The Great

[r-h-e-t]

SUCCESSION 3x06 | What It Takes written by Will Tracy

TOM: Did it feel good, when the fascists hoisted you up like the Stanley Cup? GREG: They’re not good guys. I should have said something. TOM: I’m kidding, Greg. You can’t. You can’t change people’s minds. GREG: Sure. (Greg swallows, looks at Tom. Maybe they do change people’s minds. Tom looks at him.) TOM: Greg, shut up. Give people what they want, then walk away. After that, it’s their shit.

[czarthegreat]

As far as I'm concerned Shiv only cheated on Tom once during the therapy episode the other time they had a free pass which is why I think she finally decided to have sex with Nate. I honestly think that if Tom had been bothered with Shiv and not trying to cozy up to Logan even when she didn't do anything wrong to Logan such a thing wouldn't have happened.

She basically left the ranch in my opinion to get some sort of power back, the only person she came with decides to kiss and cozy up to the enemy. Of course she needed a space where she's validated and needed.

[fuckyeah2000s]

[letheanwater]

hey chloë, can't thank you enough for posting these excerpts. can you post the three siblings' conference room showdown scene in the finale?

'kendall is defeated'

[czarthegreat]

I honestly don't think Shiv would make a bad ceo as a lot of succession audience feel. I've put down some of the reasons why I think Shiv won't be horrible CEO and why I've always seen her as a better choice than Kendall and Roman. Any input/taughts you have is welcome with open hands.

1. She's knows who is good for what. (Her conversation to keep Gerri and Karolina)She knows the competent and well liked people in the company which shows she'll be good at delegating which would cater for her shortcomings which is what a lot of CEOs do most times.

2. Shiv knows how to win people over (Nan pierce, Sexual assault victim, Sandy, even Stewy (because Shiv was able to convince him to vote for her instead of his childhood bestfriend Ken), Mattson and even Mencken (who knows she hates him). This shows she'll be good at negotiating and talking with people

3. She can work with people that have an entirely different view point/ she disagrees with/ people on opposite sides to achieve a set goal (Mencken, ken and Roman). Unlike Kendall (karolina, Jess) and Roman (Gerri, video woman). Even Logan knew this

4. She's well liked by the public and can navigate the public scene/popular opinion. This shows she's not a PR scandal waiting to happen

5. She has a clean record unlike Ken and Roman (no drug addiction, hostile takeovers gone wrong, trying to destroy the company you want to take over, blow torching Lamborghini and is known as a horrible person)

6. She's highly adaptable hence her seamless pivot from politics to waystar

7. She's very strategic hence why she's able to maneuver a board seat for herself

8. She's an experienced/respected political strategist hence why in the scripts it's mentioned that she's one of the top 5 political strategist in the United states.

9. She's a fast learner hence why in a short period of time being in the company in season 4 we can see that she knows the kind of programs and news people would like to listen to hence why she can comfortably say his idea for the kind of news their 100 project should carry is bullshit which Roman seconded. Also in season 4 she understands the business numbers.

10. Also against popular opinion Shiv is actually smart and the smartest among the bunch of jokers. Logan knew this (he saw her as the smartest one), Rhae knew this (by not denying that Shiv is actually smart), Mattson also knew this.

[czarthegreat]

I've seen some takes on Mattson and Shiv and how Mattson was just using her

I think Mattson did like Shiv as a person and to some extent respected her opinion (hence why he did some of the things she told him to do even if he didn't want to). Out of all the Roy siblings she's the one I can say that earns his respect (sort of). I also think that initially he saw her as the viable option for ceo but since she isn't someone he could control he went for something easier (Tom).

Ultimately they were both using each other to achieve their individual goals

He sees her as smart but maybe too smart for him and that's why he changes his mind

[czarthegreat]

Shiv roy is the most misunderstood character in succession. This has a lot to do with the character being an emotional wall (warcrime) and a woman.

[homielander]

like yeah of course tom thinks shiv is a scorpion because he doesn't know she compromised her position and sacrificed her brother so he wouldn't go to prison. he doesn't know she refused to divulge any information about cruises to gil in season 1 before she was certain tom would walk away unscathed. he doesn't know she shut down her brothers' offer to fire him, doesn't know she ensured he'd have a place in the company post-acquisition, doesn't know that the first time she indelicately interrogated matsson about whether she'd have any power and influence at waystar gojo was literally immediately after matsson brought up the idea of firing tom. and it's her fault he doesn't know that she's protected him at nearly every turn because she won't tell him. and it's looking more likely with every passing episode that he'll never know 😔🔫

[patrick-sumner]

No, you don't get to speak. You have always been a disappointment, but this is just...you have gone beyond the pale.

[evan-buck]

SUCCESSION 4x10 With Open Eyes / Succession Season 4: The Complete Scripts

[magnusedom]

SUCCESSION (4.07) | TAILGATE PARTY

[wherewolf]

the responses i’ve seen to shiv’s ending seem very quick to write her off as just another sad victim of the cycle, which isn’t without truth BUT!!! that is not even remotely the summation of shiv’s story.

i don’t think she votes yes to “save kendall” or to try to finally set her brothers free. and i don’t think her main concern was that ken was becoming their dad. she absolutely noticed and didn’t love it, but that was not her motivation in betraying him. she was thinking about herself.

it’s tempting to make a martyr out of her as she is the only female child and we see her suffer the onslaught of misogyny that comes with that. but to make her into a saintlike figure who got beat takes away the power and intelligence behind her decision.

at this point she’s stuck between two non ideal choices, but she recognizes that they have accidentally made her the single most important player in the game. because while she can’t have the outcome she’d prefer, she has the power to decide the fates of everyone else. the written off lone woman now holds in her hands the fate of every man in her life.

so she thinks about the long term benefits of both options and realizes that one side leaves her completely without any leverage.

her brothers have proven to her multiple times in the last few days alone that they will cut her out and walk all over her the first chance they get. siding with them leaves her nothing to bargain with. she would just have to hope that ken would actually take care of her. and that level of vulnerability is not only unacceptable to her, it’s stupid. and shiv fuckin roy is not stupid.

so she thinks about the other side and about what she actually wants for her life. and against her better judgment, it’s becomes unfortunately clear that she wants tom. the way she wants him is not altogether loving or even good but it is necessary to her. she sees relationships as having winners and losers and she chose this man specifically so that she could be confident in her ability to win. except now he’s grown some balls and made himself unavailable to her.

she may not like the way her husband is evolving but she already placed her bets on him, so she’s sure as hell not losing to him now. there’s also a part of her that feels intrigued by this new man she’s married to. it’s interesting to have a sparring partner in him instead of having to looking for excitement outside of their marriage.

so for maybe the first time ever, she processes what tom has said to her and thinks about what he actually wants.

he needs her to prove that she cares. he needs to know that she is capable of sacrifice. if she can’t find it within herself to do this for him, then she will lose him, and by extension, she will lose.

siding with tom gives her the opportunity to once and for all make a grand-stand gesture of love, but more importantly, it creates leverage for her. never again will he be able to hold the moral high ground over her head. never again can he say she doesn’t love him. never again can he call her selfish or uncaring. above all, he can never betray her again, because she just removed all of his moral justification for turning on her. he doesn’t realize it yet, but she’s just taken back all the power in their relationship. just in a more subtle way than she’s used to operating.

and just like that, she has the ceo of a multi billion dollar company in her pocket, while situating herself as the only descendant of logan roy to still be playing the game, having removed her brothers from the equation permanently. she may still be far from the top but she’s creating a path for herself to climb.

so yes, she’ll let tom play king for a day, and she’ll have his baby and say “congratulations,” and play the gracious wife, but tomorrow is a new day with lots of room to maneuver. and when her husband puts out his hand, she’ll place her own on top. but she won’t grasp it because she doesn’t need to.