Here's Why Roman's Girlfriend Was Written Out After Succession's Pilot Episode

The Roy family on HBO's "Succession" has a lot of issues, but slime puppy Roman, played by Kieran Culkin, may be the one with the most problems. The COO of Waystar Royco is known for his jagged snark, but his quick and mean wit is clearly a cover-up for his deep-seated insecurities about his relationships and sexuality. The character started off as a sociopathic bully at the beginning of the series, but he's grown in complexity since then. However, there is one detail about Roman in the pilot episode that has remained mysterious: What happened to his wife and/or girlfriend and her daughter?

Despite how tightly written "Succession" is, the writers hadn't quite figured out the status quo of its cast of characters at the very start. Roman, who also wears a wedding ring at this point, is seen in the first episode kissing a woman who is eventually revealed to be someone named Grace who has a daughter named Isla. They first appeared in the Thanksgiving-set fifth episode "I Went to the Market," in which Kendall tells his own kids, Sophie and Iverson, to go play with their "friend Isla." Roman acts in a paternal manner towards Isla in this episode, touching her head affectionately and putting his hands on her shoulders.

After the pilot episode, however, Grace and Isla's presence in "Succession" was quickly phased out. Roman and Grace are shown having relationship problems, with Roman complaining about her trying to share a bathroom with him in the morning, and Grace alluding to their lack of a sex life. Eventually, in the fifth episode of "Succession" season 1, Roman broke up with Grace because she thought Waystar Studios' box office hit "The Biggest Turkey in the World" was "actually pretty good." Roman, who had loathed the project and argued against its production, said this was proof that they had "irreconcilable differences," and this was the last we saw of Grace and Isla.

In the original script for the "Succession" pilot, Grace is described as "Roman's wife," and the episode was shot with that dynamic in mind and with the two of them sharing a daughter, Isla. However, in later episodes their relationship was adjusted. (It was never explicitly defined in dialogue, so technically this wasn't a retcon.) Speaking to Variety, Kieran Culkin, who plays Roman, explained that the change was made after the pilot had already been shot, when the show was ordered to series: "It was in the pilot, and after it was picked up, it was his girlfriend, and she had a child." 

The actor explained that he "was excited about the idea of having a kid," but that the decision to keep him unmarried and childless gave the writers "more freedom to play with the character." Culkin also commented on how the decision was due to a desire to keep Roman's sexuality ambiguous:

"They had mentioned to me, even before we shot the pilot, about questioning what Roman's sexuality is — and we don't know what it is. But it put something in my brain, and I was like, 'OK, but I'm married and have kids?' They were toying with the idea that she's aware that you have sort of hangups sexually when it comes to monogamy, and might be more fluid, but we don't know what that is yet."

The decision was probably for the best, too, as Roman's views on romance and intimacy have become one of the most disturbingly fascinating aspects of the character. The insecurities he has about his close relationships, coupled with his complicated conflation of power and sex, make him more of a tragic figure. Poor Rome doesn't deserve to be kink-shamed, of course. It's just that his messy and uncomfortable sexual escapades, complete with what seems to be a still fully unexplored humiliation fetish, are a true mark of how much his father's abuse has impacted his self-worth.