Tom Wambsgans

**Thomas "Tom" Wambsgans** is the secondary antagonist of *Succession* and the husband of Shiv Roy. He is portrayed by Matthew Macfadyen.

## Personality

Tom, like many people, is both terrified of Logan Roy and deeply desires his respect and approval. Despite being subservient to the Roy family's every need, he's typically dismissed by their inner circle. He is crude and careless to people of lower status than himself, especially enjoying tormenting Greg. Although often humiliating himself, he proves to be patient and calculative, ultimately showing a very methodical nature in his rise to power. He is married to Shiv Roy, however their marriage is undermined by Shiv's infidelity and manipulation, as well as Tom's desire to be on Logan's "good side."

## History

### Early life

Tom is originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota. He describes his mother as a highly respected lawyer and a "hard ass." He attended South Windsor High School and Cornell University. He graduated from the Wharton School with a Master of Business Administration. Tom claims to have been an "outsider with no money" at some point in his life, likely in his mid-20s.

### Season 1

Tom and Shiv are out birthday shopping for Logan. Tom wants to get him the perfect gift, though Shiv warns him that he won't care, as he "doesn't like anything."

Later, after Logan's birthday party, the family is playing softball. Roman offers a caretaker's son $1 million if he can hit a home run. The kid hits the ball, but is tagged out by Tom before he can reach a home run. Roman then rips up the $1 million check in front of the boy. Before they leave, Colin discreetly has the boy's family sign an NDA and gifts them the expensive watch from Tom.

Tom is with Shiv at the hospital, following her father's stroke. Tom then decides to unofficially propose, and Shiv, although aware of the bad timing, agrees. Greg then returns to the hospital and speaks with Tom, who assures Greg that he will help him.

Logan has returned home from the hospital. Shiv decides to visit him, Tom accompanying her. However, the two are pushed away by Marcia. Greg arrives at Waystar to check in, but of course the lobby receptionist cannot find anything of his employment in their system. Tom explains the situation, and later takes Greg to his first meeting. Shiv decides to make another attempt at seeing Logan, alongside Tom and Connor. Shiv pushes past her step-mother and heads upstairs. Shiv reveals to Logan that she and Tom are engaged and plan to live in New York permanently.

Tom and Shiv are having breakfast when Roman calls Shiv with news. Pictures have surfaced of the husband of Shiv's political candidate's anus online, and ATN is already prepared to broadcast the news.

Tom and Greg attend the retirement party of Bill Lockhart, as Tom is expected to take his job. Bill seems very suspicious to Tom, implying that he must not leave anything behind with his fingerprints on it. Before final disclosure, Bill gives Tom a choice: Full briefing, making Tom an accessory, or no information and plausible deniability. Tom learns from the documents of a series of crime cover-up, involving theft, sexual assault, and murder.

While at his 50th anniversary celebration, Logan welcomes Tom into the family during a speech.

Previously, Greg had informed Gerri of Tom's decision to go public with the scandals he discovered. This angered Tom, but Gerri reassures Greg that it was a wise decision and thanks him for telling her.

Tom and Shiv have coffee together, and Tom notices some papers on the table. Shiv tells him that it's a prenuptial agreement, and that it's not necessary that he read it, just sign. Tom refuses to look at it, and Shiv is unamused. After a bit of bickering, Tom agrees to have his lawyer review it.

Tom then meets with someone to discuss destroying the court documents in his possession. He suggests having them shredded on Thanksgiving day, with the help of a trusted individual. Tom calls Greg, who's in the car with Ewan heading to NYC, and tells him that he has a little job for him once he gets back. Ewan arrives at his brother's apartment with Greg, who Tom asks to head back to the office for paper shredding. Greg has arrived at Waystar and is reconsidering the legality of this task. He then calls Tom, who hangs up on him.

Marcia then calls everyone into the dining room for pie, and Tom suggests they each share what they're thankful for.

Tom thanks Greg for helping out with the court documents by taking him out to a fancy dinner. Greg must first go to dinner with his grandfather, Ewan, while he's in town. Ewan informs Greg that he is there to attend the vote against his brother Logan, and suggests that Greg stay out of it. At his dinner with Tom, he mentions the vote and Tom is surprised, having not been told about it beforehand. Tom then calls Kendall to inform him of what's going on.

While at a family trip to Austerlitz, Logan insults Tom and confronts Shiv about meeting with his rival, causing her to leave in tears.

Everyone is preparing for Tom's bachelor party in Prague. Logan calls Greg into his office, and Greg brings up his wish to work in a less hostile environment. Logan immediately realizes he's referring to Tom as hostile and is surprised, as he didn't think Tom was capable of such.

Roman had previously been recruited as Tom's party planner. He decides to scrap the previous bachelor party in Prague, after Stewy invites them to a private party held in an abandoned New York railway. Kendall shows up late and on drugs. Two of Tom's friends have arrived, but Roman informs them that they aren't allowed in. Tom promises his friends that they'll come back for them once inside.

Tom is excited to do "whatever he wants" at the party, after being given the green light by Shiv. Greg later asks what this means, and if Shiv is allowed to do whatever she wants as well. Tom becomes uncomfortable at the thought, and begins to have second thoughts. He calls Shiv and she tells him not to worry about it, as that she is busy working with Gil. She leaves out that her ex-boyfriend, Nate Sofrelli, is there as well. While Shiv is with them, Nate persistently flirts with her, and eventually the two are in bed together. Shiv, however, doesn't seem to think of this as cheating, considering she and Tom both have the green light and he is likely doing the same.

Towards the end of the night, Tom informs Greg that he received a blow job from a woman named Tabitha, after Roman convinces him. He boasts that, when kissing him, Tabitha put his own cum back inside his mouth for him to swallow. Everyone quickly hears of the encounter and begins to make fun of Tom while they wait for their car.

Roman is revealed to be dating Tabitha Hayes, the same Tabitha that Tom had a sexual encounter with at this bachelor party.

Shiv later talks with Tabitha, but quickly leaves when she sees that Tom and Nate, with whom she's been having an affair, are talking. Nate has introduced himself to Tom, and informs him that he and Shiv used to date. Tom has pulled Shiv away to talk when she says that Nate is just an old friend and former business partner of Kendall's. Shiv then quickly changes the conversation to Tom's cover up of the cruise files. She asks for more details, to which Tom reluctantly agrees.

Later, Shiv meets with Gerri to reveal some information she has on Tom. She says she has no problem with the current discourse about Gil, but once they reach the final round of the election, all negative press must stop. In addition, she is also angling to have Tom either promoted or moved away from his current position at Waystar, to ensure that he isn't hurt by the cover-up of cruise-line allegations.

Greg confesses to Kendall that Tom had him destroy evidence regarding the cruise line mishaps, but he kept copies of all the major important documents. In return for them, Greg only asks for a better position at work. Kendall agrees.

Tom and Shiv sneak away from their wedding reception to be alone in their suite. Shiv confesses her affair with Nate Sofrelli to Tom. She also suggests that she may be better fit for a non-monogamous relationship, and although Tom is reluctant, complies. Tom asks if he can kick Nate out and Shiv agrees. Tom leaves to do so immediately, as well as threatens him to stay away from Shiv and even demands he pour his wine back into the bottle before leaving. Nate, intimidated and a little drunk, obeys Tom.

### Season 2

Tom and Shiv decide to cut their honeymoon short and visit her family in the Hamptons.

Shiv is brought in to speak with her father, who informs her that he wants her to run the company. She agrees, and they both decide to keep things quiet for now until more details can be sorted out. Once she goes outside, she tells Tom that her father has agreed to move him to Chair of Global Broadcast News at ATN, but says nothing of her new position.

Shiv brings up her proposition to have an open marriage to Tom, excited. Tom doesn't say much, simply complying with his wife's wishes.

Greg admits to Tom that ATN is not where he wished to work, and that he does not agree with their values. Tom then meets with the owner of ATN, where he has just been promoted, Cyd Peach. She dismisses Tom as just another bureaucrat, but he is determined to make an impression on her. Tom instructs Greg to sniff out any inefficiencies within the company. By the end of the day, Greg informs him that they should consider digitizing ATN's media library, as the traditional method is too time-consuming. Tom enthusiastically calculates the number of “skulls” that could be cut from the company as a result of digitizing.

Tom and Shiv agree to a double date with Roman and Tabitha. In their apartment, Shiv informs Tom that Logan has offered her the company. Tom was under the impression that he could be Logan's successor, so this disappoints him a bit. Shiv adds that she's unsure she even wants the position. Tom must attempt to remain supportive.

Shiv and Tom meet with Roman and Tabitha at Roman's place for a double date. While their partners are in the other room, Tabitha slyly reminds Tom of their first interaction during his stag party. Shiv and Roman begin mocking Tom’s taste in clothes and mannerisms. Tom grows irritated and aggressively shuts down Shiv’s teasing, causing tension at the table. Later, Shiv asks Tom for advice on choosing between Eavis or Logan, both of which have offered her significant opportunities. Tom warns her that Logan's offer could be a ploy and that he may turn on her.

Shiv asks Tom about her father's deal with PGM. She knows of the deal since had been on the phone with Gerri during the entirety of her father's boardroom meeting earlier, without Tom and Logan's knowledge. Shiv asks Tom to speak with her father about the deal while they are in Hungary, insisting that it's a bad idea.

Greg informs Tom that he did in fact speak with Michelle Pantsil and begs Tom to keep this secret. Tom demands that he tell no one else, and hopes the mess will blows over but to remain wary of Sam. Meanwhile, Kendall and Roman also discuss the book agreement. Kendall confides that he got a call from Pantsil as well, and considered talking. Roman then suspiciously takes a private call, leaving the others confused.

Before dinner, Gerri and Karl try to pressure Tom into changing Logan's mind about PGM.

Not long into dinner, Logan confronts his staff members, demanding to know who had been in contact with the Pierce family, as well as with Pantsil. He first insults Frank, then asks Karl if his wife knows of all his visits to the whorehouse. Logan proposes that they a play a game called "boar on the floor", and has Karl, followed by Tom and Greg, stand in the front of the room. They're then instructed to get on their hands and knees and fight over sausage, the loser being considered the mole. While doing so, Logan berates and shouts at them, and has everyone else join in.

The next morning at breakfast, everyone is seemingly still shaken up. Cyd takes the opportunity to take a jab at Tom.

Tom rides with Shiv to her first day on the job at Waystar. They discuss the controversial ATN employee, Mark Ravenhead. Tom says he's a young, well-liked and talented guy, but Shiv worries he may be a fascist since coming under fire for old video footage. However, they are met by protesters, demanding Ravenhead stay at the news network.

To ensure that they don't have a Nazi supporter on their hands, Tom is tasked with interviewing Mark on the matter. During the meeting, Mark confirms that he did name his dog Blondie after Hitler’s, but that it's spelled differently. Tom, still trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, asks for more clarification on his opinions of World War II. Mark says that he sympathizes with the Germans, Russians, and Polish and has rather specific counts of how many "tragically" died. They are interrupted by a gunshot, and everyone scatters in different directions. Greg and Tom immediately meet up and stick together. They are directed towards a panic room by security.

Upon hearing gunshot sounds, Logan is immediately whisked away to a very private and secure safe room and asks where Kendall is. Shiv and Tom are on the phone together when she informs Tom she's entering the safe room now but does not see Tom. Soon Rhea is ushered into the safe room with Logan and Shiv.

Tom and, especially, Greg panic upon discovering that they are in the wrong safe room. Tom insists they go to the better safe room, but security declines, insisting that it's dangerous. A bit later, as things appear to have calmed down, Greg admits to Tom that he wants to have, what he calls, “a business open relationship” and no longer wants to work in ATN. This upsets Tom, so much so that he begins throwing water bottles at Greg. Eventually, however, Tom agrees to let him go.

The Roy children all return from England after doing some business. Tom is eager to find out what Shiv has been up to, but she is preoccupied. Later at dinner, the topic of Tom's work at ATN comes up, and everyone begins to insult him. After accidentally angering her father, Shiv is panicking in front of Tom, as she is well aware that she angered her father. She's looking for any drugs or alcohol, but there are none to consume. Tom tries to keep her calm, but she mostly ignores him.

Greg runs through the rain to find Tom, who'd been enjoying a tour guide through the waterfalls. Greg informs him that the quote they wanted to use to address public-outcry over the cruise of “we're listening” was no longer a valid option, as it says in the contacts that Waystar Royco actually *was* listening. They debate on changing it to “we hear you” but think it may be equally as shady, legally.

Shiv arrives that night and finds Tom flirting with others. She gives him more information about the cruise-line incident and Tom is worried they are going to scapegoat him. He says the trail started with Moe, Bill helped cover things up, and Tom was in charge for the last couple of months, even having Greg shred documents. Shiv reassures him that he will be fine.

During his speech at the panel, he announces the new slogan to be "We Hear For You." Greg is in the audience and claps for his friend.

The next day at work, Tom prepares to be interviewed about the cruise-line incidents. He's then surprised to receive hard-hitting questions, as he was led to believe that this was all just a formality. He then leaves to speak with Shiv, who reassures him that her father would not throw Tom under the bus. Shiv decides to go to London to confront her father. Meanwhile, Tom confronts Greg Hirsch about the papers he saved for himself, now demanding they also be destroyed.

Tom finds Greg at his apartment and demands the papers, threatening him with violence. Greg confirms that the papers are still at Waystar Royco, and Tom informs him he will be staying the night and they will arrive at work together. The next day, Greg finally gives him the papers and Tom suggests they destroy them together. Later, Greg records himself in the bathroom, making sure his phone can pick up the conversation around him. While Tom is gone to retrieve matches, Gregory grabs a couple of papers and stuff them in his back pocket. Tom returns and lights the rest of them on fire.

The family is gathered for a small meeting over drinks when Shiv tries to convince Tom to go flirt with Rhea. In that moment she is speaking with Roman, claiming she always thought he was the most intelligent and shows a lot of potential, before Tom interrupts them with his awkward flirting.

Tom is the first one to be called to the stand and is understandably quite nervous, while Logan, Ken, and Shiv watch from the boardroom. He is confronted by an aggressive Gil, who persistently questions him about Lester’s nickname "Moe". When asked about missing documents and Greg Hirsch, Tom panics and claims he does not know who Greg is. This leaves the boardroom, as well as Greg who will later testify, in a state of distress.

Following the testimony, the Roys decide to vacation on their yacht. Tom arrives with Shiv, who then suggests that the two of them to have a threesome with a female yacht employee, though Tom is clearly uncomfortable with the idea. Tom sees that Gerri and Frank have followed them on board, and starts to think that this may be more than a "family holiday."

At breakfast the next morning, Logan is taking suggestions for who should be sacrificed following the cruise-line scandals. Roman suggests Tom, saying that he is the logical choice due to his previous involvement with the cruise-line. Several others, including Shiv, agree that Tom is the most viable option, although Kendall adds that he might not be "big enough".

While relaxing on a beach, Tom confesses to Shiv that he is unhappy in their marriage. He confesses that he's not sure it was ever a good idea, but wishes to salvage it. Shiv, taken aback but feeling guilty, wishes to salvage it as well. Back at the yacht, Tom eats some of Logan's food in front of him, just to spite him. Shiv then goes to speak with her father. She does not initially reveal her intentions of speaking to him, but soon begins begging him not to get rid of Tom. Shiv is then asked to choose between her husband and her brother Kendall, and although pained by it, motions for Kendall to speak with their father.

## Relationships

### Shiv Roy

*Main article: Tom and Shiv*

Shiv and Tom began dating and fell in love, initially meeting in France, sometime before the events of the series begin. While her father is in the hospital, he proposes to her, to which she reluctantly says yes. On the night of their wedding, Shiv reveals that she would like to open up their marriage, having recently been unfaithful to him. Tom, although uncomfortable with the idea and oblivious of her infidelity, complies with her wishes. Shiv, although feeing frustrated with the concept of love, insists that she does love Tom. Soon thereafter, their marriage is challenged by her infidelity and Tom admits to being unhappy. Shiv, ultimately afraid of losing him, desperately attempts to fix their marriage. Tom, however, begins to resent her and acts on his feelings by manipulating and double-crossing her, their marriage eventually falling completely apart. Tom attempts to reconcile her, but Shiv cannot shake off his betrayal. Throughout their marriage, Tom deeply wishes to be a father, though Shiv has no plans of bearing children. In the final season, Shiv is revealed to be pregnant and Tom is appointed CEO; thus, the two decide to repair their marriage or at least tolerate one another.

## References

1. ↑ See this image
2. ↑ Celebration
3. ↑ Sh\*t Show at the F\*\*k Factory
4. ↑ Lifeboats
5. ↑ Sad Sack Wasp Trap
6. ↑ I Went to Market
7. ↑ Which Side Are You On?
8. ↑ Austerlitz
9. ↑ Prague
10. ↑ Pre-Nuptial
11. ↑ Nobody Is Ever Missing
12. ↑ The Summer Palace
13. ↑ Vaulter (episode)
14. ↑ Hunting
15. ↑ Safe Room
16. ↑ Tern Haven
17. ↑ Argestes
18. ↑ Return
19. ↑ Dundee
20. ↑ DC
21. ↑ This Is Not for Tears