After a premiere episode dedicated to Harper and the introduction of new characters, Industry season 4, episode 2 shifts the attention to Yasmin and her miserable marriage with Sir Henry, who's falling into a spiral of depression ahead of his 40th birthday.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from Industry season 4, episode 2
Sir Henry is in a very dark place
The episode opens with the election results for the MP seat of Wakefield, which Henry, representing the Conservative Party, loses to Jennifer Bevan, from the Labour Party. Months later, it's the day of Henry's 40th birthday. His relationship with Yas is strained, and his depression is worsening. He joins his uncle, Lord Norton, to hunt in the nearby clearing, but the two get into an argument.
Norton reprimands Henry for his apathetic behavior, which Henry blames on his genetic inheritance. It's heavily suggested that Henry witnessed his father's suicide years ago; more on that later. An angry Henry threatens to shoot Lord Norton with his gun, but his uncle is not intimidated.
Later, Yasminx tries to lure Henry into having sex with her, but he rebuffs her, encouraging Yas to have sex with other men. Henry is visited by Whitney Halberstram, interim CEO of Tender, who tries to cheer him up and convince him to go back into business.
Henry's birthday party is Industry at its most chaotic
At night, guests begin to arrive for Henry's birthday party, which appears to have the Victorian era as its theme. The extravagant and over-the-top costumes add a sweet flavor to the rest of this Industry episode, especially considering how psychedelic things quickly get.
While Henry sinks into drugs and depression, Yasmin entertains the guests. She welcomes her paternal aunt, Cordelia Hanani, who talks about her steamy sex life with her 29-year-old partner and proves to be as bitter as her brother Charles. Among the guests is also Labour MP Jennifer Bevan. Yasmin, Lord Norton, and Bevan discuss politics in the kitchen.
Whitney offers Henry the CEO position at Tender, who is shocked. Yasmin finds him in the room, still undressed, snorting cocaine. The two get into a heated argument that could very well serve as Marisa Abela and Kit Harrington's Emmy tapes. Sick of Henry's self-pity, Yasmin storms out of the room. As for Henry, his worst decision will always be his next one: he takes out a small bag of acid and pops some of it.
Arriving late for his birthday dinner, Henry throws a drug-fueled fit and bullies Bevan, forcing a kiss on her. Staggering across the room, he argues with his uncle and exposes his failed sex life with Yas in front of everyone, only to be rescued by an old friend, “the Commander,” who takes Henry to a local pub.
Ghosts of the past come back to haunt Industry's main characters
It takes two seconds of Yasmin and Harper in the same room for the two to get into an argument. Later, Harper asks Whitney for advice about maintaining a good professional relationship with Eric. Whitney shares details about the beginning of his partnership with Jonah and reveals that, just like Harper, he grew up poor.
At the pub, Henry hangs out with the locals, stumbling upon his maid and the man who baptized him. Henry seems calmer and happier among the common folk, until one of the locals insults Yasmin, prompting him to beat up the guy. It's revealed that the Commander is actually a hallucination of his father, who took his own life on his 40th birthday. Henry, who was only a child at the time, witnessed the whole thing.
Heavily intoxicated and troubled by these visions of the past, Henry is plagued by suicidal thoughts. "You'll see me soon", says the ghost of his father.
Meanwhile, Yasmin confronts her own ghosts of the past. She catches her aunt performing oral sex on Otto, and later confronts her. Cordelia shows her true colors by saying that Charles was going to "terminate" his child until he discovered she was a girl. When we think that the allegations around Yas' father couldn't get any worse, Cordelia brings up her "Bohemian childhood" with Charles, implying that they may have engaged in incestuous activities.
Henry and Yasmin reconcile -- but, realistically, how long will it last?
It's late, and Henry sneaks into the garage. He gets into his father's old Jaguar and leaves the engine running in an attempt to take his own life, but gives up at the last moment. He instead drives home to Yasmin and the two have sex in the hood of the car while Lord Norton watches them, whispering that "spring is coming" to himself -- did the writers casually throw a Game of Thrones reference here?.
As the sun rises on the horizon, Henry realizes he has outlived his father and is ready to move on. He decides to accept Whitney's offer to become CEO and expresses interest in becoming a father, which makes Yasmin uneasy. Industry season 4, episode 2 ends with Henry and Yasmin speeding down the road.
Industry season 4 episode 2 review
Most Industry episodes feature many subplots and character POVs, but whenever the series shifts its focus to a single character, it delivers a spectacular TV hour -- who remembers Rishi's Uncut Gems-esque episode in season 3? Although there's some crucial plot progression and we see a lot of Yasmin in Industry season 4, episode 2, all eyes are on Henry.
His father's backstory helps us empathize more with Henry and enhances the power plays between Yasmin and him. There's one scene in particular that sums up their entire relationship: Henry enters the room to show Yasmin his costume. She gets up and is noticeably taller than him: "It's just the shoes", she says. This height dichotomy starkly reveals the power Yas wields over Henry throughout the episode -- Yasmin as this fierce, intimidating presence and Henry as this tiny, pathetic baby.
After they have sex, Yasmin looks right into Henry's eyes and says, "If you ever put me through that again, I am the one that will kill you." That's an allusion to an early conversation she had with her aunt, in which Cordelia stated that "men love to kill women."
Overall, Industry season 4, episode 2 is a psychologically-charged episode that, alongside the previous one, sets up what's at stake in this new season. From now on, everyone will have taken their position on the board -- pawns have been selected, Kings are handing over their crowns to others, and by the end of season 4, there will be a brutal checkmate.
Industry season 4 airs on Sundays on HBO Max.