The ballad of Tom and Shiv

Are they really in love? Why are they still together? The relationship at the heart of Succession’ has gripped viewers but Jessie Thompson doubts anyone is in for a happy ending

- Jessie Thompson

Succession’s fundamental mystery is also a practical one: who will come out on top? Over four seasons, the HBO drama about a vicious media dynasty has given us scenes of explosive betrayal and embarrassing jockeying but, ultimately, it’s about which character will be able to smugly change their Twitter bio by the final episode. Another question, though, fascinates by its very nature. In a show about the very un-abstract concept of hierarchy, it is distinguished by its unquantifiability – by how very emotional it is. Shiv and Tom: do they really love each other?

What’s more, why did they get married? And why aren’t they divorced yet? Can they find a way to have a healthy, functional adult relationship, especially with a child on the way? Or, individually, will either of these insufferable, miserable and deeply compelling people ever find peace? And perhaps, more than anything, what do we actually want for them? As Jesse Armstrong’s superlative series readies for the final stretch, Tom Wambsgans and Shiv Roy’s relationship has entered its death throes. How do you come back from asking, when your wife tells you she’s pregnant, “is that even true?” It is, surely, over. Which is something that they, like us, can’t quite accept – but eventually must. The show’s most compelling dynamic is, conversely, the one we most want to end. No one’s cortisol levels can sustain this amount of permanent elevation.