's "stealth wealth" wardrobe, Matsson and his team are all decked out in middle-class outdoor and casual wear from homegrown Swedish brands Fjällräven and Tiger of Sweden.
- Call-Back:
- Kendall begins the episode riding to the office listening to rap to psych himself up for taking over control of Waystar, just as he did in the first episode.
- Matsson mocks Kendall's business sense by calling him "Vaulter guy", referencing the bad news acquisition he had to gut.
- Roman reminds Matsson of the time he asked when Logan was going to die.
- Crosses the Line Twice: Invoked in Matsson's description of sending Ebba his blood: "it became not a joke... and then a joke again." It crossed the line a third time and ended up "apparently not a joke."
- Divide and Conquer: Matsson's strategy towards the Roy siblings, notably by telling them how their father would really view them.
- Had to Be Sharp: The Waystar executives are scared of the GoJo executives on account of their youth and exploits outside of the world of business. Gerri tries to cheer them up by pointing out that the Swedes are soft on account on growing up on a welfare state while they, as Americans, are superior for having grown up in a country with no state-funded healthcare and have been "raised by wolves" and hardened by Logan's toxic leadership.
- Never Heard That One Before: The Swedes make incest jokes, and while Greg and Tom laugh, Kendall and Shiv have frozen smiles and Kendall says he's heard it before.
- Right Behind Me: Kendall and Roman offer to fire Tom. Shiv excuses herself into the next plane compartment only to find Tom sitting there.
- Sexy Scandinavian:
- Greg is excited to go to Norway to check out some Scandinavian hotties, though he quickly gets shut up for making inappropriate remarks.
- Shiv pointing out to Tom that whatever else Mattson is, he is very conventionally attractive.
- Shout-Out:
- Greg: Excited for "some Norwegian Wood".
- Hugo refers to the characters as Snakes on a Plane.
- Show Within a Show: One of Waystar's media franchises, Kalispitron, has a tentpole film currently undergoing a Troubled Production (plot details are scarce, but it involves a sleeping robot). Kendall shows a rough cut of the film at the retreat to try and psych out the media company buying them out but Matsson sees right through it.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Roman goes on a soft-spoken rant at Matsson, whom he blames for his father's death, in an attempt to have some catharsis as well as tanking the deal. Matsson, of course, doesn't give a shit.
- Title Drop: The titular "kill list" refer to the executives Matsson plans to fire when he buys Waystar and guts it.
- You, Get Me Coffee: Shiv expresses disdain for her younger cousin Greg by telling him that he could get her coffee.
