It seems like Shiv Roy has it all together when we meet her in season 1, but “Succession” is littered with vague references to a dramatic mental breakdown in Shiv’s past, during which time she met a reliable boy from St. Paul, Tom Wombsgams (Matthew Macfadyen). Her relationship with Tom may seem strange on the surface since Shiv seems so commitment-averse, but he found her at a vulnerable moment and proved to her that she needed a safety net. Ultimately her marriage was a rational choice, but her will for power and passion won over her commitment to him.
On the official HBO “Succession” podcast, Brian Cox admitted that his character Logan Roy’s daughter is “clearly smart, probably the smartest of all of them, but at the same time [has] this urge to reveal everything, to tell everything — to want to play these sexual games with her husband — who doesn’t really want to do any of that.”
Even though it was Shiv’s reckless side that destroyed their relationship, it also helped to form the foundation of their romance. As a hard-boiled Roy, Shiv can only be vulnerable in times of crisis. But Tom showed Shiv that he has the ability to hurt her at the end of season 3, so she has to find a way to regain the power in her relationship — which is where the business comes in.
Tom is in a vulnerable position after Logan’s death, with the state of the company in the air and no one batting for him. Even with grief and pregnancy on her mind, Shiv sways the deal with Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård), then reclaims her husband and his submission by handing him the keys to ATN and booting his competitor Cyd Peach (Jeannie Berlin).
