Tuesday, December 22, 2020

What I’m Watching: Industry (Season Finale)

Industry: Season 1, Episode 8 “Reduction in Force” (B+)

If things hadn’t seemed cutthroat already, having each of the characters we’ve come to know present to an unforgiving panel while being broadcasted to the floor was an extremely intense way of winnowing down the competition. It’s not that it actually mattered much, since each of them had a fate set before they even walked into the room. Gus chose to read what he knew would net him the best payout from his immature colleagues, and he walked out right away without any concern about what might come next. Robert didn’t do all that poorly, nosebleed aside, but Daria was intent on telling him just how useless she thought he was as a person. Yasmin has her own connections and had to worry more about the way that Kenny and Seb tried to distract her at exactly the wrong moment. And then there was Harper, who ran out when she froze yet somehow managed to be the top pick from both camps. Being invited to dinner with Adler was a surprise, and then we saw Eric there, clawing his way back in despite his firing in a move clearly designed to subvert Sara’s authority. Finding out that she decided to recant and instead get Daria fired for pressuring her into making a false claim showed how much she feels that it’s important for someone – namely Eric and Adler in this case – to owe her so that her standing can be protected. Yasmin was understandably furious at her, and I’m honestly not sure what things will look like when season two begins. I wasn’t so sure about this show at first, but it did end up being engaging and very watchable. I’ll be back for the second season, and I have a feeling that this show is a dark horse for a Golden Globe nomination for Best TV Series – Drama. We’ll see if that happens.

Season grade: B+
Season MVPs: Myha’la Herrold as Harper, Marisa Abela as Yasmin, Freya Mavor as Daria, and Ken Leung as Eric

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