Yeah, she’s succeeding, not graduating like a certain other (real life) AKB member who shaved her head.
I was really excited to see who she would succeed. The build up was there, and I had my speculations, which THANKFULLY didn’t come true lol, so when they finally revealed who’s name she was going to take, my reaction was:
“Huh? Who the hell is Shinoda Mariko?”
lololol All that excitement extinguished in a single second. All because I couldn’t remember who Shinoda Mariko is/was! ”’orz The manager, no?
Good episode though. We also find out Mikako is working for Chieri’s father!
AND NOW THEY PLAN TO ATTACK AKIBASTAR! NEXT EP HAYAKU!
Open Your Mind 
Kanata mentioned that she’d been sick, but it went away. Does this mean the time just wasn’t right? Doesn’t make much sense that way if succession only happens when a series of conditions are fulfilled. Maybe a condition was there and it changed. Did Kanata’s illness fall anywhere in the first season, and we just didn’t notice it?
IIRC, Kanata’s fever wasn’t shown in the First Stage, just her candidacy for succeeding Takamina’s name. But Takamina was becoming more and more ‘Takamina’ and came down with the fever (episode 09 First Stage IIRC … but maybe that was because she was already hurt)
But she’s already a successor so that doesn’t make sense… lol
Maybe Takaminas fever changed Kanata’s candidacy and strengthened her right to keep the name Takamina. ┐(´ー｀)┌