Succession Season 3 - Why Tom Made The Right Choice

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I admire you, man. You know, you're a long way from home, you've played your hand well and you're sitting at the top table.

This scene raised an important question. Who exactly is Tom Wambsgans and what are his long term goals?

With characters like Cousin Greg, we get to see his awkward introduction to the family and how he manages to entrench himself in the outer rim of the inner circle.

But with Tom, we don't really know where he came from or what he's capable of. We just know that he's here.

And like every other character that orbits Logan, Roy, that's no mistake. What's interesting about Succession's third season is that it's meant to be about Kendall's public betrayal of his father and how that could potentially result in a hostile takeover.

But in hindsight, the third season is actually about how Tom gradually decides to betray his own wife.

Let's examine how Tom's relationship with three characters colors his decision to make a play for the top.

The first season ended with Tom and Shiv getting married, and on their wedding night, Shiv asks for it to be an open relationship.

The second season ends with Shiv throwing Tom under the bus during the boat scene, and he finally builds the courage to to push back against her, showing contempt for how she forced him into an open relationship and what should have been their most committed moment.

The trust in their relationship is fractured and we begin to see how unhappy Tom truly is with their imbalanced power dynamic.

I wonder if the sad I'd be

without you would be less than the sad I get from being with you. So coming into season three, we can see them both attempt to rebuild that trust after Kendall makes a play and tosses the board up in the air.

Tom is a loyal servant, demonstrating his loyalty by keeping Shiv in the loop of every conversation that goes on behind the scenes between Logan and the others.

But notice how she doesn't return the favor. She lies, keeping Tom in the dark about her secret meeting with Kendall, something he has to hear about through Greg.

At this moment, we can see that she's not being a team player in their marriage in the same way he is.

Then Tom discovers that he's likely going to jail for his role in covering up the crimes of season two, and he receives little to no sympathy from Shiv.

Again, she clearly prioritizes herself, and although she promised to protect him, her behaviour consistently says Otherwise, she's playing the game by herself, and it appears that Tom is a mere accessory to her goals.

Knowing he might be going to jail makes Tom insecure about his position in the family, and he wants to secure that by having a baby with Shiv.

But she's standoffish about the idea, as if she had a child soon that would take her out of the running as Logan's successor.

So again, the pattern continues. Tom isn't prioritized and can feel his role in the family and the office diminishing more and more as Shiv tries to claw her way to the top.

The higher she flies, the smaller he becomes. The exact inverse of what a healthy relationship and alliance should be.

He likely could accept her ambition if she nurtured their relationship more and let him feel safe. But in episode eight, she exposes the truth during their roleplay and and you can see Tom essentially looking in her eyes for a reason to stay and not finding one.

Even though I don't love you, but you want me anyway.

Shiv demonstrated no romantic loyalty to Tom in season one, no business loyalty to him in season two, and no emotional loyalty to him in season three by keeping him in the dark, not listening to his concerns about going to prison, not making any future plans with him, and disrespecting him to his face.

So his relationship with Shiv is at its weakest point. Her behavior has revealed that she thinks it's okay to screw him over in order to rise the ranks, so why shouldn't he do the same?

When it comes to Logan, Tom reveals his true loyalty to him when he offers to go to jail as a human sacrifice to appease the DOJ and the media.

At a time where Logan is being betrayed by his own children, Tom's selfless offer truly lands. However, this is a high risk play that really only pays off if he somehow doesn't end up in prison, as it's the thought that counts.

Tom isn't used to taking risks like this and spends the rest of the season amusingly insecure about his future.

And why wouldn't he be? His role in the company begins to feel more and more redundant as he is nicknamed Terminal Tom and the as he has cancer of the career, Tom loves being rich, as we know from his time introducing Greg to the lifestyle.

But given he's not a full family member, he needs Shiv or he has nothing. As Kendall rightly observes, it's no fun being the last eunuch in the Forbidden City.

Since his demonstration of loyalty, Logan starts warming up to Tom. We see this during his UTI episode when he chooses Tom as the only one to take him to the bathroom and allows him to see him at his most vulnerable.

Thanks, son. Anytime,

Pop. Even though he was delusional at the time, emotionally, there is still a growing sense of trust between the two and you can see that Tom really needs someone to validate his role in the family.

If someone doesn't feel safe or valued within one team, they have no logical reason to remain loyal to them and should go where they do feel valued with the threat of prison hovering over him.

This season, we got to see this other side to Tom Blossom in episode six when he slips away from the inner circle for a secret meeting with Kendall.

This mirrors the same lack of loyalty that Shiv shows to her own family as she went to Kendall to weigh up her options too.

Kendall tries to butter him up and turn him, but for the first time the writers show us that Tom, despite his insecurities and misplaced loyalties and is actually quite a clear thinker.

My hunch is that you're going to get f ked because I've seen you get f ed a lot and I've never seen Logan get once.

It wasn't obvious that Tom would ever betray Shiv yet, but this moment really solidified that Tom is calculated and given he has already made some high risk plays to earn Logan's trust, he has too much to win by keeping him in power to be lured away by Kendall's delusions of grandeur.

Then it comes to Greg. Tom and Greg are easily the most enjoyable dynamic in the entire series. While they both serve as comic relief, this season revealed why they are both actually dark horses for the top position.

We begin to see Greg learn on the job not so much learn how to do any particular role, but how to stay in the game.

He's now playing both sides to see who wins, serving Kendall while also keeping his hooks in with the core family, even learning how to leverage and negotiate and climb the dazing ladder.

But now both Tom and Greg are at risk of going to jail, which solidifies their previously existing bond more and more as Greg is the only one that understands and will listen to Tom's concerns.

In the same way, Tom banked gold with Logan by demonstrating his loyalty. Greg has done the same thing for Tom in the past already.

Greg is a little bit like Tom's work wife. When he's having a terrible day, he goes to Greg to vent, but when he has great news, he goes straight to Greg to celebrate.

They're Sharing a similar journey. They both came from the outside, they both get disrespected by the siblings, and they both fear being kicked out of their positions of power, never to return.

Given the precarious nature of their positions, it makes sense for them both to do whatever is necessary to climb the ladder and secure some power.

Nero pushed his wife

down the stairs. Then he had Sporus castrated, and he married him instead. This scene is actually what foreshadows Tom's future betrayal the most.

I'd castrate you and marry you in a heartbeat.

Although it initially just seems like Tom is borderline hitting on Greg, it's actually showing us that Tom wishes he could play this game with someone loyal by his side.

When he pitches his deal with the devil idea to Greg, he asks him, do you want to come with me, Sporus?

In this moment, they're both choosing to abandon their old values for power, but they're doing it together, finally forming an alliance they feel safer in.

But just like Kendall's betrayal at the end of season two, any power play involves crushing someone close to you.

A human sacrifice. In this case, not only Shiv, but Kendo and Roman2, as this way they lose their right to become Logan's heir.

That scene where they're in the car forming an alliance together felt very weird for succession, almost too optimistic and borderline corny, as if the series was about to change into a show about teamwork.

It was hard to see anything getting in their way, as we just had to assume Tom would remain obedient to Shiv.

But if we examine the gradual plot and character development over season three, we can see that Tom's relationship with Greg and Logan strengthens, and his relationship with Shiv collapsed to its weakest point.

This makes his decision to turn on Shiv and inform Logan of the children's incoming attack so he can get ahead of it.

Not only tactical, but logical. Why would he work for those that don't reciprocate his loyalty if they took over?

What's really in it for Tom? Can he trust Shiv to protect him from the DOJ if the case ever resurfaced?

Could he trust Roman and Kendall not to scream him over? Would any of them really be able to keep the company going like they believe they can?

And why should he protect her when she didn't protect him? Tom and Greg have always been at the bottom of the food chain within the inner circle.

They've been kicked around, berated and ignored. But in one foul swoop, the entire game gets turned on its head.

And now Tom can finally have the power, and Shiv will have to answer to him. He's formed an alliance with people that reward him for his loyalty.

He sacrificed for Logan, and he even offered to sacrifice for Greg by letting him hook his baubles of corporate wrongdoing on his branches.

In my view, this is by far the strongest play Tom could make. And the beauty of this Shakespearean level of betrayal is how true to form it is.

Almost like the scene in the Godfather where K looks through the doorway, horrified to see the man her husband has beh come.

Shiv looks through the doorway and sees Logan simply pass Tom on the shoulder. Such a small gesture without even a word spoken.

But nothing needs to be said. Tom was the only one who knew the plan. And just like she spent seasons throwing him under the bus, suppressing his plans and prioritizing herself, Tom finally took his revenge, put himself first, and made a deal with the devil.

And just like Shiv was happy to tell him to his face that she doesn't love him and still expects him to stick around and love her anyway, Tom walks in like he did nothing wrong, lies to her face, puts his sinful hands on her shoulders, and calmly gives her ambitions the kiss of death they deserve.

She could have listened to his problems. She could have made him feel safe. She could have worked with him.

She could have promised him a top position. But she didn't. And that's why, episode by episode, the writers truly nailed season three's betrayal.

Because, in my view, Tom did nothing wrong. Because Shiv did nothing right.

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