Industry season 3 episode 7 recap: Pierpoint must sink or swim in "Useful Idiot"

We've made it to the penultimate episode of HBO's Industry season 3 and finally, Pierpoint must come to terms with its new reality. Close to having to declare bankruptcy, the board comes together to think fast in an attempt to save the company. Elsewhere, Yasmin gets bad news while Harper flies a little too close to the sun. We're inching closer to what's bound to be an eventful season finale, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

WARNING: Major spoilers for Industry season 3 episode 7, "Useful Idiot," are below.

Just like Sweetpea theorized, Pierpoint has no money and the majority of the episode shows us how the board responds. Eric proves he's still willing to screw anyone over to end up on top, even he's closest mentor. Yikes.

Pierpoint needs help

There's a party at Pierpoint to celebrate the company's 150-year birthday, which is not the best timing. But it does distract the employees from what's going on, which is a win for the board. Rishi sees the stock price, however, and he's no fool. He asks Eric why they didn't cancel the party and what they should do. Eric advises him to keep trading with Asia throughout the night to take any profit they can get. Adler says they are just hours away from declaring bankruptcy.

The Pierpoint board gathers and the CEO Tom says they need to find emergency money to the tune of $15 billion by the time the markets open up on Friday. There's a ton of tension between the board, unsurprisingly, with many different viewpoints and ideas. Eric tries to pose ideas but Tom doesn't budge, and they have a failed attempt at getting money through a phone call with the U.S. Madam Secretary of State. While Tom believes the 2008 financial crisis should've taught them a lesson, the Madam Secretary says their lesson is that they can't be bailing out banks.

Down on the trading floor, Sweetpea and Anraj don't realize anything is wrong and get a rude awakening when Rishi explains what's going on. Rishi says he's going to leave Pierpoint and he'll take them with him, which surprises them. Rishi leaves and Anraj begins working, but Sweetpea stops him. She says if the company is going down, they might as well have a little fun.

Yasmin's impossible choice

Yasmin is still dealing with the fallout of her father's death, thinking she'll likely have to pay back all of his debt. She meets with a woman from the Hanani Publishing board who tells her the company will take care of the damages — but for a price. They want to give Yasmin's name to the press as a face for the scandal and say that she knew about Charles' embezzlement the whole time. Legally, Yasmin wouldn't get in trouble, but of course, the public would believe something that's not true.

Yasmin and her lawyer Denise are understandably angry by this, and Yasmin cries, maintaining she had no idea what her father was doing. The Hanani Publishing employee tells her that they can't force her to agree, though if she wants the debt gone, that's what she'll have to do. Plus, if she doesn't agree, the company will sue the family.

Yasmin finds comfort in Robert later that night at home, who seems very worried about her. He tells her he has a job interview the next morning in Wales, and invites her to come with him as an escape. After some convincing, she agrees.

On their drive, Robert tells Yasmin about the job he's going out for, at a medicinal company looking to prescribe psilocybin. Maxim then calls her and they make a quick stop for the bathroom. On the phone with Maxim, he apologizes to Yasmin for disappearing and tells her that Hanani Publishing was complicit in Charles' criminal activity. This shocks Yasmin, and Maxim has proof. He forwards her screenshots that she may or may not be able to use against the company.

Yasmin is angry after the phone call and Robert comforts her. They decide to take a break for the night and check in to a hotel, getting two separate rooms.

Yasmin calls her lawyer and tells her about what Maxim told her, but Denise doesn't want to use this information. She explains that the screenshots would hurt the women Charles forced to sign NDAs, which Yasmin hadn't thought about.

Later, Yasmin makes a joke about the hotel concierge wanting to have sex with Robert, which makes him angry. He feels like she's still always playing games with him which upsets him. He tells her she can be vulnerable around him, and she apologizes. She says she always has to ruin anything she loves. They share a kiss, but when they go back to the hotel, they go to their respective rooms.

Rishi wants out of Pierpoint

Harper, who has fully moved out of Robert's place, talks to Rishi on the phone who tells her what's going on at Pierpoint. He asks her for a job, promising insider information, and asks if he can bring along Sweetpea and Anraj to her company. If she and Petra want to expand, Rishi tells her, they need to grow their staff. Harper seems unsure and tells him to keep her in the loop on what's going on at Pierpoint.

Elsewhere, Adler confides in Eric, though he yells at him for making him look stupid by finishing his sentence in front of the board. He tells Eric about a potential partnership with Mitsubishi who are looking to invest. He also says that when he becomes CFO he'll give Eric any position he wants, which seems to surprise Eric. Eric asks how he still has the appetite for all of this, to which Adler questions what else there is.

Back in the board meeting, Adler tries to bring up his potential deal with Mitsubishi but is interrupted. The CEO of a bank called Barclays is going to come meet with them, which means they might be selling Pierpoint. Tom says this might just be their best option.

Rishi sees the Barclays CEO pull up at Pierpoint and immediately calls Harper to give her the update. Harper tells him that she won't be able to hire three people.

Harper is on her own again

Harper finally comes clean to Petra and says she overheard in the bathroom at Pierpoint that they're about to go bankrupt. This alarms Petra, who reminds her that it's privileged information they've been playing with. She tells her Harper has backed them into a corner, and clearly doesn't want to play dirty like Harper does. It's too risky.

While alone, Petra calls Otto and informs him her relationship with Harper is over because she's being legally reckless.

During the meeting with the Barclays CEO, Adler expresses concern for keeping the Pierpoint name, while Tom says he should be concerned about the employees of the company. The Barclays CEO leaves to make a few calls, and he returns soon to say they're in agreement to acquire the company. Adler is angry, while Eric seems in shock. Pierpoint has been around for 150 years and it's about to be sold just like that.

Eric starts to turn on Adler

Wilhelmina, the CFO of Pierpoint, speaks with Eric alone and tells him to keep Adler from embarrassing the company. She says if they play this right, they should be able to keep their jobs. This is an ah-ha moment for Eric. He sees Adler speaking out of turn and angering Tom, and he decides he's going to save his position no matter what. Will he throw Adler under the bus to save himself? Probably.

The Barclays CEO comes back from more phone calls and tells the group that he has bad news. The acquisition isn't going to happen after all. It's now 4:00 in the morning and Adler brings up Mitsubishi again, to which Tom finally agrees to bring them in. Desperate times. Adler talks to Eric in private and tells him he's already soft-launched the deal with Mitsubishi and they're ready.

In her hotel room, Yasmin decides to take some of Robert's psilocybin tabs which seriously backfires. Robert later hears yelling from her room and comes in to find her bleeding from her hand in bed. He asks her if she's taken anything and she asks him if she's a bad person. She tells him she wants him and loves him which frustrates Robert because she's not sober. He tells her to stop and hugs her.

Members of the Mitsubishi team arrive at Pierpoint and Adler asks them to invest $9 billion in equity. Things look promising, but Eric then brings up an inaccuracy on page 12 of the agreement. They all see that the money is listed as enterprise instead of equity value, which is not what they want. Adler apologizes and questions how he could've missed the mistake.

Eric then lies and says Adler was aware of the wording, saying he told him about it multiple times. Tom asks what's going on, and Adler apologizes again, admitting he's sick. Tom asks Mitsubishi to leave so the Pierpoint team can speak privately. Adler tells everyone that he has a malignant tumor and that he hadn't told anyone because he didn't think it had an impact on his cognitive skills. Tom tells him to go home and Wilhelmina suggests Eric help him get a cab.

Eric and Adler walk down the hallway and Adler finally realizes what Eric has done.

Robert's hopeful future

Yasmin calls Denise and tells her she won't be taking the Hanani Publishing offer and will be leaking the information Maxim sent her. She feels like it's either the company or her, and she's choosing herself. Robert returns from the interview and tells Yasmin there's a big job in Silicon Valley he might pursue. He seems genuinely excited about the new opportunity and his future.

While she's walking outside, a car pulls up beside Harper and a man tells her to come speak with Otto. She agrees, but there's no denying this is ominous.

The final minutes of the episode show us what Pierpoint's next move will be. The board talks about Bill, and Tom asks Eric if he should be ordered to go on an indefinite leave of absence. Eric says yes, and they agree Mitsubishi is not the right avenue for them. Eric reveals the plan he's got up his sleeve, inviting in potential investors. Though it takes him a minute sometimes, Eric is usually one step ahead of those around him. It's evil, but it's also impressive. There is no loyalty in investment banking.

We're now only one week away from the Industry season 3 finale! Be sure to tune in on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 9:00 p.m. ET on Max and 10:00 p.m. ET on HBO. The linear showing on HBO will be pushed back an hour for the premiere of The Penguin episode 2. We'll be recapping the season 3 finale here at Show Snob, so check back with us!