The Prestige TV Podcast - ‘Industry’ Season 2, Episodes 3 and 4 Recap

Episode Date: August 24, 2022

Wosny Lambre and Jodi Walker recap Episodes 3 and 4 of ‘Industry’ Season 2. They discuss Yasmin’s character development, the fall of Eric, Harper’s ambition, and much more. Hosts: Wosny Lambre and Jodi Walker Associate Producer: Carlos Chiriboga Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, my name is Dave Gonzalez, and I haven't read any of the books in George R. Martin's The Song of Bison Fire. I'm Joanna Robinson. I've read every book in George R. Martins, a song of ice and fire. And I'm Neil Miller, and I have also read all of those books. We are headed back to Westeros to cover the Game of Thrones spin-off series, House of the Dragon. We'll be answering your question, so send us a raven at trial by content at gmail.com. Take some bread and salt and join us Thursdays on the trial by content feed, and don't worry, you're safe. The reins of Castamere hasn't even been written yet. Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the latest edition of the Prestige TV podcast. I'm your co-host, Big Was, A.k.a. Wazley Lambray, and I'm joined by my wonderful colleague here at the Ringer, Jody Walker.

Jody, we back, and we're talking industry again. We're back, Wise. I'm excited. I'm worried. No one is doing well, especially not me when I'm watching these episodes. I got to say you were talking about episode three and four today. They are still firing on all cylinders. But between the drug use, the explicit sex, and the double crossing, I'm just, I'm pretty worried about everybody. So, man, we're going to talk about episodes three and four on today's show. And I think what's good about these two episodes is that they're two different kinds of episodes. like episode four is a sort of deep dive into the psyche of two of our characters.

And episode three is just like, let's put a bunch of our most interesting characters in one place together and just see what happens. And hijinks ensued to the point where God literally got shot in the face. I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but it was good. It was a moment. Shouts to Vice President Dick Cheney. It was just, let's get into episode three, because it was my favorite of the two for the reasons that I just stated.

Like, it's so cool to watch Eric interact with Jesse and Phelham and Jesse and Harper and Phelham and, like, Gus and Phelham's kid and Phelham. Like, it was really dope to watch these pairings sort of bounce off of each other. And I think we learned some pretty interesting stuff. And for me, even as I'm watching it and I'm reading my notes here

and it's not because this is not off of why haven't watched episode four, immediately I'm just like, yo, Eric is full of shit. This pep talk, this pen gesture, this all of that. These are the actions of a guy who's flailing. of a guy who isn't hitting his marks. And so he has to do a lot of this sideways sort of cloak and dagger type of shit to, you know, achieve his ends.

And it's so plainfully obvious, you know? Yeah, I mean, I really, well, in some ways I hate what they're doing with Eric in season two because I loved Eric in season one. I just, he's such a compelling character. I think Kinloong playing him is incredible, so good, and he and Harper together are so, so compelling. But season one spent a lot of time on that relationship.

And season two is spending not so much time, but still some of the most interesting stuff is sort of breaking that relationship down. And we saw all the ways that those two characters were the same in season one. And even in early in season two, We saw why Eric hired Harper. We saw that they come from similar backgrounds,

that they're both minorities in this space, that they weren't raised to be in this environment, and that that has in some ways made them cut out for it. Like, they have that desperation, they have that hunger. But now we see in Eric how time contributes to that desperation and that hunger. And like Harper's only a few years into this, but Eric's been here a long time, and he's been playing survival for a long time.

And the way that that has made him this sort of like insular creature who can't really trust anyone, even though I think there's like a part of him that actually does really want to mentor Harper and does want to give her a pen, a very special pen in good faith. He just can't do it because he's always looking out for number one. And he's teaching that to Harper still in many, many ways.

Where's he sitting with you? I feel like in some ways, it's like he's being turned into the villain of this season. We're going to get into it in episode four. We're going to get into my feeling. I'll get into that. But like, like you, I was very attracted to Eric in season one because of, you know, just his hunger. The guy just was after it and he had his eye on the ball. And he was cultivating something in somebody who was younger than him, right?

and somebody who he could see himself in in many ways, like that sort of outsider aspect of anything. And I thought that was a cool dynamic. It's like, this guy's a shark, but he's also teaching this person how to be a shark, how to hunt, how to survive in this ecosystem and atmosphere. I think what you're starting to see in season two is, you're like, well, why is Eric being such a dick?

And then you start to see it. It's like he does feel threatened by the youth. of his counterparts because everybody is more attracted to the youth. Everybody finds them prettier, shinier, and more magnetic. And so even

Phelom is more attracted to Harper. Harper's able to get Jesse. Jesse doesn't want anything to do with Eric. And it's because she's young. She's hungry. She's vivacious. It's like, Eric, you can't trick yourself into being 22

again. That's just not how our minds in our body's work. And I think that's where we're seeing the awkward tension and resentment stem from in this season. Is this Eric realizing his age? Yeah.

And he doesn't want to go to that upstairs office. He wants to be out on the field. He wants to be shooting people in the face. He wants to be hunting pheasants. And yeah, it's just this tension within him. And you're so right when you use the word threat,

I think he's just gotten to this point in his career where he sees everything and everyone as a threat to his well-being. And I think a lot of the things that, like, make Harper and make DVD interesting and good at their jobs is not necessarily their youth. Like, it is their skill, and it is in some ways connected to their youth

that they haven't sort of learned these bad habits. But he can kind of only see it as their youth. And therefore, he can only see himself as superior to him, to them and that they should be deferring to him in every way. It's just, it's a little self-destructive. So my favorite, and we've lingered on that interaction enough, but I wanted to say there's a reason why that part resonated with me where he's talking to Harper after she secured the Bloom deal.

It's like, is this thing that people in my culture specifically do, like, if you ever get big-headed about something, they'll tell you like, oh, so you think you're doing something, huh? Oh, you think you did something with that, huh? Oh, okay. Just remember you got an X, Y, and Z, right? And so that scene just rang so true with, like, something that I grow up and experiencing all the time. Like, you think you've done this awesome thing.

You've accomplished this awesome thing. And, you know, somebody usually older will be around to cut you down and be like, relax, calm down. Don't get gassed. We get it. Yeah, but if you're going to say that, then you better do something better. Exactly. If you're Eric and you're saying don't get gas, then you better be bringing the gas because right now Harper's got it all. Yeah, she's doing it all.

She's on a heater right now. And so another thing that I have here written down that I just had to talk to you about was Yasmin and her dad's meeting with Celeste. Just so, yo, this show is taking the awkward scene. and interaction quotient to just insane levels. Like, they do not, they will make things as awkward and weird as possible. And that scene was so crazy on a bunch of levels. What the guy's wearing to the meeting, like, he's wearing some, like, tennis outfit. It's ridiculous.

He doesn't take it seriously. And then, you know, he's being dismissive. He ultimately treats them like they're both two little girls. who like aren't professionals and aren't serious at their jobs. And I have to ask you, Jody, who is that boner for? I was like, I was like,

is he wasn't going to say it? I mean, the guy's dick is out. Like that's the awkward situation. It's that there is penis in the room with your daughter and potentially your daughter's boss. It's so wildly disrespectful. I think that, like, if I did some sort of, like, averaging of my notes from episode three,

they're all just like, what is going on? What is going on? I now, like, in addition to not understanding the financial aspects of this show, I also can, like, barely comprehend what's happening socially. I still love it because I love the figuring out of it. But that dad is so weird. And I can't figure out what's going on with Yaz. I mean, she is spiral.

I know she's your favorite, Wasney. I know she's your favorite. favorite, but she's not, she is failing in every way. I think it might be time to consider a career transition, maybe for Yasmin. But in that meeting, I think, you know, it's, I guess he's trying to, I guess he's trying to bomb it. He's trying to throw them off the scent. And he doesn't respect his daughter. The fact that she brought him into that room at all, is absurd, that she thinks that this is a good idea in any way to become the personal wealth manager for her own family's money that she apparently knows nothing about is such a poor

decision. It's almost on par with wearing bike shorts into a meeting. To answer your original question, I don't want to know who that boner was for. I don't want to know. I was just so floored when that happened. Like, anytime I think this show is not going to go there, they go there, then go like 20 steps past wherever I thought there was. Because I'm just like, bro, like, is his daughter making him horn? Like, what is happening here? Like, what is going on?

Or does he get off on the idea that he's embarrassing her in front of somebody? Like, I was just like, this is insane. Anyway, I think the... I think the way the Yaz and her dad relationship is, I'm fascinated by how that's all playing out. Because the thing that I do like about Yasmin, and what I like about how to show is handling our main characters, is that even the way they dress her sometimes.

Like, sometimes she looks like a really savvy, 31-year-old woman who is, has, figured the world out and has it all going on. And sometimes they shoot her in her clothes. It looks like she's playing dress-up. I love the way they're able to weave both of those ideas in, like, at once she's this savier than you would think person, especially when it comes to, like, her sexual magnetism or power or stuff like that.

And at others, she is just a freaking baby, just a kid. And the show does a good job of, like, playing with those two ideas. It does. I think where I'm starting to struggle with Yaz is, like, I can't just see her savviness only be in her sexuality anymore. At some point, I need that to cross over into her real life. What I do like that they're doing is leaning into her privilege and how truly naive she is about it. And also, I think they're making her a bit of a monster. Like, she really is becoming fairly intolerable to me.

I'm really struggling with her and her sort of constant failure. It's like, I need her to have a win at some point because I need her to be savier. Because otherwise, she's just someone who, you know, is getting a little ahead of myself, but she's just someone who hears that her dad has so many, NDAs out with women, that it is affecting the financial well-being of the family. And all she wants to know is, are we still rich, daddy? Are we still rich? It's like, that's a monster.

That's a monster. So I'm glad you brought up the money part because, and I'm not going to get sick of saying this. This show is like extremely class conscious. Like, it's extremely interested. in dealing with how those dynamics play out, not just interpersonally, but professionally, socially. Like, they really do their best to show you

the class dynamics at play. And so we go from Yasmine and her allegedly rich dad, bringing him on as a client, like basically helping her be good at her job at work just by having been born as her daughter, right, to the freaking hunting range where like Bloom and Phelham's entire dialogue

is based on this idea that Phelham is performing class in a way that just makes Bloom sick. Right? Like you can see the sort of, it's about it. That shooting trip is about as waspy, English elite.

If people are wearing quilted vests, then you know. You know what's going on. We thought it was as waspy as we can get in England. You know what's going on, right? And so Bloom is just put off by the idea that we would even participate in this farce. Right. Like, these people aren't, like, classier than me or better than me or any of that. In fact, like, they want my money.

They need my help. All of this stuff. Like, I don't know why I have to participate in their weird. as social performances, whereas Phelham is all about it. He loves it. And, you know, he said that line where he's like, you think a man should go throughout his whole life

and not change anything. Like, just the concept that he wouldn't embrace his new station within society is just insane to him. Whereas Bloom, when he's even talking to Gus in the car, he's like, your father is literally a diplomat. Like literally, you know, it's so interesting how they play with those things. It is because, like, in even listening to you describe it, I'm like, okay, Jesse Bloom, who's

pretending? Because when he's in that car with Gus and his son, who's got his little AirPods in, isn't listening to shit, has a personally hired tutor to go on a trip to help him with his essays, to get into the college that he wants to go to in England, it's like, who's pretending about what? Jesse Bloom is a billionaire, and he's acting like he's not. He's acting like his feet are still on the ground,

and he stays at four-star hotels, and he still gets shitty beers and shitty burgers, and that makes him different than Fellam. It's like, from my point of view, as a non-billionaire, it doesn't. No one knows, like those little intricacies, those little walls that you build in your mind to keep yourself normal once you reach a certain,

amount of wealth, they're not there. Like, that's not real. Whatever Jesse wants to tell himself to make himself different than fellem, they're still both wildly wealthy people who are playing with health care. They are trading around this healthcare company like it's dull money and like it means nothing. And, you know, even in talking with Anna, who works for the like socially conscious hedge fund and whatever that means.

there's, it's still just about getting enough shares. Like, it's still just about getting power. No one is good here. There's no morality here. But, but I like, I like hearing Jesse tell his little jokes and make fun of Fellum, but it's, it's not real. So, and another thing that I enjoy, and you just beautifully articulated this and hit it right on the head, even somebody like me who, you know, is sort of self-styledized as a person who is put off by elitism and elite people.

I think what the show does an effective job is like, the dirty little secrets that were all attracted and seduced by the upper class and the upper crust. You mentioned Bloom being a gazillionaire. He still wants his son to go to Oxford. Like his kids' life will not be materially affected whether he goes to Oxford or fucking Santa Monica College. Okay. Like, it will not make a fundamental difference, but he wants his kid to be down with those, the people he sees is the upper crust, the elite. It doesn't matter that those kids' parents are not as rich as him, probably not as important as him, all of it.

He understands that that's a status symbol, and he wants it. So, like, the idea that he's, you know, sort of talking shit to felon about it is very hypocritical, which, again, I think that's part of the genius. of the show, honestly. Well, and I've heard a lot of people say about industry, like that there are no, you know, much like, like, um, succession. There are no likable characters. And I think that that is, that's hard for some people.

You can either get on board with that or you can't. And I do understand that like, like, not everyone is going to like this show. And not everyone is going to like it for other reasons. Like, you know, there are substances flying around. There are some pretty difficult things to watch. But I, when you were saying that, it was making me think, you know, the one person I think we have that is not necessarily drawn in, that is unaffected by that wealth in that class, is Harper. Like, Harper is this kind of true individual, true, like, survivor. Like, that's what she's trying to do. We hear say in season one that she hasn't spent any of her money that she's made. And I'm kind of like, Harper spend a little of it. Like, get a nicer shirt. Like, like, do something with it.

You know, but, but I do, I do like that about her. And it keeps her motivations kind of clear, which are just like, go, go, go, go, go, go, go. Yeah, I, I completely agree. And I think that Harper, you know, the part of it, she understands what it's like to be poor. And so she, I feel like what her, her motivation is just like, I just got to win. She just wants to win. of course it's going to come with money, but she wants to win, right? And she's very singular in that pursuit.

And that's what everybody recognizes in her, is her, like, tunnel vision. And that's what people like, and that's what often repels people. But it is that singular focus, that tunnel vision that she has. And, you know, in this episode, we see that everybody is trying to spin her, the people around her. Eric's trying to spin her, Phelam's trying to spin her, of course, Bloom is trying to spin her. And then ultimately she decides quite

savvily and smartly, I think, is like, I need to ride with Bloom. I'm going to ride the Bloom train. I'm going to ride with the dude, the only dude in this equation who's worth $50 billion. That's who I'm riding with, right? As dangerous as that might be,

because I think a part the part that makes that dangerous is that because he's worth $50 million, $50 billion, he needs you to least. Right? Like the guy with the most needs you to least. Like Eric needs you the most, you know?

And so that could be used to your advantage more, but she just feels like she wants to set her sights as high as possible and she thinks she's going to win. Well, and who's going to let her do what she wants right now? And that's basically, she takes it one day at a time. And that's going to blow up in her face at some point. We've already seen it blow up in her face, like, in season one.

But right now on season two, she's on fire. She's making deals. And she's like, she's taking just like each little claw that she can get, each little bit that she can get. And Jesse basically tells her, I'm going to let you do that. Like, I'm going to, I trust you. I take your advice right now. But don't, but Harper can't trust him for shit.

Like, do not trust him, Harper. And that's, that's where I worry about Harper is that, like, she's all. She's all instinct, and she really has not developed any of those survival skills that Eric has developed that have now come back around and, like, ultimately hurt him. We're going to talk about people who can't be trusted a little bit down the episode because I feel like there's a lot of folks, but we'll get into that. I want to just talk about quickly the last two scenes of the show of the episode, which is Yasmin talking to Rob, which I thought was very effective, powerful. The thing that they did with the music crescendoing and then the laugh, that was chef's kiss, beautifully done.

I thought Rob was giving her great game. Where he's like, is Harper like a genius or does she not take her foot off the fucking pedal? Right? I love that. She's like, like, what, like, that was so prescient to me. That was so such an astute observation. It's like, no, like the reason why. She's getting what she wants to go and people are getting behind her.

It's because she will not stop going. She does not take no for an answer. She does not stop. She is a battering ram. Yeah. And she's so tiny. I think that that is part of it. It's like she is a battering ram and she's so small.

Like casting my Hall-Harris in every, Harold, in every way is such a great choice because it's just like so unexpected the way that she behaves. And I just, I love this, like, about this black woman character, that she's not like some sort of model minority. She has not styled herself in that way. She is not like a wonderkin. She's not necessarily perfect at this. She just won't stop. And that, like, hikes up the tension in this show so much because you don't know when she's going to succeed and when she's going to fail.

And when she succeeds the way she did in that last scene, Just, my chef's kiss when Eric is just stonefaced. And he gets tapped on the shoulder like, yeah, it's a rap. I mean, let's just talk about that camera transition from Eric calling her still out there at the hunting grounds like an idiot. And this girl has already taken the train back to London. She's at the desk where she should be. And that transition of filming his back to then filming her back, that quick scene cut, it's just so perfect. Like, this, the combination of episode two and episode three, it's like, what a run.

You know, we were obviously big fans of episode two, and I didn't really think that they could match that or even that they would try. But it actually ended up being like a continual climax. And the combination, really of the first three episodes, but especially two and three, like, it's like a heist film. I mean, that really is what it is. And it's like what you were saying about trading all those relationships while they're at. the hunting retreat is it's like they're choosing who's going to be on their heist team. And they don't know at that point.

And they're seeing how these dynamics are going to fall out. And ultimately, you know, Harper comes up with the best plan. And I love that Rishi's on her team. I don't know if he's really on her team, but I love the, I love the upping of Rishi in this season. Wherever the wind is blowing Rishi, he, he, he knows what he understands where his bread gets buttered. That's what I like. Not even personal.

It's like, all right, man, you're making money. I'm down with you. She is so mad all the time and it's so funny. Are you looking for support in your weight management journey? Zepbound terseptide may be able to help. Zepbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with obesity. Or some adults with overweight who also have weight related medical problems to lose excess body weight and keep the weight off. Zepbound is approved as a.

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then full-price plan options available. Taxes and fees extra. See full terms at mintmobile.com. So we can move on to episode four, which I just have to say this for my food content people out there. I don't, I think it's Trigger is the name of the grill company, but it opens with Eric. Like if you're to just bring the list.

is up to speed. If you're a fiend of food YouTube, the way that I am, the first scene opens up with this grill that YouTube food people hawk all the time. It's like this really super expensive

ass grill that Eric is using at his crib, failing at it, by the way. And I just, like, seeing Eric, I'm like, that makes sense. This guy's ultra rich. Of course, he's He's got this fancy grill.

Anyway, that grill. He's got a top of the line grill and some dirty cigarettes buried in the backyard. Like, that's Eric to a tea. That grill fucking sent me. Anyway, so yeah, we get this picture of Eric who is distraught from the phelm thing falling out. And, you know, he's taking this leave of absence. And he's at the crib with his family. And he's being like a suburban dad, right?

I'm sure he had like moccasins on or, you know what I mean? Like just grilling and just being a dad, right? Birkenstocks, whatever. And they give us a rare glimpse into Eric's external life, right? You know, like outside of the office, if you will. And, you know, he's just another dude. His kids are annoyed by him like every other dad. His wife's like, I mean, I like having you around, blah, blah, blah.

They give you this glimpse of what life would be like for Eric without peer point. I guess, you know, but it's like, while they were at home, I just kept thinking about that scene in season one where you've spent a lot of the earlier season one wondering what Eric had said to Phelom that like initially sort of tarnished their relationship. He'd said something to his own wife that Phelham didn't like. and then you see Eric and his wife together in season one, and they're, like, calling each other cunts. It's crazy. Like, they have, it's like his family life is also strange, and I like that they keep things mysterious for us

about these characters' personal lives, but they keep it so mysterious that I'm just, like, dying to know more. Because one thing I think that we didn't say about episode three is that we find out that it's Harper's twin brother, that she's been sending all those Instagram messages to. And so it's like, it's so funny to have a show that focuses completely on the, like, workplace and only sprinkles in, like, the tiniest amount of personal information.

Yeah, it's like insulary, right? It's sort of like the show is trying to explain to you the kinds of people who can succeed in this world. Like, who they personally are, what moves them. It's not really like, oh, does this person take out the trash while they're at the crib, right? Like, it's basically, you have to be, have an insatiable appetite for this crazy shit.

You have to leave your first hookup with the person you sit literally right next to at work. You have to leave the middle of it to execute a trade behind this. It's like, bro, like, the show is just trying to explain to you the kinds of people who succeed in this. specific kinds of work. And they're just not really concerned with showing you their personal lives, how that manifests in their personal lives. Yeah, because what's Eric doing at home?

He's thinking about work and he's packing his bags to go to New York. That's what he's doing at home. His poor family. I mean, I guess his wife seems to like him. His kids didn't seem too thrilled, but his wife seemed to like him. And so, you know, they open with that. Eric is miserable being a suburban dad at home,

which is kind of fucking funny. And, you know, if this whole season so far with Eric, I keep thinking about a line that he said in season one where basically, like, in so many words, he was like, only dinosaurs are in those offices. The real action is on the floor. And watching this season, like, that's been stuck in my head the entire time. Like, you know how Eric feels about being right there on the front.

front lines, right? It's really core to his own identity. And that's shaped how I've been watching everything that he's done this season. And I want to move on to another one of Eric's nemesis DVD. I have a I have a note here that I'd like to read to you, Jody. And I want to get your reaction. DVD is a snake, period. Can't be trusted, all caps, period.

I'm not buying his fucking nice cuddly guy act. Period. Your thoughts, Jody. Okay, let me read you a line directly from my head. I am buying his good guy act, hookline and sinker. He's my ya's. It's like, I know, I know that he couldn't have gotten in the position he is in without being a snake.

My head knows it and my heart doesn't. I love him. I love him. I love that his name is DVD. I love that he's nice to Harper. I like that he was super weird when they had sex. Like, I like all of it. But I know I can't trust him.

But I think I'm just realizing that, like, I'm a Harper. I'm like one episode at a time. And if he hurts me, he hurts me. Yeah, Harper is obviously, she's been taking her time with this dude. She's definitely, like, arms length with him. Because I don't think she's embraced him the way that she embraced everybody season one. right but again she was new she was green um she just had a different relationship with that the place that she works right and so harper is being wary and i'm proud of her for that because i

just just this the smiles and the and the wholesomeness and all of that just the cynical that smile doesn't do anything do you guys nothing the cynical new yorker in me is like what the fuck you smiling for fam it's like it ain't shit funny ain't nothing sweet this this life is too hard So I'm definitely very wary of him. Of course, he invites himself to the damn Bloom meeting. No, that was annoying. And then of course does the hard sell and he's doing his whole shit. And I'm just like, this guy is really out of pocket.

But whatever, right? He's on his, you know, I'm just the ultimate company man. And I'm always selling it. I'm always working. And I'm always, whatever, we can move on. but I got my eye on him is what I'll say about that. I have a question. We go back to Gus at the office with, you know, his new internship or whatever.

He's chasing political life, public service, civil service, salute to him. I remember a time where that was like an honorable thing to do. You know, this is before politicians were using their shit for insider trading or, you know, hosting diplomats at their ugly-ass hotels or what. Whatever. You know, that's a digression of mine, but whatever. Ah, yes, back in the wholesome time of politics. Anyway, another question, I just had this here, and I don't know how familiar you are with British culture or politics,

is the term Maggie lover in reference to Margaret Thatcher, am I making that up? Like, I don't know what that. When the dude called, because they're at the Tory offices, and she was a Tory, is that a Tory? Is that a Margaret Thatcher reference? I don't know. I wasn't sure because when he first said it,

I thought he said MAGA lover. And, you know, we'd seen the MAGA. I was just, I don't know. To the extent that I don't understand finances, I also do not understand British politics. And so I must admit that I was a little concerned when our like ancillary character, Gus, was suddenly getting into politics.

I was like, oh, no, this is going to be going to be even harder for me. But I'm curious what you think about the Gus storyline because I really liked Gus in... I shouldn't say liked, but I just... I enjoyed the journey that we took with Gus in season one. And, I mean, talk about a smile. Like, that young man has the cheekiest smile in England. And so I do enjoy watching him,

but I'm having a hard time getting invested in what he's up to. He's so separate. I think Gus's role on the show, honestly, is he kind of serves as the only heart of the show. Like, there's no, like, his storyline is that he's trying to aspire to something bigger than fucking making money for people who push papers around all day, right? Like, he's aspiring to something that is bigger than investment banking, which we're, I guess, we're supposed to view as admirable. I think in the scene where, man, like in the scene with Jesse Bloom's son, where he's from episode three, where he's, you know, I'm so, I'm too cool for school and I don't want to be around all of these, you know, rich, hoity-toity people and I'm anti and he's like, this like

fake emo goth teen or whatever, right? And Gus tells him like, yo, this idea that you're, you're running, away from aspirations that are above your dad. Like, you wouldn't even try to pursue something higher or bigger or better than your dad. Like, I find that to be contemptible, right? And that's Gus. Like, he sees himself as somebody who should be trying to aspire to something higher, something greater than himself.

And I think that's the function that he's serving in the storyline. And, you know, you see it where he sits down with the guy who literally delivers a box of shit to the office. And he treats him like a human being and wants to talk about the guy's problems. And I think that's why it's so apart from everybody else and what they're doing. I just could not figure out what I was like, did that man just bring a Tupperware of dog shit? Turns out human shit into an office. And let me tell you what.

Of a show that like you have said, you know, just when you think they won't go there, they take it 20 steps further. I mean, we didn't even talk about my favorite scene in episode, I think in episode three, where Rob, poor Rob once again, can't get it up. And Harper's like, okay, I'm just going to lazily masturbate on my shared bathroom floor. That was wild, but I've never seen anything wilder than Gus, knowing that that was a Tupperware of dog shit and then opening it. I mean, I almost threw up.

But, well, it's like I always say, Jody, if you need something done right, you got to do it yourself, okay? That's not right, was. That's not right. That is wrong. The thing about Gus is that his storyline and his aims seem so apart and distinct from everybody else. I think that's why it's sticking out. And it seems out of place and out of step of what we're happening. But I think it's nice. It's a nice reprieve because, like, if this. The show was only about avarice and greed and unchecked ambition. You know, it might do something to us inside. I think at this point it feels a little tacked on.

It's like I get what you're saying about what it's supposed to be doing. To me, I think we'd have to invest in it a little more, which maybe is what this episode was doing. And by the time he got to that scene with the constituent that was moving, that was. moving that was meaningful and maybe we'll like really see him sort of lean into actual aspirations. I mean, he's still going to have to come home to those two roommates every night who are just just raising hell. But hopefully good for Gus. Let's see where he goes.

Yeah, some more interesting things you see throughout the episode, which again, I don't, I didn't find as compelling as episode three, but still had its dope parts because it's industry. The scene with Celeste and Yasmin in the bathroom. where, like, Celeste is now topping Yasmin the way Yasmin is used to topping her sort of sexual interests. I found it to be really interesting. The, you know, I didn't realize Yasmin had a thing for chicks.

Okay, let's throw that in there. Fuck it. Let's do it. I'm willing to roll with it. That whole thing in the bathroom was funny. Yeah, that was another all caps, what is going on moment for me, where I was just like,

I feel like I missed a scene or what is happening, and yet I was extremely intrigued. I mean, I love watching Yasmin's face after she's been really present in a wild moment. And then, like, the moment the spell breaks, she's just, she's also like,

whoa, what just happened? Like, she is sort of an audience surrogate in that way. But it makes a lot of sense to me that, like, this power, powerful, compelling woman is who could, like, actually intrigue her. Rob, what she was able to do with Rob and the power that she was able to accomplish was intriguing to her. It's too easy to figure out. And Maxim wasn't intriguing to her.

He never was. And so I think this is an interesting twist. I'm worried. I am also very compelled by Celeste when Rob calls Yasmin an intent. I thought that was so interesting. And that's also, I mean, Celeste literally seems intoxicating. Like, people who are around her seem like they have been drugged by her, especially Yaz.

And Yaz wants her approval so badly that it almost only feels like it could end in disaster, especially considering how bad Yaz has proven to be at this job thus far. But, you know, and also the reveal that Celeste has a wife. that she goes home to every night was new information. So I just don't, I don't know how it's going to go, but I definitely liked watching Yasmin get Yasmined by Celeste. Yes, that was quite, quite interesting. Another, another interesting part of this episode,

Rob feeling jealous that he wasn't the only person that got molested by, Nicole, is that her name? Her name's Nicole. Yeah, like, you're, mad that this woman molest people before you? I don't understand. That is certainly not how I read that. Jealousy.

Like he was like, wait, because he was just like, wait, she did that to you too? I was just like, what is going on with this kid? I would not color that as jealousy, although I'm sure that that was some aspect of it. I think the way that I read it is, well, I mean, we just, we got to talk about what's going on with Rob, there's just a lot of complications, a lot of complexity to what he is like physically experiencing right now. And I think that all that complexity went into that reveal. But to me, what he was realizing is like, I thought that I had found some sort of weird special relationship that is giving me the ability to perform sexually again, which would be really

important to him, which is nice for him, not nice for Harper, who still is not able to function within that relationship. But I, and I think that reveal from Harper is like, oh, no, I, what I'm experiencing is a power imbalance. This woman gets off on this thing. She tried it with Harper. She tried it with me. And I mean, I think there's certainly like some degree of, oh, I'm not special to this. But I think, you know, to me it looks kind of like terror of like, oh, what have I gotten myself into?

This isn't what I thought it was. This woman is maybe like praying on me in some way, which she definitely is. Is. And then also, I think, you know, the complicated feelings that come with any sort of like sexual malfeasance like that is he's seeing that like when Harper was approached by. it, she rejected it, she turned it away. Like, she did not sort of fall prey to it. And he did. Like, he definitely did.

They are now in a full-blown sexual relationship. And I just, I don't, I was sad. I was just kind of sad for him. Yeah, I'm glad you said that because my reading was totally different. And that might be the difference between, like, you know, that's my perspective matters. I was just looking at it. I was like, come on, fam. I'm like, bro, like you're getting ostensibly what you want and what you need work-wise out of the relationship.

Like, this woman is arousing you sexually and you're getting the business. So, you know, to me, I'm like, okay, you're winning. Now you want to feel special too? To me, that's just like Generation Z, millennial, navel gay Z. Oh, I need all of my feelings validated in this. And I'm just like, come on, bro. But now she's his one client. She's the reason he got a bonus check.

And now that's all wrapped up in sex too. Like he's made a mistake. He has given her. He hasn't given it to her. She's taken it sort of. I mean, the power is just totally off. And when you watch him not take that phone call, it's like, bro, what are you going to do? Because in a lot of ways, she really, she fulfilled all these things for him, not just like being

able to get it up again, but also he was terrified of making phone calls. Like, he couldn't do that. They, I don't know. I'm just, Rob is probably the character that I am most concerned about in this moment. Yeah, and you talk about likable people. I still find Rob to be very appealing and likable and genuine. And I'm a fan of his. I root for him.

Got to get to Eric, of course, because he's such a focal point of the episode. And basically, the thrust of the episode is that the bonus get paid out while Eric isn't there, and he takes that as an affront to his position within the company that DVD would pay out bonuses to his subordinates. A, I want to say first, I like that they said what the compensation was. So often in our culture,

we shy away from topics of money. I love that they flat out said she got $225,000 in comp, and they said that's the most you can make as a third year. person. I thought that was cool. And again, it's the show just driving headfirst into the class question. Yeah, I love that you pointed that out because it shows you exactly how rich each person is sort of. You know, like we see Eric at his like crazy nice house. Like, he's not getting capped at 225 anymore. And it makes you understand what their lives are in relation to the world. Like, if you're making 200,

$25,000, you don't got the same problems as most normal everyday people. Your problems are actually quite limited, right? And so that's why I'm happy because it gives context to the shit these people are killing themselves over. Well, and I mean, when Yasmin asked Harper, like, do you ever imagine, she said something like, do you ever imagine what life would be like without money? I was like, are you crazy? Like, she has had this money.

Like, she's so recently even entered this realm that you're talking about where, like, certain issues disappear because of the amount of money you have. It's just so absurd for Yasmin to ask Harper that question. But to think about the way that that amount of money has changed Harper's life completely is, you know, I think that that's like something that industry does well. is it accomplishes all of that character building simply by showing you a letter and like knowing exactly how much money Harper makes now.

Yeah, that like I loved, I just love that. I love the money conversation they had where, you know, she shows, Yasmin shows up to the apartment, talks about the pajamas and all of that, which is just a way to show like how, just how your life, how you can orient your life

when you come from, a certain actual privilege background, right? I think oftentimes the word privilege gets thrown around in our culture and we're calling hayseeds in West Virginia privilege and it's honestly, I'm not going to lie, I find it to be quite stupid to call somebody who's white in a West Virginia backwater privilege

just because they're white, where the show is explaining to you, you know, this is actual privilege. Like, this is actually what somebody who is of means and it was born and was bred in a circumstance of absolute privilege is actually like in how they behave. And they just so effectively beautifully did it in the freaking living room while this girl's doing bumps talking about pajamas. And oh, the bodies in New York. Oh, it just stressed me out to see it on the internet.

I must say that her saying that she ordered the pajamas in different. different sizes and never sent any of them back did feel like a personal attack on me as a sometimes forgetful online shopper. And I immediately was like, oh, I've got like six things in my closet that I need to take care of right now. But yeah, Yasmeans becoming a very tough hang. That was an insufferable scene. And such a, again, more of that awkward tension that we talked about. Just the way that that scene is set up in the convo and the back and forth. And it's It's like, does Yasme not realize she's being a huge dick and imposition and all, like, it's, it's beautiful. She does not.

The cocaine is reorienting her brain because she was not like this in season one. No, not at all. Like, the first thing we hear her say in that conversation is like Harper's like, I'm not here to like assuage your white passing guilt. And, and Yasme's like, oh, I don't feel guilty. So no problem there. Like, no, you don't have to. Season one, she did, though. She did. She did in season one.

She did. She's changed. But to get back to Eric, so he, you know, that prompts him to go to New York. We go to New York. As a native New York, I always feel nostalgic whenever they show anything from the city, especially since I don't live there anymore. So they get to New York and Eric sees one of his old homies who's a big dog at the company. And it's like a cold embrace. and Eric, you know, ends up in the office of his old boss. Again, it's an office.

It's not on the floor. And, you know, he's getting whimsical. He has dinner with his old boss's now widow. And he's doing these touch tones from his past. And ultimately, what happens at the end of this trip is that they offer him his old boss's job. You know, it's off the floor. It's like your sales are no longer up. We don't need you there.

We get rid of people who aren't hitting their marks no matter what. You're only as good as your last quarter. And we're not going to fire you because these people don't get fired. They get cuddly, cushy client services jobs. And this is what I was trying to get at, Jody, when I talked about the importance that the show tells you how much Harper makes as a third year employee. This is the existential dread. the existential doom, you get this cushy-ass job

where you get to spend more time with your family and still be super fucking rich and have a great life? How am I supposed to care about the stakes involved in Eric's fucking life if this is what we're to believe

is the horror that has visited him? You know, I don't know. This episode four was so different than episode two and three and I really, I want to, watch it a few more times because it's so much more subtle and the way that it

weaves in these little bits with Eric and kind of shows, and the things that Ken Lung even does with his face and shows the experience that he has had with this company for years and years and the experience that he had with that mentor and that person who was his Eric, who Eric has now become to Harper. And you see all that that mentor gave him, but you also see all the hurt that he inflicted upon him. He tells his now widow the racist names that he called him. And you can see on his face how he's like watching her receive the information that he got called those names

and the way that he's sort of compartmentalized it in his mind. And I think in that way you see what this job has meant to him. and what having this power has meant to him and what losing it would mean to him because he still works as this company. He's still rich, but he doesn't have the power anymore. And everyone knows what going to an office means. It means you can't hack it anymore

and that someone younger has replaced you and that someone more cut out for this has replaced you. And as like someone who would have always felt like an outsider who then finally, you know, got this, like, metaphorical, alleged bullshit seat at the table, what it means for him to lose that is, like, pretty heartbreaking, even for Eric, who has kind of become his own monster. Like, he's become that person to other people. And then also, like, really nothing has ever been funnier on this show than Eric explaining this, like,

dynamite team that he's built and like he did that he built that team and that like his two mentees are just like going to bone zone back at Harper's apartment just like taking it to pound town while he is like bragging about this team that he's built yeah and we're gonna get we're gonna get to that and I'm you know

and I do want to give I guess voice to just the idea that you know I can hear somebody saying like well you don't know what it's like to self identifies this thing it's like almost like somebody who's like a professional athlete I self-identify as a hooper. I actually make it to the NBA.

I've reached the mountain top. I'm the best of the best at my chosen profession. It's the only identity I've ever wanted and ever had. And now I'm no longer able to perform it at the level that I've been accustomed to. And it's an identity crisis. I get it. And he should go to therapy. And he should take some time off.

And it's going to be tough. And I wish him well. But he's going to be fucking fine. Okay. You're right. He's going to be fine. He's a millionaire. Exactly.

So he's okay. Exactly. He's got a beautiful family, a kick-ass grill. It's great. A kick-ass grill, exactly. And YouTube, and he'll get better at using it. And so finally, another, man, I thought this was the most,

this last part, this last scene sequence, says so much about the show and about this character, Harper, in particular, and the world. they go to uh she she finally fucks DVD the tension's been there since they met whatever they you know like again the fucking cum shot on her stomach i'm sitting on my couch i'm just like this show is crazy this show is ridiculous okay it's just i'm like all right i know he's gonna freaking climax and they're like no no no he's gonna climax and we're gonna show it to you um

and so you know he's not gonna show it to you again later. Like, you're not done with this. She goes, they shoulder wiping it off. Okay. And so she wakes up in the middle of the night because she feels like she got outclassed in the meeting with Bloom. She felt like DVD sounded more impressive with his go hard work shit. And she comes up with a different plan that ultimately is worse for the company, but ingratiates her even more with Bloom.

And what I thought was dope about that, what I thought was cool is that she had that conversation with DVD about her compensation being capped, even though she did an incredible job for the company. She's being underpaid. And now she's like, well, fuck the company and their profits.

If I'm capped, I'm going into business for myself, the way the fucking company treats me. They don't give a fuck about my compensation. they they scratch and cloth for every penny for themselves and guess what I'm going to do. I'm going to get in good with this person for myself. And I just thought that was so beautifully and effectively demonstrated with that last scene. Yeah. Because, you know, we hear Eric say to Harper in episode three when he's kind of like fussing at her about the Bloom deal and about how it affected Phelham, which like, who cares?

She says Bloom's a better client. but he says what a skilled salesperson does is protect the client and the firm. But what he's not saying to her, what he knows is like what a skilled salesperson does is protect the client, give the effect of protecting the firm, but you've got to protect yourself.

And I think that's like what we're watching. So about number one. What we're watching Harper learn. And it puts her in contrast, I think, to DVD who seems like this company man through and through. And oh, man, The reveal that DVD has been on the call with Eric when he is like effectively getting removed from his position

and sort of like retired, chills, chills. That was rough. You're right, we can't trust that man. We cannot trust that man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, like, when Eric gave his little, his review of how the team did and he was like, yeah, yeah, yeah. But when you really dig into the numbers.

So tough. up on Eric. Yeah, but I guess, you know, much like you was, Harper also knows that she cannot trust DVD, and she's looking out for herself. And it's just you wonder how close to the sun she can fly. That's what I'm wondering with Harper. And again, I think that's the central tension of the show.

It's like, even when Harper is killing it, We have that sneaky, creeping feeling like, God damn, she is so close to a face plant at all times. She has no survival instincts. I mean, it's just. No seatbelts. You know, it's just, it's like, it's just instinct. It's just what she, and she, sometimes you're, I mean, yeah, it's just what makes the show so exciting is that you, because we are sort of explaining that as like a great move that she made to ingratiate herself more to Jesse. But who knows?

Because, like, you know, we. He's just been talking about that like this woman just started being able to make money. And she can't trust Jesse either. It's like he's going to give her a job. We don't know. We just don't know. But Harper makes the decisions as they come to her. And it's really exciting to watch.

Yeah. Also, 225, three years out of college. Decent work if you could get it, Jody. I mean, you know, is 125,000 of that going to? a little nose candy. Yes, they're keeping a pretty pretty high powder budget, but still

good money if you can get it. Love it. Super amped to watch the rest of the show, of course. Very excited to just talk about the rest of the season with you, Jody.

This was fun. We'll see you guys. I think, yeah, in another two weeks, we'll come back with the next two episodes. Meanwhile, stay tapped. with all the other things we're doing on Pressy CV with Game of Thrones and all of that stuff. Excuse me. House of Dragons.

All of that good stuff. Anything else you want to add there, Jody? Oh, that's it. I'm just real excited to see everybody back here and see how things backfire. See how all our best friends are doing in two weeks. All right, man, Charles, producing this episode for us. We'll see you guys next time. Peace.