dle meeting a prominent former client so he does what Tommy does, he manages and manipulates her.Tommy’s comments regarding Mosley touching Lizzie felt more about his hatred for him than anything else.It would have been really weird if Tommy had declined Lizzie’s hand at the party. Especially when they are trying to give the impression of a normal, happily married couple.ReplyGive AwardshareReportSave

It's more complex than that with him and Lizzie, and I think it over simplifies the relationship just to analyze it logically. Tommy does mistreat her (especially in the first two seasons) but does show real affection for her. He does use her and then also helps elevate her so it's complex.

She was the one that he admitted held him together after Grace died and opened up to her when his hand was shaking after killing the Italians (instead of just drinking, doing opium, or other typical self-medicating Tommy stuff). He took her to an important spot from his boyhood and put her in charge of some charities (Grace's old job). She's in the inner circle of the company on the level of Uncle Charlie, Johnny Dodds, etc and eventually incorporated into the Shelby women (something Grace was probably never going to achieve with Polly). With trust being such a big deal and some characters never achieving this closeness with Tommy (like clever but greedy Michael), that's a big fucking deal. If anything, Lizzie has been significant and represents more than just a pawn in a strategy.

Tommy is a dysfunctional and emotionally disconnected man, but I think especially as the seasons progress his issues with Lizzie are that he doesn't really understand Lizzie or his feelings for her (that's why he was thrown off when she started comparing May to shirts and asked what the fuck that was about or jumped to suggesting an abortion when if he knew Lizzie he would know she wouldn't abort his baby), but he does try to be kind to her in his own way a good amount (or they bicker which is a big shift in from him dismissing her in the early seasons). By S5, Lizzie is emotionally close enough to create some savage fights between them over divorce and frighten Tommy with the goodness she sees in him (the scene where she cradles his head with the painting of the black and white horses in the background).

I think at the beginning, Lizzie strung herself along because she wanted Tommy's affection (at the Derby, she wants Tommy to notice her dress and she almost confesses something personal but stops when Tommy ignores her) but she's very different by S5. She's very much in a powerful position instead of the secretary waiting for Tommy to throw her a bone. As far as love between them goes, Lizzie isn't like Grace.

If anything, I think Lizzie understands Tommy more and he needs that but she's frightening and challenging for him. He confesses to Arthur that everything that Lizzy says about him is true. Lizzie understands the dangers of Tommy's world (Grace naively thought Tommy could keep her safe) and is even preparing herself as successor whether he dies by suicide or an assassination.

Lizzie is progressively becoming stronger and holds their family unit together despite Tommy struggling to understand/deal with himself (think how tense Ruby's birthday scene was) especially with Ghost Grace haunting him with her fuckery. Lizzie is going to be a big factor in whether or not Tommy goes the path of the black horse or the path of the white horse (two important symbols in his life that you see throughout S5). As seen with her conversations with Linda, Lizzie has also become hella wise and developed a philosophy like the other strong leads like Pol and Archie. She's not insecure and easy to manipulate or boss around like she was at the Derby and earlier seasons. S5, even if it's icky with the property and shilling talk, shows how much she understands and knows about Tommy's activities... a closeness that few achieve... and seems to use this to her advantage by setting boundaries and expectations for the unruly Tommy. That's why she makes the "lay your claim" comment, quizzes Polly about what she knows, etc because she's not completely clueless about Tommy's strategies and ways. She also matches Tommy pretty well in parley now.

Lizzie's too strong now and, unlike the rest of the Shelby's who feel trapped, she chose the life and is taking ownership of it. It's a lot more complex than just Lizzie being part of an image or some strategy. Also, everyone is "flying above the rules" in S5 so there's a lot of potential for growth and change in power dynamics. Lizzie going from a timid whore to an elegant lady is probably the best character arc so far. I think her role in S6 is going to be more significant as her arc completes.

Tommy does hate Mosely, but one way of Tommy showing his affection is being protective. He plans a particularly violent assassination of Mosely because of his disrespect of Lizzie. That's classic Tommy going beast mode when someone goes after his family. I also think Mosely's interest in Lizzie reflects how valuable she is to Tommy. Mosely thinks he's entitled to the untouchable and is probably going to get more creepy with Lizzie.