(Warning: Spoilers for the Season 3 premiere of Industry.)
Almost getting fired is not the worst thing to happen to either Yasmin Kara-Hanani (Marisa Abela) or Robert Spearing (Harry Lawtey) in the third season premiere of HBO’s steamy workplace drama, Industry. No, that will be Yasmin seeing her dad’s erect d— while he is “borrowing” his daughters’ cabin to hook up with a stew aboard a luxury yacht (Below Deck would never). For Robert, that’s waking up to find Nicole Craig (Sarah Parish)—the predatory client he has been sleeping with—has died in the middle of the night.
After a lull, summer TV is so back!
Set in the high-stakes world of investment banking at the London office of international bank Pierpoint & Co., Industry’s mix of risk-taking thrills, fast-paced deals, and desperate need for validation make it an addictive offering, ready to fill the gap left by Succession. After ending last season with the shocking firing of Harper Stern (Myha’la) by her mentor Eric Tao (Ken Leung), creators Mickey Down and Konrad Kay ensure that no one has job security at Pierpoint.
Robert and Yasmin escape the chop (for now), but the co-workers and now roommates might not consider themselves too lucky. For starters, they are both at the beck and call of Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington), another Pierpoint client whose concept of boundaries is nonexistent.
This friendship has come a long way since their escalating sexual games in the first season, culminating at the office Christmas party with Yasmin telling Robert to jerk off and then eat the ejaculate that landed on a Pierpoint bathroom mirror (which he did). Now, Yasmin is the first one he phones after the late-night rendezvous tragedy. It doesn’t seem like the sexcapade had anything to do with Nicole’s death, as the dried blood from her nose points to the party drug culprit.
Breaking free of toxic generational relationships is an ongoing challenge in a workplace that mixes Gen X with Gen Z. Robert compared Nicole to his dead mother in the Season 2 finale (“She was an unfillable void of need too”), yet it takes Nicole dying for him to be able to cut this particular cord. Yasmin hasn’t seen her father since the yacht incident six weeks earlier, but is haunted by the image of a boner that joins a growing list of prosthetic penises on prestige TV (hello, Euphoria). Since this horrifying encounter, Charles Hanani (Adam Levy) has gone missing, leaving his daughter to face the music in light of his financial crimes.
Considering the heavy Oedipus and Electra undertones, it is no wonder Robert and Yasmin have found kinship in each other. Freud would have a field day with this show.
Having been introduced in the pilot, Nicole is a valued Pierpoint client who uses her position to make drunken passes at the young employees after boozy dinners. Last season, Robert was experiencing a crisis of confidence when he crossed the line with a woman he eventually confronted about her history of predatory behavior. Nicole thinks he is hyperbolic (ditto, his whole generation) regarding her tendency to get “handsy” after some drinks. Undoubtedly, it is a power imbalance that Robert has submitted to for myriad reasons (including shame and self-loathing), adding him to the long list of characters on this show who would benefit from therapy.
Cut to Season 3, Robert is dating coworker Venetia (who last season reported that Nicole had assaulted her), who is sleeping in his bed when he sneaks out in the middle of the night to see Nicole. It might be stomach-churning, but it is also fascinating to watch the saga develop before crashing to this abrupt end.
Unlike Succession, graphic sex scenes have been part of the fabric of Industry since the Lena Dunham-directed first episode. But while the fully-clothed Robert hastily f—s Nicole against her plush kitchen island, the following exchange is far more revealing and intimate.
“Why do you stay after you f— me?” Nicole asks. Robert jokingly says they are “making love.” These scenes are extra potent because they briefly make you forget how twisted this dynamic is. It is a surprisingly wholesome set-up, with Nicole bringing Robert hot chocolate to the slumber party under the stars. Last season, he called Nicole’s bedroom the loneliest place he’s ever been, which may explain this outdoor setting. Robert is wearing a pink silk robe that matches her pajamas, but Nicole’s history muddies any semblance of sweetness.
Disturbing mother comparison and desire levels aside, Robert is drawn to Nicole because she sees him. Nicole and Robert are from a working-class background, which sets them apart from the predominantly private school-educated upper-class figures that populate the show. Robert is currently the point person to “toff CEO” Sir Henry, and while he says otherwise, Nicole knows Robert craves the “validation of your betters.” It is the night before Sir Henry’s green tech energy company Lumi is going public, and some last-minute snags have caused Robert to seek out Nicole’s reassuring presence—intellectually and physically.
Waking up to rain and Nicole’s dead body is not a bright start to a brand-new day. Given how much Robert has matured since Season 1, it isn’t out of character that he calls the authorities and sticks around for the body to be removed. However, I am surprised that Robert doesn’t flee because in Industry, impulsive choices are often about self-protection, and Robert’s humanity has pushed aside ambition.
“I think I’m cursed; it’s just that everyone dies,” a haunted Robert tells a confused Yasmin on the phone. Considering the night Yasmin just had, getting loaded with her boss Eric, she naturally concludes that Robert is high. Unfortunately, the one person who would understand why Robert sounds so broken just died. Now, that makes two for two in the list of mentors Robert has shared a piece of himself with that is no longer there—Clement’s death last season saw him go on a bender.
Yasmin is preoccupied with her ongoing drama and the significant work day ahead, so instead of probing further, she slips into cheerleader mode, reminding him he must get to the Stock Exchange. It clearly doesn’t hit the spot, as when Robert arrives at the Pierpoint trading floor, he openly weeps instead of the requisite bathroom stall. Yasmin looks aghast before sitting down, turning away, and then not knowing what to say. Ahhh, nothing like the stiff-upper-lip reaction of a repressed class.
Lawtey is fantastic, depicting Robert coming apart at the seams. Little does Robert know that Eric has decided to fire him over Yasmin (despite the British tabloids branding her the “Embezzler Heiress”). Eric could easily use this breakdown as justification for giving Robert the boot, but this raw emotion turns out to be his last-minute reprieve. Instead, Eric dismisses Kenny (Conor MacNeill), who made the mistake of seeing Eric at his most vulnerable.
Industry loves to zig when you expect it to zag, and the shift from supportive to giving Robert a rallying mantra is a masterclass in edge-of-the-seat thrills, with a dollop of toxic masculinity. Eric tells Robert to repeat the phrase “I’m a man, and I’m relentless” repeatedly until he believes it.
When Robert arrives at the Stock Exchange, it is his turn to give Sir Henry an uplifting message. “You’re going to feel very alive,” Robert says softly, not echoing his boss’s bombastic style. Getting a handshake and a “good job” is the validation Robert said he didn’t crave, but the small smile proves Nicole was right.
But this victory is short-lived, as a power cut occurs the moment Lumi stock goes public. While Robert might be cursed, Industry’s return is a blessing.
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