Spoilers for Industry S3 finale follow.

My feelings on Industry, the HBO finance show that finished its third season on Sunday night, can be summed up by the Hungie¹ and writer Tahirah Hairston in the Hung Up chat during the ep: “This episode is the perfect proof of what Industry is: hits and misses lmao.” For every good episode of Industry there are a few real stinkers. (What if your boss … was your friend … then he had a brain tumor so you betrayed him … and then he dropped dead!) The season three finale was a collection of shock twists that border on Saltburn made small. I like soaps, and Industry has gotten soapy! But it’s Billions with none of the humor, The Newsroom with all the self-seriousness. I liked episodes three or six, and wish the season hemmed closer to those.

Yasmin fucks Rob, but her dad’s death has left her too exposed and outmatched. Taking Saudi money bailed out Pierpoint but they’re not interested in the trading floor Eric wanted to save most. Harper tries playing it straight before she gets the seven-hour itch and has to go back to making money at any cost. Rishi is in one supercut of Weeknd songs. I’ve never done power rankings for Industry before, but here’s my assessment of who’s up and who’s down at this season’s end. Ranked from best position to worst position:

Yasmin Kara-Hanani
Even if the extent of Industry’s media criticism is “rich people control the papers,” Yasmin ends this season with the ability to direct her biggest outward concerned throughout the season: the public’s perception of her. She decides to choose marrying Henry for his power over being with Rob, who the season has labored to make us see as her true love connection. The tension of that relationship with Rob, to me, was that she didn’t feel worthy of his optimism and what she saw as his innocence. She made him eat his own cum in season one! She kept trying to prove to herself that she was actually a rigorous and impressive thinker and not after a man’s approval — Rob was another person she felt capable of manipulating, and he was so wholesome, so she didn’t trust it. Maybe she just loved his idealism.

Choosing Henry means that she chooses control, or at least the idea of it. “Marrying a man for a society pages puff piece she could’ve secured on her own?” a friend told me after. But Yasmin was convinced, more than anything, by someone finally telling her that she was worthy, that she wasn’t just a normal girl.

Harper Stern
If Industry has any house rules it’s that Harper will ...