Tamal Kundu
In the Apple TV+ comedy–drama series ‘Platonic,’ Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne reunite with their ‘Neighbors’ films director, who created the show along with his wife, Francesca Delbanco. The plot revolves around two old friends, Sylvia (Byrne) and Will (Rogen), who reunite after several years of estrangement when Sylvia hears about Will’s divorce. They are at a completely different stage of their lives from where they used to be all those years ago, and this renewal of friendship starts to impact different facets of their everyday existence.
Episode 6, titled ‘The Big Two Six,’ Will finally introduces Sylvia to Peyton (Emily Kimball) and explodes in frustration claiming that Sylvia thinks Peyton is too young for him. To prove a point, he throws the 26th birthday party for Peyton, where he comes to a similar realization. Here is everything you might want to know about the ending of ‘Platonic’ episode 6. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Platonic Episode 6 Recap
The episode begins with Sylvia dealing with her nerves as she prepares for a meeting with Kirk Friendkin, an acquaintance of her husband, Charlie (Luke Macfarlane). Kirk is part of the higher-up in a law firm (not the one where Charlie works) and has agreed to meet Sylvia for a potential job for her. Sylvia quit practicing law to raise her family, but now that all three of her children have reached a certain age, she feels comfortable going back to work. But that comfort is mixed up in a jumble of fear of rejection, anxiety over going back to work after all this time, and trepidation about leaving her children behind.
As a result, she frets over what to wear before going on a brief shopping trip with Katie (Carla Gallo). She recalls Charlie earlier comparing her to Angela Merkel just as she is about to meet Friedkin and decides to ditch the suit altogether after spotting Merkel wearing a similar suit on a magazine cover page.
Despite her reservations and fears, Sylvia lands the job, but just as Charlie leaves for work with his colleagues, she discovers she has new things to worry about. Sylvia and Charlie initially decide that Charlie’s mother will look after the children while Sylvia is at work, but she soon discovers that Charlie’s mother’s babysitting will involve feeding the children too much sugar.
Meanwhile, Peyton refuses to let Will in her apartment after learning a dubiously summarized version of the conversation between him and his friends from Omar (Vinny Thomas). This prompts Will to set up an introductory meeting between Sylvia and Peyton, and he asks the former woman to come to the bar immediately. Despite her exasperation and the fact that she is busy with the priorities in her life, Sylvia agrees. She doesn’t explicitly remark on the age gap between Will and his new girlfriend, but her surprise is etched across her face. One thing leads to another, and after finding out that Peyton is a babysitter, Sylvia hires her for her children.
Platonic Episode 6 Ending: Do Peyton and Will Break Up?
Yes, Peyton and Will break up in episode 6 of ‘Platonic.’ Will has the realization that he and Peyton are too incompatible with each other during the party he throws for her at Lucky Penny. Earlier, Sylvia recognizes her mistake by hiring Peyton as the babysitter. Even though she denies this while speaking to Will, part of the decision to hire Peyton as the babysitter for her children stemmed from her desire to show Will how ridiculous his relationship with the younger woman is. But once Sylvia has hired her, she is reluctant to return home and face the woman, knowing the awkwardness that is bound to ensue.
When Sylvia does return home, Peyton almost inevitably brings up Will, asking whether he will agree to meet her friends at her birthday party. Although Sylvia answers that Will might not be ready for that, Peyton tells Will that Sylvia told her he is still in love with Audrey, his former wife. This leads to a confrontation between Will and Sylvia, during which the man runs into a glass door and gets hurt again. Afterward, he visits Peyton’s apartment to tell her he will organize her birthday party at Lucky Penny.
Will’s co-owners of the bar are understandably not happy to be closed on a Saturday for a party from which they will not earn anything. While watching Peyton and her friends dance to “Starships” by Nicki Minaj, a song from their middle school, Will has an epiphany. He realizes he is a cliché and decides to break up with Peyton. After failing to convince Sylvia that they are having an affair, he ends things after they reach her apartment.
Even though Peyton was several years younger than Will, she approached the relationship with more maturity. And this becomes once more evident through her balanced reaction to the fact that he broke up with her on her birthday. Toward the end of the episode, Will seems agitated by the fact that Peyton doesn’t react more emotionally. Because of his fear of becoming cliché, he lets go of one of the good things he had in his life, continuing his downward spiral.
How old is Alan?
Alan is the new roommate of Peyton. He claims he is 29 years old, though Will believes he is at least 50, and Sylvia seems to agree with him. The episode ends with a verbal spat between Alan and Will, during which the former basically tells the latter to get lost while Will warns Peyton of the other man.
The entire subplot injects an additional layer of humor into the narrative of the episode. Alan’s age is immaterial, though he does seem as old as Will thinks he is. He probably represents Will’s struggle with mid-life crisis, which becomes the most prominent whenever he visits Peyton’s apartment.
