Review: Industry, “Eyes Without a Face” | Season 4, Episode 5

Note: If you missed it, HBO is avoiding counter-programming the Super Bowl and has released this week's episodes early on streaming.

It’s been a, well, interesting week for Industry. Stick with me here. Following in the wake of the heater that was episode four, HBO quickly announced that its Sunday night block of shows should drop early (ergo, why you’re likely reading this on a Friday). The HBO publicity machine kicked into gear with a handful of post-mortems on “1000 Yoots, 1 Marylin,” and I certainly played a role in facilitating that. The frequently teased Sweetpea episode, “Eyes Without a Face,” was on the immediate horizon. Everything seemed to be peaking at the right time.

And then, well, it all went to shit. In an (now edited) interview with GQ*, Ken Leung spilled the beans on the death of Harper’s mother, a reveal nestled in the opening 15 minutes of “Eyes,” which promptly sent Industry Twitter** into overdrive. The last few episodes, which skew Yasmin/Henry heavy, have sent fans of the series into a tizzy over a lack of screentime for Harper in what was originally pitched by Mickey and Konrad as a more Harper-centric season. In their eyes, the proof hasn’t been in the pudding, and finding out about the death of Harper’s mother from what’s basically a puff piece interview was far from ideal at best and an insult to injury at worst.