Someone finally succeeded in the series finale of "Succession," and it was an unexpected
turn to say the least.
One of the show's stars has a theory as to why Shiv Roy voted to make things happen the
way they did.
Warning: Spoilers for the series finale of "Succession" ahead!
A new CEO of Waystar Royco was vested with power during the series finale, and the new
top dog was a definite curveball: Tom Wambsgans, played with oily perfection by Emmy winner
Matthew Macfadyen.
After Kendall, Shiv, and Roman Roy all try and fail to secure their late father Logan's
vacant throne, it's Tom who takes over as the American CEO when Waystar Royco goes ahead
with its sale to GoJo and its billionaire leader Lukas Matsson.
For a man who's been belittled in numerous ways throughout the series, this is certainly
a meteoric rise for Tom.
"You offered to go to jail, Tom!
You offered, because you're servile!
You're just…you're servile!"
In the end, it's Shiv, played by Sarah Snook, that propels Tom to the top spot.
Though Matsson originally promises the CEO spot to her, he goes back on that promise
and chooses Tom.
It's Shiv's tie-breaking vote in the big board meeting that allows the sale to happen.
When Variety's Kate Arthur noted that Shiv helped Tom get to the top, Macfadyen offered
a counterpoint, saying,
"It's interesting, that, because a lot of people have said that.
But that was never in my head.
And I don't know what Sarah thinks.
But I don't think it was anything to do with helping Tom."
Tom does tell Shiv, earlier in the finale, that it will be him if the GoJo deal is voted
through.
But Macfadyen thinks the decision had little to do with Tom and everything to do with Shiv's
disgust for Kendall.
Macfadyen continued,
"I don't know, because it's Sarah's thing, but I think it's just that she can't stomach
her brother.
She goes to the board meeting to vote to block the deal, and also she's just been royally
betrayed by Matsson.
There's something in her that snaps, or that sort of curdles, when she sees him stand up
— her brother as CEO — and make that speech.
And she can't do it.
I don't think it's calculated.
I don't think it's like, 'Oh, I can align myself with Tom.'
Yeah, I think it's just like [jerks awake] — she's changed her mind."
Snook hasn't weighed in, so there's no way to know what the actress was thinking about
Shiv's motivations, but based on the scene she shares with Jeremy Strong's Kendall before
the vote, Macfadyen's take definitely makes sense.
When Shiv tells her brother she can no longer back him, Kendall absolutely loses his mind.
"I'm the eldest boy!"
"I am the eldest boy!"
So now that the smoke has cleared, it's worth asking if Tom actually "won."
Despite him getting a big position of power, it kind of seems like a bad deal for him.
First of all, he and Shiv are clearly staying together, despite the fact that they really
seem to hate each other most of the time.
Their horrible, reluctant, depressing hand-hold as they ride away after the board meeting
beautifully reveals the years of resentment and bitterness to come.
Beyond his flailing marriage, Tom also has to deal with Matsson.
During a dinner behind Shiv's back where Matsson asks Tom to be his "pain sponge" and a "front-man,"
Tom tells the GoJo owner,
"I have a very, very high tolerance for pain and physical discomfort."
Matsson also bluntly tells Tom that he wants to sleep with Shiv.
On top of everything, both companies seem kind of doomed.
GoJo has been badly inflating its numbers, and Waystar Royco is nothing more than a bunch
of broken parts, according to Matsson.
Nobody was ever going to win on "Succession," and it could be argued that Tom lost most
of all.
As Macfadyen put it,
"It's a funny thing — because it's not winning anything.
I mean, that's sort of missing the point by a million miles.
Not to be literal, but it's like, winning what?
It's just another move in a corporate nightmare."
At least Tom will have the real love of his life, his Disgusting Brother, by his side.
He ultimately forgives Cousin Greg, the sky-high buffoon played by Nicholas Braun, even after
Greg tells Kendall the news about Matsson passing over Shiv as CEO.
In that same Variety article, Macfadyen talked about why he thinks Tom actually kind of looks
up to Greg, explaining,
"I think he likes having Greg around — he recognizes a kindred spirit in Greg.
They're both outsiders.
And they've both taken a lot of s--t from everybody, even though Tom would never admit
that.
[...] And I think Tom sort of admires Greg, in a demented mentor way."