Roman Roy is the youngest of the four Roy children in HBO series Succession. And while he holds his own, he clearly has some demons to conquer.
He's cocky but also immature, which is why his father is reluctant to give him a position of power in the company, or at least appoint him head to take over. A party guy and bachelor, he initially seemed to have no interest in the family business of running the media empire Waystar Royco. But then his competitive nature kicked in and he acted like he had something to prove to his father and siblings.
Through his journey thus far over the last two seasons, he has had many ups and downs. And there were moments fans felt really bad for Roman and others where they disliked him greatly.
Locked In A Cage As A Child: Felt Bad
It was revealed that his older brothers used to lock him in a dog cage when he was as young as four years old, often for lengthy periods of time. While locked up, they would even feed him what he recalls to be dog food, though Connor says Roman wanted to be locked up and it was just chocolate cake. This caused him to start wetting the bed after which Logan sent him to military school, viewing him as the "weaker dog."
It sounds pretty traumatizing and we can't help but feel bad for Roman. He grew up with older siblings who obviously terrorized him as much as they could.
Used Greg: Hated Him
While Logan was in the hospital, Roman used cousin Greg as his gopher. He told him to go back to the house and get papers so they could decide how to sign the company over in the event of Logan's death. Shiv disagreed with the decision and urged Greg to listen to her and not bring the papers.
When Greg returned, he pretended he forgot them or couldn't find them and Roman lay into him. Sure, emotions were running high. But it wasn't fair to put all of that on Greg.
Blew Up A Spaceship: Felt Bad
Remember when Roman stupidly moved up the launch date of a spaceship so that it would coincide with the day of Shiv's wedding? While it was a bonehead move because the ship clearly wasn't ready for take-off, we still felt bad when he saw the news that the ship exploded.
Terrified, he hid the news from anyone until Gerri approached him, having seen it too, and told him he could be charged with corporate manslaughter if anyone died. Luckily, no one did, though a few people lost their thumbs and one might have had to get their arm amputated.
Pleasured Himself In His Office: Hated Him
After being appointed COO of the company in his father's absence, Roman looked around his fancy new office and seemed to get turned on. He closed the door, stared out his massive window, unzipped his pants, and well, you get the picture.
He relieved himself on the window once finished, leaving the mess to be cleaned by the custodial staff. It was a dirty, disgusting, and boastful move that was so unnecessary and perfectly demonstrated his arrogance, ego, and disrespect.
No One Takes Him Seriously: Felt Bad
Overall, no one seems to take Roman seriously. He tries to make decisions that aren't always backed by actual business knowledge. Gerri is the only one with faith in him who suggests he take on a six-week management training course to get a better handle on how to run things.
Roman suggested to Gerri that they work together since she has a brilliant mind yet is often ignored while he can be the loudmouth. It's a match made in heaven if they pull it off. And maybe someone in the family will start looking at Roman as more than just an unskilled guy who got an executive job because his daddy gave him one.
Was Arrogant To The Young Boy: Hated Him
Showing his true arrogance, during a family baseball game, which the Roys flew to by helicopter, Roman offered a young child $1 million if he could hit a home run. He even wrote the cheque and held it in front of the child and his parents like he was dangling a carrot. Blissfully unaware of how much that money could change the family's life and the kind of pressure he was putting on the kid, he didn't flinch to rip up the cheque when the nervous boy failed.
In an effort to correct the situation, though likely more so to ensure that the boy and his parents didn't blab about the incident, Logan Roy gave the parents the expensive watch Tom had just given him for his birthday.
Can't Hold Down A Relationship: Felt Bad
For whatever reason, Roman is unable to hold down a serious relationship. He is first dating a woman named Grace who he would constantly fight with. They end up breaking up on Thanksgiving.
Later, he is in a relationship with a woman he met at Tom's bachelor party (who ironically had a sexual encounter with Tom that very night) and while he seems in love and proposes marriage, they have apparently never been intimate so she doesn't consider it to be a real relationship. Later when they get physical, he asks her to act like she isn't enjoying it and is a dead body, freaking her out.
Seeks Out Belittling By Gerri: Hated Him
This clearly has something to do with Roman's inability to be intimate with anyone along with his self-confidence issues. He and the much older Gerri have a strange relationship whereby he gets off on the company counsel berating him over the phone or from another room.
While it seems they have never had an actual physical sexual encounter, she will insult him, call him an idiot, and tell him he's a terrible person, which prompts him to pleasure himself. Gerri seems to accept this, even though she is a somewhat reluctant participant.
Bought The Wrong Soccer Team: Felt Bad
In an effort to impress his father, while meeting with a man who happened to be interested in buying a Scottish soccer team, Roman agrees to invest and buy it together. He believes the team was his dad's favorite growing up.
When he presents this gift to his father, however, he is told that it's actually the wrong team! Meanwhile, it's while he's watching this soccer team that he is taken and held captive by terrorists, scared out of his wits only to return to his family who makes fun of him for it.
Planned a Bachelor Party With Selfish Interests: Hated Him
Rather than stick with the original plan of going to Prague for Tom's bachelor party, Roman changes this up and instead takes everyone to an underground party taking place inside an old railway station. It's the kind of secretive party where anything goes and people do whatever they want without repercussions.
While everyone seemingly had a good time, minus Tom's personal friends who Roman excluded from the festivities, Roman actually had ulterior motives. He only changed the venue so he could meet with Sandy Furness and try to ink out a business deal. It was a totally selfish move.