- Fans are looking for Easter eggs in the clothes and accessories of “Succession” protagonists.
- Apple is said to not want on-screen villains using iPhones, leading to theories about Tom’s Android.
- Fans are parsing down the tiniest details of the show for hints on how the series will end.
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In the HBO show “Succession”, where the fates of protagonists can shift each episode, fans everywhere – in clothing choices and in accessories – search for clues about the ultimate fate of their favorite characters.
One visual choice that grabs viewers’ attention is the character Tom Wambsgans – the son-in-law of (season 4 spoiler alert) the family’s now-deceased patriarch, Logan Roy – who apparently uses a Samsung cell phone.
Perhaps it defines his outsider status for the iPhone-wielding Roys. It’s not hard to imagine Tom sending the oft-maligned green texts in iMessage family group chats, assuming he hasn’t been banned from them since his divorce from wife Shiv Roy.
But the fact that he isn’t using an iPhone can be telling.
A TikTok user who posted some clips showing the contrast in cell phone choice between Tom and the Roy family members hinted at another possible interpretation, as Mashable reported. The post from user @iwannabeonline contained the caption “IYKYK”, an acronym for “If you know, you know”, with a commenter decoding that as referring to Apple’s alleged efforts to control how its devices are viewed in pop culture. pictured.
In 2020, film director Rian Johnson had told Vanity Fair that Apple wouldn’t let on-screen “bad guys” use iPhones, sparking now, years later, speculation about what that might mean for everyone’s favorite professional climber on “Succession.”
Representatives from HBO and Apple also didn’t immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment Monday morning, and it’s not certain whether the Apple policies Johnson mentioned to Vanity Fair are still in effect.
It may also make little sense to apply clear narratives of “good” and “bad” to the characters of “Succession,” who constantly dwell in ethical gray areas, or flirt with being outright irredeemable.
Firstly, Kendall Roy will need a lot more than pulling out an iPhone this season to mentally cleanse after a waiter at Shiv’s wedding drowned when Kendall accidentally flew their car off a bridge at the end of Season 1.
Some “Succession” viewers on Reddit have also theorized that the characters’ company phones are Androids, while personal phones are mostly iPhones, adding another wrinkle to any theory about Tom’s possible villainous turn in the show’s final season.
However, the show has provided more insight into Tom’s motivations this season, including in a captivating scene with estranged wife Shiv in the episode “Living+”, where he admits that her wealth and status were part of why he pursued her. . “I like beautiful things,” as he clearly put it.
For fans, the moment played less like a reveal of Tom as a textbook gold digger, and more like peeling back another layer in the complex relationships of power brokers.
Other visual features that grabbed viewers this season included Shiv’s unkempt low ponytail and all-black look at her brother Connor Roy’s wedding, which has since been taken to foreshadow Logan Roy’s death in that episode.
Fans have also read Kendall’s moments in the water — in a bathtub, pool, or the open water — for signs of what’s next for Logan’s “number one boy.”