In an episode of Succession filled with incredible scenes (Logan and Kendall’s set piece on the beach, Adrien Brody’s intense commitment to layering, every scene featuring Roman and Gerri), Tom and Greg once again stole the show in episode four. In a scene as creepily weird as you’d expect from Tom Wambsgans, a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and his increasingly twitchy protege/victim Greg, Tom shared the story of Roman emperor Nero and his slave Sporus.
Tom has a new book on the Roman Empire, apparently, to read in prison (earlier the episode we saw him flicking through a ring binder of open prison options, as though looking at a holiday brochure, in preparation for becoming the family’s sacrificial lamb). And the story that piqued his interest was recorded by historians at the time, and appears to be based on real people although there are different versions of the story. Nero was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 37-86 AD. The story of Spuro starts with Nero’s wife Poppaea Sabina dying in unclear circumstances (she may have died in childbirth, he is rumoured to have kicked her to death - in Tom’s version, she falls down the stairs). Nero then has his slave Sporus castrated and turned into a Eunuch, and marries him instead.
The story is pretty dark on many levels - there is some speculation that Sporus was a child slave chosen for his beauty and sexual attractiveness, and in this instance, he was said in some accounts to bear an uncanny resemblance to Poppoaea Sabina, leading to speculation that Nero married Sporus to assuage his guilt over his part in her death.
How much of this is actually true, is of course impossible to know, but it’s certainly the story Tom was referring to, and lead us to a big question: what exactly was Tom foreshadowing?
And now we've seen the finale of season three of Succession, we have the answer. When Shiv rang Tom to tell him she had teamed up with her brothers Kendall and Roman, to form a supermajority and oust their father before he sells Waystar Royco to tech firm GoJo. However, once they arrive, they discover that their father was already two steps ahead - changing the terms of his divorce settlement with their mother (which was where their supermajority came from) so they lost their deciding vote.
As the three of them come to terms with this news, Shiv wonders out loud, 'who told him we were coming?' She then looks up and sees Tom walk up to the room they're in, to be briefly greeted by her father before he comes in to comfort her. It's to the viewer, and Shiv, that Tom has thrown Shiv under the bus, losing her any chance of retaining any control in the company.
Lest you were in any doubt that Tom's interest in the Roman empire was all leading up to this point, in an earlier scene, after speaking to Shiv on the phone (and presumably after deciding to tell Logan what they were planning), Tom grabs Greg and asks him if he'll stick with him in what comes next (without ever explaining what that actually means). He refers to him as Sporus one more time - 'so you wanna come with me Sporus?'
Fans are even speculating that Shiv could bepregnant- just like Nero's wife is before he does the dirty on her. She's spotted toasting her mother at the wedding with water, and briefly puts her hand to her stomach when she realises her husband has betrayed her. It could be a coincidence and a spot of foreshadowing too far, or it could be the starting point for season four of Succession. Only time will tell...