There’s been ongoing debate about the birth order of Logan Roy’s two youngest child, Siobhan Roy and Roman Roy, since the show began. For some, Shiv’s early interactions with her brothers suggest a special treatment that only the baby sister could receive. For others, Roman’s smartass persona reeks of youngest child syndrome. Centrists claim twinship, or at least the Irish kind. This is all an incredibly silly argument since HBO has a page that clearly states she is the younger sibling.
Also…look at her.
When we think of the youngest daughter in a family dominated by (mostly stupid) men, we think of a princess. A girl raised in a bit of a bubble, protected from the harsher realities of life and spoiled beyond measure. Shiv Roy would hate to think that’s what she is. Her story is that she left the nest, found a career in politics, and only got drawn back in because her father saw potential in her. But…what potential?
I think the key moment in the early seasons for understanding Shiv is her refusal to attend management training. After being promised the CEO position by her father, he makes the request that she beef up her skills in order to prepare herself for this role. Despite her non-experience in the world of news, film, theme parks, cruises and everything else Waystar does, she refuses.
Because she has been raised in a bubble. The youngest daughter is the family princess. Not in terms of being petted and cuddled, because clearly that isn’t the type of person Logan or Caroline were. But Shiv relies on her wealth and access just as much as Connor, Kendall and Roman. More, maybe. Her political career seems to at least be buoyed by her connections. If she applied for pretty much any role at Waystar without her nepotistic credentials, she’d be laughed out of the room.
Her natural abilities have gotten her this far, and she believes they can get her to the top. Ignoring the fact that her two biggest internal rivals have been working for their father for most (if not all) of their adult lives. Shiv knows she is an intelligent person, while her brothers are walking blunders. If she has talent, why shouldn’t she just take what’s hers.
Logan didn’t need to train his way to CEO.
As much as Kendall sees himself as the natural heir to Logan, so does Shiv. Clearly emulating her father once she’s entered the company, she ditches her florals and more distinctly feminine outfits for a pantsuit and bob. This style change slowly becomes looser and more dishevelled over time, particularly by her father’s death. Darker too, as if mourning before she has to. She has no one she’s trying to impress anymore once Logan cuts her off.
Misogyny plays a huge part in her treatment within the show, because Waystar is an inherently old, cruel, and distinctly male company. It’s Fox News with cruise ships, but somehow worse. Shiv has a level of protection from the common man, but at her level, they’re equally as vicious, if not more so. Kendall doesn’t yell about the status her “teats” give her for nothing. But for her, this clearly seems like a small price to pay to be better than everyone else. She likes being the deviation from the norm. It gives her power.
In a room full of men, Shiv Roy rarely finds herself at the centre. And she is usually in a room full of men. It isn’t a problem for her, in fact it seems preferable. She likes being one of the few women in spaces made for men. It makes her feel special. In most instances on the show, Shiv represents a type of accepted aberration. She’s the girl. The “good” one. Something distinct and extraordinary. But not in a way that actually wins anything substantial.
You’re scared to compete.
Logan loved his daughter immensely. But he also clearly despised what he saw as her weakness. She, in turn, wanted his respect without understanding what he could respect. It isn’t just that she’s a woman, it’s that she’s a coward. Even in Norway, when everyone else is playing the game one way, her only option is to go low. Lukas Matsson treats her like a therapist, and while that interaction is a win, it’s a secret one. Everyone just assumes she slept with him. Kendall, for all his duplicity, played the game. Roman too. That’s something Logan could have respected, which is clearly what she wanted.
No matter what’s happening, Shiv rarely tosses her hat in directly. She capitulates regularly and throws aside her morals for moves that are always, in retrospect, terrible. That’s how she ended up smiling next to a man she thinks of as evil. Even in her personal life, she rarely has a backbone. When her father called her a coward for marrying Tom, it meant more than that. And what’s worse is that, even on this level, she ends up capitulating.
The request to open up her marriage on the night of her wedding is both the most reprehensible moment Shiv has on the show, and also one of her least. It pales into comparison to her treatment of a rape victim, but at the same time, it’s a different level of cold. The kids all complain about how Logan hurt them. Her mother verbalises his behaviour as kicking the things he loved to see if they’d come back. Well, she did. She kicked a man who adored her so hard that they’re now kicking each other with steel capped boots. That’s how she likes it. He doesn’t.
Tom, for all his faults, is not evil. He wants to do the right things...to a point. The cruise scandal is something he initially finds so distasteful that it should be rectified. He only covers it up when it is clear he’ll take the burden of blame. That isn’t a defensible decision, but it doesn’t make him any worse than anyone else on the show. On a personal level, he clearly just wants to make things right, as long as he doesn’t get knifed in the process. The marriage of Shiv and Tom is doomed on so many levels, even if it clearly isn’t about to end anytime soon. Their divorce is ongoing, but there’s clearly something more underling everything.
It's telling that the Tom that Shiv is attracted to is his worst self. It’s the type of man that slicks her earlobes and tells her they’re like barnacle meat. The type of man with power and enough brainpower to outmanoeuvre her. He fails to woo her by playing nice, but when he lashes out, she’s visibly interested. She kicks, and then she comes back.
I love you.
Great, thanks.
Time and time again she has the opportunity to do and be better. Everyone can see her potential, which is why she becomes such a valuable ally in the games. But she rarely plays as aggressively as her brothers. She assumes she’s won before they’ve even started. That’s how she embarrasses herself at dinner, and why she’s smirking after aligning herself with a man who sends bricks of his own blood to women he likes.
When people say Shiv Roy is the worst of the family, I don’t think they’re talking about her personal actions. Nobody is doing anything eviller than the others. Blood stains the whole company’s hands. What is actually lingering on everyone’s minds is her weakness. Her cowardice. Her personal limitations. Because once again, she’s affiliating herself with a man who goes against her supposed principals.
She had a soul to lose, and she sold it for pennies on the dollar.