Warning: Spoilers for 'Succession' series finale
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Kendall was ready to sit on the Waystar throne. He may have been preparing an inaugural speech but Shiv, Logan's only daughter, and her younger brother were not OK with that. In the final episode of ‘Succession’, titled ‘With Open Eyes', Kendall finally managed to persuade Shiv and Roman to name him Logan's successor. A night of arguments, a swim in the ocean and innumerable confrontations later, Shiv and Roman crowned Kendall the king, the promised one who will be the face of Waystar and kill Lukas Matsson’s plan of acquiring the legacy their father built.
The Roy siblings reach New York, reunited and amped to take on Matsson only to learn that after betraying Shiv, the Swede has offered the role of CEO to Tom Wambsgans, should the deal to acquire Waystar go through. Shiv was the only player for that part and had been colluding with Matsson for the latter half of the final season but Matsson instead headhunted her husband and offered him the keys to Waystar once he acquired it. Shiv was fuming when Tom revealed this to her and she rushed to her brothers asking them to shove Matsson out at all costs. It was expected that Tom will lose but in the board meeting, Shiv walked out as Kendall and Roman followed her. And then she dropped the bomb on Kendall, “I don’t think you’d be good at this.” Kendall was betrayed once again but this time it wasn’t his father, but his sister Shiv, who he believed was an ally.
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Shiv’s ‘Kiss of Judas’ moment
The phrase "Kiss of Judas" refers to how Judas betrayed Jesus Christ leading to his crucifixion. This is similar to what Shiv did to Kendall. She promised to back him at the board meeting and agreed to vote to kill Matsson’s acquisition but instead, she had a change of heart and tried to justify it with absurd reasons.
After telling Kendall that he was not a good candidate for the CEO’s role, she brings up something from the past that many thought was forgotten. “You can’t be CEO. You killed someone,” Shiv said, glaring at Kendall. Her brother defended himself by stating that he made it all up as if nothing happened which sent Shiv and Roman completely over the edge. Kendall begged them to vote against the GoJo deal but Shiv rushed to the board room to cast a resounding "yes."
Why did Shiv betray Kendall?
During the initial minutes of the finale, Shiv asks Tom on the phone whether he would be willing to work on the relationship. This time, Tom isn’t sure as he ponders over Shiv’s question. Shiv uses her pregnancy to remind Tom that he’s still the child’s father but the man had been used and humiliated by Shiv long enough to see through her manipulations. Shiv eventually learned about Tom’s new arrangement with Matsson and decided to back her husband and betray her brothers. Shiv knew she couldn’t influence Kendall as CEO and might lose more power in the process.
By voting for Matsson, Shiv secured a position in the company through Tom and a father for her child. Her betrayal will be seen as a conflict of interest by many, but it should be called out as the betrayal of the highest order, despite empathy from anyone. When Shiv's child is of age and ready to takeover from her father, Tom, which name will he/she choose - Roy or Wambsgans?
