This week's episode of Succession deals with the fallout from Logan Roy's death with a bottle episode set entirely in the confines of the Roy family apartment in Manhattan.
While the board plot behind closed doors to come up with a successor to the late Waystar CEO, one of the Roy siblings has another issue coming her way.
That's right, Shiv is pregnant, very much throwing a spanner in the works for her potential step up into CEO in the coming months, and bringing up huge questions that need to be answered about her relationship with Tom.
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Speaking on the Succession podcast, Sarah Snook has weighed in on her character's surprising new plotline.
"I think Shiv's got some pretty complicated feelings about becoming a mother," Snook told host Kara Swisher. "She's in some ways feigning indifference because it's one of those things that's almost too hard to face and Shiv doesn't like dealing with emotions - it's easier to repress things."
In the episode we see Shiv receive a phone call from her doctor to say that her tests have all come back with positive results, meaning there are no issues with her pregnancy. However, the cold reception Shiv gives in the scene suggests she may have wanted a way out of the situation.
"There's a fear and frustration that all the things that she's been working and aiming toward she may not now be able to achieve because she'll be a mother as well as a businesswoman and how do those two things coalesce in her life. I think that she hasn't really considered that as a path for her life and so it's quite a shock."
What now for Shiv and Tom?
It's also clear to see in the episode that Shiv has not told her husband Tom. Despite the two having a bit of a heart-to-heart, the couple are still on the verge of divorce. However, Shiv's pregnancy could put the relationship on a whole new course in the weeks to come.
"Her father just died, there's so many business machinations happening that like, to then bring Tom into it in a familial sense would confuse it again, she doesn't know how she feels about it herself. In a way she would prefer to decide what her own feelings are about this before she has Tom's feelings muddying the waters."
The new surprise twist in this week's episode certainly takes the Shiv and Tom story into a new direction - we certainly can't wait to see what happens next week. Tom can't be kept in the dark forever and maybe there's hope for reconciliation before the series finishes up for good.
You can listen to the full episode of the HBO Succession podcast below.
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