Also, he knows that Greg is mostly good at playing his mind game, Greg never takes side, remains neutral and playing both of the sides. Tom isn't even mad to Greg, he's mostly impressed.
It wasn't about intelligence, it was ALL about graft, tolerance for pain, eating shit and being a self starter. Tom and Greg both did this and that's why they won.
@@davidlestermooneyAlso, you noticed throughout the season, Greg and Tom are the one who mostly working on their desk either looking at their computer, checking data, typing and many more. Meanwhile, you barely see the siblings ever done that to sit at their desks, doing their work. Most of the time, they mostly on meeting, but they mostly criticizing, gaslighting and bullshitting. Expect for Kendall when he was on Vaulter but it was on Vaulter's office, not his own office. Ironically, they are still kids playing outside of their dad's office like Shiv said on her eulogy.
I think it's mostly about loyalty. Sure, Greg went was not always on Tom's side of things, but when he was, he was ready and willing to do dirty and menial work for Tom. Now that they've been through the gauntlet together and Tom has effectively eliminated all his rivals, he knows he can secure the loyalty of a crafty and effective minion by throwing him a lifeline.
This is Tom killing his wife, castrating and marrying his slave just like in the Nero and Sporus story. He now owns greg but also cares about him a lot.
I absolutely love Tom's interaction with Hugo. The looking off into the distance, asking for Karolina, playing mind games to make Hugo feel small and insignificant is 100% what Logan would have done.
@@catarinaf3261 it’s so perfect that after all the wanting, trying, and failing the kids did to be like their father, it was Tom who was the one actually paying attention
Tom being loyal to Greg even thought he doesnt have to shows that he does have an ounce of humanity after all. When he says: "But I've got you" his expression changes to a loveing one. Like a parent reassuring his little kid everything is gonna be allright.
@@rohanofgondor No he is right. You can care about something while being the dominant in the relationship. You can love your pets. You can love your wife living in theocratic Islamic country You can love your slave. Tom obviously relates to Greg they are both outsiders trying to climb the corporate ladder and are sycophants for personal gain. Greg is his friend but not equal.
Because Tom always sees himself in Greg, a bubbling idiot who trapped in upper class family. Except Tom took too long to realize that the Roys are so full of themselves while Greg knows it from the get go that they ain't right from the beginning and Greg must heard a lot about them from Ewan and his mom. Greg is mostly blending in with them immediately and following their lifestyle to survive while Tom is mostly struggling because he's confused with them. But, Tom reminds Greg on his own way to be himself and stop pretending to be someone else. Despite a lot of hiccups and conflicts, they both need each other.
Gerri has been in the company for years, she knows who's capable and who's not. Years later, she's gonna open up about Roman's sexual abuse to her. Also, she feels relieved that Roman isn't in the company anymore and she will mentor Tom to be better CEO.
I think that Tom told her to come into the office as she may be needed. In addition, she, like Karolina and himself, was not on Matsson's/Shiv's "Kill List." He knows that Roman fired her, but that is in the past. Also, I think that Gerri would be Tom's backup in the organization.
@@annkey4091 Yeah, the Kill List becomes the foreshadowing for the finale. Except The Siblings and Greg, Tom, Karolina and Gerri are not part of the Kill Lists while the others are. Also, Tom is still thankful to Gerri who took care of the DOJ and cruise scandal back in Season 3 so Tom isn't going to jail. I don't even know why Logan wanted to fire her on Episode 3 but then again, Logan fired Frank in Season One twice only to rehire him again. Probably if Logan was still alive, Gerri is gonna get rehired anyway.
YES! I’ve just finished my second viewing of the show and that shot required multiple viewings. It really shows this duality of business as usual, but it’ll never be the same as it was.
Greg is now owned by Tom, but simultaneously Tom has no allies. Nobody he can trust. Only someone he owns lock, stock, and barrel. For him to fire Greg would've left him on an island. Now Greg is his fixer.
Tom doesn’t need allies, the game is over. He’s secure under the president of the United States and Mattson, who needs him as a puppet. Tom is okay with that, he’s more than willing to be the puppet considering his only goal was to secure the top job and to make as much money as possible.
Tom is basically Greg... but competent. Knows how to rise the ranks, interact with every side, make moves that are only to his advantage. No wonder they have a master / pupil dynamic that works so well.
Um Tom messed up big time at the congressional hearings, so it didn’t really make sense to make him CEO. They are the face of the company and need to be able to uphold the company’s best image and handle high pressure situations
@@theboujeelife9837 No they dont because Mattson is the face. The company is run by Mattson and he has an alliance with the president of the united states. Tom is just a cardboard cutout figure for Mattson to speak through.
Gotta give it to Greg, might not have any integrity but he’s got balls. The audacity to face Tom and pretend as if it wasn’t his fault Mattson almost lost the vote, and be like “so umm what about me? Hehe 🥺👉🏽👈🏽” I could never
Greg didn't even apologize or say sorry to Tom. He's just like having his "Fuck me!" Face like always. Also, Greg's plot armor is too strong even since Season One he went broke as hell to not having his inheritance from his grandpa somehow he's still staying in the company with 200K salary per month and becomes the CEO's assistant now. Also, Greg who is ironically a half Roy somehow stays longer in the company more than every Roy Siblings.
Its not plot armor. Greg is not malicious like the Roy's, which makes him endearing in the eyes of Tom, who has seen what they truly are, he also has a keen sense of self preservation. He doesn't want to be King, he just wants to sit at the King's table.
Tom is the best friggin' character. He played it better than everyone and he had a huge heart when it came to things that mattered. He took Greg under his wing. He took Greg out partying. He offered to take Greg's crimes and be the "Christmas Tree" that he could hang them on which meant more prison time for him. He saved Greg's job and career. He put up with so much nonsense from Shiv. in the end, he was in command. I love it.
and he cultivated Gregs Corporate Machiavellian behaviour and when he bit his hand he even forgave Greg when there was no material reason to do so. Tom did relate to Greg and considered him a friend but not an equal. They were the best duo of the show.
Tom was always gonna hook up Greg the egg. That's his disgusting brother man. They shared the cess pool of the bottom tier for so long it would be crazy to forget all that.
There's nothing for Tom to forgive Greg for. Greg didn't betray Tom. Greg had no idea Tom was going to be CEO. As far as he knew, he was helping Tom's wife.
There’s just so many subtle layers to this show. It truly is an incredible production. The amazing part is that a lot of the characters’ subtle traits are not even explicitly written into the script; the actors just developed them after feeling out their role’s nature. It’s wow
There is so much physical acting that Matthew does with him. Notice how he touches things more than others, he has anxiety, and he needs to touch things. Does change his walk, it’s a magnificent performance.
Usually, he's always walking stiff and also with his head down because he's always being pressured by everyone. But in this case, he's confident with no pressures as he's on top without his annoying wife and brothers-in-law on his way anymore. It's also ironic how the siblings want to take down Logan, Tom and Mattson but they all end up shooting themselves in their foot.
@@santividal9387 I can’t recall if I saw it in a video or a comment, but Tom definitely gained something from telling Shiv. He subverted her confidence and decisiveness on sticking with the siblings. Tom basically secured his position by telling Shiv.
@@OnlyAchievingHere Yeah, obviously at that moment Tom had to tell Shiv to save his position. I'm arguing that Greg didn't win anything from calling the brothers (I thought he called Shiv but now I remembered he called Ken).
If you were waiting for any kind of happy ending to Succession, that was it. Tom throwing Greg a lifeline was the closest thing to a meaningful happy ending.
Tom didn’t do anything anyone didn’t deserve. If you think about it, he always tried to be honest with his wife who was the whole reason he was even in the conversation. He was the most loyal the entire time, the way he conducted himself after emerging victorious said it all. True power is mercy. He forgave and chose NOT to humiliate Greg and his wife. The people he truly loved.
*Amazing how calm, cool and relaxed Tom was walking in after scurrying around the entire series. He dug into the dirt like a grub and in the end…he outlasted everybody.*
Yup. Lying to each other, betraying each other, scapegoating each other, Tom forcing Greg to do federal crimes and telling his wife that Greg was expendable or can be bullied, Greg making secret copies and recordings of the crimes, beating each other up, Tom sexually harassing Greg, Tom training Greg how to blackmail people, Tom forcing Greg to abuse his coworkers, Tom's endless shaming of Greg, insults. And that hug you referred to? That's when Tom projected his failures in front of congress onto Greg and literally asked him to sell his soul fior money. Yeah, just an absolutely genuine and supportive relationship.
Connor and Willa also genuine too. They never cheat with each other, they never hurt each other, they both are supporting their crappy jobs and talent (Willa being a bad writer with bad reviews and Connor being an airhead who wants to be the next President) Eventhough Willa stays for Connor's money and wealth, at least she's honest to him unlike Shiv who keeps gaslighting and lying to Tom every time.
Remember how excited Tom was when Greg blackmailed him? His boy went for the home run, and I think they're only stronger for it. Plus i think he still needs proper allies and someone he can trust. As CEO he can really keep the egg happy.
No because it’s the way Tom genuinely looked at Greg while saying he fucked up and is a piece of shit. I literally cry every time they have a moment. These characters are so beautifully written and Matthew and Nick made them come to life.
"But I got you... i got just enough capital. I got you." That's what greg the rat deserves for getting into the game and trying to play all sides as stupidly like he did.
Rewatch Season One intro again, I notice that Prime Logan kinda resemble Tom a bit. It's also interesting how we never see Logan's face anymore since Season 2 to Season 4 showing how much neglect he is with his kids. Also, in Season 4 intro, you noticed that the intro is distorted with footage of the kids foreshadowing that none of his kids won't get the position and with a random blonde kid who's playing with toy car, it could be kid Mattson as Mattson has a blonde hair while The Roys don't.
I know this is a months old comment to a year old video, but the way I saw this ending was that Tom finally got some pieces on the board. I think people really misunderstood the ending. Sure, Tom's not the king and he's in quite the precarious situation - but he's still got *something* from the nothing he had, however meager it is by slashing throats and crawling throught s*** - just like Logan did. He's got a position (CEO), thus power, status (as proven by Hugo trying to suck up to him) and financial ressources, and even his own pawns (Greg, Shiv... whereas before, he was merely a lone pawn!). From there, he'll be able to climb up... or at least, to attempt to do so. Matsson, afterall, has shown himself to be full of vulnerabilities, he's basically a walking powder keg fulled to the brim waiting to explode (crimes, his deviant behavior that's barely hidden, etc.). The "succession" wasn't a literal one as we all expected it to be (the legal process that happen when someone passes away), but a metaphorical one (paralled with the literal, legal meaning of the world - see, the sticker that Tom put on Greg; he gets morsels from Logan's empire, alongside his general "beingness"). The ending is bittersweet - but not that bitter either.
Does any line from this show stand out more then that little “I got you. At the end? There’s an earnestness to the line that you simply don’t find anywhere else in the series.
My man went from throwing up in a mascot outfit and only had 20 bucks on his pocket and then get a higher position in company but still becoming Tom's bitch. Remember that Greg is still related to the Roys so he's the only Roy who is still in the company.
He's toast. Bosses who hate him, cousins who hate him, dead end job, no inheritance, grandfather who doesn't respect him. His only hope is to replace Ratfckr Sam. As soon as Lucas no longer needs Tom, he and Greg are out. Tom will get a fat severance. Greg will get unemployment benefits.
You can actually see that the old guards (Frank, Karl, Gerri) are deep down feeling delightful and relief because none of Logan's kids get the position. Even Frank and Karl know that they're gonna get fired by Tom and they're ready. Also, all of his kids are always disrespecting them. Roman is mostly disrespecting Frank despite Frank is his mentor to be COO, Shiv is mostly disrespecting Gerri despite Gerri is her Godmother and pretty much the siblings are using Karl as their punching bag. Although Kendall is always respecting Frank, he's also like Logan, tip toeing Frank if they're in bad mood. Roman also keeps flirting with Gerri even though Gerri told him to leave her alone many times. The old guards also don't do much on this season to mentor them because they are too stubborn, rude and also disrespectful. Logan is expecting his kids would be the next Old Guards as they could resemble them but he realized he can't pick them as his successor.
Great show, great finale. Logan built his empire from mud, his sons were not worthy. The company is acquired by a young billionaire and managed by a pretty face who after working hard, hiding dark secrets from the comoany, being humiliated by his wife by being betrayed by her on several occasions, mocked by brothers-in-law And work colleagues... Tom is Logan's worthy heir. Logan loved his children, he wanted to leave them an economic legacy so that they could be themselves. I thought he was a useless and unnecessary character in the series, but Connor Roy turned out to be the only one who knew how to enjoy being the son of a billionaire. Connor lives a good life without the constant stress that the other 3 lived in. The man ran to be president, he has his ranch, he travels, he got married... That final scene where he is having dinner with Logan, there is only Connor, and everyone is enjoying themselves, except for the 3 children who wanted to inherit that kingdom. Connor didn't need to talk to his father's body on the phone to say goodbye.
I really love Tom and Greg's dynamic as a mentor/apprentice. They both started low and get to where they come from. I speculate that as time goes by Tom stepping down, new candidates gunning for succession, another major shareholder will take Mattson's place, soon enough Greg would be Tom's choice as CEO
Tom was the only one who understood what Logan wanted to teach his children, he remained cold, intelligent, loyal, towards what he had to do, he was a true killer. Once again, the series shows us that if you stay on the straight and narrow, with a few dirty words about people and yourself, and respect the chain of command, you can rise. Tom understood the game and ended up winning.
If Greg hadn't tell Shiv about Mattson cutting her out, Shiv would never have known in advance that Tom could be the new CEO and that had a lot to do with her final decision I wonder if Tom told Shiv about it, knowing that he would have a better chance of achieving it by doing so, even after their estrangement That would have been an evil- Machiavellian move, worthy of someone who deserved that appointment But I think they made it look like a "coin in the air" for Tom because, even in those instances, luck plays a major role in people's lives More than we like to admit!!
I think when Tom asked Shiv, in a roundabout way, that if the roles were reversed, wouldn't she expect his vote/support for the position, he made the Machiavellian move. You are right about luck. But as Tom told Shiv, he knows her. I do believe that she was texting him on the way to the meeting. The only board vote that was truly up in the air was her own. The siblings were not going to change anyone else's vote.
Honestly, this was one of the rare “feel-good” moments of the finale. Even though they were both calculating POS’s, I was weirdly glad to see them repair the rift between them.
For one thing I like how Tom isn’t being like overly vindictive to anyone. I forget that first guy but the one who was guna be on Ken’s side he just dismissed him vs cutting him apart publicly. While Frank and Carl are literally talking about how they should have killed him and Tom knows this so he’s like yeah they can go but Carolina Greg Gerri all get to stay. While also with Greg he obviously fucks with him but he’s got him and I find that pretty wholesome lmao. I know for a fact if any of the actual Roy siblings got it they would have eviscerated and embarrassed everyone.
I think that you are speaking of Hugo, the first person Tom encountered when he came upstairs. After Logan's funeral, Hugo agreed to be Kendall's (attack)dog. My impression is that Frank just wants out; Karl is pretty arrogant and was insulting to Tom, when he told Frank and Gerri that he would like his hat into the ring as CEO. Why Karl thought he would be considered for another rodeo ride in the arena, who knows?
I would not have kept Greg either. To me, he was always a walking transmitter of anything he got his hands on for his own survival. Not to be trusted at all with anything.
@@JorenWinge You didn't understand the scene or Greg's arc. Tom uses him as a whpping post and has done so from the first episode. Just days before Tom tried to kick Greg's ass for doing what he trained him to do, use information against someone (Tom) and help himself. Tom does not and has never given a shtt about Greg. He'll keep him around to fcck with his head because Shiv and Lukas are going to fcck with his. He's dragging Greg into his hell so he won't have to be alone and he can probably send Greg into a deeper one. That's not forgiveness, that's condemnation.
@JorenWinge You didn't understand the scene or Greg's arc. Tom uses him as a whpping post and has done so from the first episode. Just days before Tom tried to kick Greg's ass for doing what he trained him to do, use information against someone (Tom) and help himself. Tom does not and has never given a shtt about Greg. He'll keep him around to fcck with his head because Shiv and Lukas are going to fcck with his. He's dragging Greg into his hell so he won't have to be alone and he can probably send Greg into a deeper one. That's not forgiveness, that's condemnation. Greg will never advance in the company because he passed off Shiv and Lukas. He's done except for being Tom's creature.
Shiv has zero power over Tom now. Shes the wife of the ceo. Thats it. If Greg hadn’t accidentally spilled the beans to shiva and kendall about mattson picking someone else tom might not be ceo as shiv probably wouldn’t have voted against kendall in the end. Of course tom can’t let Greg know that, hed rather him be in his debt, plus they are both outsiders and probably the only real friendship on the show. Plus by betraying Tom, greg had shown his progression as a player, hes a baby killer and Tom respects that. If you don’t understand that you don’t get the show at all. And yes Tom will abuse Greg, but Greg will be the highest paid assistant in all of ny.
