‘Industry’s Harper & Yasmin: Should They or Shouldn’t They Get Together in Season 4?
We may not compute everything that goes on in the high-stakes banking world of Industry, but we are fluent in the language of relationship drama. Over the past three seasons, the HBO series has offered romances — which might be too fluffy a term — that are just as chaotic as the work environment was at Pierpoint. The upcoming fourth season, we expect, will be no exception, especially with how many new faces are going to be added to the mix.
As exciting as it is for the show to introduce some new dynamics, we doubt any will hold a candle to Harper (Myha’la) and Yasmin (Marisa Abela), whose relationship has been growing more and more twisted and complex since the two met as grads in Season 1. We already know that Season 4 will place their relationship at the center, in the aftermath of Harper betraying her friend (we use that term loosely) and reconciling at the end of Season 3.
That’s the name of the game in Industry. Everyone’s morally corrupt to some degree. They’re always looking out for themselves over others, but that’s what it takes to make it. In the Season 3 finale, Eric tells Harper that being wealthy isn’t the same as being loved, which makes Harper wonder, “But most of the time it’s close enough?” If that’s not the show’s thesis in a nutshell, we don’t know what is. It’s partially why we think Harper and Yasmin could actually be each other’s soulmates.
Sure, they could be each other’s best match in a purely platonic sense, but we can’t help but think how interesting it would be if they took a romantic turn in Season 4. There’s a case to make for and against Harper and Yasmin becoming a couple in Industry. So, not only will we turn it over to you to give your take in the poll below, but we are also putting the Industry gals through Swooon’s Should They/Shouldn’t They rubric. Let us know your own takes about a Harper and Yasmin romance in the comments at the end of the page!
Industry, Season 4 Premiere, Sunday, January 11, 9/8c, HBO
PRO: They both see each other for who they truly are.
In Episode 6 of Season 3, Yasmin says that she won’t be able to love Harper again after what she’s done. (Though they do come back together by the end.) At that point, Harper has just thrown Yasmin under the bus by tricking her into exposing company secrets, which results in Yasmin’s firing from Pierpoint. And Harper did it on the same day Yasmin had to ID her dad’s dead body. Harper tried to convince her boss (Sarah Goldberg) not to involve Yasmin, but it was a halfhearted effort at best.
Though Harper took things too far, Yasmin is no saint, either. Harper and Yasmin both see each other for who they truly are, which we think makes them even more suited for a romance. Their digs during that Episode 6 argument are so cutting because they know each other so well. They’d have no delusions about each other if they were to get together, which could ultimately make their potential relationship the most honest one on the show.
CON: We're torn over Rob and Yas.
Rob (Harry Lawtey) and Yasmin, we still think about what you could have been. Their push-and-pull, not-quite romance is one of our favorite aspects of the first three seasons. But as obviously (and desperately) as Rob loves Yasmin, she strings him along, and he lets her. (Harper aptly points this out to Yasmin in Episode 6.) As poorly as Yasmin’s been treating Rob, it’s hard not to hope that she will clean up her act and finally accept a pure love for herself, breaking her habit of choosing safe yet toxic men.
Rob and Yasmin’s tension finally comes to a head at the end of Season 3, with Rob and Yasmin exchanging “I love yous.” Then, Industry proves once again that these characters don’t really ever change their natures. Yasmin gets engaged to slimy, rich CEO Henry (Kit Harington) afterward. Now that we know Rob has left for Silicon Valley and won’t appear in Season 4, it seems like a Rob-and-Yasmin endgame isn’t in the cards. It’s disappointing, but the outcome is fitting for Industry. Yasmin herself even admitted that she’s good at acting like she’s in love, but she doubts she can actually feel it. Maybe none of these characters are built to maintain a pure love.
PRO: Friends-to-enemies-to-lovers would hit so good.
We also have to consider that a friends-to-enemies-to-lovers arc would be tremendously fun to watch, which is a point in favor of a Harper-and-Yasmin romance. One might argue that Harper and Yasmin have never truly been friends, since they’ve both been so focused on themselves since they met. But they have definitely become something akin to that after Harper helps Yasmin through her father’s death (and her sort-of role in it) in Season 3. There’s no doubt that the two are firmly against each other after that Episode 6 fallout, but they do manage to smooth things over more or less. Still, their history is bound to result in some explosive moments in Season 4. How do you truly get over a betrayal like that?
CON: They may be too selfish for love.
Is this a con or a pro? We aren’t sure. Harper is selfish in her pursuit to get to the top, while Yasmin is selfish so that she can stay at the top. With the same end goal, they’re two sides of one coin. They both operate under the “everyone’s collateral” mentality to serve themselves. One could argue that that’s not an ideal trait in a partner… but when they’re both that way, could it make them perfect for each other? It would be toxic, sure, but a toxic romance might be the only kind to ever se in the world of Industry.
PRO: They’re each other’s equals in different ways.
Though it’s obvious that Harper has the edge over Yasmin when it comes to business, they’re on the same level. Yasmin has the connections and the status as a rich publishing heiress, while Harper has to fight tooth and nail for everything she has. They’re jealous of what each other possesses — but that’s what keeps them coming back to each other over and over again, as Myha’la pointed out to Gold Derby during Season 3 press. Being equal opposites, Yasmin and Harper would each have something to offer each other in a relationship, and we all know that in Industry, every character thinks in terms of what someone else can offer them. It’s all about that transaction!
CON: How can they ever trust each other?
Relationships, obviously, are built on trust. After everything, that’s something that Yasmin and Harper might never be capable of. Reconciliation aside, how can Yasmin ever fully trust Harper again after her Season 3 actions? Then again, we’ll echo our earlier point: Maybe a pure, honest relationship simply would never work in Industry, unless these characters choose to abandon this world they’ve become entrenched in, like Rob. (We doubt Harper and Yasmin will ever follow in his footsteps.)
