(Warning: Spoilers for season 3 of industry.)

Anyone who has ever been to a panel discussion knows: anything can happen when the moderator hands over the microphone for questions from the audience. If Industries Eric Tao (Ken Leung) attends an international climate conference in Switzerland. This scenario quickly turns into a nightmare when former protégé Harper Stern (Myha’la) uses this public forum to announce several business bombshells.

Suddenly, the lack of Swiss snow (no, I don’t mean cocaine) is the least of Eric’s worries. Over the course of the episode, he piles up a series of defeats, denting his professional and personal confidence. Some people thrive in new environments, but the recently promoted Pierpoint partner is far from mastering the London trading floor. Eric considers himself “a bit of a VIP,” but on this work trip, he’s just another person on a panel.

As of this season, Eric is no longer the stable family man he was. The firing of Harper at the end of season two could be seen as the catalyst for this loss, which also includes the drunken spree with Yasmin (Marisa Abela) the night before Lumi’s disastrous IPO. With Harper on his team, Eric was usually laid back; now he’s giving lessons in Midlife Crisis 101 by giving the disinterested Yasmin puppy dog ​​eyes.

When he is asked at the last minute to join the Lumi jury, the seemingly fun reason of travelling on Sir Henry Muck’s (Kit Harington) private jet to score some easy victories turns into one awkward encounter after another. Before flying to Switzerland, for example, Eric’s casual meeting with Yasmin’s lawyer Denise (Fiona Button) ends on a bitter note when she tells him he is both a “fuck boy” and an old man. “But I don’t fuck one of those, do I?” is his main takeaway from this argument.

Nothing can dampen Eric’s excitement for the trip (not even the fact that his promotion puts him back at the bottom of the ladder), and what makes Leung so great to watch is the persuasive energy he exudes before letting his posture and expression flash into deep uncertainty. His sales instincts push aside doubts, so the COP should be a playground. “The highest concentration of financial heavyweights in the smallest space. Looking for investment there would be like fishing with TNT poles,” says Eric. Perhaps using explosives as part of an analogy wasn’t the best idea; Eric is preparing for a bomb.

On the plane, Sir Henry quickly banishes Eric and Robert (Harry Lawtey) to the other cabin “for our bankers”. Yas continues to put the two Pierpoint men in their place and is allowed to “hang out upstairs” with Sir Henry and his disgusting buddies.

Eric is out of step with everyone he interacts with. He orders a scotch on the plane and gets stared at by Robert and Yas for the early hour – you know it has to be extreme when those two are giving those “really?” looks. The fully booked hotel can’t do anything about Robert’s lack of rooms, and Eric’s “I’m a big shot” card has no value here. The combination of the “I’m a man and I’m relentless” duo underscores how much they’re both going through. In Eric’s company, Robert looks like a winner – or not quite so much a loser.

At least Robert’s sauna introduction to Pierpoint’s analyst and energy sector trendsetter Frank (Joel Kim Booster, baring all) gives the banker an ego boost: “I know who you are. We have a WhatsApp where we share the directory photos of all the hottest and straightest Pierpoint employees.” Frank doesn’t reveal how his stock recommendation for Lumi will turn out, but Robert has a good feeling.

Later, while Eric and Robert Taylor Swift’s darling and silent film legend Clara Bows It in bed (the episode title is the same as this 1927 film), Eric says that at least Frank is a company man and won’t jeopardize the jury by asking investors to sell Lumi stock. But not everything is as it seems, as the weather proves.

“Too bad about the snow,” Eric mutters, not realizing that it is actually snowing as he says it. His failure to notice the tiny drop suggests that he cannot see clearly what he will discover the next day when Harper reveals her new business plan and Lumi’s further descent into disaster.

Petra (Sarah Goldberg) refers to Lumi stock as a “disease-ridden dog,” a prevailing opinion that contradicts the image Pierpoint presents at the panel. On stage, Eric is relaxed and charming, but that’s no weapon against what’s going on via app notifications. Frank from Pierpoint has released his stock recommendation for Lumi, which is to hold the stock – which is the same as telling investors to sell.

As audience questions begin, the first person asks if this is a panel or a funeral. But that’s a softball compared to Harper’s mic drop. Harper blithely announces her new fund with Petra before referring to Eric as “some salesman from an American investment bank.” (Ouch!) Harper uses her time to tell the shocked panel that Frank “posted a lock on Lumi.” Harper twists the knife even further, agreeing that it’s more of a funeral. Eric tries to save it, but no matter what he says, Lumi is a disease-ridden dog with no cure.

HBO

After the panel, Eric is told over the phone that what happens next is a leadership issue above his level, so he can be forgiven for seeking solace in an expensive night of sex that balloons from $2,000 to $20,000 because of the extras. “Do I fuck like a young man?” he asks pathetically. Eric can’t hide the fact that he’s a hot, insecure wreck, but the interaction that follows is even more humiliating.

Yas has organized a breakfast meeting with none other than Petra and Harper because they want Pierpoint as their realtor. Eric has proven he can work with a hangover, but he can’t even look Harper in the eye until she actually makes it a condition of their signing. It’s an exercise in humiliation that gets even worse when Harper notices that Eric’s face literally shimmering. Unshowered and with the glittering remains of the night before, that’s not a sign of having everything under control, and Leung uses this moment to shine.

Back at the PJ, Yas and Sir Henry meet in the main cabin while Robert reflects on how pointless the whole endeavor was. Eric is a particular loss: “I can’t believe there was no snow.” Eric can’t control the weather and has little say in who he has to do business with, but can he handle the Harper storm? The weather forecast doesn’t look good.