This moment felt oddly gratifying even though I mostly had no clue what was happening until the very last second. Sometimes, as a viewer, that can be frustrating. But in this case, it really paid off. Seeing Yas orchestrate this photo op with some real power brokers, to make it seem like all is well with the Lumi stock, just before the market closes? I didn’t think Yas had it in her. — Erin
There’s a lot of tension here: She’s so hard to root for, but this was one of those moments where I couldn’t help but kind of admire her? A little? People rightly dismiss her for being a nepo baby, but here, she employs it in a smart way and proves why she’s useful to the team. There’s an exchange between Adler and Eric when Adler asks: “How did nepo baby get on?” Eric says: “She connected the right people.” You can tell this pisses Eric off (rightly) — and, as he points out to her later, could be market manipulation!
Yasmin’s old-money connections always help her out and make her amenable to these old-money white men. She’s part of this world, and she knows how to use that to her advantage. It’s deeply unsatisfying to think about, and we’ll see this advantage come into play a lot throughout the season with her and Henry. (See also: the scene at the restaurant when she and Henry bond over being nepo babies, and Henry gets the tabloid article about her scrubbed. He also gifts her some very expensive wine, the kind that I can only imagine is, like, covered in dust from some rich guy’s cavernous wine cellar.) — Marina
Same, Erin. I was like, “What is this girl about to do? Force Otto to acquire Lumi and make the purchase price skyrocket off of one transaction?” Regardless, perception is reality in the business; the mere visual of Henry standing with those power players gives the illusion that the company is viable & still has legs. We can see when Bill Adler asked Rishi & co. how the day ended, he said, “Another day we can chalk up as being on the right side of the market.” They finished flat, says Rishi — no profit, no loss. Nothing short of a miracle.
But also this means that Yas should be reassigned from the trading floor to something different. I would say she should pivot to Private Wealth Management working with these sort of individuals, but she did that in Season 2 and found issue there, so I dunno, she needs to find her utility sooner rather than later. Because it is not on the trading floor, especially with how Eric accosted her. Something about his high and mighty ethical act is so nauseating. Like, no, he doesn’t want the feds on his back, but you also know you’re relieved that the trainwreck is over. Eric is just irritated he’s not the one who saved the day in front of Adler. — Ruth
