Roman says it’s not a magic chair but then Kendall dares to sit on it, dares to sit on what has been their father’s throne for years and suddenly it becomes all too real for both him and Shiv in that their father really is gone but also that this is who Kendall is going to become — version of the man this chair brings out — and suddenly it’s almost unbearable.
They love Kendall in their own ways, but it’s like Shiv says, they cannot stomach him right now because in some ways their own pain of this moment is staring them in the face. Roman never wanted any part of this, but he wanted his father’s love and that taught him to want this position, while Shiv wasn’t even considered and then spent time pretending she didn’t want it, venturing into politics instead, only to deep down want it like Kendall wants it but also because she just wanted to be seen and respected enough to be considered an option.
Instead, there is Kendall with his feet on the table that has seen Logan shape the course of a country and appoint kings and leaders, speaking with that bro-ish tone he slips into any time he’s feeling even a bit confident and like he might get what he wants and Roman just wants to be relinquished of this exhausting act of pretending to want, while Shiv just sees all the ways in which she will become invisible once again and now there is no other option but block it.
