‘Succession’ Creator Reveals His Take on That Final Shiv/Tom Moment: ‘Terrifying Equality’

thewrap.com:

Note: The following contains spoilers for the “Succession” series finale.Of the many moments in the “Succession” series finale that have sparked conversation and debate ever since it aired, perhaps the most charged might be the final scene between Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) – and creator Jesse Armstrong is now offering up his interpretation of that dead-fish handhold.Tom has been named CEO of Waystar Royco, now owned by Matsson’s (Alexander Skarsgard) Gojo, thanks to Shiv’s last-minute decision to change her vote at the board meeting and deny Kendall (Jeremy Strong) the chance to be CEO.

In the moments following the vote, we see Tom ask Shiv to meet him in a car waiting downstairs and she hurridly declines, yet later on we see her join him in the vehicle, the new King and Queen side by side.

Tom coldly offers up his hand and Shiv puts hers on top of his, not as a show of affection but of… resignation? Acquiescence?

Deference?What precisely is going on there has been a matter of debate among fans, but Armstrong told NPR’s Fresh Air that he sees it as “terrifying equality.”“Everyone has their own view, and I can tell you mine, which is that for me it was a moment of equality,” the creator and showrunner said. “Chilly, rather terrifying equality, but equality, which has never been the case in that relationship before.