Industry Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Nutcracker
Sarah Novack
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Whoever says office drama does not spice up a party is so, so wrong. Industry Season 1 Episode 6 proved that.
Pierpoint & Co. had their annual Christmas party on "Nutcracker," and the episode did not disappoint at all.
It was a wild ride from start to finish, a night where our graduates kept finding themselves in tough situations. Well, how did things pan out in the end?
Things for Gus are not looking too hot right now. He has a more central role when Theo brings his girlfriend, Alice, to the party. Of course, Alice has no idea about Gus and Theo's history, making things just a tad awkward.
Not only did Theo make it clear that Gus should not speak to him on Industry Season 1 Episode 4, but now Gus has to watch the man he has feelings for being romantic with his girlfriend.
Furthermore, things on the trading floor are not looking up for Gus -- it seems that he feels more isolated than ever. So, it is safe to say that he is not having a good time at the Christmas party, even if Theo does start talking to him again.
Gus's predicament begs the question -- what on earth does he plan to do next?
He evidently does not like his job -- or at the very least the company he works for. He more or less says so when he becomes acquainted with Lord Oaki, a public figure he admires.
So, what will Gus do? Will he take time off of work, as Lord Oaki suggests? Will he look for a new job altogether? Or will he remain complacent at Pierpoint?
It is hard to tell, but a twist of events occurs when Gus and Theo hook up in a bathroom stall during the party. Perhaps resuming things with Theo will relieve Gus's stress, but it seems unlikely, considering that Alice saw them being intimate in the elevator.
And Theo made his priorities clear when he went after her. He will never choose Gus over Alice, no matter how many times they end up in each other's beds.
We still do not know how Gus will react to this realization, but it is not looking good since he took the following day off work. But is he only using one day to recover from the party's events? Or is Gus about to sink into deep darkness he will have to claw his way out of?
No, to be honest, I'm sick to my stomach of my professionalism. You know, the amount of times I hold my tongue when I wanna fucking scream.
Daria
We sincerely hope it is the former because who knows what will happen if Gus starts skipping work altogether. Although Gus is a private person, we are begging someone to notice that he is not faring well, preferably Robert. After all, Robert is Gus's roommate, so how could he not realize something is wrong?
Well, that might be because Robert is too busy getting high and drinking. He cannot seem to stay away from drugs or bad influences, no matter how hard he tries.
But Robert is not the only one who does not know when to quit. Greg, an employee, seems to be in the same boat. At least Robert is somewhat steering his ship, but Greg? Greg got arrested the previous night for not knowing when to quit.
Harper is genuinely concerned about Greg -- whether it is because she cares about him as a friend, as something more, or feels guilty for giving Eric a reason to humiliate him, we do not know. However, she fears that Greg might find himself in the same situation as the previous evening, or worse.
So, she asks Robert to watch over Greg while she has to work during the party. But old habits quickly die hard because Greg and Usman, who also appears at the event, manage to convince Robert to take pills that Usman brought.
Robert seemed to have agreed to swallow the pillows to placate his friends, but all decisions have consequences, and some of them can be deadly.
While Robert is also high, nobody is there to stop Greg from consuming more drugs. Or Robert, for the matter, so they do not stop, leaving Greg free to make grave decisions. Greg accidentally walks into a glass wall, but instead of walking away, he purposely rams into the same wall twice more until he knocks himself out with a head injury.
Where was Robert when all this was happening? Well, it seemed that he was finally going to get lucky with Yasmin, putting their risky flirting game to an end. Or is it only just the beginning?
Sometimes, the loneliest place can be in a room with the people who are supposed to love you.
Robert
Can you even call what they did hooking up? Yasmin pretty much directed Robert to do what she wanted to see how far he would go for her. He barely touched her. When she asks him to do the unthinkable, she tries to take it back -- but Robert accepts her challenge, prompting Yasmin to realize that he has serious feelings for her.
With this new realization, Yasmin has a few options to choose from. She can cut any ties with Robert beyond a strictly platonic relationship. The two of them could go on, with Yasmin pretending that everything is just the same as it was before. Or, she could reevaluate her own feelings for him and see where that leads.
Was she shocked because of how deep Robert's feelings run for her? Or was she stunned because she might care about Robert more than she had previously thought?
Regardless of what she decides to do, it seems that Robert chose for her. When Yasmin finds out that he is largely responsible for Greg's accident, she wants nothing to do with Robert anymore.
Robert made a devastating mistake. Tragically, it took the hospitalization of a good friend, losing the trust of another, and potentially losing Yasmin altogether for him to realize that his actions have consequences. Until Greg reappeared at the end of "Nutcracker," he might have possibly been dead.
Thankfully, Greg is alive and healing, but none of this would have happened if Robert had refused the drugs in the first place. Hopefully, Robert learns from this disastrous accident, and he proves himself as a friend to Greg, Harper, and Yasmin. But will Robert be able to give up drugs for them?
Honestly, we are not sure yet, but this will certainly be quite the test for Robert.
Maxim: Well I thought we established what happened was unacceptable. Did you not say anything about it?
Yasmin: No. Are you saying I was supposed to?
Maxim: How are things going to improve if people like you don't speak up in situations like that? ’Cause I don't work with men like him.
Yasmin: Excuse me, that's up to me. It's up to me to make that decision for myself.
Yasmin's strange hook up with Robert was not the only thing that happened to her at the party. Unfortunately, she lost the deal between Maxim's business and Pierpoint, and potentially Maxim's friendship.
She did not tell anyone else what happened at dinner with Kenny, Maxim, and Maxim's business partner. However, Kenny has been acting awfully nice since that evening, potentially because he is bribing Yasmin not to say anything to executives.
Of course, Kenny's new behavior does not go past Yasmin. She acknowledges it, but she does not say anything because of the work opportunities Kenny has been giving to her.
But is Pierpoint worth his borderline inappropriate actions? Forcing Yasmin to receive a lap dance from a bar worker and bribing her with kindness and work? Yasmin is conflicted over the situation, but she does not confront Kenny until she loses Maxim -- as a client, and potentially, as a friend.
Will Yasmin notify an executive about Kenny's actions? We were unsure until a twist of events on "Nutcracker" -- Harper told Daria about Eric's recent inappropriate behavior.
It is not so much that Eric yelled at Harper on Industry Season 1 Episode 5, but the fact that he locked her in a meeting room so he could do so privately, effectively terrifying Harper into a panic attack.
But that incident is not the only time Eric crossed the line -- there were many instances here that portray Eric's inexcusable behavior. He gives Harper her salary bonus an entire month in advance, he calls his wife derogatory names in front of Harper, and he asks her to be his plus one for the Christmas party.
Harper seems to have no trouble pushing these instances aside, no matter how telling they may be, until Daria expresses her concerns regarding Eric. Suddenly, Harper tells Daria everything about the incident, from the details to how Eric made her feel.
The next thing we know, Harper is in a meeting with Daria and Sara, forced to confess all over again -- leading to Eric's firing and Harper signing an NDA that Pierpoint gave her.
Harper's hesitance in signing this NDA is evident because she thinks that nobody other than Eric will vouch for her at Pierpoint. But that might not be true -- maybe Eric only fed her lies to keep Harper on a short leash.
On the other hand, Eric seems to be the only supervisor allowing for unconventional methods at Pierpoint, so maybe Harper would be found out under another executive.
Harper: I mean, if the outcome is better, what is the difference how you got there?
Yasmin: Well, are we trying to rationalize something that just shouldn't be rationalized?
Regardless, things are definitely about to change at Pierpoint now that Eric is gone.
The question is, how will things shift for the employees and the graduates, especially for Harper? We will continue watching to find out.
We want to hear from you, Fanatics!
What did you think of Industry Season 1 Episode 6?
Do you think Robert's actions will form a permanent rift in his relationships with Harper and Yasmin?
Is Harper still safe at Pierpoint with Eric gone, or was she never safe to begin with?
Will Yasmin tell anyone about Kenny?
What do you think Gus will do next?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Sarah Novack is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
