In any game, there are, of course, losers. Shruti Marathe — who organized three different rounds of betting that included more than 60 participants across five different social groups — had her sights set on Kendall. (Money was not involved because of the elaborate betting process.)
“Even when I was watching the finale, I did not fully believe it was going to be Tom,” Ms. Marathe, a 25-year-old development manager in Los Angeles, said. A majority of those who participated in her betting series believed that Kendall would be the new face of Waystar Royco, she said.
Still, she continued, “I was satisfied with the ending, and I think Jesse Armstrong landed the plane correctly.”
After the series finale, attentive netizens pointed out that there were hints all along that Tom would take control of the company.
Some noted that Tom beat out three other competitors and shared a similar last name to Bill Wambsganss, a Cleveland second baseman who turned the only unassisted triple play in World Series history. Others said that the show’s creators had foreshadowed Shiv’s betrayal of Kendall in the finale with the Season 4 poster, where Shiv can be seen standing behind her husband, Tom, in a reflection.
Those details, though, were lost on many viewers like Riva Dhamala, a user-experience designer and Mr. An’s wife, who placed her money on Shiv. “I thought Shiv would pull a girl-boss move and steal the company out from under her brothers,” Ms. Dhamala, 27, said. “But Justin always wins,” she said, referring to her husband.
“Though, if you really think about it,” she added, “we both kind of won. I actually wear Justin’s clothes all of the time.”
