Editor's note: The below contains major spoilers for the Succession series finale.The “succession” that Succession is really about goes far beyond the question of who will become the CEO of Waystar Royco; that much is clear to everyone. While the business and who would take over from Logan Roy (Brian Cox) is what seemed to be the series’ central question, the other things that Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Siobhan Roy (Sarah Snook) inherited from their father were actually far more important. And, while none of Logan’s children ultimately inherit his business, they do inherit many things from him that are far less desirable. Shiv serves as the ultimate nail in the coffin for the Roy family failing to continue their legacy with Waystar Royco, and while we can’t be sure exactly why she did it, there are plenty of reasons to believe that she did so for the sake of her unborn child just an episode after she swore she never would. Did Shiv ultimately go against her claims that motherhood would always come second to her career? Like everything in Succession, the answer is a bit more complicated.
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Why Did Shiv Turn on Kendall?
There are many reasons why Shiv may have chosen to betray Kendall in the end, and the most likely reason is actually an unclear, messy combination of all of them. It seemed as though Shiv, herself, wasn’t even sure why she was choosing to turn against her brother; she just felt in her gut that she couldn’t go through with her promised “no” vote. Regardless of the factors that went into her reasoning, where it landed her was likely exactly where she predicted it would: holding hands with her CEO husband in the back of a car on their way home. Did she make her decision because Tom being positioned as CEO actually places her closer to the throne than it would with Kendall? Maybe. But, in a much simpler way, she also gets many of the benefits of being CEO because she’s married to him, and consequently, these benefits extend to her child. Shiv grew up the child of a rich and powerful CEO, and so will hers.
"Maybe Not a Good Person to Have Children”
Shiv always seemed to have more animosity toward her mother than she did her father – or at least, her animosity toward her father was more often couched in more obvious love and respect than it was with her mother. It seems safe to say that everyone in their family would agree that Caroline (Harriet Walter) isn’t a good mother to her children, and if she had been, at least they would have been somewhat shielded from their fates and the prison of following in Logan's footsteps and being loved the ways he taught them.
Throughout the series, the looming question of whether Shiv would be a mother (which is placed on most women from a young age until they give birth) was brought up sporadically. Both her mother and her husband – who happen to be two of the most difficult people to hear this from – tell her that she isn't likely to be a good mother. Tom (Matthew McFadyen) even tells Shiv, “I think that you are incapable of love, and I think that you are maybe not a good person to have children” without knowing that she is pregnant with his child.
Regardless of whether or not she agrees with this sentiment – though it seemed that deep down she probably does – Shiv has always had a complex relationship with motherhood, making it clear that she doesn't want to be a mother, while always being a bit hesitant about making any kind of permanent choice in that direction. Either way, fighting for the CEO throne was always her primary goal. When she ultimately gets pregnant, she keeps it a secret as long as she can and then insists that it isn't the most important thing to her. She is upfront with Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård), Tom, her mom, and anyone else she shares the news of her pregnancy with that her impending motherhood won't get in the way of her career goals. In fact, she makes a point of drinking openly while pregnant and insists that she'll ignore her child at the price of prioritizing her role as CEO.
After everything Succession viewers have seen Shiv say and do over the course of the series, it’s difficult to imagine that her proposition to Tom earlier on in the final episode that they might mend their relationship was solely because she loved him. Yet, there were many moments this season that made it clear that Shiv did have some love for her husband despite their relationship's toxicity and dishonest nature. While she may not have known how things would shake out, telling Tom that she wants to be with him was, ironically, one of the few actual business moves she made that really worked in her favor in the end.
The Future That Shiv Solidified for Herself Was Always Inevitable
Shiv made it abundantly clear throughout the series that she does not want to end up like her mother. Yet, she does have a very vested interest in ending up like her father. This ending proves, however, that this was never going to happen. Shiv was always going to end up becoming just like her mother, absent and resentful of her children and married to a ruthless, uncaring, powerful CEO. For Shiv, this ending was inevitable, no matter which moves she made all along. Despite fighting tooth and nail and trying her best to outsmart all the men in her way, the world she was born into was never equipped to let Shiv earn the crown. Instead, it was always going to end up with her chained to a business partner who would betray her in the end because she had too many opinions, and he wanted to sleep with her too much.
Whether Shiv’s unborn child was on her mind when she walked out of the boardroom at the last second or not, she further solidified the place that she was already finding herself in. Ensuring that Tom would be the CEO meant that she would be closer to the power than she would with Kendall, but it also meant that she would need to stay married to him to maintain that. Shiv was never going to grab ahold of the power that she was so desperately in pursuit of, so she clung to it the only way that she could: by ensuring that she was married to it. Shiv went from being the least powerful member of a family unit that had control over a powerful media conglomerate to being the same in her own little family unit. Her place in the world, and in the company are always going to be virtually the same. And, in all the myriad statements that Succession made about human nature and capitalism and family and trauma, the series statement about the all-too-common fate of women in pursuit of power was all wrapped up in Shiv holding hands with Tom in the car at the series' end.
Now that the series is over, we can all imagine that the main story of Succession will continue on with Shiv only, and knowing her, maybe she’ll continue to fight and attempt to grasp some power any way she can. Seeing as she’ll need to walk a very fine line to keep close to Tom, though, it’s likely that she’ll continue being silenced and pushed to the wayside and forced into the role of wife and mother. Will her child have a better fate at taking over their father’s business than she did? Maybe – if it’s a boy.
