To many, Succession is a modern day Shakespeare, with its dramatic highs and lows followed by the inevitable betrayal catapulting the show into TV history as maybe the most dysfunctional family ever to be shown on the small screen. From this cast of rogues emerges one man who is willing to lie in wait for his time to strike: Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen).

Tom Wambsgans is the most intriguing character of Succession mainly because when we begin the series, we do not know exactly how he entered the inner circle of the Roy family. Married to Siobhan Roy, Logan Roy’s only daughter, Tom is constantly in a vulnerable position. It is clear from the outset that his engagement and eventual marriage to Siobhan is far from perfect, even if he wants to think it is. This means that Tom has to play the long game, in a family where you have to fight loudly for your piece of the pie.

The most interesting character in any high stake drama is the one you never see coming, and Matthew Macfadyen brilliantly plays this role. The rest of the cast play their characters loudly. This might sound good, but as we go on Succession shows us that wearing your intentions on your sleeve is just about one of the most dangerous things you can do. Tom is far from perfect, but in a series where every character is detestable, he is a diamond in the rough. Tom feels somehow purer than the rest, maybe because he was not born into this life of extreme wealth or maybe because he seems to love his wife genuinely.

As a result of all of this, he is one of the few characters we feel we can cling to throughout Succession. We learn to sympathise with Tom, and as he puts up with more and more from the family he has married into, our bond with him only grows. A big reason for this is his relationship with Cousin Greg, a distant relative of the Roy clan who shows up looking for a way into the family. Tom is the only one who treats Greg with any level of respect, perhaps because in him Tom sees a young version of himself. Their relationship is easily one of the best parts of the show and creates some much needed levity in an otherwise dark setting.

Tom is by far the most underappreciated character because his performance throughout the show is so chameleon like. The family’s patriarch Logan Roy uses loyalty as his main form of currency with his family, and Tom sees this. He plays both sides very well, mainly because he sees for himself that Siobhan is too focused on her own play to see that he is playing her. Tom plays the game the best, and when it counts he is able to assess his position better than anyone in the Roy family, including Logan at times. He is my favourite character because in most ways he feels like the heart of the show.

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