‘Succession’ Season 4: What Did Lukas Matsson Tweet?

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers from Season 4, Episode 6 of Succession.Heading into Investor’s Day this week for Waystar Royco, Succession Season 4 brought the Roys to Los Angeles at the headquarters of Waystar Studios (conveniently located on the real-life Warner Bros lot in Burbank). Preparing to launch a new product, Kendall (Jeremy Strong) plans to try and double the product’s value in order to price Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) out of the Waystar deal. Despite being threatened by Karl (David Rasche) and warned by the other executives at Waystar, Kendall publicly announces the astronomical projections of Living+ and, shocking everyone, it is actually well received. But, after his presentation, Matsson, watching at home, tweets an offensive tweet, but what exactly did he tweet?

RELATED: Alexander Skarsgård’s Lukas Matsson Could Be the Biggest Threat to the Roys on ‘Succession’

What Does Lukas Matsson’s Tweet Mean?

After Kendall’s presentation, Matsson, upset at the positive reception to Living+, tweets: Doderick Macht Frei. If you’re familiar with the history of World War II or Nazi Germany, this phrase might be familiar, if not totally inappropriate. If you remember back to Season 1, Doderick is the mascot of Brightstar Adventure Park, the Waystar theme park. In Matsson’s tweet, the dopey dog mascot has been photoshopped in front of a picture of the gates of a concentration camp.

Why? Because the tweet is a twisted play on the phrase “Arbeit macht frei,” a German phrase that means “Work sets you free.” Those words appear at the entrance of Nazi concentration camps like Auschwitz. The original phrase, before it was co-opted by the Nazi party, originated from the title of an 1873 novel by Lorenz Diefenbach, titled Arbeit macht frei: Erzählung von Lorenz Diefenbach. Diefenbach’s thesis basically suggests that it’s only through work that criminals like gamblers and conmen can become virtuous. Of course in the scope of Nazi Germany, this phrase takes on a sinister meaning.

Why Did Matsson Send the Tweet?

Although Matsson was already upset at the idea of launching Living+ it wasn’t until Shiv (Sarah Snook) told him to “put a stick in the spokes” of Kendall’s presentation that he sent out the tweet. At the beginning of the episode, when Matsson secretly meets with Shiv, he implies that the Roys simply have to keep to the status quo and keep the plane on autopilot, until he takes over. He doesn’t like the idea of the new product launch and wants to kill it.

Throughout the episode, we see the push and pull between Matsson and the Roys. Even though Shiv is in contact with him directly, she’s still playing all the angles, and when she sees the tweet she quickly contacts him and tells him he’s giving Waystar too much attention. To which Matsson simply replies that he knows what he’s doing. Except, while Matsson might have expected Kendall to fumble after being asked about the tweet point-blank, Kendall manages to play it off smoothly, telling the audience, “He’s very… European,” and excusing Matsson, wisely downplaying the tweet and bringing the focus back to Living+.

What Is Living+ Exactly?

Kendall describes Living+ as a safe haven for its customers. Occupants will have security, access to exclusive Waystar Royco entertainment, and — the big selling point — access to life-extending medical procedures and treatments. Yes, it sounds weird that Waystar Royco, an entertainment company, would create a living community. And yes, it sounds problematic that a company responsible for mass sexual harassment and abuse on their cruise line will be in charge of something Matsson refers to deferentially as “land cruises.” And if you’re wondering if it all sounds too good to be true, then you would be right.

Even if Kendall acts like he believes in Living+, his true thoughts about the product are stated earlier in the episode when he says, “We’re planning to warehouse the elderly and keep them drunk on content while we suck them dollar dry.” Even Shiv refers to it as a prison camp. It’s clear that they all think it’s a bad idea, but in order for Kendall to force Matsson to give up on the deal, he has to believe in the product.

While they can promise things like enhanced security and maybe for the odd director or actor to show up, promising life-altering treatment — essentially immortality — is a pipe dream. Will they have the same access to medical treatment as billionaires? Probably not. You might think that people would see right through Kendall’s act, but looking at the Twitter feed and the surrounding tweets around Matsson’s, it seems like the public is responding positively. One person tweets, “Presentation today was totally compelling. I’m going long on KR.” Another one tweets, “What would you say to an offer of immortality? I’d say yes fucking please dog. Even if the offer is from a talking dog.” And yet another one writes, “Who wants to live forever? Me! I’m in! #LivingPlus #YesPlease.”

In response to the positive bounceback from Kendall and the positive reaction on the internet, Matsson quickly deletes his tweet after the presentation ends. Surprisingly, to everyone, including Kendall’s harshest critics, the presentation does better than expected, and it seems like Kendall’s harebrained plan might actually work.

New episodes of Succession Season 4 premiere every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.