The Prestige TV Podcast - Recapping HBO’s ‘Industry’

Episode Date: August 11, 2022

Wosny Lambre and Jodi Walker briefly recap Season 1 of HBO’s ‘Industry’ before discussing the first two episodes of Season 2. They discuss the growth of the show since its release, the unique way the show utilizes sexuality and drugs, the dislike for Harper’s character, Yasmin’s journey, and more. Hosts: Wosny Lambre and Jodi Walker Producer: Jessie Lopez Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it's Sean Fentanyi, host of The Big Picture. Did you just see the latest tent pole blockbuster? Or a surprisingly fun new movie on a streaming service? Or maybe you just want to bone up on the greatest films ever made. From reviews to rankings, career retrospectives to movie drafts, and everything in between, the Big Picture is here for you. Listen to the Big Picture for free on Spotify. Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the latest edition of the Prestige TV podcast.

I'm Big Waz, a.k.k.a. Wazney Lambray. and I'm on my maiden pod journey with the ringer's very own Jody Walker. What's going on, Jody? Was, I'm thrilled to be here. I love a workplace drama. I love Gen Z. So this just like, it could not be coming together better for us.

All right. And, you know, you just perfectly describe the show that we're going to be recapping, reviewing, tackling, whatever you want to call it in the coming, weeks and that's industry on HBO, HBO Max. I don't know what the hell HBO's doing with their

different whatever feeds or whatever, but let's call it HBO. We're not going to worry about it. What we're not going to do right here is worry about it. Exactly. Man, I just want to, before we started, I want to get your industry feelings out of the way first because me, I got on this thing pretty early on. I want to say like episode two and I was already like, okay, I watched the first two Epson, I was like, this is a show that is absolutely for me. You recently bingeed the season one in the first two seasons. Talk about your industry journey, please. I did.

And I feel like we perfectly represent the industry journeys because it's very impressive that you were on this show from the jump. Because I feel like when industry came out, at this point, years and years ago, there were like 10 people watching industry, and then there were 100 people watching industry. and now everyone's watching industry because there was all this time and I think this hype built up. And that's how it was for me. No, I have very recently binged it because I was finally ready and I wanted to be able to talk about it with you.

And I loved it. I mean, I cruised through it. I told you this off air as I was watching it and bearing in mind that you and I were going to be talking about it, I was like, oh, I'm going to get fired talking about industry on the Ringer podcast network. Because, like, my favorite things about it are the way they use sex. Yes. And use is the wrong word, but it is so unique the way that they utilize sex to build character. I feel like that's so unusual in a show.

And it was one of my biggest takeaways from season one. Yeah. And then the other huge thing was, you know, just a ton of tiny baggies being pulled out of lasers. Of course. Throughout the entirety of season one. And I just, I loved it. I was all in on these characters. Yeah, so I did.

Beautiful. You already read my mind because I wanted to ask you what sucks you into the show. Because I know for me, like, I think what you're getting at with the sex part is like the show doesn't concentrate on sex so much as it concentrates on sexuality. And like, what makes these people tick? Like not the actual physical act of, you know, having sex. It's like, what drives these people to want to do this, right? Like, and, you know, the stuff that they're doing with the sort of dominatrix stuff with Yasmin and Rob, and just like everybody, like, in season two, Rob can't get it up right now. Like, it's just all these, like, they don't, they, like, the sex is sort of ancillary.

It's just getting into these characters, psyche, which again is just not typically how. sexuality is depicted on TV. Yeah, this show is very driven by its characters. And these characters are like all instinct. They're like all primal and base. They're 22. Like they're 22 years old when we start with them. Now I think they're more like 24.

That's still very young. And so you're watching their brains aren't fully formed. Like that's what they say, right? Scientists say your brain isn't fully formed until you're 25. And so like you're watching them become the people. that they are. And I think that the way the show creators

build that up. No, I will say, it took me so long to watch this show because I watched a trailer and I was like, not interested when it came out. The show is very gray-toned.

Everyone is wearing ill-fitted suits. It is about an industry that I so extremely do not understand it's unreal, like this financial industry. Yeah.

And there's so many different directions we can take it. And I think that's purposely because I think the financial industry, that's done by design. They won't lay people to think that these are the most genius people on the planet. And they're manipulating these financial instruments. And you, your normal person with your regular job, you could never understand this. Don't even pay attention to it. It's just what these genius people do. just mind your business and don't even worry about it,

which I think the show sort of shows you. Like, it's all just stupid jargon. It's people pushing papers and digits around at the end of the day. So I do want to talk about what also drove me to the show. It's like, of course, there's the sex component, which you put sex in the show. You got my attention. Interested.

You talked about the illicit drug usage, recreational drug usage. Bingo again. I'm into that. And then, like, because the show is centered around young, ambitious, young people, I feel like they're always constantly on the verge of abject failure and implosion, yet they just keep diving headfirst right into it. And that's the frailty of these people, the ambition of these people, just how naked and raw they are about what they want to do

and how they want to go about doing it. That's what gets me going. I guess the blood flowing. Yeah. Someone in one of these two episodes in season two says something like, I think it's Nicole maybe, who I mean we really should not trust. But she says something like we make all these decisions when we're young and we don't know what decisions we're making.

Like we don't know the foundational effect that these decisions will have on our lives. And I think that's so crucial to a show like this. Because, you know, the euphoria comparisons are kind of obvious with these very young people and the like utilization of sex and drugs and like general vices in being young. But it's such a different show. Like the stakes are so different on the way you see. So much higher.

And to be honest, the reason why I've been put off by euphoria, I just hate watching kids behave badly. Like it's just like one of those things. Like if I'm in the supermarket and the kids yelling at their mom, Like I get so angry inside. It's just one of those waz's completely washed moments that I have in my life. And so euphoric, like the kids feel so young and aimless. Whereas these people, they don't know themselves,

but they have an idea of where they want to take things, which I'm interested in. The kids are in euphoria. I just feel like they just want to kill themselves. Yeah, they're just trying to survive. And I mean, that's what these people are trying to do too, but they're doing it in this very niche industry. It's like extremely fun to exist in this world, in this open concept office.

It's a lot of fun. Okay, so, you know, we could briefly talk about season one where we left off where, you know, Yasmin and Harper who had developed a pretty nice relationship. But the show has a surprising amount of heart in it. Yeah. as ambitious and greedy and just avarice, how much of it there is on the show. Like, there's a surprising level of heart in it.

And, like, these two characters had a beautiful, like, relationship that they were building. But, you know, life and ambitions got in the way and so they had a falling out. You know, Harper Jettison's Daria, the benevolent, the quote-unquote good boss, which I love the, like, I love the shows like, just spelling like, woman boss, black boss, white boss.

There are no heroes here. There are no good bosses. It's like we are in finance. We work at an investment bank. We are all trying to get rich. And like you can try to change the culture while you're there. But it's tough. Yeah, that was that was I like about this show.

It's very patient. And the way that they built that storyline out with Darya and Sarah throughout the course of season one, was very measured, I think, and really impressive in a show that is very much fueled by cocaine vendors, that they're also, you know, slowly taking on some of the more,

like, difficult workplace pieces, I thought was fun. Of course, my heart was fully broken when Yasmin and Harper broke up. When it broke up, but... Yeah, it was tough to see. But, you know, again, like, I think it was in keeping with the show.

Like, these are very ambitious women. They know what... But they have an idea, they don't know, they have an idea of what they want and how they want to do it. And, you know, they're putting those things before everything else. And so, you know, we pick up at season two, Dari is still not, excuse me, Yasmin is still not feeling Harper. Harper has jettisoned herself. She's in a bunker in some hotel somewhere, which we don't understand why at first, but it's revealed to us why.

and anybody who hasn't listened to the watch, Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald's interview with the showrunners of industry, I suggest you stop listening to this and do that right now. And what the showrunners said is that, yo, we had a lot of character stuff and world building and all of that stuff, but we needed to have more story.

And episode one, they're just like, all right, the New York office is trying to subsume London. so London is fighting for their survival. They set the spy over from New York in DVD. DVD. We've got this new big whale. Jay D. Plas is Jesse Bloom that they're trying to hook. This is where Yasmin is going.

This is where Harper's heading. This is where we're at with Rob. Let's go. We're doing it. Yeah, you're right. They do put a lot more. They open episode one of season two. with more plot than we ever had in season one.

But they can do that now because they'd so meticulously built these characters to a degree that we understand them in season one and we understand where they're coming from. I mean, if there's one thing Harper is going to do, it is put on a bathrobe and eat a burger at a hotel. Like, that is a core memory for her. That is like a foundational element to her personality

so that they like opened up with that entire hotel montage was very funny. And I just love that she's pushing work from home to its limits. Like, same girl. Just stay safe. And so in episode one, essentially we get all the stuff that I just mentioned as sort of storyhooks. Everybody's essentially sick of Harper's shit from Eric the boss to Rishi who choose her out on a damn microphone in just a classic cutdown. And then, of course, the engagement dinner where Yasmin tells her off.

And I got a question for you, Jody, why does everybody hate Harper? Okay, I think there are a few reasons. Harper's a rogue. She is always doing stuff she's not supposed to be doing in an industry where people really value bosses and, you know, following. the corporate ladder and following the chain of command, but kind of the only way to get ahead is by going rogue. But I think it also comes down to a lot of the things that Eric has told her. And I think that that Eric and Harper relationship is like so vital to this show and so many of its best moments are just Eric and Harper smoking a cigarette and the like terrible London weather

just talking to each other. And you know, in season one, he says something like he tells her, we intimidate people because we know what it is to be hungry. And like the degree to which we want this and will therefore go for it is intimidating. And people are going to try to cut that down at the ankles every time, whether they know that they're doing it or not. So like, I love Yasmin. I love this relationship between them. But Harper's my baby and I'm going to stick beside her every time because I love that

hunger in her. And they so delicately weave that into the more privileged characters into their rejection of Harper and their distaste for her success. It's like if they have distaste for her success, then imagine what they have for her failures. They're just feeding all over it. I think you hit the nail right on the head. Like where you would say thirst,

I think her counterparts, her peers would, you would say hunger, her peers would call it thirsty. Yeah, yeah. It's just like you are constantly trying, so fucking hard. And in a work environment, your peers are going to detest that, but your superiors are going to love it.

Right? Like, that's why Eric loves it. He's like, this chick is willing to kill herself for this shit. Okay. But we see him. He turns a corner on it too. Of course.

Because when she's succeeded, you know, every success is like a ding to someone else. And what's wild and so hypocritical is we hear Yasmin say that to her in season one, I think, is like, every success for me is not a ding on you. And I think we start to see that in Eric as it's like he's created this protege, but don't step on my toes.

Yeah. And so she's a tryhard. She feels like, you know, we've all had that coworker that will like fucking stay 25 minutes longer than they need to or are actually being paid to and make sure that everybody sees it and notices it. And it's like, bro, you're not getting paid for this. You're just, you're essentially all you're doing is making the rest of us look bad. Exactly, yeah.

The bosses aren't actually going to reward you for this. Like, we all, like, that's Harper. But that's who she is. And that's, like, she's dedicated to being that person. And, you know, I think her ambition is tied to a certain sense of insecurity. I think she feels like if she achieves these things, she will feel like a completed whole, you know, somebody worthy of esteem by having done these very difficult things. And so she's willing to kill herself for it because she really thinks this is going to make her.

And so, yeah, everybody is just annoyed with her. 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 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 milligram injection. Zepound contains terseptide and should not be used with other terseptide containing products

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what happens is a lot of lanes start being established, right? I want to get into Rob because we haven't talked about him yet. And his lane that he's finding with Nicole is this sort of class dynamic, right? Like we are working class people in an area of society that is dominated by the ruling class. People who were born at this station, people whose kids were. will be here forever and ever, and we are people who are clawing from the bottom to get to the top, which I love as a dynamic, Jody, because I love a TV show that's not afraid to tackle class, right?

And I think people in UK are just more class conscious than we are in America for a myriad of reasons. I think a lot of it has to do it. They literally still have like a royal fucking family. Right, yeah. They're very class conscious. And Rob is like, and it's one of those things is an American that I won't notice, right? I remember I was talking to somebody this summer

who's from London. It's like, have you ever talked to a northerner? And they started scrunching up their face and was just disgusted by the notion of even being near a northerner. And I think Rob is supposed to represent that. And they're bonding at that sort of work dinner. Yeah.

And that's like an element of the, show that I just kind of have to trust. I mean, much like the finance element. Like, I don't know shit about this. And I can't tell the difference between like accents in England. And she says that when they're at that dinner. She's like, you know, by the way that I sound, they want me to be this certain thing. And all of a sudden I was like, oh, does she have a different accent than everybody else?

And does Rob? Like, I hadn't even thought about that. I think, I mean, the Rob and Nicole relationship is like, such a rich text. I mean, there is a lot to comb through there, you know, because it's exciting to hear them get into the class stuff to see them bond. Rob is having

a tough go of it in season two. He's having a really hard time. He's sober. He's like, he can't get it up. He can't get it up. There's so much going on, man. And his dates like neither of those things. Like we see him with a random hookup.

She's like, you couldn't get it up. We couldn't drink. Like, what am I doing here? This sucks. Like, you're the worst bumble day to my life. And, you know, he's, and we, you know, last season, he was like, he was all confidence. I mean, it was fake confidence, but like he was just, you know, just fake it till you make it. And they've graduated now. They're actually in their positions and he can't fake it anymore in any way whatsoever. So to see him get this foothold with Nicole and it's very, genuinely formed is so nice and exciting. And then the moment you see them getting that cab,

it's like, oh, no, it all comes rushing back. This is the second person she has, I guess with Rob, it's like a little bit grayer if it's sexual assault because, you know, she does consent, but it's a power dynamic that is not okay. Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, sorry. I mean, it ends with him calling her mommy.

And it's like the show creators who are incredible Mickey Down and Conrad Kay. And like if y'all are not listening to them become best friends with Chris and Andy on the watch, you really got to tune into those interviews because they're fantastic. But it's like they watch Succession and we're like, hmm, people are really into this Jerry and Roman thing. Let's apply this to every mature dynamic in the show. And it's like never okay and always titillating. It is, it's working every time. Look, again, most, a lot of shows would have done,

because I love the repetition of it all, right? Like how cycles repeat themselves, how, you know, Rob is dropping a drunk-ass coworker home. Like, we've seen that happen with this group already, right? When he's dropping Harper off and he's making sure she's good, blah, blah, blah. Rob gets into a car with the same lady the same way Harper. I love how they do that mirroring and repetition.

I love that as a story device. A lot of shows would have her molested dude, him be fine with it, and move on. This show is going to add that mommy dynamic. And then when he executes the trade, have her dig even deeper. Have him say, thank you, Mommy. Like, there is nothing subtle.

about this. And like, we know from season one that these calls are being recorded, Rob, could you text her? Could you text her and say,

thank you, Mommy, thank you? Like, this is going to get real messy. That's what this show is. It is so messy. So obviously,

you know, I'm watching that very closely, very into it. And then speaking of people who are finding their lane, I think Jasmine is another one, right,

where she's going to the wealth management part of the company, which is just a different culture because it's, it's the same thing, but it's just different. Like these people, you're just, they could put that money anywhere and it's going to do the same thing, but you're managing relationships.

And I think for Yasmin, because she's already of this world, this is a perfect fit for her. Yeah, it's stunning that she wasn't there in the first place because I think like what's been really clear is that she's never fit in down here on the desk. watching Yasmin flounder for like approval and validation and fitting in in a world that has always had a place for her. You know, like she's always had this privilege of wealth and family.

And her, you know, new family friend, boyfriend, continuing the mommy and daddy theme here, says to her in one of these first two episodes, like, what is he, he says, is this the daddy line when she's like, I don't need you to daddy me and he's like, well, your daddy doesn't even daddy you. Yeah, he says that to her and he says, I think right during that time, he's like

you can't even, he says why can't you feel comfortable like this in your job the way that she feels comfortable in sex with him? Like, why can't she attack her job with that same kind of confidence and she just doesn't have it? It's like

the second you see her walking to the office, she has no idea what to do anymore. And so like we see her sort of attacking that younger woman in the way that she was attacked because she feels like that's what she's supposed to do. But then the minute she finds this glamorous older, well, not older, but older than her woman. Character named Celeste, who is in the wealth, she's, she heads the wealth management division over at Pierpoint. They have a chance, not even a chance meeting. Maxine put it together. He wanted them to be introduced to each other, which was very nice on his part.

She's very drawn to this woman. And let me just, just a quick sidebar for the listeners at home. Yasmin is why I'm into this damn show. Okay. Here we go. From season, from season one, I'm just like, okay, watching it, of course, I'm always going to be intrigued by the world of finance. Young people making stupid decisions.

All right, cool, drugs, sex, rock and roll. Let's do it. money, I love it, let's go. But like you mentioned, like, Yas means just raw sexual power. Like, it's, like, she's, her ability to harness

it and point it and focus it and seek and destroy. I'm like, this, like, you don't really see this all the time. And, like, in the way that it's, it's subtleties, too. Right? Like, it's like, like a different show again, like,

you watch something like billions, which is a show that I, love, right? Like, Chuck Rhodes' dominatius is beating them up doing this. It's like so obvious and literal. She's sending pictures of her man going down on her to the dude that she knows is obsessed with her. I'm like, this is different. It's realistic. It's like it's instinct. It's what she felt like doing. And then you see her kind of question it. And I really like that throughout season one is you see her doing all this wild stuff with Rob and like tagging him along and like exerting her power. But it's kind of just something she's trying on. It's not like she knows how to do

this or like she's trying to be a dominations. And doesn't that shoe fit here in season two when she literally puts on a pair of bedazzled shoes to have sex with her new man because her new lady obsession gave them to her. Like she's she's wild and out. I love it. And, you know, the, man, the story gets tied such a beautiful bow in where the character's going in that she steals her, a client from her boyfriend who happens to be her father, right? Like, she, she, like, if Harper is so guileless at all times, right? Like, she's just, she's sort of a battering ram.

She doesn't know how to be any other instrument. And, like, Yasmin is like, you're. watching her learn how to play the game. And like the fact that she like uses the opportunity for her coming to see her to be like, you know what? This be my first client that I've roped in. Boom. Stealing my dad.

Her dad. I'm just like this is love where this is going. Again, like the Yasmin character is just incredible. The fact that this young woman is out of here. Apparently she's getting looked at to play Amy Winehouse and a bar. I'm just like, look, look, I'm all in, all in on this character, this actress, let's go. And then, of course, man, we can end this by talking about the last 10 minutes of the episode that basically plays out. It's like a, you know, it's like a sports scene.

You know what I mean? It's like game winning touchdown drive in a football movie or something or a buzzer-beater in a basketball game for my sports people out there. You know, they're about to fuck up this deal. Eric, who pretended to have everything under control the whole time, pretends like he's going to save everything at the 11th hour, which he can't. Eric, who has been losing this client for the entire series. Like, for the entire series, he has never had this film guy on lock, not once. And he's like, yeah, in these final five minutes, he's definitely going to call.

And he's going to be all in. And boom, Jay Duplass's character, Jesse Bloom, who's like, you know, he got really rich shorting the market because of COVID. Mr. COVID. Right. So he's this mysterious whale. Harper's been trying to sell him, trying to sell him, trying to sell him, trying to sell him, trying to sell him. He calls at the 11th hour and saves the deal. And that sequence is just incredible.

She gets it done, has a fucking nervous breakdown. And like everything that you need to understand about industry happens in this 10 minute sequence. And it's just perfect. Yeah. And I like, I like that they did it in episode too. Because like I said, I feel like this show is patient. Like it allows itself to grow throughout the season. And I think a less patient show would have ended episode one like this with this like insane,

riveting, heart pounding scene. I have no idea what they're talking about. Not one word. But the way that they score it, the way that the actors act it, the timing of it. I mean, it's actually like a deal that has to take place in four minutes.

And it happens in real time, in four minutes, flashing back and forth between all those phone calls. And it's not just what's literally happening with this deal and reorganizing these blocks and these anchors. there's also time for an emotional sort of shift between Yasmin and Harper. Like they also get to, you know, it's not like things are fixed,

but they help each out. Yasmin finally agrees to help Harper out. And it's like a nice moment within what is ultimately like a car chase scene and an action. It's incredible. A real nice balance. Incredible. And I think most importantly,

we get to see Harper have a win and prove for a medal and her worth and to her coworkers that she's not just some fucking teacher's pet that she's actually worthy of her spot and that she's not just a poser and a faker and just some try hard, annoying person. So incredible second episode.

Really looking, of course, I couldn't be more excited about season two. So happy that we're doing this together, Jody. And any last thoughts, man, before we send the people off? I'll just say this. You know, Eric made a lot of mistakes in these first two episodes of season two, but I like him and very hopeful that Harper will visit the third floor and receive some therapy services because I'm so glad she got her win.

But if she has to break down in that bathroom one more time, it's just going to break my heart. Therapy is a human right. Go get yours, girl. Yes, yes. I'm sure you guys have an insurance package over there at Pierpoint. You can get somebody to talk to Hart. but we need you to survive the season.

Hey, man, Jody Walker, you can find her work at the Ringer. We will be back recapping this entire season. I'm super excited. Producer Jesse Lopez on the ones and threes, as always. We'll see you guys next week on the Prestige TV podcast. We're out of here. Peace.