“You are incapable of loving”: Shiv and Tom’s brutal fight in ‘Succession’ 4×07 has fans of the HBO series in shock

THERE ARE SPOILERS BELOW FOR ‘SUCCESSION’ 4X07

Season 4 of ‘Succession’ has many active bombs, from GoJo’s elusive purchase of Waystar Royco to tensions between the Roy heirs to secure control of their empire, but the one that exploded in episode 4×07 has left stone fans. Siobhan Roy (Sarah Snook) and Tom wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen) have starred in a long-awaited and unbridled discussion in which they have put the whole truth on the table. And it hasn’t been pretty to see.

The seventh episode of the season takes place in a party, baptized as ‘Tailgate Party’ (also the title of the episode), and in which it is a tradition to bring together very influential figures of the American elites on the night before the elections. After the most surprising (and expected) death of ‘Succession’, that of patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox), it is his sons who organize the evening, where Kendall (Jeremy Strong) and Roman (Kieran Culkin) continue to tense the war in the shadows against Lukas Matsson (Alexander Skarsgård) to derail the purchase of the family business. The Swede makes an appearance after Shiv, who is in cahoots with him in hopes of gaining influence and a buzz after the Waystar sale, recommends that he show up.

However, as tense as this situation can be, as tense as Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) cutting Roman after firing her and trying to win her back in an incredibly clumsy way, as tense as Willa (Justine Lupe) considering how would be his life in Oman if Connor (Alan Ruck) decides to accept an ambassadorship in exchange for withdrawing his candidacy in favor of a fascist, it doesn’t come close to the levels of tension in the discussion that Shiv and Tom have on the balcony, in full view of all their guests. Even if they couldn’t hear them, surely none of them missed the fury of their hosts.

Tom explodes after Shiv has spent the night hinting to everyone that he will be fired once GoJo takes control of Waystar Royco. It is a strategic movement, his wife tells him, but he is no longer ready for strategies. He is not at all. Their marriage has always walked a tightrope, from when Tom proposed to her after Logan was admitted to the hospital (and she said yes because she was sorry and vulnerable, she blurts out) until, at the end of In ‘Succession’ season 3, Tom secured his position by throwing Shiv to the wolves. “You betrayed me”Shiv reminds her, perhaps for the first time so starkly since the dagger blew up, as Tom reminds her how cool she was about going to prison.

Tom goes for the jugular: “You are incapable of love and I don’t think you are a good person to have children”, she lets go, not knowing that Shiv is pregnant (as we found out in episode 4×04 of ‘Succession’), and not knowing that those words resonate with those her own mother said to her and that they hurt her so much. “I don’t care about you at all,” Shiv returns. The relationship between them is completely broken. It doesn’t seem like she backed down, no way to take back what they’ve finally said out loud. In the last images of episode 4×07 we see them in their respective beds, looking at the ceiling in the shadows.

Some fans already consider this brute six-minute fight one of the best scenes in the series, thanks in large part to the huge performances of Snook and Macfadyen:

In it Official ‘Succession’ Podcast, Macfadyen recently spoke of this scene. “It was deliciously set because we’re on the balcony of our apartment and everyone is inside watching us at this pre-election party. So it’s kind of horrible. They can’t exactly hear it, but they can see that we’re having a screaming match. So that added an added dimension to it. wonderful cape”, says the actor, who understands this outburst of anger on the part of his character. “It’s just a fucking injustice what he feels”.

The actor continued: “Everything comes to a head. The facade falls off and he can’t accept it. I remember in the scene feeling the terrible rage at the injustice of it. He spends a lot of time being diplomatic and politicking and swallowing his tongue and letting her win and letting her have the last word, and maybe he doesn’t want to do it this time.”. However, this final break? leaves you adrift on the ‘Succession’ game board. His situation, as Macfadyen points out, is very precarious: “He stays afloat but he’s not moving forward. His heart rate is racing and his body is heavy… he’s sinking a bit.”