Decoding Shiv Roy from Succession
- Annie Khurana
- Jul 17, 2024
- 9 min read
Shiv Roy is many things - selfish, cowardly, determined, clever and privileged. It’s odd that I am writing about someone who is objectively quite reprehensible, but then so are all the characters in Succession.
My first impression of her was that she was very sure of herself, had her own values, and was just happy to have a side kick whose life revolved around her. The seasons that follow, however, show that she has never been more unsure of who she is or more importantly, where she stands. Season by season, the veneer of her being just, fair or even tangentially moral falls off. She literally talks down someone out of testifying in a sexual harassment case and aligns herself to a fascist when it suits her interest.
So why is she this way?
Let's dive deeper, starting, as all things do, with her relationship with Logan.
Shiv is the youngest of the 4 siblings and Logan Roy's only daughter. That has a major part to play because the expectations run differently for her than her brothers. With Kendall, even though Logan plays his own games, but as a small 7-year-old child, he is still told that he is the one to be Logan's successor. For Shiv on the other hand, Logan has no expectations at all. His only ask is for her not to taint his reputation because everything Logan does circles back to himself. Up till season 2, he has never asked her to be involved in the business at all. When he calls her in, he uses her as a tool to appear more friendly to the Pierces who leaned on the opposite end of the political spectrum, and to have her defend the company publicly as the token woman.
Shiv is referred to as 'Pinky by Logan - signifying that he might have a deeper affection for her than the other kids, but it is at the same time a way to infantilize her. He uses the word only when he means to put her in her place or appeal to her emotions.
His love for her is dependent on her being lesser than, never an equal to her brothers. Her being outside the family business allows her to be the most vocal against him and openly challenge him, which is what Logan wants - someone who is a killer. That and the fact that her political career becomes threatening to him. So he lures her into the company. But under Logan's shadow, Shiv does exactly what Kendall did - crumble. As soon as Logan decides to cast his light on someone, there is a lose-lose game at play. If you agree with him and follow him, you are weak. But if you are ruthless and actively seek his seat that he promised you by the way, he will feel threatened and push you away.
As soon as Shiv openly asks for the CEO position in season 2, he starts souring on her, only using her femininity when needed. When she takes matters into her own hands in season 3 by getting herself the board seat, there is a coldness in his demeanor to her, which never really goes away until he dies in Season 4. Her utility to him is over once the Cruises scandal is resolved.
Shiv starts the series having made it her mission to appear above it all, to make her own name in a way that directly contradicts her father's ideologies and values. Unlike what we think, any reaction, love or hate to someone still binds us to them. In her bid to prove herself, she is still tied to him and his approval, ultimately responding to his neglect and undermining of her.
She adopts a persona that is decidedly domineering and emotionless to the point of being cold. She knows she is at a disadvantage, not just in the world, but in front of her family and father, who immediately rush to tell her she is a young woman with no experience, that her value is only for her teats or that she is being too emotional whenever she presents an argument.
Existing in a world of indecision, empty promises and constant fluctuations, Shiv retains control by not committing at all because she knows she might lose in the world where she was born with a disadvantage. One constant throughout the entire series is her keeping her options open- whether it is between politics and Waystar, between Matsson and her brothers, or between Tom and her extra marital relationships.
The Roy world is all about perception. Kendall wants to keep the image of him being a visionary and a good person, Roman wants to appear uncaring and savvy like Logan, and Shiv wants to appear the smartest in the room.
The truth is all 3 of these people will put their own momentary self- interest in front of actualizing these images when it suits them. They don't want to do the groveling and tedious work required to get to where they want to. They cannot fathom bending down or not having their way in the world.
Shiv is no stranger to that. She cannot look at the bigger picture because she is ultimately, privileged. So, when Logan proposes that she spend ~3 years in training before taking over from him, she cannot bear that thought. How can she be seen as lesser than or inexperienced, on top of that relying on someone like her father who might change his mind whenever he feels like it? Her only option is to pretend she is on top of things when she really is not. Without their father backing their authority, none of the 3 siblings can manage the executives around them or gain anyone's respect. Shiv in particular cannot, because she has no experience or alliances that Kendall and Roman have accumulated in their time- Kendall with Frank and Stewy, and Roman with Gerri.
Her only option is to play the games she is best at. Finding ways to gain proximity to power. She aligns with Gil Eavis to gain political power through proximity, secures herself a board seat in season 3 during the Shareholder meeting, aligns with Matsson during Gojo-Waystar negotiations so he gives her power when he takes over, and ultimately, at the ends she sides with Tom to be closest to the seat she cannot get.
In this way, Tom and Shiv are not too dissimilar. Both don't have direct power but find ways to stay close to people who do.
Speaking of their relationship, let's explore Shiv's warped idea of love. She is used and kicked away by Logan only to see how many times she will come back, as her mother Caroline puts it, and that has unfortunately shaped Shiv's views.
See how she describes love on her wedding night.
"Love is.. It's like 28 different things... there's fear, and jealousy, and revenge, control."
And then later in season 3 in one of the coldest scenes of the show
"You’re not good enough for me. That’s why you want me. That’s why you love me. Even though I don’t love you. But you want me anyway."
To Shiv, love is a tool to keep someone close. On the surface, she is capable of loving only someone beneath her, someone she can wield power over. For much of their relationship and marriage, Tom happily obliges. After all, his goal is to rise into the company and gain power for himself. He does not have the same security of being a billionaire, come what may, that Shiv does. He comes from a middle -class family and he might have gotten rich, but not Roy-rich. When Shiv's demand for open marriage and subsequent humiliation of him becomes too much to the point he might have to go against Logan, he fights back.
It is in this fight that we see what really the core of Shiv is - Fear.
Notice how whenever Tom pulls away, she clocks it and tries to protect their relationship.
In Season 2, when Tom expresses his sadness within their marriage, Shiv begs Logan to not send Tom to prison, even though in the previous scene, she had nominated Tom for the same.
Post Season 3 betrayal of Tom and the subsequent tension it brings to their marriage, she finds herself oddly attracted to him now that he did not cave to her as much, going out of her way to reel him back again.
After their relationship ending fight in Season 4 during which they say the worst things to each other that two people can, she instead reaches out to him for reconciliation with the ask "Are you interested in a real relationship?".
There is a quiet fear in Shiv. She has learnt to love out of utility and the need for control because she does not know what safety can mean in a relationship. She has a deep-seated fear that her vulnerability would be used against her, because it has been. So, she pretends not to care, and follows her father's footsteps in being ruthless, even more than her brothers because the label of being 'soft' would be applied to her easily. Out of all the siblings, she is the most emotionally restrained. When Logan offers her the CEO position, she lets herself dream for a moment, basking in the glory of his approval, only to quickly realize she needed to get back into the game and immediately revert to practical steps.
Watch her transition from elated, teary eyed to worry about the reality of his offer and then immediately covering up her vulnerability to appear calm and matter of fact to Logan.
Her unraveling begins with Tom pulling away slowly and then when Logan dies, we see a much more openly emotional side to her than we ever did before. She has had to put away all her emotions before, and so when the veil is lifted and all the ugliness is out in the open between her and Tom towards the end of Season 4, she feels freer and more authentically connected to him than ever before.
There is no rockier bottom for them.
When it comes to choosing between associated with Kendall, her brother who she has been in competition with this entire time for their father's approval, and who had already kept her out of the business in season 4 after Logan's death; or Tom, her estranged husband who she somewhat loved in the only way she knew how, and was easier to influence, it is no surprise that she chose Tom.
Being close to power was the way she had survived till now, and for her, there was no absolute winning in both the scenarios after Matson deceived her.
I have seen a lot of debate about how awful she is, whether she is a feminist or a 'girlfailure'. I personally don't think she is better or worse than the people surrounding her. Just like her siblings, we see why she is the way she is, and objectively all these people are horrendous. Kendall and Shiv in particular get more scrutinized for their moral failings because both of them have the need to portray themselves as better than their father. Kendall's case is for another day, but for Shiv, any illusion she had of being a good or moral person have for sure been removed by the end.
Like a lot of women, she buys into the rejection of her femininity because of its association with being weak. She rejects those ideas and tries to become part of the boys' club; except the club will never accept her, only use her to put other women down and cast her aside for the same thing. She will forever and always be an outsider. As one of my favorite podcasts of the show 'Succ Off' puts it, she cannot escape her gender. That by no means she is a good person - she is both a victim and an active perpetrator.
I feel that a bigger credit for Shiv's complexity goes to Sarah Snooke's acting than the show's writing. She is at times, unpredictable, but it is not written in her character to be difficult to clock. She just is, because she, for a large part is not written as well as Kendall or Roman. A side effect of her hiding a nyemotion is that we as viewers don’t comprehend her fully. Until Season 4, I personally had a hard time fully understanding her. Come Season 4, however, she is scene stealing (again, Sarah Snooke is my God), and the entire season really helps put together her motivations and character arc. That she eventually comes together to form this complex, flawed and compelling character is something I appreciate. In other words, she feels like a whole person, something her father never understood, and what I am afraid, so much of writing for women's characters in general doesn't either.
Favorite Shiv Roy quotes:
"I may not LOVE you, but I do love you."
"Do you think Dad would be able to cross the threshold? Or will he spontaneously combust?"
"So, listen to everyone and make an assessment. Cause frankly, I want what's best for me. But the other people? The folks who want you get up there tomorrow and get pulled apart? They want what's best for them. You need to think about what's best for you."
"You wanna clear the air? You're a snake."
Not from my blog please. On that note ->
Hi reader, if you are still here, it would be great to have you subscribe to the mailing list where I send you articles as soon as they are out. I am excited to cover more characters, shows, and topics, so your recommendations and thoughts are priceless!
Which Succession character do I cover next?
0%Logan Roy
0%Kendall Roy
0%Roman Roy
0%Tom Wambsgans
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