Sophia Michaels
The season three finale of HBO’s “Succession” left viewers with a shocking conclusion that nobody was ready for. After yet another installment full of power grabs and high-stakes moves, episode nine delivered some unexpected plot twists that resulted in the ultimate betrayal of the Roy siblings — Roman (Kieran Culkin), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Kendall (Jeremy Strong) — and gave Shiv’s ambitious, yet spineless husband Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) the last laugh.
The biggest twist of the finale was Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox) negotiated deal to sell his company, Waystar RoyCo, to tech entrepreneur Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgard). This not only secured the future of the company, but also ended any chance of passing it down to the heirs. This was followed by Tom’s backstabbing decision to warn Logan of his children’s “full coup” against him, ultimately selling out Shiv to solidify his place at the top of the Waystar RoyCo ladder.
Macfadyen believes that this turn of events made perfect sense. “It’s an accumulation; it’s a pivot by a thousand cuts,” he previously told Deadline of Tom betraying his wife. “From the very beginning, he’s had to take a lot. She speaks of an open marriage on their wedding night; it hasn’t been an easy ride for Tom, he’s had to take a lot of sh*t from the brothers and from his father-in-law and everybody . . . I think something flipped. But when I read the last episode, I was like, ‘This makes sense.'”
The fourth and final season of “Succession” is sure to bring even more family drama. Will Tom and Shiv’s marriage hit rock bottom? Who will come out on top in the messy battle for control of Waystar? We’ll have to wait and see when the show comes to a close.
