History Characters / SuccessionShivRoy

* CorneredRattlesnake: Shiv is a kicked dog who will end up biting if she's backed into a corner. She really doesn't want to do the letter, but emotional abuse from Logan and humiliation from Kendall combine for her to go through with it, telling Roman they all have to do things they don't want.

* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: In season 1, she wears her hair long and curly for a softer, feminine look, but once she starts vying for control of Waystar-Royco, she cuts it into a bob -- a favorite among career women everywhere.

%%* EvilRedhead: Her hair is strawberry blonde.

* ParentalFavoritism: Very downplayed since this is [[AbusiveParents Logan]] we're talking about. Logan's sexism also means he dismisses her as a choice for his successor, and comes down harder on her for mistakes than he does for Roman or even Kendall.

* HighPoweredCareerWoman: Shiv meets all of the qualifications: she's bitingly sarcastic, emotionally closed off, and just as ambitious as her siblings to become the successor of her father's media empire.It is clear that Logan refuses to truly consider her as a future successor because she is a woman, something that both Kendall and Roman outright mock her for at different points in the series. She also has a strained relationship with her boyfriend, later HenpeckedHusband, Tom, who she seems ambivalent at best as to whether or not she genuinely loves him. The only thing keeping her from being a fully straight example is that, unlike most examples of this trope, Shiv is [[{{Satire}} genuinely not the most competent businesswoman and has rather poor business sense]], due to a lack of experience and people skill, making her confidence and determination come off more as foolish arrogance and self-righteousness.

* TheDogBitesBack: After getting humiliated by her in “Return”, she, Kendall and Roman dig their claws into Rhea, bringing up their dad’s dead sister and making it look like she’s an alcoholic socialist.

* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:Sure, Shiv backed the winning side in the [=GoJo=] takeover and is the only Roy sibling anywhere close to the seat of power at the end of the series. But now she's trapped in a loveless marriage as the TrophyWife to Tom, who is really only Matsson's PuppetKing. And considering how the vote went down, it's unlikely she will be on speaking terms with Kendall and Roman anytime soon, if ever.]]

* TurnsOutLikeHisFather: [[spoiler: In the end, Shiv ends up in a situation just like her mother, trapped in a loveless marriage to a man she shares a mutual disdain for and in a position where she is nothing but a trophy wife and expecting a child she doesn't want.]]

[- [[Characters/SuccessionMainCharacters Main Characters]] ([[Characters/SuccessionLoganRoy Logan Roy]], [[Characters/SuccessionKendallRoy Kendall Roy]], '''Siobhan "Shiv" Roy''', [[Characters/SuccessionRomanRoy Roman Roy]], [[Characters/SuccessionTomWambsgans Tom Wambsgans]]) | [[Characters/SuccessionTheRoyFamily Extended Roy Family]] | [[Characters/SuccessionWaystarRoyco Waystar RoyCo]] | [[Characters/SuccessionOtherCompanies Other Companies]] | [[Characters/SuccessionPolitics Politics]] | [[Characters/SuccessionOtherCharacters Other Characters]]-]]]]]

* OedipusComplex: Logan only views women as worthwhile if he can fuck them (Rhea) or use them as weapons (Gerri), so more than once Shiv is referred to chasing her dad around like she's got a crush, and knifing other women to prove herself to him. She's also the one most upset at the thought of Logan fucking Kerry, an assistant who is fifty years younger than him, younger than ''her'', and already feels disposable anyway.

[- [[Characters/SuccessionMainCharacters Main Characters]] ([[Characters/SuccessionLoganRoy Logan Roy]], [[Characters/SuccessionKendallRoy Kendall Roy]], '''Siobhan "Shiv" Roy''', [[Characters/SuccessionRomanRoy Roman Roy]]), [[Characters/SuccessionTomWambsgans Tom Wambsgans]] | [[Characters/SuccessionTheRoyFamily Extended Roy Family]] | [[Characters/SuccessionWaystarRoyco Waystar RoyCo]] | [[Characters/SuccessionOtherCompanies Other Companies]] | [[Characters/SuccessionPolitics Politics]] | [[Characters/SuccessionOtherCharacters Other Characters]]-]]]]]

[- [[Characters/SuccessionMainCharacters Main Characters]] ([[Characters/SuccessionLoganRoy Logan Roy]], [[Characters/SuccessionKendallRoy Kendall Roy]], '''Siobhan "Shiv" Roy''', [[Characters/SuccessionRomanRoy Roman Roy]]) | [[Characters/SuccessionTheRoyFamily Extended Roy Family]] | [[Characters/SuccessionWaystarRoyco Waystar RoyCo]] | [[Characters/SuccessionOtherCompanies Other Companies]] | [[Characters/SuccessionPolitics Politics]] | [[Characters/SuccessionOtherCharacters Other Characters]]-]]]]]

* WomanChild: Acts like that when it's time for her father's approval, and acts jealous of Marcia for having his attention.

* TooCleverByHalf: She thinks she can play everyone, keep all the plates spinning, but it ends up crashing down around her, mostly by a NotSoAboveItAll talent for self-sabotage. She is also smart enough to know exactly how awful Logan is but mistakenly believes that she will be able to succeed where her brothers failed through her superior intellect and be able to earn his love and respect.

* WomanChild: Might hide it better than her brothers, but she regresses just as bad when it's time for her father's approval, and acts jealous of Marcia for having his attention.
* WomanOfWealthAndTaste: Most members of her family are either terrible or boring dressers, and Shiv is the only Roy who is considered something of a style icon within the fandom.
* WomenAreWiser: She is the most conventionally intelligent and put-together of all the Roy children, and initially finds success in a career outside of the family business. However, her ambition pulls her right back under Logan's thumb.

* ParentalFavoritism: Very downplayed since this is [[AbusiveParents Logan]] we're talking about, but he does seem to have more respect for her than he does Kendall or Roman, which is [[DamnedByFaintPraise admittedly not saying much]]. On the flip side, Logan's sexism also means he dismisses her as a choice for his successor, despite her intellect, and comes down harder on her for mistakes than he does for Roman or even Kendall. However, he also seems to value her opinion and has a rare moment of vulnerability when he insists to her that he had no idea what was happening on the cruises, genuinely upset at the notion that she seems him as a monster who would allow such behavior to go on.

* BadassBoast: As smart and well-connected as she is, she is never wise enough to ''not'' advertise these facts, which then tends to backfire for her.

* SmallNameBigEgo: Downplayed as Shiv is genuinely very smart and capable but she tends to carry herself like she's a strategic and executive genius who can run intellectual circles around her brothers when a good portion of her rep has been built on relatively easy victories with one character noting that getting Democratic politicians elected in a major blue state like New York is not exactly the most impressive political achievement and others have made a point of telling her she wouldn't have made it as far as she has if not for her family name.

* HighPoweredCareerWoman: Shiv meets all of the qualifications: she's bitingly sarcastic, emotionally closed off, and just as ambitious as her siblings to become the successor of her father's media empire. Despite being arguably the most BookSmart of the Roy siblings, it is clear that Logan refuses to truly consider her as a future successor because she is a woman, something that both Kendall and Roman outright mock her for at different points in the series. She also has a strained relationship with her boyfriend, later HenpeckedHusband, Tom, who she seems ambivalent at best as to whether or not she genuinely loves him. The only thing keeping her from being a fully straight example is that, unlike most examples of this trope, Shiv is [[{{Satire}} genuinely not the most competent businesswoman and has rather poor business sense]], due to a lack of experience and people skill, making her confidence and determination come off more as foolish arrogance and self-righteousness.

* TragicDream: She tried to be outside of the family, make her own pile as Logan shouted at all of them in the season three finale, but her need for approval and need for control got her right back in, and with having to be in the picture with the family giving their support to a fascist, can never actually go back.

[[Characters/{{Succession}} Back to the Character Index.]]

* EvilRedhead: Her hair is strawberry blonde.

* FourPhilosophyEnsemble: The Realist.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Sanguine.

* AgeGapRomance: Sarah Snook's and Matt MacFayden’s age difference is thirteen years, and it’s stated in the pilot script that it’s a definite factor in their characters' relationship.

* OutnumberedSibling: She is Logan's only daughter. This is PlayedForDrama throughout the series, as she struggles to be taken seriously in spite of her gender, and noted at [[spoiler: Logan's funeral, where her eulogy talks about the unique difficulties of being her father's daughter]].

* GranolaGirl: She’s fundamentally a right-leaning centrist, but in comparison with the rest of her Republican family. It’s telling that, while most concerned with optics and their own gain, she and Kendall are the only ones who express any kind of sympathy with the victims of the cruises, and she doesn’t believe Logan when he says he didn’t sexually abuse anyone.

* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:Sure, Shiv backed the winning side in the [=GoJo=] takeover and is the only Roy sibling anywhere close to the seat of power at the end of the series. But now she's trapped in a toxic, loveless marriage as the TrophyWife to Tom, who is really only CEO at Matsson's pleasure. And considering how the vote went down, it's unlikely she will be on speaking terms with Kendall and Roman anytime soon, if ever.]]

* AgeGapRomance: Sarah and Matt’s age difference is thirteen years, and it’s stated in the pilot script that it’s a definite factor in their relationship.

* AuthorityInNameOnly: Runs into it in “Lion In The Meadow” where she gets to play boss, but Tom feels emasculated taking orders from her, Karl runs to her dad so he can rip into her and she has to play nice with Ravenhead, a fascist she hates.

** She really does love her brothers, siding with them against her dad in the season three finale. The only glimmers of maternal instinct she has is when she’s trying to tell Roman she genuinely supports him, or when Kendall actually admits he’s in a bad way and she’s willing to look after him.

* BreakTheHaughty: While always a BrokenBird more vulnerable than she wants to be, she goes from being able to call her dad out in season one to “I do what my dad tells me” in season three. The finale has her angry crying and mocked by Logan for it.

** She has a habit of puckering her lips when she’s trying to will herself to do something she doesn’t want to do.

* DeclarationOfProtection: The way she shows love is protection and being as sacrificial as she can manage. Telling Logan that Rhea can have the CEO job is part plotting but also giving it up because she loves her father, whenever she’s manipulating in the company she wants Tom looked after, and she tries to look after Kendall, feeling a lot of guilt when it’s him vs Tom for the blood sacrifice.

* FashionHurts: From season two, she uses power suits and high heels as armor to make her look like a proper business woman, but, while she looks great, is regularly uncomfortable and would rather not be wearing said heels.

* FreudianExcuse: Her close to tears spiel about how love is fake really hurts Tom, but it’s clear she’s taking from experience, especially with how her dad’s love is so conditional and she has been forced to succeed as much as she has to earn it and knows even that will never be enough given his [[HeManWomanHater misogynistic views]]. Snook and [=MacFadyen=] have also both talked about how she had traumatic/abusive boyfriends before Tom, and [[https://web.archive.org/web/20211209102531/https://www.dn.se/kultur/matthew-macfadyen-ren-terapi-att-spela-en-sa-lojlig-figur-som-tom-i-succession/ how she trusts him to not betray, defile or leave her]].

* HeroicBSOD: At the end of “All The Bells Say”, her mother has denied all responsibility for abuse, her father screwed them over, her husband betrayed her, her brothers were and are having breakdowns; no wonder she's on the edge of BerserkerTears.
* HerOwnWorstEnemy: Shiv suffers from a chronic case of foot in mouth disease, a desperate need to be acknowledged and told she’s smart, and wants so badly to be not another disposable woman that if you promise to protect her she’ll do anything.

* HumiliationConga: The essence of her storyline throughout Season 2. Season three continues it, to the point where even Kendall realises she’s now in his forced-dutiful place from the second season.

** She also seems to look down on her brothers for their reliance on their father and desire for his approval but it's made repeatedly clear that Shiv wouldn't have achieved what she has without the family name and that she's just as desperate for his approval as they are.
** While she pressures an openly uncomfortable Tom in to an open marriage and readily uses that to sleep with other men, she brow beats Tom in to backing out of sleeping with another woman at a party, and later admits that the thought of Tom sleeping with other people upsets her.

* InSeriesNickname: Logan calls her "Pinky". Meanwhile her brothers will use “Shivvy” when they’re being patronising.

* KickTheDog: She and Kendall destroy each other in “The Disruption”, him humiliating her at her press conference and making her run off to cry, while she airs out every personal issue he had (something she didn’t want to do before he kicked and Logan manipulated her) and makes him run off to hug his knees like a little kid.

* LockedOutOfTheLoop: As Logan actually has no interest in her taking over in season two, she only finds about shit in the company long after everyone else. She tells Kendall and Roman that she didn’t know about cruises because she was a child, and they refuse to believe her.

* MamaBear: She’s his younger sister, but Kendall still pleads with her to look after him anyway in season two, as he’s defined himself by being of use to his dad. She’s also just as fast to protect Roman after Logan smacks him so hard he loses a tooth, and tells them both in the season three finale that they actually need to talk about the abuse shit instead of lashing out at each other.

* MirrorCharacter: All the Roys in some way are mirrors to each other, but Shiv is her dad’s only daughter (which neither he or her brothers let her forget) while Kendall is his dad’s number one boy (who in Logan’s eyes, has failed in his gender) and [[https://birdmans.tumblr.com/post/668680959687786496/ they have similar story arcs]]. Sarah Snook said herself Shiv is a mirror to both Logan and Kendall.

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: She feels a lot of guilt for asking her dad for anyone but Tom, knowing that the only choice left is Kendall, who she promised to look after. She even tries to apologize in her own way when they next meet up.

* NeverBeHurtAgain: Part of the reason why she tightens up so much and never lets anyone in is she knows full well just how full of trauma her family life is, and would much rather control than the other way round.

* NoRespectGuy: She tells Karl what to do, as his boss, and he immediately calls Logan, who rips her to shreds over the phone. She also gets a win at the shareholder’s meeting but gets yelled at, and is forced to accept a nazi candidate.

** As much as she mocks the others for self destruction, she fucks up multiple opportunities all on her own.

* ObviouslyNotFine: As much as she pretends she’s okay and stoic, there are tears in her eyes almost any time she interacts with her father. She’s also on the edge of tears talking to Keira, saying if she comes forward she’ll be ripped apart.

** When her family seriously considers voting in a fascist during "What It Takes", she gets more and more upset as Mencken is dangerous. Unfortunately her emotions running higher means they dismiss her as a HystericalWoman, despite how she’s the only one who knows what she’s talking about.

* ParentalFavoritism: Very downplayed since this is [[AbusiveParents Logan]] we're talking about but he does seem to have more respect for her than he does Kendall or Roman, which is [[DamnedByFaintPraise admittedly not saying much]]. On the flip side, Logan's sexism also means he dismisses her as a choice for his successor, despite her intellect, and comes down harder on her for mistakes than he does for Roman or even Kendall. However, he also seems to value her opinion and has a rare moment of vulnerability when he insists to her that he had no idea what was happening on the cruises, genuinely upset at the notion that she seems him as a monster who would allow such behavior to go on.
* ParentalSubstitute: Kendall asks her to take care of him because he knows neither of his parents will, and they both agree that dad can do whatever he wants except hit Roman. As the only girl in the family, Caroline being absent even when she was there, Logan will expect her to play babysitter for all her brothers.

** She's angry at her dad in season one for breaking her older brothers, and calls him on planting stories that Kendall is out getting high after being fired.

* SexySecretary: While trying to be Logan (who did the same thing to Kendall in season two, and wants him chained down doing mail), Roman creeps Shiv out by saying when he takes over he’ll put her in the office next to her and make her this.

* StepfordSmiler: As Mark Mylod puts it, she uses all her strength to keep on the teflon coat and tries to deny how much pain and anger she has.

* TooCleverByHalf: She thinks she can play everyone, keep all the plates spinning, but it ends up crashing down around her, mostly by a NotSoAboveItAll talent for self sabotage. She is also smart enough to know exactly how awful Logan is but mistakenly believes that she will be able to succeed where her brothers failed through her suprior intellect and be able to earn his love and respect.

* TheUnfettered: She'll do anything to make her candidate win, and being on the winning side in general. Despite being ostensibly liberal, she isn't afraid to use her name to try to get a news station to sink a negative story about her candidate. She then abandons said candidate for being too "safe" (that is, boring) and then gets behind Gil, getting him to put aside his principles for a compromise with Logan (which she secured via blackmail); this makes her lover aghast, as he's backing Gil out of sincere belief, and she mocks him for his idealism.

* WellDoneSonGuy: A rare female variant and as such, this trope is played with. She starts the show off as being an outsider by choice and puts up a strong front that she is above seeking her father's approval. But season 2, in which she re-enters the company to vie for the CEO position, makes it very clear that she is not, to disastrous effect for her.
** You can even read her initial distance from the inner circle in season 1 as a tacit acknowledgement that she is likely to never get the approval she so seeks from Logan, so she removed herself as a form of self-preservation. Too bad it didn't stick.

** She admits that her mother can always make her cry, and moves the wedding to England just to appease her.

* PyrrhicVictory: [[spoiler:Sure, Shiv backed the winning side in the [=GoJo=] takeover and is the only Roy sibling anywhere close to the seat of power at the end of the series. But now she's trapped in a toxic, loveless marriage with Tom, who is really only CEO at Matsson's pleasure. And considering how the vote went down, it's unlikely she will be on speaking terms with Kendall and Roman anytime soon, if ever.]]

* TrophyWife: The extra gendered humiliation of her being a ReplacementGoldfish for Kendall, Logan really wants to both ignore her and have her dressed up looking pretty saying lots of nice things about him, parading her around like a trophy.