With the exception of “Succession” showrunner Jesse Armstrong, Macfadyen and Snook probably understand Tom and Shiv’s dynamic better than anyone. It’s likely why fans are always asking the actors what’s going on between them. “Sarah and I are often asked, you know, why are they together?” Macfadyen recently told NPR. So many wonder whether the couple is actually in love — or, at least, if the couple will stand the test of time — and Macfadyen at least has his answer:
“I think [Tom] does love [Shiv] — or, I mean, I don’t think he knows, you know. It’s always that thing. You start asking those questions. But really, I don’t think they have any hard and fast answers. He would say that he does. And he certainly loves all the reflected glory and power of being a Roy, you know. But I don’t know. It’s interesting.”
Keeping things nebulous has certainly been the way to stay in the game, and to keep either member of this marriage from destroying things entirely. There hasn’t been a whole lot of honesty at play, and there’s a chance that neither fully understands their own feelings about their relationship at all — think of Shiv’s “I may not love you, but I do love you” confession in the season 3 episode “Chiantishire.” With that in mind, though, why is Shiv still committed to Tom?