Industry Season 4 Episode 3 Review: Habseligkeiten

On Industry Season 4 Episode 3,”Habseligkeiten,” Harper and Eric dive headfirst into their new business partnership, while Yasmin and Henry navigate the professional and pleasurable lines in their own partnership.

SternTao moves full steam ahead but not without friction from the duo. Eric strives to know Harper more intimately, but Harper rebuffs his every attempt. 

Both fill a surrogate role in the others’ lives for better or for worse. Eric pours the time and attention he’s unable to provide for his daughters into Harper. His true love will always be work and Harper speaks that language fluently. 

Yet, his push to broaden the scope of their communication creates a stronger barrier between the two. It also softens this character nicely, signaling a void he desperately wants to fill. It may be the most honest and open we’ve seen Eric.

This desire to open up collides with Harper’s deeply-rooted fight-or-flight instinct. Harper is genuinely scared of Eric trying to occupy this parental space in her life. We’re used to her walls being up, but Myha’la coats their confrontations with genuine anxiety. 

Eric’s newfound view of work-life balance also clashes with Harper’s life-or-death mentality. He can’t live without working, but he has the luxury of a safety net. Failure has never been an option for Harper, but the stakes have never been higher for her.

These paradoxes bring the familiar dynamic into deeper, uncharted waters. It’s exciting for the audience to see these people they know and understand come back together with different views and perspectives. The contentious nature remains while feeling brand new.

Harper’s move to go after Tender also forces her to expand her team to secure what she needs.

This brings Sweetpea Golightly into the fold. Harper recognizes Sweetpea as a valuable asset, yet she lacks respect for Sweetpea’s feelings evidenced by her continued relationship with Rishi creating a tense but valuable relationship from the start.

Ultimately, Sweetpea establishes firm boundaries with Harper, signaling a hardened version of the character. She’s always been smart and valuable, but Sweetpea now has a thicker skin that allows her to be in Harper’s orbit and protect herself. She knows this is the opportunity she’s been seeking, but Sweetpea can’t allow herself to fully trust Harper.

It will be interesting to see how this choice plays out for Harper and Sweetpea and how far they’re willing to go for each other. There’s a level of trust between the two that only goes so far. The added layer of Rishi now on the outs injects a rumbling undercurrent to an already tense situation as audiences await his response to being cut out like this.

Harper’s plan also sets up another inevitable conflict as Yasmin and Henry settle into the company.

Yasmin remains in this uncomfortable stasis, unsure of how she exactly fits into the company. She is essentially back at square one in this world as she tries to overcome the barrier of not having a meaningful position in the company or the respect of others on staff.

If Yasmin cannot have power or control in the office, she will certainly seek it elsewhere. 

Enter Haley who confides in her about the incident with Dycker. A dynamic of trust is quickly established and, given Haley has a direct line to Whitney, this may greatly benefit Yasmin down the line. We don’t quite know how she fits into the big picture yet, but it is clear that Haley is severely underestimated by her peers, bolstered by the mischievous twinkle in Kiernan Shipka’s eye.

There’s an interesting energy between Yasmin and Haley established from their very first interaction. That energy is catapulted into another stratosphere when Haley comes knocking on Yasmin and Henry’s door in the middle of the night.

Industry is not shy when it comes to its depiction of sex and intimacy. It’s bold and always intentional, expertly woven in to explore the power dynamics of these messy people in deeper, unspoken ways.

Yasmin, desperate for a sense of purpose and control, dominates this situation. She puppeteers the whole escapade, both pulling Henry’s strings and deepening this newfound connection with Haley. This whole moment blurs the lines between business and pleasure within Tender.

Although Yasmin is maneuvering Henry and Haley like chess pieces in the bedroom, one can’t help but wonder if and how Haley will use this to her benefit later. The added layer of Haley being an entry-level employee muddies the ethical waters even further, leaving us to anxiously anticipate the implications down the line.

Yasmin’s triumphant moment of pushing the merger through is masterfully underscored by an anxiety as to how it’s going to affect an already volatile relationship. If Whitney does start to recognize Yasmin’s value, how will Henry respond? Rather than have Yasmin and Henry settle, the audience is stranded on thin ice, cracking little by little. 

Stray Thoughts

• Dycker’s article puts the merger in a tricky position, and I wonder how Dycker is going to be able to navigate the ever-increasing pressure.
• The big reveal of who the paintings belong was simultaneously so shocking and not surprising at all. This season is really leaning into the conservatism permeating the culture.
• The government inserting themselves into the Tender dealings will have big implications given that the audience knows they’re processing illegal payments.
• It’s always interesting how Industry brings past cast members back into the fold, so the return of Kenny was fun!

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Industry airs Sunday at 9:00 PM ET on HBO.

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