After a long weekend, including a few fashion week parties, I can confidently say there is no contact high like HBO’s Industry.
This week, Robert had to represent the firm in televised proceedings to deal with the £2 billion bailout of Lumi. In case you were wondering what happened to all those low-income Lumi power users, they were literally left out in the cold, with soaring energy bills that they couldn’t pay. Before the proceedings begin (and before he pukes in the toilet from stress) Robert is told to wear glasses during the inquest to create a sympathetic look. This move to costuming confirms his fears: he is a pawn.
Back at the office, it’s children’s charity day, which on this occasion means dressing up in costume. Yas, in sweatshirt and blonde wig, comes as Princess Diana (a chilly wink to her experience with the paparazzi this season), Eric is Henry VIII, and Sweetpea is about to shake things up while dressed as Geri Halliwell, aka Ginger Spice.
Over at her desk, Sweetpea raises concerns about some dots she’s connected to identify a problem with three parts:
- The bank raised a bunch of money to fund its operations with debt, so Pierpoint either needs really good financial results so that they can refinance the debt or repay it.
- Pierpoint’s asset management division was betting on different ESG and greentech and cleantech startups with house money, investing the bank’s capital instead of clients’ money.
- According to Sweetpea’s friends on the banking side— don’t underestimate a woman with friends across the firm—the IPO roadshows are going really poorly, and the IPOs are going to get pulled and shelved.
In short: Three interdependent issues, three areas in which Pierpoint really needs things to go well, and they’re about to fall like dominoes. Even though this is new information to Eric, rather than thanking her for the heads-up, he tells her to get back in line.
When Sweetpea pulls Yas into the bathroom—this is a very bathroom-centric Industry episode— to share her concern, she reacts similarly to Eric. Nobody at Pierpoint likes bad news. But what Yas and Sweetpea don’t realize is that Harper is 1) in the building with Petra for a meeting, and more specifically 2) is hiding in one of the bathroom stalls as they discuss the firm’s impending doom. After Yas goes into one of the stalls and Sweetpea heads back to the floor, Harper sneaks out of the bathroom and texts Yas that their meeting is off. We can only assume her next move will be to short Pierpoint.
