Now I'm normally a big defender of the "Tom really does love Shiv" argument, but god, that scene on Logan's stairs in the last episode might be the single most manipulative thing we've seen Tom do.

Like, his whole thing this episode is that he's trying to ingratiate himself to everyone he can. Logan was his support and Logan is dead, so Tom is hanging out with the suits and trying to throw his hat in the CEO ring. He's going on about "living to serve" them. He's sneaking off to suck up to Roman and Ken. And then there's his scene with Shiv.

And like I said, I'm usually a big defender of Tom's love for Shiv. I think he originally fell in legitimate love with her as much as he was social climbing, and I think that the story he told on the stairs was about something genuine. The past Tom that sent Shiv handwritten letters and asked her constantly to tell him "yes" sure wouldn't have minded getting close to the big boss's daughter, but he also did all that because he loved her.

But on the stairs? When he tells the story? He is still so deeply in "ingratiate myself" mode. He needs someone on his side in Waystar, and the best way to do that would be to make Shiv fall in love with or depend on him again. So he goes to her and pulls out the sweet romance and reminds her of the past. He says "hey, remember when you were going through a hard time and I made it good for you? remember when you fell for me and depended on me for support?" And the unspoken words behind the words are "hey, I see you're going through a hard time now, and I could be all that for you again. Don't you want that?"

He knows she wants the divorce and she's made it pretty clear that things are emotionally over, but he's trying to pull her back in while she's vulnerable.

I doubt Tom sat in a room somewhere and thought the words, "I will take advantage of my wife's emotional vulnerability," but when he went up to her and followed his instincts toward what might make her want to take him back again, that's exactly what he did.

Succession 4.01

We'll always be good, right?

tomshiv // modern woman - billy joel

listen I'll never fucking shut up about this show, the part of Shiv's eulogy saying "he couldn't fit a whole woman in his head" is a direct call to how most people online actually talk about her character. Disregarding all the complexity and nuance of her character and either painting her only as a feminist angel, a little girl, a victim, or only a stupid, malicious woman who's betraying everyone and deserves all the horrible things her brothers & husband do because "pinky can't dance" as if all these characters aren't deeply flawed ON PURPOSE and also mentally & emotionally complex to evoke empathy in viewers ON PURPOSE but that thought process is only afforded to the male characters and isn't that the heart of the statement?

spongegreg and squidtom

shoutout to rich mean girllosses with a dead father and failmarriage(s), my favorite genre of women.

they're also both lesbians, they told me themselves.

(funfact : if there ever was a live action of monster i'd love to see eva having kinda the same vibe as shiv in term of like costumes, hair etc idk.)

CONWILLA ALWAYS WINS!

TOMSHIV FOUND DEAD IN A DITCH!

I don't even need tomgreg to be canon I just want a scene where one of them is having a breakdown and crying for some reason and the other is there to hug and comfort them for no selfish reasons

I need to know they won't be alone when the series ends

Tomshiv marriage explain in semi unintelligible emoji terms

pre s1: T➡️➡️❤️⬅️⬅️S

s1-s2: T➡️➡️S➡️

late s2-s3: ⬅️T ⬅️S

late s3 + the time between s3 and s4: ⬅️T S➡️

s4: T➡️ 💔 ⬅️S

you guys don't even know about the alternate universe tom who lives in my head who went to prison and then literally moved to another fucking galaxy afterwards where he negotiates with alien societies for their bean crops and eats mess hall rations every day and occasionally has to run from aliens that want to suck the life out of his tits. he still somehow gets betrayed by greg

Also feeling insane about how Tom and Shiv both want to go back to the points in their relationship where each of them had power over the other.

Tom goes to Shiv on the stairs of her dead father's home and reminds her of when she was vulnerable and fell in love with and relied on him. He hearkens back to a time in their relationship where she was going through a hard time and he supported her, because that's what he wants again. Being the rock supporting Shiv through a storm gives him irreplaceable power there, even if he's nothing but good to her in the process.

Meanwhile, when they had the divorce talk in 4x1, one of the reasons that Shiv cut things off so quickly was that she wanted Tom to reach out and ask for her. If she said "it's over" and Tom tried to fight for her, then it would have been him begging her and her making the decision. It would have given her power over him again.

But I think Shiv recognizes Tom's ploy at the wake, and she pushes him away rather than fall on him, and Tom doesn't let himself beg when she tells him it's over. Tom wants to be her rock again and Shiv wants to be in control of someone subservient, but Tom's sick of subservience and Shiv refuses to be weak or reliant on him. So they're both just grasping at what the other one won't let them have.

Succession 1.08

tomgreg // good boy - dogbite

Sarah Snook is going to rip my heart to shreds this season, isn’t she?