Industry Season 2: Ending explained and is there a season 3?

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

a still from the Industry season 2 ending
(Image credit: Future/BBC)

Industry Season 2's ending was quite the finale, with its closing scenes leaving viewers desperate to know what the future holds for Pierpoint's complex ‒ and often infuriating main players. 

The BBC financial drama concluded on a major cliffhanger, with the eighth and final episode of its second series, Jerusalem, throwing protagonist Harper Stern's career in investing banking dramatically off the railsIf you want a debrief after all the action, we've got the Industry Season 2 ending explained in bite-sized chunks for you. Whether you're wondering what happened in the final episode, why was Harper fired, what happened to Rishi, or perhaps most importantly, if there will be a Season 3, we've got you covered.

The BBC are treating to us a plethora of quality drama this Autumn - from Inside Man starring Stanley Tucci and Daniel Tennant to the beautifully filmed Ralph & Katie. And of course the much talked about Am I Being Unreasonable ending.

Industry Season 2: Ending explained

The ending of Industry Season 2 shed heavy doubt over Harper Stern’s future at Pierpoint, with the American expat’s unethical antics as a graduate banker returning to bite her ‒ and hard ‒ in the gripping series finale. 

The fates of the fictional investment bank’s other players, including Eric, Rishi, and Danny, are also up-in-the air as a potential deal with Shogun bank in New York comes to the table. The proposition is rejected by Harper, who thinks going back to the US would make her a ‘failure’, as well as Eric, who randomly admits he had sex with his best friend’s widow in the Big Apple. 

Industry

(Image credit: BBC)

Desperate to find a solution, Harper interrogates her roommate, Gus, who works for Aurore Adekunle, for ‘any intel’ on what’s happening with FastAid, Rican, and the NHS. She then delivers this information to Jesse Bloom and advises him to ‘stop out’ before he loses any more money. Jesse proceeds to go on CNN and makes a bunch of anti-cronyism statements, sinking the FastAid acquisition and making Rican most likely to acquire the NHS contracts and thereby putting him in the position of cashing in on both ends of the deal. 

Unfortunately for Harper, the act of giving Gus's information to Jesse, who used it to manipulate the markets, constitutes insider trading which is punishable by up to seven years in prison. 

Harper confides in Eric about what she has done, and the two conspire to set Rishi and Danny up. They head to William ‘Bill’ Adler, Pier Point’s head guy, and propose the idea for a new team: Macro Hedge Fund Sales, with Jesse Bloom as their biggest client. In the pitch, they claim that Rishi and Danny were planning to go to a Japanese competitor and raise the issue of sexual assaults committed by Nicole. Adler accepts their offer, only for Harper to end up being fired herself but not for the reason you might think. 

Why was Harper fired in the finale of Industry Season 2? 

Harper was fired by her boss in the finale of Industry Season 2 for forging her college graduation diploma, in a shocking twist at the end of a nail-bitingly tense episode. 

"There's only one course of action in this scenario," she's told by a stern HR manager, before Eric callously informs her, "I have to let you go. You're fired, Harper." The credits start rolling at this point, leaving viewers in the dark about Industry's protagonist's future at Pierpoint. 

What happened to Rishi in the finale of Industry Season 2? 

In a nutshell - Rishi gets to stay on. Eric reveals to Harper that Rishi managed to survive the job cuts after she mentions that she noticed Danny's passcard was dead. 

Her response? "I'm stunned at how relieved I am at that." 

Industry

(Image credit: BBC)

Will there be a Season 3 of Industry? 

It remains unknown if there will be a Season 3 of Industry, though that's not to say that it's been ruled out entirely.

Show creators Down and Konrad Kay had to say this on the matter: "We have no idea if we're gonna get a third season, but we wanted to open up the possibilities because for us, it's a very exciting idea."

We'll be the first to update you when we know more. 

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Emma Dooney
News and lifestyle writer

Emma is a Lifestyle News Writer for Goodto. Hailing from the lovely city of Dublin, she mainly covers the Royal Family and the entertainment world, as well as the occasional health and wellness feature. Always up for a good conversation, she has a passion for interviewing everyone from A-list celebrities to the local GP - or just about anyone who will chat to her, really.