Photo: Macall B. Polyy/HBO
“Wambsgans Watch” is our weekly assessment of the state of Tom Wambsgan’s relationships in each of the remaining episodes of Succession. Spoilers follow for the first episode of the fourth season “The Munsters”.
The last time we saw Tom Wambsgans, he was taking care of Shiv after her father effectively destroyed any hold that she, Roman, and Kendall could retain in the Roy family empire. In the final shot of this episode, Tom puts his hands on Shiv’s collarbone, which can be interpreted in two ways: either he’s comforting his wife, or his grip slides ever closer to Shiv’s neck.
As Succession season four begins, Tom – played with even more confident salaciousness this season by the wonderful Matthew Macfadyen – is still walking some very delicate lines in his life: with his (soon to be ex) wife; his (soon to be ex) father-in-law and current boss Logan; and his “disgusting brother” Greg. Using the fuck or get fucked spectrum of Tom’s various personal and business relationships, let’s assess exactly how things are going for him.
Who does Tom Wambsgans fuck with?
Somehow everyone. Tom has a real ability to say words that don’t really express what he means and it shows in this episode, starting with his call to Shiv. He calls her to tell her that he has been drinking with Naomi Pierce, Kendall’s former girlfriend and member of the family who owns a media company that Logan once wanted to acquire. But he also says the drink means nothing.
“It’s social. It’s not a sexual thing. So there’s nothing I need to tell you about,” he explains. Uhhh, so why are you calling, Tom? Because he’s doing for Shiv what he did for Logan at the end of season 3, when he let him know that three of his children were about to mug him: he lets his wife know that their father plans to try again, to acquire the media of the Pierces conglomerate. In an extremely odd way, this is Tom’s version of apologizing to Shiv. By the end of this episode, after Tom and Shiv basically agreed to divorce because Shiv would rather give up their marriage than process the pain they caused each other, it becomes clear that they never really got over Tom’s betrayal have spoken and never will. Tom gives her a makeup tip while screwing with Lord Fuck Off himself, Logan Roy.
Like everyone at Succession, Tom’s macro goal is to retain as much money, power and influence as possible. But his more immediate goal is to be just weasel enough to make sure no one shuts him out of the ATN/Waystar family, even if he’s technically not family anymore. So he pranks Logan by helping Shiv and pranks Shiv by continuing to be a close ally of Logan’s. At least he’s consistent in his hypocrisy.
Who fucks with Tom Wambsgans?
Logan isn’t fucking over Tom just yet, but it’s very clear that Logan will do it without a second thought if it serves his interests to kick Tom to the nearest curb.
“Whatever happens, we’ll always be good, right?” Tom asks Logan during his extremely tense and unfunny birthday party. Logan’s response: “When we’re good, we’re good.” Translation: “I’m not unconditionally loyal to you and if you piss me off, you’re toasted.”
“That’s encouraging,” says Tom. “That gives me courage.”
He is absolutely not encouraged and shouldn’t be. The subtext of Logan’s comment is that Tom should tread carefully. As for Logan, that means Tom can’t relax for even a millisecond.
How crappy are things between Tom Wambsgans and Cousin Greg?
The answer to this question is always: very much! But Tom is particularly keen to distance himself from Greg earlier this season. He winces every time Greg tries to suggest they are Solidarity Fraternity Brothers, aka the Disgusting Brothers. He’s also particularly mean about the wannabe influencer Greg brings to Logan’s party, telling him that everyone “laughs up his sleeve.”
Why is he such a jerk about all this? Because although on the surface he seems to have sort of gotten his professional shit together, Tom knows that inside he’s still Cousin Greg. When he and Shiv end their marriage, he becomes an official outsider to the Roy family, technically even more so than Greg. Tom’s judgment has only been slightly better than Greg’s in the past. In his heart, Tom knows he’s an absolutely gross brother, and he loathes that about himself, so he directs all those negative feelings onto unsuspecting sexual scavenger Greg.
Further proof that Tom and Greg are two sides of the same coin: Shortly after Tom called Shiv, Kendall reveals that someone on his team forwarded him an Instagram post saying “some girl” at Logan’s party – Greg’s date – shared in which a member of the Pierce family was tagged. If Tom hadn’t mentioned his drink with Naomi to Shiv, the Roy Family Rebel Alliance would have found out indirectly from Greg about the plan to get hold of PGM.
How screwed is Tom Wambsgans at the end of this episode?
Professionally, he seems fine. It’s tempting to say it’s tragic that his marriage to Shiv ended in a long, ambivalent sigh. (“We tried.”) But he doesn’t seem particularly heartbroken or concerned about the repercussions, perhaps because he’s convinced himself that Logan’s “if we’re good, we’re good” is genuinely encouraging.
Tell yourself everything you need to tell yourself to sleep well, Tom. Then get ready for another day of tap dancing on eggshells.
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