Aahana Swrup
A new era dawns upon Pierpoint in ‘Industry’ season 3, as Eric’s strikingly Harper-less floor drives their focus toward ethical ESG—environmental, social, and governance—investing. As such, new players like Henry Muck and Wilhelmina Fassbinder find their way into the central narrative as they influence the banking firm’s reputation. Meanwhile, Harper, who manages to start her own company, LeviathanAlpha, with Petra Koenig, pulls her weight as she preys on the downfall of her former employers from the sidelines. Consequently, by the time the season finale rolls around, Pierpoint finds itself in a precarious state, much like its straying workers—from Yasmin to Rishi—whose professional and personal lives collide in a spectacular mess. As the higher-ups of these cutthroat financers scramble to save a sinking ship, the season culminates into a pivotal conclusion that is bound to leave fans disoriented. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Industry Season 3 Episode 8 Recap
The day after Pierpoint’s big 150th-anniversary gala—where the workers get trashed downstairs while the higher-ups try to find a way to salvage their company before its stocks plummet—the board of partners takes a meeting with the El Mansours, their best bet at investors. After recently backstabbing Bill Adler and scapegoating him as the fall guy for Pierpoint’s current predicament, Eric remains enthusiastic about saving the day with his Egypt contact. Since the company has been looking for an entryway into the US and European banking scene, Pierpoint is a goldmine for the El Mansours despite the baggage it comes with. In short, they’re willing to cover the few extra million dollars for investment in the company, keeping it alive and useful to them.
Consequently, Eric becomes the knight in shining armor, saving Pierpoint from bankruptcy. Still, the fact of the matter remains that many firm employees are bound to be unhappy with the recent changes in brass. The chances of major changes happening around the company with the entrance of Egyptian, state-backed investors are high—especially in the wake of Pierpoint’s near-kiss with ruin. Naturally, Eric becomes the face of confidence for the employees in that issue as well, delivering an inspiring—if slightly tampered—speech. Meanwhile, Pierpoint isn’t the only company undergoing major modifications, as Petra makes a few decisions of her own.
Previously, Petra made her displeasure known at Harper’s less-than-professional or legal ways of extracting information for LeviathanAlpha’s progression. In fact, she got Otto Mostyn, their most prominent investor, involved in the matter. Little does she know bringing Otto’s attention to Harper’s wily ways has only inflated his perception of her. Still, despite being in the dark about the businessman’s offer to hire Harper to groom her as his successor, Petra naturally decides to cut him loose as an investor. Therefore, Harper has two very clear and separate paths ahead of her in regard to what she wants in her future.
Likewise, Harper’s former colleagues and once-closest friends, Yasmin and Robert, find themselves at a crossroads of their own. After Eric made Robert the fall guy for Lumi and fired Yasmin for unwittingly indulging Harper’s ploy, both bankers have pretty much arrived at the end of their connection with the company. Furthermore, Yasmin’s ongoing lawsuit battle in light of her father’s death continues to haunt her. As such, she finds herself in an extremely vulnerable place where only her father’s former wealth and reputation could have saved her. Therefore, despite the tender moments she shares with Rob hours ago, she realizes she only has one lifeboat left: her ex, Henry Muck.
Industry Season 3 Ending: Does Yasmin End Up With Henry? Why Does She Go Back to Him?
While season 3 has been a tumultuous ride for almost all the characters, Yasmin, in particular, finds more than her fair share of obstacles. She starts the season off with her father going bankrupt and disappearing off the face of the Earth. Consequently, media attention rains down upon the young woman who just wants to continue doing her job as a banker. Furthermore, ever unlucky in love, Yasmin’s short-lived romance with Henry also burns down in flames after the man humiliates her in front of his friends by exploiting her offered vulnerability. By the end, when the reality of how Charles died and Yasmin’s part in the same comes out in the open, it simply becomes the cherry on top of the woman’s massively messed up life.
Although Yasmin finds a respite from it with Robert, who takes her out with him as he drives down to Scotland for an interview, the moment is short-lived. Robert and Yasmin have had a will-they-won’t-they romance from season 1. Yet, despite entering a more amicably close friendship in season 3, the attraction and chemistry remain between the two. Their drive away from the city and Pierpoint finally offers an opportunity for honest vulnerability and connection. In this moment, Yasmin can share the deepest truths of her existence, including how her misguided notions of power in romantic relationships stem from her father’s messed up parenting. Better yet, she can finally try to give her half-lived romance with Robert an actual fighting chance.
Yet, both Yasmin and Robert know that this isn’t their reality. Even during the trip, Robert is interviewing for a job that could very well settle him in America. Meanwhile, Yasmin realizes that the publishing company, once owned by her family, is trying to use her as the face of her father’s scandal. If she allows the same to happen, the media will never let her live the scandal down. On the other hand, if she declines to take the fall, she will be buried under mountains of lawsuit debts. Eventually, a beacon of hope arrives in the form of Maxim, Yasmin’s family friend and ex, who offers her some knowledge that can help her move against the Publishing House. Still, in order to do so, she needs big connections.
Thus, Henry Muck enters the scene. Yasmin is already in hot waters with Henry’s uncle, Norton, who has threatened to publish incriminating information about her involvement with her father’s death in his newspaper. Ever since Henry’s company went under, outcasting him from culture, he has lost a part of himself. Norton wants Yasmin to help him find it again. Even though she is reluctant to accept the idea at first, she knows it doesn’t have to be a charity case—being with Henry is bound to bring advantages for her as well. For the same reason, she reaches out to him and swings by his place with Robert.
At first, Yasmin allows herself to escape from Henry’s estate with Robert by finally acting on her mounting feelings for her friend. The two spend most of the morning making love in the Muck Estate Gardens, standing on the precipice of what could be a great relationship. Nevertheless, as it comes to an end, Yasmin returns to Henry, helpless to prioritize love over power. As the day ends, Yasmin and Henry announce their engagement—which comes as a surprise to everyone, including Robert. Nonetheless, he understands the choices Yasmin is making and why she is making them. Ultimately, Yasmin does what Pierpoint has taught her to do since day one—make the play that gets her the most profit.
Does Harper Take Up Otto’s Offer? Does She Move Back to America?
While Yasmin goes through her own post-Pierpoint life, Harper also looks for ways to further her own future. After her confrontation with Petra, she knows their partnership isn’t made to last long. Even though Harper constantly keeps getting in trouble for her questionable ways of sourcing crucial game-changing information, she insists on their legitimacy. Her methods may be illegal, but they won’t hurt unless she gets caught. For a second, she thought Eric understood this drive within her after he let her off without any consequences for faking her degree. Nevertheless, time effectively proved her wrong.
However, now Harper finds another opportunity to showcase the best she has to offer. Unlike Petra—or even Eric—Otto seems genuinely impressed by Harper’s clever tactics. Since the man is already looking for a successor to take over his business, he wants the young woman to bring her sharp mind and join him in his company. Still, the same won’t be without risk to Harper. For the same reason, she plans out the perfect ideal scenario that would allow her to get what she wants while working under Otto. Harper wants to open a Short Hedge Fund, whose main goal would be identifying companies like Lumi to call out their scammy tactics and short them before they can blow over in the public’s faces.
By doing so, Harper’s short fund would carry a good reputation despite its own questionable practices of collecting data—an area in which she excels. Ultimately, she wants to use her skills exactly how she thinks they’ll be most beneficial. Otto is willing to allow her the space to do so. As such, in the end, Harper takes up the man’s offer and pitches one of her own—a move to America. She is finally ready to face the music she has been running for all this time and return home as the powerhouse she has become.
What Happens to Pierpoint? Does Eric Leave the Company?
Although Harper, Yasmin, and Robert’s storylines detach from Pierpoint by the end, the company still remains at the narrative center throughout the season finale. Eric’s quick thinking had saved the company when it was at its last leg. However, as the months pass and Pierpoint survives under its new leadership, one can’t help but wonder if the firm truly did survive or not. Most of the notable employees after the central trio had already left the firm shortly after the Egyptians’ takeover. While Sweetpea and Anraj got the better end of the deal with employment under LeviathanAlpha, Rishi got more than his just desserts, finding himself unemployed and buried in dangerous debt. Nevertheless, these characters wipe their hands clean of Pierpoint, leaving only Eric behind.
Still, after riding the win’s high for a few months, Eric gets brought down the cold and brutal reality. All at once, one day, he walks into the office to see Pierpoint undergoing rebranding as Al-Mirah Pierpoint—a name that boldly clarifies the control El Mansours have over the firm. Therefore, it’s hardly a surprise when he walks into his office to see Fassbinder waiting for him with HR. The El Mansours have decided that they have no use for the trading aspects of Pierpoint’s services. Their involvement with the bank has been clear since day one—an entrance into Western banking license. Therefore, they want the new Pierpoint—Al-Mirah Pierpoint—to simply work on private wealth and manage the finances of their existing priorities.
Consequently, they no longer need several pre-existing departments, including Eric’s trading section. Simply put, Pierpoint is no longer a place for Eric. Even though the company handsomely pays him for his abrupt departure from their employment, a sense of loss hangs over him. Pierpoint is what Eric does; it’s what he’s best at—and now, somehow, the very things that made the firm what it was are being taken away from it. Although the result would have been the same if Eric had let the ship sink on the company’s 150th anniversary, there is something brutal about harbingering the cause of the firm’s final metaphorical death.
Thus, as the season ends, Pierpoint manages to survive but loses its identity in the process. The same remains most glaringly reflective in the fact that none of the bankers who were once the face of the firm are at the company anymore. Harper is enjoying the success of her Short Hedge Fund—making rounds in Forbes’ 30 under 30. Yasmin is still recovering from the aftershock of her father’s actions, but now in a mansion as a successful businesswoman and future Muck-to-be. Robert has managed to bring his new company, LittleLabs, to new heights, grasping at every opportunity he could find—and Eric is a millionaire in reluctant retirement. Most of them have managed to find success outside of Pierpont. As such, it seems as good a time as any to call in Pierpoint’s time of death—at least in regard to the narratives of the show’s central characters.
Read More: What Happened to Gus? Did David Jonsson Leave Industry?
