The Prestige TV Podcast - ‘Industry’ Season 3, Episodes 2 and 3: New Look, Same Great Taste

Episode Date: August 27, 2024

Charles and Jodi step into the void to recap the second and third episodes of ‘Industry’ Season 3. They discuss how far Harper and Yas are willing to go to win, why Henry Muck has taken such a liking to Yas, and what’s behind the disappearance of Charles Hanani (3:44). Along the way, they talk about the psychosexual connections among four of the show’s main characters and how they each vie for validation and power with one another (21:17). Later, they unpack the ripple effect of the big twist in the middle of Episode 3, “It” (37:38). Hosts: Charles Holmes and Jodi Walker Producer: Kai Grady Additional Production Support: Justin Sayles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Pugh-Pew! She's Jody Walker, one-half. We're obsessed. Together, we're known as the Pierpoint Pals, and we are never ashamed to wake up with glitter on our face. That's right. We're back to talk about episode two and three of industry season three. Jody, how are you feeling?

I'm doing great, Charles. It's so good to be with you here and just, you know, simply define our working relationship as mates and don't ask any other questions. Honestly, I'm just going to jump into probably the most contentious question of this entire pod. Who at the ringer is our Eric and Petra? I think my Eric is Justin Sales who helps run CC. I'm his guess. I feel like, I feel like Justin,

is Petra, but you're still somehow, yes. No. No, Justin really is Petra. Honestly, we should ask if we went to MIT, but we're not going to bullshit, you guys. Like, we want to jump into the episode. Do you think I should break down what happens because we're covering two very meaty episodes?

I would love it. We are covering two and three, and they are such different episodes. I'm going to see how we do. It's so strange to get out. out of the Pierpoint offices, which we fully do in episode three. And we are fully in them in episode two. So I would love to hear this breakdown, Charles.

All right. So we're covering episode two and three, directed by Isabella Eckloff. Episode three is directed by Zoe Witok. Both episodes are written by Mickey and Conrad. So a power outage disrupts Loomie's IPO causing chaos. Eric and the rest of the floor struggle to regain control, especially in the wake of Kenny's firing by Eric.

Harper used the chaos and her butt. relationship, Petra, to advise Future John's second-in-command to mitigate the funds or risk by purchasing nature gas futures. Henry Muck makes matters worse at Loomi by sitting down with the press against Robert's advice, which leads to a very juvenile fight between the duo. Also, Robert travels back to Nicole's flat to get the necklace he left there and runs into Nicole's daughter, and let's just say that whole thing was very problematic and weird. Yeah, saves the day and Loomi stock price by setting up a paparazzi meeting with two Titans of Industry who are considering buying Loomi in the past, thus manipulating the market. Then in episode three, the entire cast travels to a global

climate conference. Eric Yaz and Robert are there to help plug the holes of Lumi's decreasing stock. Harper and Petra are there to look for investors in their burgeoning new firm. Things end up exploding when Harper uses the panel that Henry, Eric, and Anna are on to reveal her curdling philosophy on ESG that she's starting a new firm with Petra that's not beholden to these dumb trends to stick it to Loomi and Eric by announcing that Pierpoint has said to hold on Loomy's stock. And the episode ends with Harper and Petra asking Eric and thus Peerpoint to manage their new fund. How did I do? That was a lot.

That was a lot. It was incredibly helpful. And also, wow, does this, do these hour-long episodes cover a lot? There's seasons of, seasons of storylines contained with one episode. but the first question that I really had for you that I thought is so interesting is I feel like this season is asking us the question again. They've constantly been asking this,

but how far are Harper and Yaz ethically willing to go and the hypocrisy of this world because they both have very similar conversations. Eric has one with Yaz, and then Petra has one with Harper, And they are both essentially like, whoa, you guys aren't being ethical. Only I know the line.

And I'm just like, whoa, whoa, whoa, you both seem like little devils. And I was like, interested. I'm like, oh, season three is kind of this journey of Harper and Yaz trying to become monsters in their own right. And people above them that are in positions of power being like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on. Fuck y'all. Yeah. And those people in power often benefiting from the questionable ethics that they seem to see in their younger peers. And the question, and they're not really doing a lot to, I would say, educate Harper and Yaz's in like how to grow a moral compass or develop these ethics.

They just seem to sort of wait until they go too far, reap the benefits of these younger people going too far, and then kind of scold them. on how they're sociopaths. That is more applicable to Harper than Yaz. But it's interesting watching these different generations sort of grapple with what it means to be ethical as being ethical changes from generation to generation. Now everyone's concerned with the environment. That's not something that Eric used to have to deal with.

So we're just going to pretend to be interested in it. And I find the Henry plot line interesting in that as well. because we're often seeing this thing where, like, well, if you have enough money, you don't really have to be ethical or you don't have to be worried about what you're pretending to be ethical about. So, like, Henry is so wealthy. He is not going to actually be affected by this company that he is creating and also ruining.

I really found myself wondering a lot in these episodes. I really, like, came around to Henry. And so I found myself really wondering what his... real ethics are, where his lines are, I think we know for Harper that she doesn't have a line. She is like a pinball machine. Like she just is going to hit walls and hit walls and hit walls, but she's always going to be scaling upward and upward and upward in the ethics game until something stops her. And I don't know if Petra's going to be that thing because we see by the end of the episode

three, they're in a screaming match. Petra has just yelled, What the fuck do you think you're doing? Who the fuck do you think you are? And the answer is, Harper thinks she's the smartest person in the room at all times. So she also thinks she's the person who knows best at all times. And that is how she's going to operate. And when Eric looks Petra dead ass in the eyes and says, do you know who you're dealing with here? That's what he means.

But all it takes to turn, Petra, all it takes is, a man with $200 million to spare walking in the room and saying, I'll give you this power. And then everyone's ethics are fine. I mean, well, I think the thing that I found so funny is it's that both Eric and Petra and those people at that position, the thing that actually makes them mad is both of them are essentially telling these mentees, do whatever you need to do to make the most money possible. And the way that Harper and Yaz, the thing that makes their mentors mad or these people mad is like, oh, you did this. And now you're telling me about essentially a legal activity or ethically dubious activity to win my favor.

And there's a disgust with it. Whereas like Eric, Eric has that same need for validation, but he does it behind closed doors. He keeps asking women he sleeps with, but I fuck like a young man, right? Like he's like, it's okay to be desperate as long as like it's behind closed doors. I think Petra and Eric are mad that like this younger generation, they're doing all this stuff, not necessarily to make more money. They're doing it to fill this pit of like, I want you to see me. I want to be recognized.

I want to feel like I'm good at my job. And they're like, motherfucker shut up. We are insider trading. I don't want to know. Well, right. So like, oops. Oops, Oops, Harper did some insider trading last year. And oops, Yas, you know, manipulated the market.

This year while Robert was like, you know, clotheslined a guy to like go outside and make sure that he's seen in the paparazzi photo. Yeah, everyone is complicit. You know, I always say, like, I should have been taught how to do taxes in high school. Like, it's insane that I just turn into an adult and then I'm expected to know how to do that. Like, these kids should have been taught how to not do insider training trading in their training at Pierpoint. As far as I understand that first year at Pierpoint is just kind of like staying up all night and doing drugs.

Where is like where is the crash course on learning ethics? Maybe it's in business school, but everybody didn't go. Well, I think that is also the thing where the way Eric has taught Harper now and Yaz and Robert is all, and all of them say is this is a perception game. And the thing about this being a perception game is they're saying that because Eric does not want to see how this is happening. He doesn't even want to know. He just wants it to happen because I don't actually think that he cares about it. Like Eric doesn't have any ethics. It's just like he's always trying to protect number one himself. Same thing with Petra. Petra ends up

in episode three using the numbers that. Harper got through, I don't know if they're nefarious means, but it seems very, like a gray area. Like, they're not supposed to be having this. And when push comes to shove and $200 million is at stake, she's like, fuck it, we're here. And I'm like, that's interesting to me. When they're talking about getting those numbers, Harper is like, can't you just take a picture of your computer screen? And Petra's like, I think that's illegal. But she's not like, don't do that.

that would be ill-advised, that she's just like, I think that's illegal. But then, yeah, Harper goes on to find a different loophole, and that's just kind of fine with everyone because Harper did it and Harper is soulless. And you're right, like, Eric doesn't care. He tells Yaz, what he is teaching her is how to keep secrets, is how to do bad things and hide them. He says, I was giving you an opportunity to not really own up to this. You sort of did the right thing for the company,

but you can't, you want credit for it, but you can't take it because what you did is unethical. You shouldn't talk about it. And it's a confusing lesson to learn from someone who's also suggesting that you need to prove your worth. And you see this as your worth. Like Yasmin sees as her worth, her ability to manipulate wealthy men

and to get them to do the things that she wants. And that is awesome. often being reinforced at the place that is also telling her that she can't do it. It's a very confusing place to be for a, how old are these people? 26. At this point, when we met them in the first season of industry, they're right out of university. So I would assume they're like 22, 23.

And it seems like, yeah, they would probably be like 26, 27. And it's very funny that now they're the middle generation of PeerPoint or FutureDon. and you have people like Sweet Pee. And you're seeing like, I think what this season is doing well is that exact telling Eric, you know, we think, oh, Eric is a partner now.

Like, he has power. And she's just like, hey, the secret is you're just at the bottom of another ladder. And I think that's what all of these characters are fighting against. And I think our three kind of main, we can't call him heroes at this point.

But Robert, Yes and Harper, I find it so interesting that they're all in their own way, either fighting against shit that has happened in previous seasons or doubling down on it because they haven't either dealt with their trauma or they're just like, this is the only way that I can get by in this world. Like someone like, yes, it's such a complicated storyline because you see her in this cycle abuse with her father. You see some of the stuff that Henry Muck is doing,

Henry Muck's fucking trash DJ friend. And you see Yaz trying not to fall into this relationship with men where they think she's just her looks and has nothing else to offer. But when push comes to shove, she's like, if that's how I'm going to get ahead, I'm going to do it. And my heart was breaking for Yaz because I was like, oh. Well, and it's not just her looks. It's also her status and her ability to, you know, mix,

in with blue bloods and her and all of the knowledge that she's gained over a lifetime. I mean, this is like, it's like her life's work to know those things, kind of whether she chose it or not. It's the life and the status that she was born into. And now I feel like she's always sort of receiving conflicting messaging of like use this, don't use this. She's in a bad place. I mean, you know, we say that we've certainly said this before, but industry is like such

an interesting show to watch because it's like, it's all it. You know, it's just like it's all momentum just like up and up and up and up. But there's no, there's not like a question at its center. There are a lot of sort of thematic questions, but it's not like, I don't know, you know, we've known from the beginning that like Harper doesn't have a college degree. That is also a central point of the television show suits on USA. Like, but in this show, it's not like, oh, how is Harper going to like get away with not having her college degree. That's just kind of something that's floating out in the ether. It is like,

it is like the TV embodiment of anxiety. You know, like if you know that you're lying about something at your job, you're not, you're not kind of like waiting to get caught. You're just always knowing at the back of your mind that it's there. And the way that this show like exists on sort of raw emotion and raw plot and no like question or mystery or naturally. propelling event is so unusual, but it's so compelling to watch. I am finding it interesting. I don't want to derail us.

We can circle back, but I am finding it interesting that in season three, they are introducing a very small mystery, like a very small question we would like to be answered in the form of Yasmin's dad and these sort of flashbacks

and like what's going on and what happened. And I'm finding it a nice balance to like just very lightly introduce that in season. So I want to ask you about that because we've been seeing throughout this season where, and I think they're doing it in a great way where they're doing that mystery box thing. We know that Yaz was on this yacht.

Her father is disappeared. A character in episode three makes a joke. Did you kill him? Now it's revealed that Harper was also on the boat. And then Yaz is talking to her lawyer friend. And she's like, oh, the yacht is back. We can sell it. She's like, no, the police are.

are investigating the yacht and they're interviewing everyone. So that I'm like, okay, what really happened to Yaz's father? Because we also see a very, very traumatic flashback where he's so abusive

to to Yaz. And there was that moment when I was watching this where I was just like, I don't know if this man just disappeared. Like they keep flashing back and it's like Harper even being on the boat. It seems like Harper and have a secret that they're holding

about what actually happened that day. And who better to hold a secret than them? This is where they're finally learning to keep a secret. Don't tell people about insider training. Don't tell people about patricide. Like, if you killed your dad, don't tell.

So you're in the camp, you think she killed her dad? I'm not sure. I'm holding off a little bit, but I think the moment that was most like, to me, most like, oh, what's going on here is when Yasma,

I think it's like after that little DJ chocolate air dick was a dick to her at the party. And she sort of storms off. And Harper goes after her and she's really emotional. And she's talking about how she misses. She actually never says who she's talking about. But she's like, I miss him. Like how messed up is that that I miss him when I hated him? And the way she's talking about it sounds incredibly past tense.

Like she keeps saying she hated him. And then and then she's. says, and why do I feel like that when he's, when he's, and then Harper cuts her off? Like, and I was like, is she going to say when he's dead? Like, why do I feel like that about him when he's missing? Like, what is the end of that sentence? And why is Harper saving her from saying it? I mean, Harper never wants to feel a human emotion and she never wants anyone else to as well,

but there was a little bit of intrigue there. I mean, I think they very well could have watched him fall overboard and then said, and we'll never talk about this again. This goes in the vault. I mean, well, I also thought it was interesting because I think Mickey and Conrad did something very intentional where Henry Muck has a conversation with Yaz in the pool. He basically reveals his traumatic backstory about his father committing suicide.

And that's the moment when Yaz goes from kind of standoffish with Muck to relating to him. And I'm like, all right, so. what about that did she relate to? And it seemed like there was the twinkle of just like, do you also have a problematic father who might also be dead? And there was also a sadness with me with the ass, where it was like her and Robert especially,

both in episode three, I'm like, oh, these are two characters that are stuck in a loop of using their sex, their looks, using their ability to connect with people to get ahead. But a lot of times it's because that's the position that the world has put them in. Like Robert, we reveal, like,

the guy who is basically they're waiting on to see if he's going to write a buy, sell, or hold. AKA Joel Kim Booster, I was like, I saw Joel Kim Booster in the background of a scene and was like, why is Joel Kim Booster in the background of this? I mean, I just like, I just did not expect. His name is Frank in this.

His name is Frank. And he is full frontally nude in a sauna. And every time I think, you know, within these two episodes, we got a full frontal nudity sauna scene and a, you know, we dabbled in urine. And it's always just kind of like you think industry has done it all. And then they've got more steps to take. So my question for you, though, is they cut away. But I feel like there's.

an illusion that, like, Frank basically reveals that there's this whole, he knows who Rob is because they have this, like, text chain about, like, the hottest straight, uh, people at Pierpoint. And Frank starts to touch. A WhatsApp, very international. And I was, like, wondering, like, there's this kind of unsaid thing of quid pro quo, potentially if Rob has, does some type of sexual favor for Frank. maybe he will write something beneficial and it cuts and you don't ever really know what happened. And then they meet again.

And Rob kind of starts flirting with him as he's kind of yelling at him. And then similarly, so that's something that's going on that seems to be up to interpretation in the shadows. And then we end the episode with Gaz making out potentially sleeping with Henry Muck on the private. Jet and Eric and Rob having to kind of be like, I guess we don't see what's happening. Put their AirPods in. Listen, no shaming of most things here, but I just don't know if you can be sucking on fingers with one small divider between you and your boss. Why here, Yas? Why here? 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

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In the first episode, we get this scene with Eric and Yaz. And a couple times even in the second episode, I'm like,

is Gaz trying to seduce Eric? Is Eric trying to seduce Yaz? Is this a fatherly daughter

situation? Is this a mentor, mentee? Is there something else here? Then we have Eric using

Rob's name to sleep with a sex worker and Rob essentially is like, I guess I can't go back to the hotel room.

And then you have Yaz once Eric and Rob kind of shit the bed being like, well, I can't hitching my wagon to that train and seems to be hitching it to Henry Muck. So all three of these are dealing with these very twisted psychosexual. Right. None of them are having sex with each other and they likely will not. But what is happening between the three of them is becoming quite psychosexual. I mean, Rob is feeding Eric food in bed, which I was like, this is so dark, it's so fun. Them watching TV together in bed with Eric with his gold eye patches on was an absolute iconic moment. That's like a romance plot point is like, oops, we got to the hotel and they're out of rooms and we've got to share a bed. How crazy. Like, that's how they're set. They do keep, they do keep setting them up and these. kind of like hilarious positions. But I would say that Henry is also,

it's almost a foursome. Like, Henry is also quite involved in this. And when he, I mean, he and Rob quite literally wrestle and, you know, are like beating each other with plush toys in episode two. And I was like, are these two going to kiss? And do I want them to? And what does it mean? There's an Archie Betty Veronica situation because even before like Eric,

Rob and Yaz are. getting on the plane. Yes, kind of throwing a fit. Like, what the fuck is he doing here? You gotta choose, Eric. And by the end of the episode, she's like, fuck Eric, I'm choosing Henry. So to your point, there is this like, there is this psychosexual type father, daughter, father, son type relationship happening with all of them where even at one point, Eric is like, turns to Robin and says, what's going on with you and yes? Like, did you sleep together? And it's funny because it's like, as the audience, we kind of know about their history, but for someone like even Eric to kind of start questioning,

yo, what is happening? And when he's like, oh, she's just my flatmate, I'm like, that's still weird. Right. It was interesting listening to Eric asked that question and I was really evaluating his tone because I didn't really get the suggestion that he was asking because he was, you know,

like jealous or like there are kind of some strange father and who could blame who could blame yes if she has a mixed up relationship to paternal relationships if those are kind of confusing to her but like it didn't seem like he was asking kind of like you know what it it just i think what's happening between them is they're all seeking both validation and power from one another and it's switching back and forth really rapidly, who can provide which one at what time? And for Eric to suddenly realize, maybe I don't understand some of the dynamics here

would be challenging for his ability to extract validation or power from these strange, strange people who are now in his orbit. And I really like, I mean, I think we were a little unsure when we talked about the premiere. I really like how much these relationships

are totally different from what, Eric and Harper had and whatever is happening between them now. Like, there's just, it's like, it's such a different line of sort of mentor-mantee relationship. And I'm really impressed at the way the show has been able to kind of like draw those differentiations. I mean, I agree with you because when Eric asks Rob about kind of his history with Yaz, and even when he's post-sex, post-coitus with the lawyer. And she's kind of like, why is Yaz texting you at night? You're just a fuck boy, whatever.

I'm like, oh, it's not that I think Eric, and I might be totally wrong. I don't know if Eric is sexually attracted to Yas. I think that especially post-divorce, he wants to be seen as a traitor that's young enough that he could get a Yaz, that he could sleep with this sex worker and she'd not be a sex worker. She just likes him. Like, there's this thing, a midlife crisis happening with him, where I'm like, oh, Eric still wants to feel like he can go toe to toe to with Harper, that he's her age, that. And I'm like, dude, you're divorced and you're a partner now.

And you're spinning out doing Coke with your subordinates and impersonating Rob because you're embarrassed for this woman to know your real name. I'm like, I find Eric so fascinating because he's so pathetic this season. and it's still like our three main heroes want his approval so much. Because he is still smart, you know, like he is still a shark. They do still see him that way. And that is their future, you know, is to be smart and sharp and pathetic. And what's great, it's fun to finally focus in on this and like see the midlife crisis in a, in a somewhat comedic way in season three,

because this obsession with youth has been seated throughout the entire series. Eric's obsession with youth. I mean, DVD says it really explicitly in season two. He's like, he's giving Harper a bit of a warning. Like, yeah, Eric loves to take young people who he sees as being like himself, having less advantages, having to work harder.

But as soon as you show that you are reaching his level, like that you are better than him, he will cut your legs out from under you because he has to be, you know, he has to be the top person. He has to be the top young person. Like he has this obsession with youth in two directions for himself,

but also cultivating it. Like his interest in these young people is genuine until it challenges him and makes him feel old and outdated and rusty. That has reached a real breaking point, I think, without the sort of like centering of his wife and his family and something to draw him back to like,

oh, well, these are the reasons to be an adult. Like, this is a reason that growing up is good, and he doesn't have that anymore. And now he's asking for... Now he's gone too far. He's asking for scotches on planes, and the 25-year-olds are looking at him like, oh, buddy, we're not even doing that.

We're working. The reason that I think the season is firing on all cylinders is in the second episode, we see Rob when he goes back to Nicole's apartment. and he runs into her daughter, who I believe is still in high school. Yeah, well, that's the real twist there at the end, 15. And it's so interesting because you do see Rob,

first of all, this fifth, Rob might be an idiot because this 15-year-old is running circles around him. Rob's an idiot. Yeah, we love him. He's an idiot. But there was this moment where you're like, not only is this, and this is weird to say, is this 15-year-old sensing,

like something in Rob that Nicole, her mother, takes advantage of all young people. But then to see Rob thrust into this position where I'm like, this season I feel like he's fighting against, am I the pretty boy, is the only thing I have to offer that I can walk into a room and I can charm people.

Because Rob, this season is very charming. You do see why Eric wants him around. He has that thing where I'm like, Eric's not that charming. Eric, you can tell Eric, like, you can tell Eric and Harper are snakes in a way that like Rob and Yaz both have this thing about them that, to your point, he's like, not just their looks. It's that while Yaz can infiltrate high society and knows how to like shmooze that that type of person get in their head, you're like, oh, Rob, because he came from nothing has this thing

about him where he's like the guy you can get a pint with at the pub, but also he's very easy. easy to take advantage of. Like, I've been noticing that in the season. I'm just like, Rob, you keep falling into these situations where it's very, very easy for someone to get what they want from you. Right. Well, I mean, it's what we keep coming back to is that, like, for these young, not very well-guided people, for every lesson they learn in the right direction, they learn a

lesson in the wrong direction as well, usually from people who are in positions to guide them, like in positions to guide them in a good direction, and they're doing both. And that's very confusing. So, like, what exactly what you just explained is, like, what everything that Rob learned from Nicole, like, from this woman, she told him back in one of the earlier seasons, like, you don't need to play their game. You have your own game. We are from humble beginnings, and that means something, and that is to our advantage. And, like, an earlier version, of Rob was a lot more pretending, was a lot more, you know, I went to Oxford and so I'll kind of just act like my entire trajectory was just like Gus's. Like, I was always going to go to Oxford,

but that's not true. Like, he clawed his way there and that is of value. And Nicole teaches him that. Nicole also teaches him that his value is in how harmed he is and how she can manipulate him and, you know, like quite literally his body. And it's no wonder that her daughter is kind of able to do the same thing. I mean, like, you know, we can break generational patterns. But like, it is a real efficient piece of storytelling that they're like, yes, this teenage girl has learned manipulation at the feet of her mother and she can deploy it quickly if she wants to as well.

No, I want to say this. You have, you've compared. Yaz and Rob a few times. And that is true. They have a lot of similar things that are happening. But I want to say, and you know I have a soft spot, that I think Rob is fighting a little bit harder than Yasmin against some of the forces that are trying to keep him down.

To defend my girl, yes, because I do agree. Yass could be annoying. Sometimes like, Yaz just stop. She caves real easily. But her dad was a psychopath. Like, I'm just like, I got to shoot her some bail. Like, if she ended up killing homie, he deserved it. Like, she is.

And I do, I do have a soft spot for Yaz. And this is what I think is the genius part of the season is in the beginning, I was like, oh, is Yaz going to be more of the main character as Harper takes the back seat? By the third episode, I'm like, oh, no, that's not the case. What we were using those first three episodes is, oh, we're building up, Yaz to be a force in her own right. So by the time you realize, oh, Yaz is about to fuck Eric by basically setting

this meeting up between Eric, Harper, and Petra to hear about this new firm and to ask for Pierpoint to manage it, all this stuff. And I was like, oh, that was the moment. I was like, this is not going to end well for Yaz. It's not going to end well for Harper. Because they are on the moon. They're like, we won the Super Bowl.

We killed that daddy. Probably. We fucking got Eric. Like, I'm with Henry Muck. And I'm just like, guys, you are celebrating way too soon. There's a lot of fucking game left. What you saw that moment was, were you like on cloud nine with them being like, all right, they won this shit? Or did you have reservations like, girls, this seems like this is not going to end well?

I believe what I wrote in my notes is we're so back, baby. I am, I'm with the girls. I'm one of the girlies. I mean, that was what I felt in episode three is like, No, I'm with them. We're so back. But it's about to be so hard. I've watched industry before.

The better things go, the worse they get. Harper's going to go to prison for insider trading. Oh my God. Like, I was like, Harper, if Harper gets locked up at the end of the season, I won't be surprised because just the look in her eyes, every single time she does this shit. Like, and I think the funniest thing ever, too,

we go back to, I think it was episode two. If Harper and Yaz are hiding this big secret, we don't know what it is, but it seems nefarious. I'm like, yo, Harper threw Yaz under the bus so quickly. When Petra was just like, yo, who's a traitor who basically has no spine? He's like, do I have the woman for you? And I was like, these two need to get it fucking together. And that's what I love. They're best friends at this point.

but not only are Harper and Yaz's their own worst enemies, the duo together. I'm like, you guys are going to try to work together? You think this is the good idea? And there is something in their relationship this season that does seem to have warmed, like that maybe, you know, doing a patricide together, like maybe bonded them in some real way.

I think that like not working together has made it much easier for them to be real true friends. and now they are kind of getting back into bed together. And that's not going to be great. But I mean, I just in episodes two and three, you know, like you said, it was, Yaz had been, we were kind of wondering, like, is Yaz much more going to be the center of this season?

And in some ways, she definitely is. And I've really enjoyed, like, spending this weird, strange time with Yaz and Robert and Eric and Henry. But I am so happy to be watching Harper. be like an absolute genius sociopath again. I just watching this all come together and to watch people like call her out on it. Like you said, you know,

when you watch her face in these moments, like you watch at the, in that final scene, the joy she is taking in hanging this over Eric and showing him how she's won and he's lost and she has the power and she's gonna have it over him in a professional, capacity to write. I mean, she is salivating. Like her, she looks like demented. And Petra says,

Petra clocks it. I mean, Petra's a real interesting case here because she's clock and Harper from the beginning when she's kind of testing her, kind of quizzing her, seeing if she wants to take her on. And she, she asks her how she sort of like know this, how to get her this stock for less. And she tells her about how at Peerpoint that like juniors don't have access, so they're basically 15 minutes behind. And Petra's like, first of all, that's cheating. You know, so she is kind of clocking ethics for her, but she's also like the joy that you took in that cheating

and in revealing it to me is not something I would want to work with. Well, Petra, you can just get right down off your high horse because all it took was a little bit or a lot of bit of money to forget about all of that and probably make the worst decision of your life. But yeah, just watching and like the way that... I mean, definitely, I loved that last scene and it was really wild,

but I really loved much more the mid-panel reveal that Frank has, you know, said to hold on the loomie stock. Like, we find it... We've been hearing by-sell by-sell, and then he chooses this weird middle ground of hold,

neither as bad or as good as it could be. And to watch Harper engage with that information just physically. Like, I love what the camera is doing. It comes up over her. It comes up under her. It focuses on her hands. And to watch, like, a sort of physical interpretation of the way that Harper's brain works. And then to discover what it is that she's been sitting there thinking,

which is that I am about to throw a bomb. into this panel, into Eric's life, really into my own life. But the thing about Harper is she's so comfortable with bombing her own life that no one can ever believe it. Like, Petrick cannot believe what's just happened when Harper just, you know, entrepreneurially launches a new business

in the middle of like a global climate summit. I mean, I think what episode three revealed to me is that I had always known it, but I was like, maybe they're bucking the trend. The relationship between Harper and Eric to me is the heartbeat of this show because the minute to your point

that she stands up and is essentially like, even I, I'm like, I don't know anything about finance. I'm like, this is one of the most unprofessional things I've ever seen anyone do. How is she going to land this plane? And she does, which is exhilarating,

there's that thriller feel of like, oh my God, she did the impossible. but also you're left with this thing where you're like, when Eric turns to Petron is like, do you know who you're working with? It's this thing where it's like, it feels like Eric is in like jaws or aliens where he's just like,

you don't understand. I've seen it. She's gonna wreck you all. And I'm like, I love that dynamic because I'm like, Eric, that's you. The reason you're scared of Harper is because I'm like, this is what you do to everyone. But the difference is I'm like,

Harper, Harper is almost young. She definitely is younger, but to me, she seems more vicious with it. To your point, she does not have any line. She will destroy herself,

Eric, Pierpoint, she'll burn it all to the ground. And it was so funny when Petra, like, I do not trust Petra. I don't think Petra is more ethically sound than anyone here.

But it was fascinating when she's like, girl, you're getting a little too excited about this shit. I'm going to need you to bring it back. I see some sociopath vibes. Go see a therapist. Well, and I think, like,

Eric's fundamental flaw is that when he asks that question, do you even understand who you're dealing with here? The implication is that he does, like, that he understands Harper. And he doesn't. Like, he does more than anyone, but they are still circling each other,

working each other out. They're obsessed with each other. I mean, Charles, when Harper seizes her one opportunity to call Eric on the phone from the office phone knowing he'll answer and then just breathes into the phone. And I mean, you know, there's so many things going across her face. She doesn't, she doesn't, you know who else doesn't know Harper?

Harper, like, she doesn't know what she wants out of that moment. She knows she wants to do it. She knows her impulses. She knows what she's compelled to do, but she doesn't know her own limits because she doesn't think about him. She doesn't, you know, she doesn't think 10 feet in front of her.

She just moves. So I'm going to pitch you, before we get out of here, I'm going to pitch you on, like, maybe a wild critical theory that I only have to leave. Is industry basically a love story

between Eric and Harper? And not like a love, like a traditional, like, couple, but I do find it interesting that they set up that Eric got divorced. and they're both dealing with divorce.

Eric is dealing with the divorce from his wife. Harper is basically dealing with this divorce from PowerPoint and her former life. And I find it interesting that even Petra says in a previous episode what Eric called her like nine times or like some crazy amount of times to be like, do not hire this person. And I'm like, oh, they both have that obsessive need. They want each other. They want to be in each other's lives because I feel like they're like, oh, you understand me, you understand this black pit I have, but there's this other, there's this hate relationship to the love,

where it's like, I don't, I don't want to coexist with you. We're two sharks. One of us is going to kill each other. And I find it fascinating that when the show circles back to the love and the hate that they have for each other, because I do think what Harper actually wants is to be next to Eric, I think she wants to compete next to Eric. I think she wants to be at Pierpoint. I think she wants that version of her life back

where they are either equals or she triumphs over her. And I don't know if she's ever going to get that, which is like the tragedy of it. I'm just like, you guys are going to destroy each other before you ever find either any common ground or just even realize what this is. Well, that's exactly what I was going to say, Charles,

is like, I counter you love story with tragedy. Like, I think that this is a tragedy between Harper and Eric and everything that comes into the, their orbit because from the moment they met one another. Like we see Eric interview Harper for Peerpoint in season one. Like from the moment they met each other, they saw each other. Like they saw each other as equals in some way, even if it's not professionally.

They know these are two people who could benefit one another, like who could make each other better. if they could only get out of their own way. And like the tragedy is how they can't ever be partners and they will always betray one another and they will always reject one another because they are obsessed with each other but they are obsessed with the wrong parts of each other. They're obsessed with power.

They're obsessed with success, with moving up with perception. And instead of being, I think Eric kind of, I would say Eric wavers a little, more. He often is also sort of obsessed with the ways in which Harper mirrors him. He likes her drive. He likes how hard she's worked. He likes her brain.

But he can't get out of his own way. He's driven by the wrong things. And so these two people who could really help each other continue to harm each other. And that is the tragedy of industry, which is also, by the way, like

a really hilarious show. You know, like it's, it is really, It absolutely is a tragedy that is like so fun and funny. It is one of the funniest shows. This is just all of this is a love story. You already said it. Once the rom-com set up between Rob and Eric happened

where they had to be in the same hotel, I'm like, this is quite literally. When he wakes up with all the glitter on his face, I'm like hilarious when the sex worker is yelling. When she yells Robert's name as she passes them, and Rob's like, what the fuck? But I think to your point, I think the tragedy,

also is that all of these characters are kind of stuck not only in these cycles of abuse, but it's kind of funny where I'm like, not funny, it's tragic, where Eric is being treated like a diversity hire by all the partners. He's being treated like a sacrificial lamb. So obviously, he's like, this black woman, there's no room for her here. There can only be one of us. Same thing with Yaz. Yaz looks at Sweet Pea in the previous episodes. Like, there can only be one of us. Get the fuck out of here. Like, she's done that in previous seasons

when younger people have come in. Like, it is this interesting that all of our heroes are striving essentially, I would say, in quotes, to make as much money as possible, but it's really to fill this black pit. And it's like,

oh, you guys are harming each other because instead of working out, you all are like, at the drop of a dime, I will murder you all. I do not care. There can only be one of me here. It's this very confusing environment to exist in for an hour every week as well,

because, like, those are our ins to the story. So when someone sort of normal drops in, like, you know, like, like, like Anna, even, who, like, you know, runs that, that fun. And I'm just like, oh, fuck off, Anna. Like, you're messing everything up, you know, like, but she's got a kid that she cares about. Like, there are things that suggest that, like, she has a moral line. She's not perfect. She definitely is also, like, driven.

No, I hate. her. Yeah, I hate her. But she, to your point where she's like, oh, I can tell that she has some type of line. And the genies of the show is, I'm like, when they show that line, I'm like, get the fuck at if you're you wet blanket. Let's get back to the like to the real shit. So to your point, when anyone normal enters the orbit, it's funny how when I'm watching the show, you start grafting on to our main characters and being like, why are getting in their way? How dare you? They're just trying to survive. Yeah, it's a, I mean, it's a, the, the show's overarching message, you know, is pretty dark.

Like Harper says in this episode at the, at the climate, or in episode three at the climate summit, she's kind of like justifying them going in there and starting their thing that has nothing to do with energy or climate or anything moral. And she says that everyone there, it's people just convincing themselves that what, that's, what's good for their bottom line is good for the human condition. And that's basically what we're watching. And I was kind of like, Harper, are you looking in the mirror? Because that's all she's ever doing is just convincing herself that what she wants

and more importantly needs in that moment is what's best, is the right thing to do. When she stands up and changes the course of Petra's life forever, and like we've said, like Petra's no hero, really. but like she is a person. And doesn't someone, oh, Anna says that to Petra. She's like, be a goddamn person. And she didn't even know what's coming at her with Harper. Like when Harper stands up and completely changes the trajectory of several other people's lives,

the market, lots of things. She's just kind of like, this is my bottom line. So it's what's right. And we're just watching people do that over and over and over is work for their bottom lines to hell with the consequences. Honestly, throughout these last two episodes, I've realized, you might be the Harper. If I'm yes, you might be the Harper. Eric doesn't understand Harper, but I do.

I'm the only person who understands Harper. Well, before we leave, we have to say our thank yous. Does that mean is Kai, is Kai Sweet Pee? Kai is Sweet Tee, yes. Guy, come here, you're sweet. And that he's literally smarter than all of us. but young. But he's too kind.

Kai, how do you like being sweet-y? I think that's a fair comp, honestly. I'm not mad at it. I'm not mad at it. I can't argue. No, it's right. The Gen Z of it all, too, it works. It works.

So while you were recording us, you were on Instagram, on TikTok, trying to get popping? Yeah, yeah, I just got off my Instagram live, you know, have lots of followers to talk to. So I had to address them while doing this. You know, Gen Z, we can balance a lot of plates, you know?

You guys, Gen Z are some multitaskers. Yeah, exactly. Well, thank you so much, Kai, the sweet pee of this podcast for always producing us, always being on time, dealing with the guys. As in Harper, thank you to our Eric, Justin Sales, who gets us together every week. And, guys, we will be back very soon to talk about the next batch of episodes. Have a great week. This episode is brought to you by Netflix's remarkably bright creatures.

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