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Pierpoint has had its workers trickle back to work, and Harper has avoided that for a long time, but it’s time, and reintegrating is rough.
| Aired (HBO) | 8/1/2022 |
| Director(s) | Birgitte Staermose |
| Writer(s) | Mickey Down, Konrad Kay |
| Introduced This Episode | |
| Jesse | Jay Duplass |
| Venetia | Indy Lewis |
| Diana | Brittany Ashworth |
| Celeste | Katrine De Candole |
| Daniel | Alex Alomar Akpobome |
| Rishi | Sagar Radia |
This content contains pertinent spoilers.
Recap
Where Am I Supposed to Feel Powerful Now? – Yasmin, Kenny, Celeste, Harper, Maxim, Hilary, Robert, Venetia
Harper’s return is a bit shocking since she has been hell-bent on working all this time remotely, and you could submit one of the reasons is Yasmin. The two try to be cordial, but because they got too close and didn’t like what they saw, they go from fake smiles and cursing the other person once out of sight to public tiffs.
This couldn’t come at a worse time for Yasmin since her stock is going down due to Maxim no longer having his fund, which was Yasmin’s biggest account. He is now working for her dad, managing his money. To celebrate this sad occasion, they have sex, and in a way, that seems to be where Yasmin’s power lies or where she sees power for women like her. Hence her mistaking an associate of Maxim’s named Celeste for being a sex worker when she is an MD at Pierpoint.
But it doesn’t end there. She tries to woo Robert back into their twisted game, but at this point, he is tapped out and more worried about Harper, which is quite the insult. However, that doesn’t compare to Kenny returning to FX and the team’s newest member, Venetia, not having to deal with the same initiation tasks Yasmin did, which makes her upset and causes her to try to be the bully, to the chagrin of Jackie and Hilary.
Out Of The Loop & Running Out Of Time – Harper, Eric, Daniel, Robert, Rishi, Nicole
Harper has been taken full advantage of the pandemic allowing her to work out of a hotel room she is living in, but with people coming back to the office, Eric has increasingly pressured her to come back. However, it is not until he puts the possibility of her job being on the line she does return to the office, and she hates it.
On top of it being clear New York is overseeing the London office, including a new guy named from New York, named Daniel, sitting right between Eric and Harper, there is all the politics and nonsense Harper didn’t miss. Be it Rishi yelling and making snide comments, Eric going from kind mentor to ass wipe, and seeing Robert, whose privilege has de-plenished, getting publicly chided to the point of him calling Nicole because he is that desperate for new business? Never mind Eric pushing Harper to go see some mental health advocate the company hired? It’s no bueno.
It Only Hurts At First – Jesse, Eric, Harper, Felim, Robert
While Harper is chastised for not being the person Eric hired and him seeing a lack of hunger through Zoom and the calls he listens in on, Harper hasn’t changed. As Robert sees, Harper is still quite messy, and as Eric learns, she is also someone who, if she sees an opportunity, will screw over other people and never mind her responsibilities.
Case in point, she has started to form a relationship with a man named Jesse, who went from a millionaire to a multi-billionaire over the pandemic. They live in the same hotel and have had drinks, and when Robert takes Harper to her room after a drunken night, Jesse worries about her when he sees the two together. All of this gives Harper the foundation to try and approach Jesse, business-wise, while Eric waits for her, with Felim in front of him.
As you can imagine, this is risky since Eric can’t afford to lose another account. Especially with Brexit making London less desirable vs. Frankfurt, where Pierpoint is thinking of consolidating their European business.
Things To Note
Collected Quote(s)
Don’t wait for others to pray for you.
— Jesse
I knew myself only after I destroyed myself. And only in the process of fixing myself, did I know who I really was.
— Kenny
Review
Highlights
Yasmin Grasping For Power and Influence
Yasmin is a character who makes herself easy to hate and someone you love to hate. She works hard and has her credentials, but the aura of privilege is undeniable and even if she limits her use of her family name, it doesn’t negate the ego that came with her upbringing.
But what makes Yasmin interesting in this episode is that attitude of, because she paid her dues, she thinks the new girl should too. Including having to humble herself and be embarrassed in front of everyone like it is a right of passage. Yet it seems whether man or woman and no matter the race, that can no longer be done, and everyone admonishing her for it was brilliant.
Robert
Many characters in “Industry” exist on a spectrum based on how much of an ass they are. While most lean towards being terrible people, Robert does not. He takes care of Harper when she is drunk and clues her in on Rishi getting engaged so that Harper could use Rishi’s fiancée, Diana, as a means to win him back. Heck, even when Yasmin decides she wants to try to use him for an ego boost, he politely tells her no vs. telling her about herself.
All of this makes the fight for him to keep his job, even if it means trying to cozy up to Nicole, interesting. Mainly since we know Nicole can cross the line and being that Robert hasn’t always been above that, there is an opportunity to see how much he has grown since the start of the pandemic.
Harper
It’s hard to fathom seeing someone who looks like Harper doing what Harper does. Mind you, Harper’s Blackness rarely extends beyond her hairstyle, as she rarely gets the opportunity to interact with another Black person and in terms of people of color? Eric is the only one and he flip-flops too much to get comfortable around.
With that said, while Harper may always have Robert, clearly, at work, she doesn’t have any real solid friends or allies in positions of power. Eric saved her once, but it is clear the Harper he loves and hired is the same one who would screw him over if it saves her job. So with that in mind, and her possibly bringing someone on who is a billionaire as a client? It will be interesting to see what happens when she is again in a power position, with a major client, but now having a firm idea of what she is doing.
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