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Tomgreg - Blog Posts
Tom would be a they/he if he was born 30 years later, this is not up for debate
The effects of Tom & Shiv's relationship on the main plot
On a rewatch, I found it really crazy how much this dysfunctional relationship––which initially seemed to be nothing more than a b-plot about infidelity and a reversal of traditional marriage dynamics––has sneakily grown into the primary driver of events in the plot. And it started way before the S3 betrayal.
Many cite the beach scene from the S2 finale as one of the most emotionally cathartic scenes in the show. And I totally agree––its fire. BUT, I also think its larger story repercussions are often overlooked; especially how it basically caused the entire S3 civil war plot. Lets just run down the cause and effect:
1. When Tom finally stands up for himself, Shiv is sent into a bit of a guilt-spiral, confronted with just how awful she's been to him. She is reminded how much she NEEDS him, and that she has been taking his support for granted
2. The two main candidates for the sacrifice are Tom and Kendall. Logan says as much when he consults Shiv, and basically asks her to choose between them. If Tom hadn't shared his feelings with her MOMENTS before, she likely would have continued the objective/heartless mindset she showed towards him earlier in the episode. But, because her mistreatment of him is in the forefront of her mind, she decides to protect Tom. This could be read as a change of heart, but i think it's more accurate to say that she does it to make herself feel better; to mend her cognitive dissonance and affirm to herself that she IS a good person after all.
3. Her decision to protect Tom also serves as the final nail in the coffin for her succession aspirations. Logan says that this is the type of decision that she would need to be making if she were to replace him, and the way she frames it as "I cant choose" but also "please not Tom, for me" signifies a shift in the once-equal dynamic between her and Logan. He follows her wishes because he loves her/she's his favorite, and not because he respects her strategic opinions. I think this moment feeds into his complete lack of respect for her in S3.
4. Of course, Shiv's protection of Tom is what puts Kendall under the axe. I think it's clear that Kendall had no intention of going civil-war-mode before Logan deemed him as the sacrifice, and made the NRPI comment about the boy. Neither of these things would have happened without Tom dumping his emotions on Shiv
5. The beach confrontation is also what gives Tom more independence going into S3, tipping the relationship in his favor for a while until it's completely turned on its head in Italy.
I just think it's so cool that the seeds of an entire season's worth of story are sewn in one little scene of emotional confrontation. The Tom/Shiv dynamic has been just as impactful as the one between Logan and Kendall imo, and it's really exciting that the story has such unexpected engines of conflict––and that they all weave around each other in such beautiful ways.
Best show ever guys :,)
tomgreg isn't queerbaiting. it's like queerthreatening. it is the writers going "we could go further with this" and the overwhelming reaction from the audience is terror
"other onscreen wife nicholas braun" matthew macfadyen, tomgreg truther.
i think it's beautiful that stewy walked up to the portal and said "i'm weird i'm a weirdo" and kendall said "no you like breakfast food and you kiss guys on molly" and then the portal just closed itself out of respect for gay love.
i better not see anyone claiming queerbait on tomgreg btw them having a physical fight after greg accidentally betrays tom immediately followed by tom putting a sticker on greg’s forehead & being like “don’t worry i got you” is literally the gayest thing in television history
their fight sped up is like videos of ants brawling
They are canon
tom and shiv still not being able to move beyond their betrayals of each other vs tom immediately forgiving greg and still choosing to protect him and bring him along with him and even goes as far as to claim him as his. REALLY MAKES YOU THINK!
the way shiv literally became her mother, the person she has always resented most. she's trapped in a loveless marriage to maintain any power she can salvage, with a baby she doesn't want, to a man who would rather be with his assistant.
Oh there is something so deeply and horrendously ironic about the fact that Shiv couldn’t be CEO. She couldn’t inherit her father’s kingdom. Her husband had to. The only way she can have it is by being a wife and a mother. Because that’s the only way a woman can have any power in the world her father created.
they're literally cartoon characters. to me.
The tomgreg stocks have dropped so drastically this season, I can’t think of a single thing that could happen in the next four episodes that would make them recover. It just really feels like such a letdown after what season 3 built up with the Nero and Sporus stuff. I’m not even talking from just a shipping perspective - but their characters and their whole dynamic. What was the point of all of that? Just for Greg to be more or less a background character with very little on the line, and Tom just being normal about his assistant for once?
It just feels like they were building something up and then went “ah yeah, we forgot where we were going with this”.
You forgot Connor 😭🥲 but I need that fic immediately!!!
pedro pascal’s next role should be a reluctant father figure who adopts three entitled billionaire siblings
Still in shock
succession swifties…..how was your sunday?
tomgreggies can we please talk about the significance of tom calling greg after logan dies. that is beyond forehead kiss, beyond nero and sporus, beyond any of the fucked up shit they have done in the past. tom being the one to call the siblings, staying strong over the phone, telling them the excruciating details of their father's heart fucking stopping, watching his mentor literally die in front of his eyes, and holding it together. and then he calls greg, and we watch him say "i'm not okay," watch him shed tears for the first time all episode. he can't do it with shiv---he could never do it with shiv. and greg doesn't need to know the bullshit about tom's "logistics" folder, about cyd. it's not why tom called. tom called because he loves him in his own insane batshit crazy fucked up way but he loves him, he loves him and there's no denying it now and oh my god season 4 is going to destroy me
Love him. Stupid babygirl 🥰💖
jeremy strong saying “dramaturgically” song of the summer 2023
In the first moment I thought they just needed an excuse not to be at the wedding… I am still in shock. Like this actually happend?! And I mean we saw the damn plane on the poster. I would have never guessed that this was gonna be it. I was ready for a funny Connor wedding. Not this. The kids being in shock and in denial. The acting was fantastic. Awards for everyone!!!
+ this episode being released on freaking Easter Sunday ?! They definitely planned that
A lot of how they did it IS like wow that’s how death is, it’s sudden and banal and you don’t get to control it even if you are rich and powerful. But then the other part of that was so good is that they really made you feel the sudden absence of Logan. He was this huge presence who filled up the screen and then the moment he dies he’s gone. We don’t see him. It’s like this sudden vacuum. For a split second when tom first called I was like “wait is it a joke? Is Logan pranking them?” And it’s like SO GOOD that they were able to make us feel exactly like the siblings it’s so good
What truly shocks me most is Greg's 180 shift around Tom. Gone are my doubts that Greg's merely putting up with Tom, not attracted to him or that Greg's actually straight. Amazingly, the more straight Greg tries to act the less I believe it.
I honest to God thought it would be more subtle in their shifted dynamics, but it's been a few months since the last episode and apparently Tom and Greg are occasionally out getting drinks together. Greg is being mentioned by Shiv like he's the other woman. Things have shifted more dramatically than I envisioned since we last saw them. I knew it was coming, it was teased in interviews that the power dynamic may be be shifting. Greg is going to be the one this season pushing Tom in the direction he wants.
We saw glimpses of it at the end of last season with Greg telling Tom to "prove it" when Tom said he fucks like a bullet train; Tom was out of his depth to respond. It was the most forthcoming and direct Greg had ever been in a scene. Almost like what he really wanted was shining through. We saw Greg casually call Tom, "Tommy" with a pat on the back just before he sold his soul to Tom. They seemed more at ease with one another, like Greg finally felt comfortable in his place at Tom's side.
And now the first thing we see of them this season is Greg greeting Tom by sliding up his body and in his personal space in every possible scene, whispering in his ear. He's more open, acting silly and smiling.
Bridget-Random-Fuck (who it sounds like didn't even make him cum) was just there by all appearances to get a jealous reaction out of Tom. She didn't have any status so it wasn't like he was climbing her on his way to a better conquest. She was another notch like the rest. So what's with all the posturing?
Last season, he speaks of falling head over heels for a woman and then has no true motivation and follow through. But he gushed to Tom all about her and got a visceral reaction out of him. Unfortunately Tom could not analyze his own emotions and deflected, stating Greg had ruined his mood but not knowing why.
In an interview with Nicholas Braun he hinted at Greg going to the "dark side" and how it was freeing for Greg to no longer feel restricted between what's right and wrong (gay dad causing you to repress?). By all appearances this so far has manifested as Greg being given permission to actually be more authentic with his feelings towards Tom. The women are just a necessary part and have an undercurrent of, "aren't I great - aren't you jealous?" He is in Tom's space, he wants Tom's approval. He wants Tom. He just needs to feel like he's allowed to... I imagine with the divorce eminent he feels closer to obtaining him. Perhaps Greg will be the unhinged one this season.
In season one when he asked if Tom was trying to seduce him and Tom said he was, that hair tuck bashful reaction? I don't think that was a coincidence — that was an intentional filming choice. Now I really truly see it.
succession writers reminding all of the casual audience that greg's dad is gay, on a television show where everyone is terrified to become their parents, so that we will remember that when tomgreg fuck nasty in the series finale and greg implies that he's been dating all of these women to overcompensate for that fear
the mentally unstable bitch you see today will never compare to the one you will see when Succession season 4 comes out.
