In HBO’s Succession, the Roy children orbit around the colossal gravitational force that is Logan Roy. At the heart of this brutal family drama is a simple but agonizing question: What do these heirs actually want? Nowhere is this question more complicated than with Siobhan “Shiv” Roy, the only daughter of Logan.
With her sharp tongue, political instincts, and refusal to play by her brothers’ rules, Shiv presents as someone who could rise to power. But as the series unfolds, her ambition seems to blur with insecurity, and her actions raise the central question: did Shiv ever truly want power, or was she chasing something more elusive—her father’s approval?
The Politics of Power vs. the Psychology of Validation
From her first appearance, Shiv sets herself apart. Unlike her brothers, who work within the family business from the start, Shiv initially builds her career in Democratic politics. This decision alone marks a rebellion against Logan, a conservative media tycoon. It’s a move that signals autonomy—or at least the desire to appear autonomous. But even outside Waystar Royco, Shiv’s career choices seem reactive. She doesn’t build a political path from passion; she builds it as a counterweight to her father’s empire. That’s not independence—it’s orbiting at a different angle.
When Logan invites Shiv into the family business in Season 2, she leaps at the opportunity. Her transition from political consultant to corporate player is swift, though lacking in real strategy. What’s telling is how quickly she abandons her prior commitments. Shiv’s motivations seem less about long-term vision and more about stepping into the spotlight where her father can see her. This isn’t someone pursuing power for power’s sake—it’s someone seeking proximity to the one person whose validation has always been out of reach.
Her Style of Leadership—Or Lack Thereof
Shiv often speaks the language of progressivism, positioning herself as the modern, reform-minded alternative to the toxic, patriarchal culture of Waystar. But when given a seat at the table, she fumbles. Despite her intelligence, she lacks follow-through. She underestimates the board, misreads allies, and overestimates her own leverage. Her attempts to wield influence rely more on persuasion than structure, more on charisma than competence.
In meetings, she’s often the only woman in the room, which highlights the gender imbalance within corporate power—but also her isolation. Instead of building coalitions, Shiv tends to posture. She’s sharp, yes, but not strategic. She mistakes proximity for power and forgets that influence in corporate warfare is earned, not assigned.
This pattern suggests she doesn’t fully understand what leadership entails—or perhaps doesn’t actually crave it. When power is within reach, she shrinks. When authority is handed to someone else, especially Kendall or Roman, her reaction is visceral. It’s not jealousy of control; it’s fear of irrelevance in her father’s eyes.
The Logan Factor: Approval as Currency
Shiv’s relationship with Logan is emotionally knotted. On one hand, she’s his intellectual equal, often more articulate and composed than her brothers. On the other, Logan never quite respects her as a successor. He flirts with the idea of installing her as CEO, then pulls back. This inconsistency keeps Shiv in a perpetual state of emotional hunger. Logan knows exactly how to use that. He gives just enough to keep her invested—an executive title here, a private moment of praise there—then strips it away to remind her who’s in control.
This cycle becomes most evident in Shiv’s vacillation during key power shifts. She often chooses the side she thinks Logan favors, even when it goes against her principles. She tells herself she’s playing the game, but her moves are reactive, not preemptive. The goal isn’t to win power; it’s to win Logan’s gaze.
Marriage as a Mirror: Tom Wambsgans and the Transaction of Affection
Shiv’s marriage to Tom Wambsgans is another lens through which her motivations become clearer. She marries Tom knowing he adores her, but she keeps him emotionally at arm’s length. On their wedding night, she proposes an open relationship. Her language is that of independence and modernity, but the gesture is cold and strategic. Shiv wants control in her personal life, perhaps because she has so little of it in her professional one.
Tom, however, is not static. Over the series, he shifts from a deferential outsider to a savvy operator. When he ultimately betrays Shiv to align with Logan, it’s a turning point. She’s less devastated by the loss of strategic position and more crushed by the emotional betrayal—because Tom was the one person who once saw her as enough. When he switches allegiances, he echoes Logan’s most cutting message: Shiv isn’t the chosen one. Again, she loses not just power, but affection disguised as recognition.
The Final Season: A Broken Compass
In the final season, Shiv’s indecisiveness peaks. She joins forces with Kendall and Roman to block the sale of Waystar, only to secretly align with the GoJo deal behind their backs. Her shifting alliances signal not masterful manipulation, but uncertainty. She’s no longer even sure what she wants. When the final board vote arrives, her abstention isn’t bold—it’s broken. She can’t hand Kendall the crown, nor can she take it for herself. She stalls, trapped between ego and emptiness.
This moment crystallizes her true dilemma. Shiv isn’t afraid of power; she’s afraid of what power without love looks like. To become CEO means accepting that she was never the child Logan loved best. It means inheriting a kingdom that always felt just out of reach, and ruling it alone. Her abstention is both surrender and self-preservation.
So, What Did Shiv Roy Really Want?
Shiv Roy is not a straightforward power-seeker. She doesn’t dream of building an empire or crafting a legacy. She wants something more personal and ultimately more tragic: acknowledgment. Every move she makes—every betrayal, every pivot, every smirk—is a call out to her father. Not “Make me queen,” but “Tell me I matter.”
In the world of Succession, power is currency, but approval is soul. Logan Roy was stingy with both. And for Shiv, who had the intelligence to lead but not the emotional armor to outmaneuver, the real tragedy is this: she could have had power, but what she wanted was to be chosen. Not as a CEO. As a daughter.