Succession Season 4 Is Setting Up The Downfall Of Poor, Stupid, Lovable Tom Wambsgans

This article contains spoilers for the season 4 premiere of "Succession." 

I love an underdog, and in the cutthroat world of the hit HBO series "Succession," there is no greater underdog than Tom Wambsgans. He's a nobody, the son of a high-ranking lawyer from St. Paul, Minnesota. He doesn't come from old money or a famous family, but he managed to work his way up the corporate chain by marrying Siobhan Roy (Sarah Snook), the only daughter of media magnate Logan Roy (Brian Cox). 

Tom, played with a perfect puppy-dog lovability by English actor Matthew Macfadyen, is a sad sack who's in way over his head, but somehow it's impossible not to love and root for him. If he weren't adorable enough by himself, he's also BFFs with Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun), Logan's scheming great-nephew who, like Tom, is a total outsider to the high-stakes world of the ridiculously rich. The two of them are one of television's best odd couples of all time, and they help make a series full of absolute monsters feel a little more human. 

At the end of "Succession" season 3, the usually put-upon Wambsgans managed to get the upper hand for once and appeared to have jockeyed for a position of privilege by spilling information to Logan. But the season 4 premiere reveals that Tom couldn't stay at the top for very long, and this seems to be only the beginning of his long, slow, miserable fall. Tom was never the most likely to win this corporate game of thrones, but it's still pretty harsh to see his luck change this quickly.

At the end of last season, the three Roy siblings (excluding Connor, who was off convincing Willa to marry him with the saddest proposal and acceptance ever) had decided to team up to try and take down their dear old dad. They were going to announce he was taking a step back from his leadership position and release a joint statement on his failing health, but Tom shared this information with Logan, who was ready to cut the kids off at the pass, metaphorically speaking. He also cut them off less metaphorically, signing a new divorce settlement with their mother Caroline (Harriet Walter) that removed financial protections for the kids. Logan has always been ruthless, but Tom couldn't have possibly predicted that level of retaliation for the siblings' attempted coup. 

Shiv and Tom's marriage has been rocky from the start, in large part because she undermined the entire thing by essentially cornering Tom into an open marriage on their wedding night. She was having an affair under the guise of a "hall pass" before their nuptials, but that wasn't quite enough. Tom would never be enough. Shiv has been downright abusive to him but he constantly dotes on her anyway, like a kicked puppy that comes back for more. Tom's betrayal was apparently the final straw for Shiv, as the season 4 premiere sees them going through a trial separation and headed for divorce. Poor Tom finally knows the answer to whether the sad he feels without Siobhan is less than he feels when he's with her, and no, it's not. It's just him and his dog, Mondale, all alone in that massive condo, and he seems bereft.

The only reason Tom sold Shiv upriver was to get in good with family patriarch Logan, but what he didn't entirely anticipate was that Logan's (unconventional) love for his children still overrides whatever good Tom's done for him. When Tom broaches what might happen if he and Siobhan divorce, he looks to Logan for reassurance and gets a big bunch of nothing. He even asks Logan outright if they would be "good" in the event that Tom was no longer technically family, and Logan's reply is pretty vague: "If we're good, we're good."

What is that even supposed to mean? Tom clearly doesn't know and tries to get clarification but can't, as Logan brushes him off. Tom may have been there for Logan at his lowest throughout the last season, but loyalty hasn't really ever meant much to the old boar. If there comes a point where it's more advantageous for Logan to throw Tom to the wolves (again), he will, and Tom realizes that he bet on the wrong Roy.

Even when things were bad with Logan or Shiv in past seasons, the Tomlette always had his Greggs. Greg and Tom were a perfect duo, comforting one another and pushing each other to be even bigger monsters in order to survive the madness of being on the fringes of the Roy family. At the end of season 3, Tom asked Greg to make a deal with the devil and join him in opposing the Roy siblings, and Greg was fully onboard. The only problem now is that Greg and Tom clearly have very different priorities, as Greg has turned Tom's newfound singledom into an excuse for debauchery. Greg has started calling them the "Disgusting Brothers" and telling people of their various sexual exploits, much to Tom's dismay. It even gets back to Siobhan, who rubs Tom's nose in it when she comes back to their home to grab a few things. In fact, it's one of the reasons she lists for wanting to move forward with a divorce, furthering Tom's total heartbreak. 

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Tom and Greg need to grab Mondale, go into witness protection, and take the entire family down. It looks like Greg's gotten a taste of life at the top, though, and it's sadly changed him. He's not the sweet, innocent doofus with principles he once was, and even his friendship with Tom now seems predicated on what he can get out of it. 

There's something lovable about Tom Wambsgans. Maybe it's Macfadyen's performance. Maybe it's his loving devotion to Shiv through it all, even when she's completely turned her back against him. Maybe it's just that he's one of the only "normal" people in this world of cutthroat billionaires and he's a tiny bit more relatable. Whatever the reason, he seems to still have his soul ... and that might be the thing that takes him down. He doesn't really need power or money like the others, he just wants someone to love him back. That desperation put him in an awkward position, and now he's truly, terribly alone. 

While there is a tiny chance that Tom manages to turn it all around and take down Waystar-Royco or get out somewhat unscathed, it's looking less likely as time goes on. "Succession" season 3 ended with Tom on top, but as it stands at the beginning of season 4, he's back down on the very bottom. 

New episodes of "Succession" season 4 air Sundays at 9pm on HBO.