(Warning: Spoilers for season 3 of Industry.)
Anyone who has ever been on a panel discussion knows this everything can happen when the moderator hands over the microphone for questions from the audience. When The industry Eric Tao (Ken Leung) attends an international climate conference in Switzerland, this scenario quickly turns into a nightmare when former protégé Harper Stern (Micha’la) chooses this public forum to announce several business bombshells.
Suddenly, the lack of Swiss snow (no, I don’t mean cocaine) is the least of Eric’s worries. Over the course of the episode, he accumulates a series of Ls, undermining his professional and personal self-esteem. Some people thrive in new environments, but Pierpoint’s recently promoted partner is far from a big deal to run the London trading floor. Eric thinks he’s “kind of a VIP,” but on this business trip, he’s just another guy in the group.
Going into this season, Eric is no longer the stable family man. Harper’s firing at the end of Season 2 can be seen as the catalyst for this abandonment, which includes getting wasted with Yasmin (Marissa Abella) the night before Lumi’s disastrous IPO launch. With Harper on his team, Eric was usually unfazed; now he’s giving Midlife Crisis 101 lessons by making puppy dog eyes at a disinterested Yasmin.
When he’s asked at the last minute to appear on the Lumi panel, what seems like a fun reason to travel on Sir Henry Mook’s (Kit Harington) private jet to score easy wins turns into one awkward encounter after another . Before flying to Switzerland, for example, Eric’s casual fling with Yasmin’s lawyer, Denise (Fiona Button), ends on a sour note, as she tells him that he’s both “a boy” and an old man. “I don’t like one though, do I?” is his main takeaway from this argument.
Nothing can kill the excitement of Eric going on the trip (including being told that his promotion puts him at the bottom of another ladder), and what makes Leung so great to watch is that he’s convincing when gives off DGAF energy before revealing glimpses of deep insecurity in his pose and expression. His commercial instinct banishes doubts, so the COP climate conference should be a playground. “The largest concentration of financial players in the smallest square meter. Looking for an investment there would be like using TNT for fishing,” says Eric. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea to use explosives as part of an analogy; Eric prepares to bomb.
On the plane, Sir Henry quickly transfers Eric and Robert (Harry Lawty) to the other cabin “for our bankers”. Further putting the two Pierpoint men in their place, Yass gets a chance to “hook up” with Sir Henry and his unsavory friends.
Eric is out of step with everyone he interacts with, orders a scotch on the plane, and gets glares from Robert and Jas due to the early hour – you know it’s got to be extreme if these two are giving the “really?” eyes. The fully booked hotel can’t do anything about Robert not having a room, and Eric’s “I’m a big deal” card has no value here. Pairing the “I’m a Man and I’m Ruthless” duo together highlights just how much they’re both going through. In Eric’s company, Robert looks like a winner – or not so much a loser.
At least Robert’s introduction to the sauna with Pierpoint analyst and energy sector tastemaker Frank (Joel Kim Booster, stripping everyone) boosts the banker’s ego: “I know who you are. We have a WhatsApp where we share the directory photos of all the hottest and honest Pierpoint employees.” Frank doesn’t reveal how his Lumi stock recommendation will change, but Robert gets a good vibe.
Later, while Eric and Robert watch Taylor Swift’s favorite film and silent screen legend Clara Bow it in bed (the episode’s title shares its name with this 1927 film), Eric says that at least Frank is a company man and won’t jeopardize the panel by saying investors should sell Lumi stock. But not everything is as it seems, as time proves.
“Too bad about the snow,” Eric mutters, not realizing that it’s actually snowing as he says this. The lack of the small splash shows his inability to see clearly, which he will discover when Harper reveals his new business plan and Lumi’s further slide into disaster the next day.
Petra (Sarah Goldberg) calls Lumi’s stock a “disease-ridden dog,” a prevailing sentiment that contradicts the image Pierpoint projects in the panel. On stage, Eric is calm and charming, but that’s no weapon against what’s playing out through app notifications. Pierpoint’s Frank has posted his Hold recommendation on Lumi stock – that’s tantamount to telling investors to sell.
When audience questions begin, the first person asks if this is a panel or a funeral. But that’s softball compared to Harper’s mic drop. Harper cheerfully announces her new fund with Petra before calling Eric a “random salesman from an American investment bank.” (Ouch!) Harper uses his time to reveal to the shocked panel that Frank has “published a hold on Lumi.” Twisting the knife further, Harper agrees that it’s more of a funeral. Eric tries to save him, but no matter what he says, Lumi is a disease-ridden dog with no cure.
Myha’la, Sarah Goldberg and Marisa Abella
HBO
After the panel, Eric is told over the phone what happens next is a matter for an executive above his level. Then you can forgive him for taking solace in an expensive night of sex that went from $2,000 to $20,000 because of the extras. “Am I… as a young man?” he asks plaintively. Eric can’t hide the fact that he’s a hot, insecure mess, but the following interaction is even more humbling.
Jas has set up a breakfast meeting with none other than Petra and Harper because they want Pierpoint as their realtor. Eric has proven he can work a hangover, but he can’t even look Harper in the eye until she effectively makes it a condition of their signing. It’s an exercise in humiliation, made worse by Harper’s observation that Eric’s face is like this literally glittering Unshowered, wearing the shiny leftovers from the night before isn’t a sign that you’re together, and Leung uses this moment to shine.
Back on the PJ, Yass and Sir Henry bond in the main cabin as Robert ponders how pointless the whole venture was. Eric is stuck on one particular loss: “I can’t believe there wasn’t any snow.” Eric can’t control the weather and doesn’t have much say in who he should do business with, but can he handle Storm Harper? The prognosis does not look good.