SPOILER ALERT: The following story contains plot details for the “Industry” season 4 finale, “Both, And,” now streaming on HBO Max.
Henry really messed up this time.
Sunday concluded the sensational fourth season of HBO’s high-flying financial drama “Industry,” starring Conrad Kaye and Mickey Down. The production brought further rock bottom to Sir Henry Mack, played in his second season by the dazzling Kit Harington.
Mac, a British aristocrat married to Yasmin Kara-Hanani (Marisa Abella) and perpetually unfaithful, spends much of the season salvaging his reputation and portfolio after a failed political campaign, before founding the disastrous clean energy startup Lumi. Sir Henry’s latest deus ex machina was supposed to be Tender, an ambitious British bank led by Whitney Halberstrom (Max Minghella). But, as is often the case in the murky world of “industry,” fintech products had fake users, driving up the numbers. This Trojan horse of deception was exploited and eventually exposed by Harper Stern (Myara), who short-circuited Tender at the expense of Henry and her old friend Yasmine, which resulted in great profits.
Oh, and Yasmin’s own spiral of destruction, loneliness, and narcissism led to another shocking ending in the inevitable finale. She wants a divorce, especially after spending eight straight episodes watching Halberstrom lust relentlessly at Henry (culminating in a scene in which the former rubs the latter’s shoulders while he is receiving oral sex in the glory hole). (Click here to read creators Daun and Kaye’s breakdown of Season 4 of Industry.)
Variety spoke with Harington about the choices left for his character and the Freudian dynamics that play out in Henry’s relationship.
We finally know Henry’s fate in season 4. What do you think about it?
He doesn’t cover himself in glory, does he? But he didn’t. I watched the last two episodes of Mickey and Conrad last night and came away saying, “Oh, Henry is a tragic character.” I had so much fun playing him that I never realized how tragic a character he was. But what fun! The pinnacle of this season for me was, “Can you have feelings for this guy?” If someone else did that, even for a moment, I would have accomplished something.
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As of the end of the finale, Henry’s life is completely falling apart again. Tender and Whitney Halberstrom were exposed as fraudsters. Yasmin tells Henry that she wants a divorce. What do you think will happen to Henry in the next few minutes and days?
I think the last image of Henry in the final episode is him taking Lithium on a boat on a pond to calm down. He’s on that boat both physically and figuratively. He is away from the coast and will not cause any more damage. This is as close as you can get to a padded cell. I think Henry had good intentions. Last season, when he launched Lumi, his goal was to address the climate crisis. When he ran, he was a good Conservative politician who wanted to serve the people. Henry tries to do good, but his blindfold always causes great damage. He should stop trying to do good. Sit in that boat and don’t touch anything.
Thankfully, “Industry” has been renewed for a fifth and final season. Do you know if Henry is coming back?
Sorry, we have no information to share. But the final season awaits, and whether you’re in it or not, you can’t wait to watch it.
Do you think Henry and Yasmin are done?
I think it’s over. It’s really very sad because they actually had some kind of love there. That’s what Marisa and I were playing around with, researching, and promoting. It wouldn’t be interesting if they weren’t truly in love and it was just a partnership of convenience. They ran fast, but it was clear they weren’t meant for each other.
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Henry’s other relationship this season, with Whitney Halberstrom, turns out to be a much more nuanced relationship than one man desiring the other. I think Whitney understood the type of worship that someone like Henry needed to be effective. Yas, on the other hand, was someone who demanded true partnership and searched for his own relevance.
I agree with some of that. Whitney falls obsessively in love with Henry and the system that created him. Henry grew up with the immense privilege that Whitney had to strive for, claw at, and fight for. I always thought Henry had a mother figure in Yas, but what about his father? This season, we learned just how much of a problem Henry has with his dad. As for Whitney, I think Henry doesn’t think he’s gay or bi (about his feelings for him). More than that, he feels strangely held and cared for, and that there is someone in power and responsibility above him. Henry always lacked that.
I think one of the funniest lines ever on “Industry” this season was when Yasmine questions Henry about Whitney’s apparent sexual attraction. She brings up a story about Henry meeting another man in college, and he says that school is like a prison and that “everyone is gay in college.”
I groaned when I read that.
I love you showrunners, I don’t think we’ve seen a glory hole on TV in ages.
I set myself up for that. I remember in season 3, they were discussing a potential scene and asked, “Are you okay with being peed on?” And I said, “Oh, I’ll do anything.”
The reputation of the “industry” is greater than ever. Remember that he stars in another hit cable series that is a precursor to the “Game of Thrones” spinoff “Nights of the Seven Kingdoms”?
Sigh. I didn’t do anything terrible on HBO, did I?
This interview has been edited and condensed.
