6 times ‘Succession’ may have hinted at who was going to get CEO in the end

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the ending of "Succession."

If "Succession" were the real world, then the events of the finale would make a succinct headline in a newspaper's business section: "Tom Wambsgans named Waystar RoyCo's new CEO."

But because "Succession" is not quite real and rather a Shakespearean HBO drama, audiences got to see the four season-long lead-up to the shock ending — or, maybe, not-so-shock ending.

Following the May 28 finale, fans have been trawling through the show's prior episodes for proof that Tom, Logan Roy's son-in-law, would walk away with the prize his children were all after: control of his media company.

The Easter eggs, it turns out, are ample. That's because creator Jesse Armstrong always knew where show would land, as he confirmed during an “Inside the Episode” segment that aired after the finale.

“Tom being the eventual successor, that had been something that I thought was the right ending for quite a while,” Armstrong said. “Even though he’s not exactly the most powerful monarch you’ll ever meet, his power comes from Matsson. Those figures who drift upwards and make themselves amenable to powerful people are around.”

Here are a few of the clues that positioned Tom, the husband of Logan's daughter Siobhan, as the media mogul's successor.

One popular clue about Tom's ascension came via a viral TikTok posted May 25 by Sophie Kihm, editor-in-chief of the baby name website NameBerry. The TikTok argued that Tom's last named — Wambsgans — foreshadowed his successor.

In 1920, Bill Wambsganss, a second baseman for Cleveland (then called the Cleveland Americans), became the only baseball player to complete an unassisted triple play during a World Series game.

An unassisted triple play is when one baseball player completes all three outs in a single play, without the help of teammates — like Tom taking out Shiv, Kendall and Roman Roy in the finale.

Fans also pointed out a scene from Season Two in which Tom takes a piece of chicken off of Logan's plate without explanation. On Twitter, the writer Linda Holmes called this moment "the bravest anybody ever was" in the show.

At the time, Tom was set to be blamed for Waystar, and ostensibly be sent to prison. This was his way of showing Logan he could be aggressive.

"What the f---," Logan says. Before walking away, Tom replies, "Thank you, Logan. Thank you for the chicken."

Could a drumstick be a stand-in for the entire company? Twitter thinks so. "They laid it all out for us!" one Twitter user wrote.

Others said Tom skipping Logan's funeral was a clue of his CEO eligibility, as this tweet from before the finale suggested.

Logan seemed to prioritize business over personal celebrations, and held Kendall in contempt for choosing to celebrate his own birthday over closing a deal. Logan, in Season Four, was on his way to the GoJo deal instead of Connor's wedding. Tom, following Logan's precedent, went to work instead of the funeral.

Alexander Skarsgard, who plays Waystar Royco's buyer Lukas Mattson, said on the official "Succession" podcast that his absence from the funeral is indeed is what tipped Lukas off to Tom.

While at the funeral, Lukas overhears Greg and Shiv talk about Tom being at work, and interprets this as Tom prioritizing work — meaning he's ideal CEO material.

"It's a moment of Mattson registering that he's a hard worker. He's not at the funeral of Logan Roy, the giant, because he's at work. The fact that he's loyal — as long as he's the top dog, he's loyal — makes him the perfect fit," Skarsgard said. He continued: "His assessment of Tom is that he's drawn to power and money. He knows, 'He's going to stay in my orbit as long as I'm the sun.'"

There may have been a clue in the Season Four promotional poster, as this tweet suggests, pointing out the "beam of light" from the building landing on Tom's head.

Further, Shiv's reflection is behind Tom's in the photo.

Even if "Succession" viewers didn't completely see it coming, maybe Tom did. In one Season Three, Episode Six scene with Kendall — who always saw himself as his father's successor — Tom expresses his doubts about Kendall's leadership capabilities.

"Having been around a bit, my hunch is is that you're going to get f---ed, because I've seen you get f---ed a lot, and I've never seen Logan get f---d once," Tom says.

Tom was not "the eldest boy," like Kendall, and maybe that made all the difference.

Tom was among the few characters to use an Android, not an iPhone, as this TikTok showed. Logan also used an Android. Like father-in-law, like son-in-law?