Tom is the older and more experienced of the two. Tom is around his mid-fourties at the start of the series, and graduated from Cornell with a masters in business. We meet him running the Parks division at Waystar Royco, but he soon moves on to Waystar's pride and joy, ATN News.
Tom works the hardest over any other person in his circle. Though he is able to leverage his engagement (and eventually marriage) to the CEO’s daughter, nearly every major character besides Tom has wormed their way into power at Waystar through birthright alone. Shiv undermines her father’s annual ball, whereas Tom “used to look at pictures of the RECNY in [his] mom’s old Vanity Fairs”. His success, his social standing, means a lot to him. It’s the climax of his life’s work, and yet there’s an underlying tragedy to the life he’s built for himself.
Most striking about Tom is how big his heart is. He's the most romantic man in Succession, and he expresses so much love and adoration for Shiv, whom in return is emotionally reserved and defensive. To cope with this inconsistency, he often turns to Greg for kinship. Unable to deal with the cognitive dissonance of his failing non-monogamous marriage and affection for another man, these emotions come out mangled, confusing, and overly intimate. Due to his platter of personal issues combined with career frustrations, Tom is often neurotic.
The man is insane, idealistic, sappy, pathetic, and probably bisexual. He's personally my favorite character in the show. His dopey attempts at connection are funny, but also deeply genuine. I see myself in his desperation for connection and tryhard adoration for high-brow, sophisticated society. My endearment for this character runs deep.
Trivia
He's from Saint Paul, Minnesota
His mother is a laywer, and his father is a media professor
He likes Star Wars
He likes the Eagles (band)
His last name, Wambsgans, was intentionally chosen as it sounds like an awkward cross between "womb" and "glands"
His actor, Matthew Macfadyen, is English! I think he does a fantastic American accent.
Tom with his parents on the day before his wedding.
Headcanon
age: 45 (born 1973)
bisexual (i truly believe he loves shiv)
music taste: Eagles, Steely Dan, The Beatles, R.E.M, Hall & Oates, ABBA, Elton John
