‘Succession’ Season 2: It’s Shiv’s Time to Shine, Y’all

It’s Shiv time, y’all! In the Succession Season 2 premiere, “The Summer Palace,” the princess of the Roy family, Siobhan “Shiv” Roy (Sarah Snook) finally got the respect she deserves. As Waystar Royco prepares for a bloody battle for its own survival, patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) is faced with two major decisions: is it time to cash out and sell the media conglomerate he’s built from the ground up, and if he fights, which one of his four children will he name as his official successor. After a number of predictably tense meetings, it all comes down to Shiv. That is, if she wants to take over after her father, Daddy won’t settle. He will fight.

Shiv and Logan’s secret deal has honestly been a long time coming. From the get go, Succession is a show about literal succession. Kendall might be Logan’s “number one boy,” but he’s also an unmitigated fuck up. Putting his own insurrection against the family aside, Kendall has found himself in a Chappaquiddick-esque scandal where he’s responsible for someone’s drowning. He also lacks the self-control, and killer instinct for the gig. Roman is also too much of a loose canon to take over, and he too is dealing with damage control after overseeing a literal blow up. Connor is a dope, more interested in collecting Napoleon’s penis than leading anything. The only Roy child with any measure of intelligence, ambition, and tenacity is Logan’s only daughter, Shiv. At long last, it seems that both Logan and the show Succession itself are noticing it.

The marvelous Gerri (J. Smith-Cameron) aside, Shiv is the undisputed queen of Succession and in Season 2, she finally gets the wardrobe, hairstyle, and storyline to prove it. From the moment we see her lounging with Tom (Matthew Macfadyen) on their honeymoon yacht, Shiv looks like she’s enjoyed something of a total upgrade. Her clothes are slightly more stylish, her blunt haircut divine, and she’s entering family scenes roaring. Everything about Shiv is fashioned like a monarch in ascension. Even the show’s revamped opening credits seem to thrust more importance on the “daughter” in the sepia-toned family footage. And of course, the biggest twist of the episode is that Shiv is the Chosen One.

Succession‘s Season 2 premiere, “The Summer Palace” gives Shiv a number of scenes where she gets to unleash her inner ferocity like never before. In Season 1, Shiv consistently used the appearance of civility to mask her true  intentions. Here, she finally gets called out on it, as Roman accuses her of trying to get in his head. Later, when she goes toe-to-toe with Logan, she is the first one we’ve seen who is able to match her father when it comes to strategy and negotiations. Kendall always folded, Roman misses the bigger picture. Shiv, however, takes her meeting and turns into a dealmaking tour de force. Unlike Roman who only sees this opportunity to pitch his own ascension, Shiv coldly breaks down the business, threatens to walk if Kendall gets promoted, and even let her father threaten to sell the company in a game of chicken. Shiv proves in that moment she has the bite to be a cutthroat CEO. She can take over Waystar Royco.

The question is will Shiv and Logan’s secret arrangement come to fruition. While Shiv is worried at one point that her father is playing mind games with her, it’s far more likely that her personal or professional attachments may get in the way of her ascension to Waystar Royco CEO. Tom doesn’t seem to even consider the idea that his wife could be his boss, and Roman isn’t likely to fall in line easily. Then there’s the issue of Shiv’s political career. She desperately wants political power, and her dreams of landing a major role in the White House might not jive with running a multi-media conglomerate. And then, there’s the chance that the Roys could still lose everything.

Succession Season 2 is starting off with Shiv in control, but can she hold on to this power? Let the games begin.

Where to stream Succession