Joel Kim Booster is known for being hilarious in his roles, but he’s switching things up with an appearance in Industry Season 3 Episode 3, “It.”
He is one of the biggest highlights of the episode as he bares it all in a sauna.
Kim Booster guest stars, playing Frank Wade, a Pierpont employee with a lot of power in the episode since his recommendation could do wonders for Lumi, which had just IPO’d.
With Lumi fighting to stay afloat, everyone is working to save the company, and Frank becomes Robert Spearing’s (Harry Lawtey) target as he aims to use his good looks to influence Frank’s opinion.
The scene is the gayest thus far in Season 3, and it doesn’t come too late since, with Gus leaving (more on that later), the show has been lacking in that aspect.
A Researcher and an Analyst Get Hot in the Sauna…
The scene reveals a lot as Robert and Frank interact.
Robert may be very straight. However, he’s not above using his attractive looks to advance in life.
We have a WhatsApp where we share the directory photos of all the hottest and Straightest Pierpoint employees.
Without Gus, it seemed like the natural replacement for the show’s token gay character would be Robert. Season 1 insinuated Robert might be bisexual after he hooked up with some guy.
Frank refers to Robert straight, and he doesn’t object. The apparent reason might be that he is straight and will do anything in the right circumstances (coke, failing companies, and all).
However, given Robert’s current mental state, it might also have been because he doesn’t have the mental bandwidth to pull a Nick Nelson and always correct everyone.
His mommy just died, and he’s been in love with Yasmin for a long time now.
What Happened Between Frank and Robert in the Sauna?
“The ambiguity is a bit more interesting“
As far as we know, nothing happened.
With Frank calling Robert straight, he may have played along and disengaged.
The episode does not reveal if they hooked up or anything. Even if they had, it doesn’t seem like Robert, no matter his skills, would have convinced Frank to change his mind.
Still, given his current romantic afflictions, Robert might be looking to get in bed with anyone. In episode 2, he turned down advances from his mommy’s daughter, and thankfully so.
Kim Booster talked to Vanity Fair about what might have happened in the sauna, saying,
“And I think what we all decided with the director and Harry is that the ambiguity is a bit more interesting, especially for Harry’s character in that moment.
“It’s like, ‘what did he do to then not get what he wanted?’ They leave the audience to fill in the blanks depending on how they feel about Harry’s character and their imagination of what Harry’s character would do for Pierpoint.”
Do you think that they smashed?
#Roberank or #Frobert?
There is some chemistry between Frank and Robert in the several scenes they share.
The duo does match each other’s freak because Robert doesn’t seem fazed when Frank starts pleasuring himself.
However, a later conversation reveals that even if Frank and Robert might get hot and sweaty together, there is something deeper.
Frank has integrity rarely seen in Pierpoint employees.
Robert could use someone with some integrity; that person will not be Yasmin (Marisa Abela).
Kim Booster confirms that he had been enlisted for a single episode in Season 3, but he makes a great enough impression on Robert that they might have a future together.
Robert needs someone hot and somehow moral in his life, something Frank can offer.
Kim Booster doesn’t know if anything might happen, but he says,
“But leaving it plenty wide open for a return at some point. Who knows where this character is going to go next? Maybe a spinoff show, maybe not. You never know.”
We need to see more of Frank. Frank and Robert (#Frobet) would be even better.
‘Industry’ Explains Gus’ Absence
Gus no longer runs in London finance circles, and while it was clear that David Jonsson wouldn’t return, the same cannot be said about his character.
The episode explains where Gus went, using Robert.
He references his friend Gus, who now works for venture capital in Palo Alto, California.
Yeah, my mate, Gus, is in Palo Alto working for a VC called Decarbonization Ventures.
The good news is that he’s not dead, so his return is possible in the future.
Where Did Robert Spend the Night?
Eric (Ken Leung) gets lucky (or makes his luck) with a hot woman, but Robert gets displaced for the night.
Curiously, he doesn’t mention where he spent the night because even if he makes himself scarce, he still needs a place for the night.
It’s unclear how instrumental whatever happened that night might be in the future. Is it possible he spent the night with Frank?
It’s also equally possible that he did with Yasmin.
I believe that even if nothing happened in the sauna, something happened at night after they had that drink.
If wishes were horses…
Industry Season 3, Sundays at 9 pm on HBO.