‘Succession’: Shiv Roy Achieved “Terrifying” Equality In Finale But Remains “In Play,” Says Jesse Armstrong In New Interview

Shiv Roy may have looked defeated in those final moments of Succession but she actually achieved “terrifying equality” and “remains in play” for the future, the creator said in a new interview.

While talking to NPR’s Fresh Air Monday, Succession mastermind Jesse Armstrong shared more of his thoughts about the series ender of the HBO drama and what will likely come next for both Shiv (Sarah Snook) and Kendall (Jeremy Strong).

“Everyone has their own view, and I can tell you mine, which is that for it was a moment of equality,” Armstrong explained about Shiv’s state in the episode’s final scene when she and Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) touch hands. “Chilly, rather terrifying equality, but equality, which has never been the case in that relationship before. Tom has always been subservient. Now he has this status, but his status is contingent. That’s kind of what the whole episode is about. Shiv’s status is as all the kids are … secure. It’s secure in a financial sense. She has billions of dollars. She has wealth that could never diminish, whatever happened to the world. And she also has a name, which will sort of haunt her and make it interesting, to a certain degree, for the rest of her life, and that can’t be taken away from her. Whereas Tom’s position could be taken away in the click of fingers.”

“So for me, there’s a very terrifying equality in that, a remarkable dry hand on hand,” Armstrong continued. “It’s not really even human contact. It’s a sort of two pieces of porcelain or something. So that’s what it is for me. That isn’t what it would be for everyone. And certainly you could see the situation being a clever stratagem by which Shiv remains in play. Maybe that thought will occur to her tomorrow or the day after. But for me, the show’s ended at this point and the story is never and that’s where I think they end up.”

Armstrong also shared the fear he felt when Strong improvised jumping into the river for the final episode. (The scene didn’t make the cut and instead, the episode shows a bereft Kendall looking out over the water.).

“I was terrified,” the creator recalled. “He didn’t look like he was going to jump in. But once he climbed over that barrier, when you film, there are generally a lot of health and safety assessments made, and that was not our plan that day. And normally I know that if we’d even been thinking of that happening, we would have had boats and frogmen and all kinds of safety measures, which we didn’t have. So my first thought was for his physical safety as a human being, not anything about the character. That’s what I felt on the day. Good Lord, above.”

Succession wrapped its final season May 28, revealing once and for all who would prevail as the new CEO of Waystar Royco. The finale drew 2.9M viewers across Max and linear telecasts Sunday night, marking a new series high. Prior to the finale, the Sunday night high for Succession was Episode 6, which aired on April 30, with 2.75M viewers. The Season 4 finale was up 68% versus the Season 3 closer.