Review: Industry, “Company Man” | Season 3, Episode 5
"It's not my fault I don't have those toys"
Industry’s plot always moves rapidly, but with only three episodes left in the season after this one, events in “Company Man” hit the nitrous at such a rate that it can be difficult to track everything that happens. Full disclosure: I struggled with the episode upon my first handful of watches, but I got clarity around it in the wake of writing about “White Mischief.” I’ve spent a bit of time this week reflecting upon whether or not these characters are inherently likable or if they’re people I’d actively hang out with in real life. I don’t need my characters to be likable; protagonists of the Difficult Men era weren’t always easy to root for, but they consistently remained compelling from a narrative perspective. That’s how I feel about many of Industry’s characters—save for Robert.
I reckon I’m not alone. Social media sentiment around Robert’s arc this season is that the poor kid’s Going Through It™. Those takes aren’t going to dissipate in the wake of “Company Man,” in wh…