HBO's Succession is just two seasons old but is already garnering a cult following, with quotable lines and impressive characters. Almost all of the characters are imperfect in their own ways and it's a delight to see those rich brats insult others or get insulted themselves. Tom Wamsgans is a character that suits the latter. Initially, he talks a lot and flaunts his influence being Shiv's fiance and Logan Roy's future son-in-law. But later we see that Tom is just a scapegoat for the Roy family.
It's safe to say that there have been various times when the family has used and ridiculed Tom. So, we count down the worst things that the family has done to him. *Cue in Succession theme music*
Re-gifting Tom's gift
In the pilot episode, Tom buys an expensive Patek Phillipe watch for Logan Roy's birthday. The other family members warn him that Logan might not appreciate the gesture as he doesn't enjoy gifts but Tom keeps on flaunting on his choice. Later on, the family plays a baseball game. There Logan's son Roman (who's known to make stupid decisions) finds a kid on the field and is willing to offer him a million dollars if he can hit a home run.
However, the kid gets tagged out at third. Logan's body man and assistant Colin signs an NDA with the boy's family and gifts them Tom's expensive watch instead, to Tom's dismay.
Shiv's infidelity
Did Tom really love Shiv? Or was he in for just the money and power? That's open to interpretation for many fans but one can see Tom be heartbroken when he realizes that Shiv had been cheating on him with political strategist Nate Sofrelli, who was Shiv's work partner when she was on Gil Eavis's presidential campaign.
Tom starts getting uneasy when he believes that Shiv's infidelity could be a possibility. After he finds out, he reacts aggressively by shooing away Nate from his wedding. Later on, he does try a little to flirt with other women but is never able to as the heartbreak by Shiv still lingering on his mind.
Tom's false hopes of inheriting the company
Despite being an outsider and despite the intense rivalry between Shiv and her two brothers to take over Logan Roy's business empire, Tom harbors Utopian dreams. He hopes that one day with Shiv's help, he'll inherit the company. But he realizes that his wife is even more ambitious than him only by the second season. This gets clear when Logan hints that Shiv will be his successor and she doesn't refuse the offer.
Despite this, she still gives Tom false hopes that he will be Logan's true successor. Any person watching the show can figure out that Tom is being duped and he has no chance to be in Logan Roy's good books. But Tom is too caught up in his own hopes and dreams. His angst finally comes out in that hilarious scene of the second season finale when he eats chicken off Logan's plate and storms off.
Sausage party
Tom always gets bullied by the top ranks of the family so he takes out his frustration at those who are inferior to him. This is evident from his behavior towards Greg, and how he turned one of his co-workers into a human footstool. Logan isn't happy when he finds out someone in the family is leaking news to a biographer and confronts the entire family on a dinner. He deduces that the culprit might either be Karl, Greg, or Tom.
He makes Tom and the other two bend on their knees and 'oink' like pigs. He then throws a sausage at them in a game called 'Boar on the Floor.' Whoever catches the sausage first (with their mouths) is innocent. "Karl stole my sausage," Tom cries with no sausage in his mouth. It's definitely one of the worst humiliations he has faced. Roman even records the whole encounter.
Dinner insults continue
Tom gets insulted yet again by Shiv in yet another dinner. This time, the Roys dine with the Pierce family. The Pierces are willing to do a media deal with the family but they wish to analyze them closely before. Tom's work at ATN is brought up at the table and how his network's top anchor is a possible Neo-Nazi/skinhead supporter. Soon even Shiv joins the Pierces to take friendly jabs at her husband who mostly has no comebacks.
It becomes clear that Tom wants to be in charge but actually doesn't care about values like truthfulness and integrity in media, to his embarrassment. "Thank You, I'm a piece of dirt," he says finally with a fake smile on his face.
Greg hides a few papers
In the first season, we get introduced to Waystar Roco's troublesome past. A cruising company under the Roys, the company's ex-COO and various others were involved in many sexual crimes, most of which are documented. As Tom serves as the current CEO, he breaks a sweat and instructs Greg to shred all these documents.
Greg is smart though, as he still keeps a few papers with him in case he ever had to blackmail Tom. The plan fails eventually as Tom finds out and forces him to shred these too. But this incident shows Tom that literally anyone in this family can outsmart him.
Tom, the Scapegoat
News finally breaks out about the Waystar sex scandals and Tom's name is thrown in the mix. This is when he finds his position in the family day by day. They use him as a scapegoat. He's pushed to appear in the Senate trial on the company (along with other family members too) but he performs the worst as he's the least-prepared.
Visibly nervous and cracking under pressure, Tom whips out lie after lie at the Senate. Logan and the others are disappointed in him even if Shiv handles the situation later. Roman calls Tom various names like 'meat puppet' after the trial.
Tom, the would-be 'blood sacrifice'
In the second season finale, we see how Logan tries making his son Kendall a blood sacrifice for the media to pounce on. Kendall would take all the blame for withholding the incriminating information that the company had on Waystar Roco, and go to prison for it. Although initially, Logan planned on shifting this blame to someone else.
His eyes were set on Tom and the family does agree that Tom has lately been inefficient for the company. His recent performance at the Senate Trial also showed the family that he can't even lie effectively. Finally, it's Shiv who begs her father to incriminate anyone but Tom.
The 'open' relationship
The reasons behind Tom and Shiv's open relationship is unclear as it comes off to Tom as a very sudden move. Is Shiv actually interested in keeping her intimate life open or is she just trying to cover her infidelity? Whatever be the case, it's evident that it takes a toll on Tom's mental state. He makes this obvious while talking to her on a Mediterranean shore.
In the heart-to-heart talk that follows, Tom confesses that he feels unhappy around her and it feels like Shiv forced her concept of love on him. He had accepted whatever Shiv wanted from him without hesitation but now, he had finally reached his breaking point.
The butt of all jokes
Succession is a show where the characters get poetic with their profanities and their sarcastic insults. Tom becomes the common butt of jokes for all members of the family, barring Cousin Greg. Since the family doesn't take him seriously, none of the associates take him seriously either.
For instance, after the whole 'Boar on the Floor' drama, even ATN head Cyd Peach takes a shot at him during breakfast. She offers him a sausage from the buffet and when Tom declines, she slyly says "I'll eat your sausage, Tom." In the same episode, Shiv even calls Tom her 'meat puppet.' There are various examples like these all through the show.