If there’s one thing Succession has taught us, it’s that all the relationships are mostly toxic. Save for Willa and Connor and possibly Kendall and Stewy, none of them really know what love is. In their purest form, all the Roy siblings are pretty messed up since they didn’t get parental love, and their relationships with each other are so soiled that it’s hard to tell what’s genuine. Tom and Shiv are a perfect example of two people who could potentially be a solid couple if they weren’t who they are. Precisely, their situation is supremely messed up because Shiv is a Roy, and Tom is power-hungry.
Maybe at some point, they really loved each other, but to their core, they’re together because they love to use each other. From episode one of the series, you can tell that maybe they’re not the right fit, and truly, it just gets worse from there. Here are ten of the most toxic moments from the relationship between Tom Wambsgans and Siobhan Roy.
10 Tom’s Proposal
In the first few episodes of the first season, you might hope that Shiv and Tom have a normal relationship. You might feel bad for Tom as Logan gives his birthday present to that family that Roman wrote a million-dollar check to instead of keeping it. However, Tom’s main goal is to be accepted into the family and step into his full potential business-wise, and when he proposes to Shiv in the hospital, it’s completely wrong.
Tom takes advantage of Shiv being vulnerable and worried that her dad is going to die, so he knows she’ll say yes. And she does because, of course, how could she say no at a time like that? Thus confirming a failed marriage to come.
9 An “Open” Marriage
Now, just because Shiv agreed to marry Tom doesn’t mean she’s loyal to him. The Roy siblings are genuinely loyal to no one but themselves. She cheats on Tom with her ex-boyfriend, Nate, and the two clearly connect on a deeper level than Tom and Shiv have ever done. They’re doomed from the start, truly. Tom a little later suggests an open marriage, but you can tell his heart isn’t really in it, and he would prefer to have Shiv to himself. However, he’s willing to go with it, so he can remain married to her, thus remaining in the family.
8 Bitey
The game “bitey” is a more recent development, and this twisted activity proves they just like to hurt each other. The goal of the game is to quite literally see who can withstand the other person biting them longer. Plus, they’re in public! During this weird game, they’re going through their much-needed divorce, but clearly, there’s a weird sexual tension between them. The scene goes from them biting each other to them getting redressed from intercourse, so yeah, in another life they were definitely meant for each other.
7 Scorpion Gift
The gift that Tom gives to Shiv, a scorpion encased in a glass square, isn’t wholesome. She’s confused by it, like we all are, as she stares at the killer arthropod. Instead of giving Shiv something sweet like flowers, candy, or even better, jewelry, he gives her a scorpion. Collider states it best with the reasoning Tom gifted this to Shiv, commenting on her personality and how much of a silent killer she is. Tom obviously knows who his wife is, so this was an intentional message.
6 Shiv’s Reasoning for a Baby
Moving into some major season four moments, it’s clear that Shiv is pregnant. Before, Tom tells her that he wants them to have a baby, which is already a risk because we’re all aware of Shiv’s childhood and also the fact that their marriage is constantly on the rocks. So, Shiv declines and says she doesn’t want a baby, until her mother states that she would be a terrible mother.
Of course, Shiv can’t have that and needs to prove her mother wrong. She decides that yes, she does want a baby with Tom. This is where the audience shouts, “No!” A baby shouldn’t come out of an act of defiance, but instead be an act of love and a mutual decision.
5 Unfit Mother
Of course, Shiv gets pregnant, but she waits a long time before telling Tom. The audience had to watch in fear as she took a tumble down the stairs, presumably snorted cocaine, and formed a weird alliance with Mattson, all while pregnant. Yes, Matson is a red flag in itself. Tom and Shiv get into a fight, and Tom delivers a low and hurtful blow as he tells Shiv she wouldn’t be a good mother to a child. Shiv’s face is devastating as she processes his words since in the first place, he wanted a baby before she did.
4 The Divorce
Their divorce was a long time coming, and honestly, it’s amazing that they lasted until season four. However, it all makes sense because Logan is dead and Tom doesn’t need to remain married to Shiv anymore because he’s basically absorbed into the Roy family and the company. When Shiv goes to get a lawyer, the best of the best, she’s shocked to learn that Tom has already hired him.
The audience quickly comes to learn that Tom got this idea from Logan, and it’s confirmed that if Tom is following in Logan’s footsteps, he’s too far gone! People like to say that Shiv ruined Tom and that he loved her so much, and yeah, maybe so, but Tom isn’t innocent in all of this. He had his own motives.
3 Tom Betraying Shiv
In the finale of season three, Shiv defenders decided that they were done with Tom after he sabotaged the siblings’ plan to sell Waystar Royco out from under Logan. The plan seems airtight, and it’s all happening at their mother’s wedding, so Logan isn’t expecting it… until Shiv tells Tom. Logan’s number one fan! It’s unbelievable, but great television as Tom quickly tells Logan their plan and the patriarch of the family steadies himself before they can strike.
2 Tom Is Sent to the Slammer
If you need convincing that Tom is or was in deep for Logan, Tom does jail time for the old man. Logan’s in trouble after Kendall betrays him, and Tom jumps at the chance to once again get on Logan’s good side by going to jail for him! Shiv, sweet Shiv, who is arguably the best character on the show, bargains with Logan to try to keep Tom out of jail, but at the same time, she really doesn’t care.
Tom expresses that he’s scared of going to jail, when he genuinely put himself in that position in the first place. Shiv, calm as ever, doesn’t seem to care as he gets whisked away, and honestly, she should.
1 Boar on the Floor
Season two, episode three features one of the more memorable scenes of the series. Boar on the Floor is a sick game that Logan makes up in order to belittle the people that surround him. Cousin Greg, Karl, and Tom are all forced to participate in crawling around the floor like livestock, and while Karl is wondering what Logan’s problem is, Tom is actively participating.
Shiv isn’t there, and you might be wondering what the connection is, but again, it just proves how whipped Tom is for Logan. Something so dehumanizing as Boar on the Floor, and there Tom is, being a perfect yes man.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
