Industry's Kiernan Shipka Weighs In On That Steamy Threesome, And Hayley And Yasmin's 'Unspoken Chemistry'

Hayley Clay just got up close and personal with "Industry" power couple Yasmin and Henry, and she isn't done shaking things up just yet. Not by a long shot. 

In Sunday's episode, Henry, having pulled himself out of a deep, dark depression, set his sights on helping Tender take over the world, while Yasmin had a steamy idea of her own. Late one night when Hayley Clay (Kiernan Shipka), Whitney and Henry's ambitious executive assistant, dropped by to hand off some copy, Yas orchestrated the wildest of threesomes between herself, her husband, and their young new employee. We'll leave most of the X-rated details to your imagination. Let's just say "Industry" has mastered its ability to remain provocative and graphic without needing to show any nudity... this time, at least.

But because it's "Industry" we're going on about, we have to imagine Hayley had some ulterior motives of her own after getting into bed (literally) with her boss and his wife. It's a hunch that Shipka confirms. 

"I think she definitely does," the actress tells TVLine. "I think that Yasmin thinks that she's in full control in that scene, and I think that's so fun because Hayley is playing someone else. She's playing a role in that scene and I think it speaks to some really interesting dynamics that are held within sex and within power. It's a loaded scene for all three characters. All three characters have very specific journeys in that scene, and they're very kind of separate, even though they're all there, even though they're all kind of doing this thing together. It's, in a way, affecting each of them very differently." 

Hinting at what's to come, Shipka says Hayley is carefully "presenting" as someone she may not be entirely, or at the very least hiding her true motivations. But we'll have to keep watching to see exactly how the dynamic between these three unfolds.

"Hayley, in particular, is presenting as someone who is a little bit tipsy and wants to have a fun time and a fun night, and then it becomes an entirely different thing," she says. "We learned so much about her through that scene." 

When we first met Hayley in the opening to Season 4, she was out clubbing and mixing it up with James Dycker, only she was unaware that he was a financial journalist snooping around as part of his investigation into Tender. Once Hayley realized his true intentions, she kicked him out of her apartment and even came clean to Yasmin about the interaction. Yas appreciated the transparency, which inched Hayley even closer to the company's inner circle. That said, viewers should expect a whole lot more from the young woman Shipka calls a "wild card."  

"She is revealed to be a lot more than meets the eye," the actress says. "We meet her in a kind of an abrasive fashion. We see her in party mode. We see her as someone who is not afraid to use her voice and her volume and chasing someone out of her house with a knife. Then the next time that we see her, she's in an office, she's buttoned up, she's very 'please and thank you.' I think that says a lot about her, which is that she's someone who wears a lot of different masks and is playing her own game. I don't think she really has allegiances to anyone at the beginning of the season, even though we think that she might. She's an absolute, wild card character, and I think her next move is very hard to predict. It made her exciting to play."

As for what lies ahead, Hayley and Yasmin will both play unique roles in Tender's future, while the relationship between the women will shift in unexpected — and unpredictable — ways.

"Hayley and Yasmin have a kind of unspoken chemistry throughout the season," Shipka says. "Certainly the relationship is not built on trust. Hayley presents as someone who can easily be manipulated and isn't in the more powerful position in the given power dynamic, but as the season goes on, those dynamics shift and we see just how cunning and smart she is. She's playing her own game and Yasmin is heavily involved in that. I think Hayley sees that Yasmin is an in, and I think Yasmin sees in Hayley a part of herself and a confidant. Obviously, their trust is tested, but their bond and their chemistry is not, really. I think that's what makes them a really interesting duo."

So what did you think of that scene? Thoughts on Shipka's character Hayley? We want to hear 'em! Light up the comments below.