Threesome

This one gets worse the more you think about it. In talking to Tom, Shiv described the threesome partner that she found as an “old friend” of hers. When they boarded the yacht, Tom was all ~hyper puppy~ trying to guess who it was, and eventually correctly guessed that it was the nail technician. The nail tech who was there working for the family.

Theres no way that woman was an old friend of Shiv’s. She was their employee. And, on a yacht, where she has no option to leave when things get weird. It was so predatory and horrible.

in SuccessionTVby PigelotBuckle Up Fucklehead

408

97%

19d

No_Tip8620

408

19d

I'm convinced her bachelorette party referenced in the wedding reception was also full of employees or similar acquaintances because Shiv doesn't have any friends.

rebelwithmouseyhair

18d

Yeah. I remember I was wondering who was going to be the bridesmaids since Shiv didn't seem to have any friends, so on my second watch I was looking to see whether there were any. There's one quick shot, in a series of shots that look like they're photos for a wedding album, of Shiv with several gorgeous women in bridesmaidsy dresses, but we never see them either before or after that shot.

Then I remembered that there are actually agencies where you can hire bridesmaids. That was mind-boggling to me, but now I see why that might be necessary.

angry-hungry-tired

111

19d

Sociopaths don't have real friends

Legitimate-Sea-4679

19d

She isn't capable and can't see it. It's the reason that Lisa and she have such a frosty relationship, and yet Shiv is surprised by her reception when she goes to see Lisa.

(I saw an interview with Sanaa Lathan and she said that Sarah Snook and she came up with the backstory about their relationship, and that pretty much nailed that Shiv is incapable of loyalty and showing up for anyone.)

Amyloid42

18d

Shut up. I have plenty. And not from Canada.

rebelwithmouseyhair

Yeah. Like Logan calls Colin his best friend, the Roys seem to think that employees they are on first name terms with are friends. Shiv also calls her ob gyn by her first name rather than Dr Obgyn

kgphantom

193

19d

I think it’s also meant to be reminiscent of the whole cruises scandal in general

StayingVeryVeryCalm

103

19d

Yup. Sexually coercing an economically-vulnerable low-level employee. On a boat.

(While gathered on a boat to do damage control for similar occurrences that happened on other boats.)

It’s really good way of illustrating just how shallow and performative Shiv’s commitment to social justice issues actually is. (And while I’m not sure if I’d call it subtle, it was subtle enough for me as a viewer, because I didn’t notice it until someone pointed it out, what with everything else going on in that episode.)

Honestly, I feel so bad for that poor nail tech; especially since she probably also had to deal with Cousin Greg’s toenail fungus and/or podiatric sand-mite infestation. Which, like, not as bad being sexually coerced, but sand mites are fucking horrifying little beasties.

(I am a “Greg doesn’t really have toenail fungus” truther, because I’m pretty sure someone mentioned he got sand mites at Willis play, and they usually infest the feet so like… it all fits.)

kgphantom

19d

I think it also shows that she doesn’t even realize what she’s doing is wrong or is pretty much the same thing they’re in hot water about. Because of her position and the life she’s had, she doesn’t even conceive of the position she’s putting the nail tech in here.

heliophoner

19d

Well, she's a woman.

And women simply can't be predators.

w-alien

19d

When watching it the first time I assumed Greg was wearing a wire in his shoe but it never came up again

rosamamoas

357

19d

The thing is that she’s not gonna say no, she’d never say no…because of the implication.

manbeardawg

115

19d

Are these women in danger?

b_b___7

19d

Well, we all know what can happen to women on the Roys‘ boats!

CalendarAggressive11

All Bangers, All the Time

19d

NRPI

berrey7

19d

Are we the Tasty treats?

User deleted comment

19d

bane_of_heretics

15d

And then phones Greg to yell at him.

pushinpayroll

19d

No. No one is in danger.

It’s just the implication that things might go wrong for them if they refuse to work for me. Not that things are going to go wrong for them, but they're thinking that they will.

Milocobo

19d

I feel like you aren't getting it

catnip_addict

19d

came here looking for this comment lol

mologav

18d

I got beaten to it

Hongry4applez

19d

Oh… ok.. seems like it got a little dark there.

RodKimble_Stuntman

19d

the threesome also only existed so that she could plausibly say tom had had sex with someone else

pushinpayroll

19d

Literally. She wanted him to stop sulking about the open marriage that formed in his wedding night.

RawFreakCalm

15d

Yup, I don’t think the employee thing is part of the point at all.

It also shows that Tom really didn’t want an open marriage. He wants Shiv, he wants a classic marriage and family.

FrolicAndDetour1x

15d

She just wanted Tom to see the benefits of the arrangement. How very charitable of her!🙃

Batistasfashionsense

19d

Crucially, we never do hear the girl’s side of things.

Is it possible she was one of those people who is casual about sex and thought a threesome on a yacht with a good looking billionaire couple would be a fun one night stand? Sure. Something to brag to your friends about, at least.

But it’s probable she wasn’t.

Also, while not as bad, Tom clearly not being into it and Shiv trying to pressure him was also gross.

A threesome and only one person for sure wants it. The other two…well, one certainly does not and the other is under pressure because it’s her boss.

Batistasfashionsense

19d

I mean, obviously the sympathy is with the girl.

But Tom didn’t want it, either. He keeps making excuses to get out of it.

Shiv just assumed: “Hey, all men like girl on girl, right?”

That is not Tom’s thing.

Shiv coming off like a polite sex trafficker here.

Batistasfashionsense

19d

“oh, Tom. But I think this new, shy and weirdly tall pool boy named Craig should join our illicit sex escapade.”

Shiv, hon. That’s how you do a threesome In your situation.

greatestagent

14d

Jesse Armstrong did say Shiv was modeled a lot after Ghislaine…..

bshaddo

18d

I don’t think Shiv necessarily wanted it either, at least not for the obvious reasons people want these things.

Batistasfashionsense

18d

The most miserable threesome ever.

current_the

18d

Imagine the passion when she signs the NDA.

PacinoWig

18d

Knowing the way the Roys do business, she's probably a contract employee. If she says no, they can just dump her in at the nearest port in the Aegean with no money where she probably doesn't speak the local language and will have to make her way home on her own.

Twopairjacksnines

18d

Just rewatched the show and just noticed how funny/fucked up it is for shiv to plan a threesome with a person employed on the Roy yacht while also in the middle of sorting out the shit show of women being diddled on cruises.

JayMoots

19d

It was so predatory and horrible.

No real person involved.

DaemonCRO

19d

The implications.

btbranch093068

18d

I still think that Matthew McFayfen’d scene on the beach where he lays out his feelings about the whole marriage agreement with Shiv is one of the most gut wrenching I’ve ever seen on TV.

Pigelot

Buckle Up Fucklehead

17d

Yeah, it was interesting to see Shiv dealing with a consequence for maybe the first time in her life.

I think Matthew McFadyen might have been the hardest-working actor on the show because he really played two characters - Shiv’s Tom, simpering and insecure, and work Tom, grandiose and occasionally competent.

btbranch093068

17d

Very well put

FrolicAndDetour1x

15d

S2E10 Tom baring his feelings was bold for his character but he was still kinda servile to Shiv b/c he still needed her. Just look at how she treats him in “DC” - she never even noticed Tom left the hotel suite to meet up with Kendall and dismissively tells him “let’s go” when Logan insists on putting Mencken forward. By the time of their epic fight in Tailgate Party, their relationship had come full circle and Tom had a lot more power than he did on that cove. It was such a brilliant bookend.

SolemnlyStated

18d

I actually thought this scene was ridiculously accurate to life. I had a very very wealthy friend in college, and one year when we were moving out at the end of the year, she introduced me to her "family friend," a very quiet 40 year old Latino guy. He seemed very clearly like a servant her family had sent out to help with the move out, and she told me that once he was done with her boxes, he could do mine next. I would guess that referring to servants as "old friends" is a typical speech tick rich people acquire for talking to us normies.

vieneri

All Bangers, All the Time

18d

Reminds me of the first episode that i thought this wasn't a show about awful people.

Amyloid42

18d

Great pick up. rhythms with always sunny, “because of the implications.”

Voidzyyyyyy

19d

How was it confirmed that it was the nail tech? I never caught this

CasinoMarginale

19d

Through dialogue. Right after she cleaned up Greg’s toe fungus, Shiv confirmed it for Tom

RobinReborn

16d

If you're super rich you tend to think of employees as friends. Who else is Shiv going to be friends with? Most people have friends that are around their level of wealth. There are very few people her age as rich as her.

kgalush1

15d

She couldn’t refuse because of the implications

FrolicAndDetour1x

15d

No way that lady was an “old friend” of Shiv’s. As others have already said, Shiv had no friends. And if she did, that person sure as s*t wouldn’t be an employee. I would have thought she and Sandi could have been friends. Or Rava, even. But that never happened. And that one time Shiv went to the bar with Willa, she had a specific goal in mind - asking Willa to convince Connor to drop the presidential bid. Oh, and gobble the occasional side dck.

Not only does the lady have no option to leave the yacht. As an employee, did she really have the option to say no to Shiv? Not if she wanted to keep her job. This was Cruises 2.0.

greatestagent

14d

Wow! All of this tracks with when Jesse Armstrong said Shiv is closely modeled after Ghislaine Maxwell 😬😬

StugotsTwoWYGD

16d

This isn't Judge Judy though. It's fiction. Someone writes it, not with any like that in mind. Pinky predatory? Hanging on for grim death more like.

truetechnicolors

14d

Frame it like that to the screenwriters and see how they react... I can guarantee they did think of all the implications and motivations.

Yes, it's fiction. But also based on how real humans behave and how complicated we are. That's why Succession is so good, because it's so real.

TeachingRealistic387

15d

Hadn’t thought about this now obvious Succession/Always Sunny crossover…

Opening_Pin_4689

-10

19d

Yeah, that scene was hot.