Succession: The meaning of Matsson’s hideous ‘Doderick macht frei’ tweet

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Alexander Skarsgård’s Lukas Matsson had a few things to say in the latest episode of Succession.

The entrepreneur was watching on as Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) delivered his bizarre presentation for Living+, a new venture into real estate for Waystar that, in the words of Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen), saw Kendall seemingly promise “eternal life” to residents.

Future Waystar owner Matsson was watching along at home – and didn’t like what he saw. To express this, he sent a hideous tweet that threatened to derail the presentation.

Matsson wrote: “Doderick macht frei,” which is a reference to the phrase “arbeit macht frei”.

This phrase, translates to “work sets you free” and was written on the entrance of Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz.

He wrote “Doderick” is because this is one of the mascots of Waystar Royco’s theme parks. Doderick made an appearance in the very first episode of the HBO drama, when Greg Hirsch (Nicholas Braun) had to dress up as the character.

Matsson accompanied the tweet with a photoshopped image of Doderick in a concentration camp.

The latest episode has prompted viewers to draw a comparison between Kendall and a notable figure from business history.

Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) delivering his living+ speech in ‘Succession’ (HBO)
Kendall Roy (Jeremy Strong) delivering his living+ speech in ‘Succession’ (HBO)

In a recent interview, Strong revealed the creative choice he made ahead of filming episode four, in which Logan’s children gather to read their late father’s will.

Succession airs on Sundays on HBO in the US, and the following day in the UK on Sky Atlantic and NOW.

Find The Independent’s review of the episode here.