Industry Season 4 review
Cast: Myha’la, Marisa Abela, Kit Harington, Max Minghella, Kal Penn, Ken Leung, Miriam Petche and Sagar Radia
Creator: Konrad Kay and Mickey Down
Star rating: ★★★★
‘Dear Henry, how are we to remain virtuous when the temptation is so great?’ This one sentence from Episode 6 of Season 4 of Industry best encapsulates the whole show in a single sweep. Time and time again, the HBO drama reminds the viewer that this is no fantasy, that this is the real deal. Long gone are the days of Pierpoint, as the HBO show continues to reinvent itself to address how market capitalisation has left permanent scars on these characters’ lives. Season 4 is feral and furious, urgent and deeply cataclysmic, in ways that dawn on the viewer like a long-standing shadow. It makes for great, unmissable television.
The premise
Showrunners Mickey Down and Konrad Kay turn the wheel forward with 8 hour-long episodes, each of which can stand on its own as a standalone feature film. We meet our old, conniving monsters. Away from finance, Yasmin Kara-Hanani (Marisa Abela) is now helping her husband, Henry Muck (Kit Harington, who gives the show’s strongest performance), restart his business after losing the elections. He is dealing with a lot of issues, and Harper knows what to throw at him so that he will stand up for himself. It is the introduction of Whitney Halberstram (Max Minghella), the volatile co-founder of the fintech company Tender, that is the central hook.
He expands his business with Henry, which then becomes the central hook. There’s something rotten in the partnership, in the deal that Whitney brings. Tender is trying to break out of its hooks from gambling and pornography, and effectively whitewash itself with the partnership. This is where our antiheroine Harper (Myha’la) comes in, as she sets her eye to investigate what’s up with this company and its acquisitions. Her assistant, Sweetpea (Miriam Petche, in a scene-stealing turn), goes on a deep dive into Africa in a standout episode (Eyes Without a Face) that results in a breakthrough. It comes at a personal cost.
What works
But this is a show where each episode is filled with these little breakthroughs and revelations, where scenes crackle with a degree of ruthlessness that dares to show the nastiest impulses of these characters. What really works so well in Industry is that it might be the world of finance, where there are so many internal demographics and assessments to keep track of, but at the end of the day, it is the same world corrupted by its search for power. They are seduced by power, but who is not? We see these characters for their ambitions and anxieties, and we witness their slow moral degradation from the sweet distance of the screen. Nothing is more convenient than leaving. Taking accountability in a world where conscience is torn apart bit by bit. Season 4 in particular offers incredible depth in accessing these notes, powered by a tremendously sharp screenplay from Mickey Down and Konrad Kay.
It is the utterly shocking finale that ties things up for Season 4, as Harper sees Yasmin not as a survivor but as something more sinister. She has turned herself into a booby trap that tightens her present choices to earlier trauma. It is a shocking moment of assessment for Yasmin, and Abela handles the grip over her with astonishing depth. The entire conversation between her and Harper elevates the show into a new territory altogether, mirroring what’s happening in the wake of the controversial Epstein files. Industry takes a peek into the psychological rupture that shapes these spaces. This is the reality.
Even if it becomes so uncomfortable to separate truth from fiction in these moments, the show works because it operates through the lens of concern. We see what happens through Harper’s eyes as she extends herself to help her friend despite everything. Industry is a show that remains consistently gripping and revelatory, filled with remarkably nuanced performances and a sharp eye for detail. It is a show that rewards viewers with a sharp perspective on the world and its power dynamics and manipulations. The provocations are real, but we must know what to order (and what not to) so that we never lose our balance. Henry is past that point. It is too late for him. But Harper can, and so she must see what’s in it for her. And Yasmin- can she see anything clearly anymore? Season 4 is a masterwork and certainly the strongest one so far, and I cannot wait to see how Industry expands one last time for its fifth and final season.