Pop Tart

I'll sit at this table for two with you. I don't know if they didn't air all the other times Kathy abruptly brought up her (daughter's) tequila to shill it or if I zoned out when they did air, but clearly she's been doing it a lot and at apparently at the drop of a hat. I'd been wondering about everyone's sort of non-response to Kathy suddenly bringing it out after their dinner and then Rinna's mocking of it at the hat place (Kemo Sabe's, really?). Her reaction seemed out of step with how Rinna would normally navigate something. But it makes more sense seeing all those clips of Kathy doing so at previous events. Rinna likely assumed all those previous mentions would air and thus she's going for the 'joke" moment. Only it doesn't land because we're not fully in on why it's a joke. I also think (to paraphrase Michael Rappaport on WWHL) that Kathy is sharp as a knife and you don't want to get on the wrong side of that knife. I don't think she'd gotten over being angry at Rinna and then Kyle for the hat place incident. I think she was stewing about it and getting angrier with Kyle. My guess is the later (not filmed?!!!) fight with Kyle will come back to that. Kathy likes to float in and out and pretend to be so far above all of the fighting, etc. She's an adult. She could fight her own battles. But if she does, then that gives up the game. I also am wondering if the producers are showing so many clips of Kyle complaining about Kathy in her talking heads to soften whatever bad thing Kathy did. When they interview the women for their talking heads they ask them many questions and the filming can go on for hours. I don't doubt that Kathy would have done just as much complaining about Kyle in her interviews (like who wouldn't?), but the producers shape the story by showing us what they want. None of this is to say I hate Kathy and love Kyle. Just to say I think Kathy is playing a pretty deep game herself and is very purposely crafting a version of herself for the cameras (like everyone else on the show).

Air date: 9.15.22

I agree he can be cutthroat and still care about what happened to Venetia. What surprised me in the scenario was his shocked reaction to how Adler was responding. DVD has shown himself to be extremely aware of the interpersonal dynamics and power plays and that awareness has allowed him to be cutthroat. All of that means he should know exactly how Adler would react to such a thing. He was there when Eric was "promoted" and told that no matter how successful he's been, it's all about the dollars today. Eric stopped producing at the level he had been, he's out. They need to cut spending so London is going to be closed down. Given what he knows about how Adler operates (and really the entire company), how can Danny (DVD) not know that a wealthy client is always going to come before a 1st year trader (or whatever Venetia's job is). I'll grant you maybe a foot, not an entire leg. Should Yas/Yaz(?) have been more supportive of Venetia? I said she should have (up thread), but I do mull over whether it really is required of Yas to support Venetia in the way she wanted to be? Venetia went to her for advice/support and perhaps wanted Yas to join her in sisterhood fighting the power. But Yas didn't do that. She told her what she thought she should do/how she should respond. Was her advice fucked up? Yes. But Yas is not Venetia's superior or even in her chain of command, so did she have a required duty to do anything specific for Venetia beyond that? As someone who would/does try to do her best to support other women, I know what my response would be. And Yas's response horrified me. But I also get that each woman gets to make her own personal choice about how she'll engage (or not) with harassing behavior. I think what made Yas's response truly indefensible was her gaslighting Venetia and trying to diminish how Venetia was feeling. All of this is to come back round to Kenny berating her. Kenny's abuse of Yas, went on for months and was relentless, so though he may be trying to right wrongs, him coming at Yas about how she responded to Venetia, is messed up to say the least. And while he is in Venetia's chain of command, Yas is not, so even there Yas owes less (from a workplace perspective) to Venetia than he does. Imagine having the person who made your work life a misery for a year (or more, depending on when they all went home for the pandemic) yelling at you about your behavior? So I think I've talked my way back to not even allowing Kenny a foot. 😉 The beauty of the writing is that these messed up people are pretty much all morally gray and that's what makes them so interesting.

Air date: 9.14.2022

I'm still trying to figure DVD out. He comes across, when he's on the desk, as a pretty straightforward guy who isn't playing games. And yet...his ousting of Eric was lethally cutthroat. He knew from the way that Eric talked to him (when Eric stupidly called him from New York to kind of gloat), that something was up and he immediately went around Eric to make sure he got the boss' ear and then was on that conference call when Eric was making his pitch. To be clear, I have no issue with Danny making a play. I thought it was pretty badass actually. And oh so cold. And then there's his upset at what happened to Venetia and finding out that his boss wants to sweep it under the carpet. His being upset at the situation itself makes sense, but his big shock/dismay that Adler brushes it aside as a mosquito? That seemed off to me. He came to London knowing that they were all going to get the axe - while telling them they had a shot. He was in on the call when Eric got demoted. So he's seen his boss in action. But still he's heartbroken at the reaction to the response to the harassment? Perhaps that last scene does explain it all? He's upset by what happened to Venetia and moved it up the chain, but when it comes down to it he'll move on with Eric, Harper, Rishi and make sure he gets a managing director position in the bargain. So his moral feelings will only take him so far? All of this said - I love that he's so complex. I love that they're all so complex. I've even come to be super interested in Kenny's journey? Related to Kenny - though Yas was so wrong to brush aside Venetia's concerns, her read of Kenny was deserved and warranted. He has no leg to stand on in telling her how she should handle harassment.

Air date: 9.15.2022

Use this thread to compare real historical events with how you think they may play out on the show.

I think they did a good job at meshing real historical details with the sly, dark humor. It certainly felt better researched than The White Queen, Spanish Princess, et al. Those shows just feel like historical soap opera (not that there's anything wrong with that 😉) where this one feels like historically researched fiction with contemporary, sharply pointed humor. Not sure I'm explaining it well. But like The Great, it's using the basic through line of the historical record to tell a modern story? To really great effect. Perhaps that's what I mean.

I had to watch the previews twice as I heard the name but didn't catch what it was referencing and I wasn't even sure I'd heard it! I did laugh at it, but agree that it would have been better for us to get the surprise of it within the episode. Not sure they'll do anything with it other than have it as a thrown-away comment, but I'm currently reading it as, in Industry world, Succession is a fictional show on television. Not that the Roys are real in their universe. But we'll see. 🤔

You may be right. I think what's so good about Industry is that I could see either scenario as being in play - in fact both at the same time. Using the word "nice" to describe Eric and Harper reconnecting was a misnomer on my part. "Intriguing" might have been better or maybe it's just that 'yes, these two!' feeling I get when they're acting a scene together. Certainly Eric has reasons to want revenge on Harper, but I would guess that his feelings of anger towards Pierpoint may outweigh them. He's always had a complex reaction to Harper, even when she's taking him down there's an element of pride in how he views her. He wants her to succeed, but he also wants to be the one controlling the success. They're a very twisted duo for sure.

Air date: 9.11.2022

Air date: 9.8.2022

Original air date: 9.8.2022

Air date: 9/7/2022

I don't think we're supposed to be surprised by Eric making a comeback. He's a main character and he's Eric, so I assumed he'd make a play to get back into the mix. I do think it was a nice moment when Eric and Harper once again realize they need each other. They have such a complex, interesting dynamic that I'm always here for it and could watch them break apart from each other's orbits and come back together again a dozen times and still find it fascinating. I don't see her this way. I see her more as someone who just feels driven to keep pushing, pushing, pushing for fear that she'll end with nothing. She could coast along and be successful in this world, but whatever is in her background has made her compulsive about getting ahead and winning at any cost. I don't think, in her heart of hearts, that she thinks she's worthy of the success. In a lot of ways she's just as insecure as Rob and Yas, she just deals with it by coming out swinging. She's always in a defensive crouch (mentally) and I think she thinks she has to hit first or risk getting annihilated.

I know that Kenya remains messy and a shit-stirrer, but I think the thing that was different this year was that she seems to be in a good place emotionally. She cried a couple times about Mark and I'd guess that is still a stressor for her, but otherwise she appears to be in a genuinely happy mode. Her business is doing well and she has her daughter, so all is well. That's been the difference in her interactions. She still brings Kenya energy to arguments and get-togethers, but her general contentedness has her dropping them just as quickly. So it's not so much a redemption arc as Kenya being pretty unbothered by it all and just enjoying herself. Contrast that with Marlo who is desperately unhappy in her private life (my view) and brings so much rage and anger to every interaction.

Air date: 9/4/2022

Air date: 9/1/2022

Air date: 8/31/2022

I agree that they've been building to the brother stuff for Harper since last season. It's been clear that her relationship with her brother has been a lodestone (anchor?) for her, even when she thought he might be dead, because of how terrible it sounds like it was with their mother. So I haven't been at all surprised about her determination to re-connect with him at all costs. Unfortunately, the cost was dear. I also agree they may have been leaning a bit too much into the theme of this young generation morphing into their unhappy mentors. The writing has been so good that I have hope that they will subvert what I'd think of as lazy plotting. Harper turns into Eric, Rob into Clement, and Yas into the guy who abused her is a bit too obvious, so I hope they do otherwise. I think she's telling herself that she's playing him (as Rob suggested she should do), but in reality there's still that little girl inside of her who wants her dad's love and a good relationship with him.

Aha! That makes sense. And makes it all more heartbreaking. He was so very consciously trying to not become Clement.

Airdate: 9/1/22

I thought last night's ep was so powerful and heartbreaking and will likely send all of our main protags careening off in bad directions. Harper's final scene with her brother? Brutal is the only word I can think of. Certainly we've seen Harper be cold-blooded and competitive when it comes to work, but his deciding a teenage Harper deliberately pushed him and caused his destruction and that she's nothing but a selfish narcissist? Brutal. Then there's Yasmin finding out her dad was sleeping with the very young (though legal, 🙄) nanny and that perhaps she has a sister? It put a beloved face to all those women she dismissed so casually when her dad told her he lost a lot of his money because of his #metoo behavior. Both Harper and Yasmin looked so shellshocked in their meeting with Anna. The acting was incredible by both. And then there's Rob. I do need someone to clarify who is the person who died that he got the lawyer phone call about at the beginning? - I thought it was his dad, but then it's his dad running the bar later, right? I didn't catch it all, will have to watch again a time or two, but just what was the big complication with his dad? Seemed like he had younger sons, so perhaps dad left the family for a new one? Whatever it was, I was crushed that Rob fell off the wagon so badly. Though it was interesting how much more confident and able to sell he was when high and drunk. He was much like the guy who was his "mentor" from season 1 - a high-functioning addict who did his sales job extremely well when under the influence. That's Rob too, unfortunately (at the moment). And then there's the fourth of our main characters, Eric. What Ken Leung did with just those few moments of time he was on screen. Incredible.

I'm convinced that Marlo sent the boys to her sister so that she'd be free to participate fully in events and trips for the filming. And that would have been fine if she'd posed it that way to them (and for the cameras). She could have just been straight and told them that because she'd be traveling and doing events on camera, she is going to have her sister take care of them while she's working. Still would have taken flak, still would have been hard on the boys, I'm sure, but at least it'd be straightforward and they wouldn't feel it was their fault. Instead - because she had to paint herself as 'oh so put upon by all that she's done for the boys' - she told them to 'get the f out' and sent them to her sister's house with no warning. That's what she said she had done. Found their room messy and a hole in the wall, and boom, kicked 'em out. And now taking them back, has to make herself look like some kind of saint for doing so. I don't question that Marlo cares for the boys, but her affection for them comes in a very distant second (third, fourth?) to her own self interests. Kenya was rude to the coordinator helping Sheree pick her models, but she was asking a lot of the questions that Sheree should have been asking. Blunt, rude? Yes. Wrong? Not so much. She was forcing conversation that should have already happened between the woman and Sheree. Was it her place to do so? Unclear - as I don't know what Sheree asked of her in terms of her being at the casting.

Air date: 8/28/22