GerriRoman

GerriRoman is the het ship between Gerri Kellman and Roman Roy from the Succession fandom.

Canon
Gerri works as a General Counsel at Waystar Royco, company run by Roman’s father Logan. Roman is a young man of delicate constitution, as a child he was mistreated by his siblings who now refuse to admit the fact of abuse; later he was sent to military school against his will. Being subtle, clever, and charming, Gerri seems to get along well with all of the Roy family members. She appears to be one of the few Roman’s friends, the other two being his sister Shiv and brother Kendall, who he has a love-hate relationship with, at times sprinkled with rivalry. It is clear that Roman trusts Gerri and fully relies on her during difficult moments.

After Logan has a stroke, his children start thinking about who could be the best fit for the position of a provisional head company. Roman and Shiv come to conclusion that Gerri would be best suited for that role. Roman talks to her and offers her the proposition, but Gerri declines, saying the job would be too stressful for her. Gerri admits that “her Baird“ was once admitted to the same hospital Logan is at. Roman at first doesn’t get who the man she mentioned is, so she has to remind him that it was her husband, who is now dead.

Later Roman is appointed supervisor for the satellite launch in Japan, but he doesn’t go to the space center instead opting for the luxurious celebration held in the name of his sister’s wedding. To make things worse, he accelerates the process so that it could be on the day of the wedding ceremony — a gift to his sister. The launch fails and the satellite blows up; Gerri confronts Roman, but he says he didn’t know about the satellite explosion, which is a lie since he watched it broadcast live in the bathroom earlier. Roman admits he is the reason for the disastrous liftoff, and asks Gerri to protect him in case of a lawsuit being brought against him. Later Gerri informs him that the incident led to no human casualties, and Roman is ecstatic to hear the news. Roman and Gerri travel to Japan for a press conference. The two later go to the Hamptons, where Logan names Gerri the nominal successor of the company. When Roman is forced to go to Vaulter, the newly acquired company, for a routine checkup, he feels out of place, and calls Gerri who is at a meeting. He asks her to come over, Gerri is stunned by the audacity, and they predictably exchange insults.

Following his girlfriend Tabatha’s advice, Roman gets in contact with the board member of the rivaling company that Waystar Royco wants to take over, apparently it’s a mistake, and Roman’s father finds out about it. The next morning Gerri visits hungover Roman, and tells him that instead of turning to unreliable people for advice he can ask her. Roman asks Gerri what he should do to make Logan see him seriously, and Gerri advises him to take a management course. Roman doesn’t feel well after the night of drinking, and Gerri volunteers to button his shirt. Roman crudely comments on how sexually attractive Gerri is, and Gerri replies jokingly saying that she usually gets such compliments from 90-year-old men.

Roman starts the training program, and calls Gerri to tell her he was barely featured in the promotional video they were showing the participants. Roman complains about the course and jokes that with time he will start acting like an adult, engaging in activities normal for other people like having phone sex with his girlfriend, a thing he will try later with Tabatha. The attempt goes unsuccessfully, and Roman calls Gerri instead. They exchange insults, and Gerri’s foul language arouses Roman, who, with Gerri’s consent, starts physically stimulating himself. While Gerri participates only verbally, she seems excited. The next day the two awkwardly bump into each other at the elevator’s doors, and Roman lets Gerri go ahead, but she insists he goes first, while insulting him once again by comparing him to faeces.

Roman and his girlfriend don’t get intimate, and that comes up in a conversation at dinner with the Pierce family, as Tabatha calls herself and Roman “eunuch besties”. Roman says she’s joking and tries to cloak his insecurity with sheer bravado, but Gerri sitting across from him looks at him reprehensibly. Later that night Roman and Tabatha try to be together, but it ends in failure, and Roman goes to Gerri to talk about his future in the company. Roman suggests they get on one of their “special conference calls”. Gerri gets in the mood, and immediately starts berating him. She tells him to go in the bathroom, and as she keeps talking to him through the door, he touches himself in the same fashion like he did the other night.

The next morning during breakfast, Roman’s brother-in-law Tom asks if anyone did anything fun last night, and Roman plainly and openly tells everyone present his girlfriend included about pleasuring himself in Gerri’s bathroom. Everyone thinks Roman is jesting, and he adds it was Gerri’s idea. Gerri says that even as a joke it’s a stomach-turning thought. Later when they’re attending a convention, Gerri gives Roman a tip on who could become Waystar Royco's potential investor. Roman jokingly asks if this is Gerri’s attempt at making up with him after she didn’t tell him about her suspicions regarding Shiv and Logan's conspirational deal. Gerri tells him that this is a great chance at showing Logan that Roman is capable of succeeding, as she herself suggested him for this role to Logan, who, according to her, previously had wanted to employ Tom.

Later that night Roman visits Gerri to report on his mission, and proposes the idea of them teaming up. Roman assesses Gerri as a talented yet invisible worker, who could develop master plans behind the closed doors, while he could be in the front, executing her brilliant ideas. Roman says he sees them as a chairperson and a CEO. Gerri says it late and sees him out. From that moment they start working together, discussing their next moves behind the closed doors. One time Roman proposes they should get married.

When Roman is taken hostage in Turkey, he and his colleagues play the more explicit version of the game “kiss, marry, kill”. Jamie Laird says he would marry Gerri, and Roman acts scandalized as if he cannot believe his colleague actually likes Gerri in that way. After they are saved and taken back home, Gerri welcomes still traumatized Roman on board of the family yacht, when the Roys go on vacation.

Quotes
"Can you come over? I just want you in the room."

- Roman calling Gerri in the middle of a meeting in Season 2 Episode 2: "Vaulter"

Fanon
Gerri and Roman are the second most written ship on Archive of Our Own. It is generelly considered to be well-recieved among the Succession fans. The dynamic betwen Roman and Gerri is so fascinating that it appeals even to non-shippers.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Gerri/Roman tag on AO3

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Trivia

 * The actors playing Gerri and Roman, J. Smith-Cameron and Kieran Culkin respectively, have known each other for more than 15 years since they met on the set of “Margaret”, a film in which Culkin played the classmate of Smith-Cameron’s on-screen daughter.
 * J. Smith-Cameron admitted that writer Will Tracy wanted to drop the bathroom scene, but she and Culkin had such great chemistry that it was decided to film it.
 * In the series finale of the show, during Roman's last ever scene, he can be seen ordering a dry martini from a bar, which is established as being Gerri's favourite drink.