Episode 6 of Platonic shifts the lives of both our protagonists to the next gear. Sylvia and Will find themselves in the middle of a radical change that has the potential to mar their platonic relationship. But then again, such changes occur often only to further strengthen the relationship, don’t they? But before their joint test, they each have their personal tests to pass. Will they be able to pass these?
Spoilers Ahead
Babysitting
Job interviews are always scary, especially for Sylvia, who has been unemployed for a long time. But she knows how important the job is for her, so she tries to direct her nervousness toward choosing the “perfect” suit for the interview, as if that’s possible. Charlie and Will both naturally fail to satisfy her need for suggestions for what suits her, so she makes the decision on her own, only to change it again at the interview venue. Well, it works, and she gets the job. However, things aren’t as objective for Will. Peyton has found out how Will regards their relationship as “nothing,” which is basically true as they aren’t committed. But that doesn’t mean he has the right to address it in such a disrespectful way, not just to one person but to many while drinking at a bar. To sort things out, Will reaches out to the only person he knows can help him, i.e., Sylvia. But things don’t go as planned. Rather than getting things sorted, which means Sylvia reassuring Peyton, an old soul as per Will, that Will didn’t mean what he said, Sylvia agrees to hire Peyton as a babysitter. This is at Will’s bar, no less, where Will had sort of fixed a date between Peyton and Sylvia. She needs one, of course, now that she has a job to deal with as well. But this doesn’t go down well with Will. The guy is just born to be Sylvia’s antithesis. Or maybe that’s how platonic friendships work. Always go against your best friend’s actions.
Deep Connection
So naturally, Will is appalled at Sylvia’s gesture, for it will only make things weird among all three of them, especially him and Peyton. Weird. Will uses this word again and again because there is no other way to describe how he feels about it. And frankly speaking, neither do we. Be that as it may, Peyton intends to invite Will to her 26th birthday party. It seems that she does indeed like him a lot. But the conversation that follows between the two ladies is what matters more. Peyton finds it weird when Sylvia mentions that Will might still be recovering from his divorce. That’s another way of saying that Will isn’t over Audrey yet. The same night, Will arrives at Sylvia’s home to confront her for what she has told Peyton. Yet again, every word of his is exaggerated, and there is absolutely no mention of good wishes for her new job. Will is just annoying here. And maybe that’s why he deserves to crash into a glass door. It’s really satisfying to see him face just that; call me a sadist. Without even checking if Sylvia is speaking the truth or not, he blames her for his present problematic state. Sylvia isn’t one to back down either, so she makes it very clear how Will and Peyton are worlds apart, no matter how similar he thinks they are. And the elephant in the room is their age gap. One will definitely wonder if Peyton is into older guys since she also brings in a new roommate, Alan, who apparently is 29 but looks older than Will. To make things normal with her, Will decides to throw a party celebrating her birthday at his bar. This is where his moment of realization hits him hard in the face.
What Happens At Peyton’s Birthday Party?
One of the characteristics of friendship, in this case, a platonic one, is how mistakes are forgiven. Sylvia and Will had a heated argument that was really personal, but Sylvia turned up for Peyton’s party anyway and was in a party mood. She doesn’t appear disinterested and is rather enjoying the vibe. Maybe she has realized that she doesn’t have to get herself involved in Will’s personal matters unless he wants her to. Will, too, is glad that she has come. He did send her an invite, after all. And helpful suggestions, no matter how rude, are helpful. Plus, in the larger scheme of things, getting together and carrying forward a friendship of more than 20 years feels really good and overwhelming when one thinks about it. The theme of Peyton’s Birthday party is YOLO; You Only Live Once. But while Sylvia is living the way she knows she will be satisfied more than happy, Will is compromising his life as he has no idea about his own relationship. This is not to say that everyone needs to sort things out and “settle down.” But sometimes, one needs to notice the signs that life is giving him or her. Will has overlooked a lot of these signs, and thus, life decides to make the next sign go public.
A sweet dance by Peyton and her adolescent friends makes him realize that he is making a mistake, and a big one at that. Standing there, watching Peyton dance, Will decides to end things with her. Sylvia, as usual, supports him because she knows that it is high time he makes mature decisions and gets things clear before coming to conclusions. So, after returning to Peyton’s place after the party, Will breaks up with her. And to his surprise and ours, Peyton thinks that whatever she and Will had doesn’t even deserve a breakup. They can just part ways or stop seeing each other. It makes one wonder if it was just Will who took things more seriously than they were. All that he told Sylvia about him and Peyton being romantic millennials and old souls with a deep connection, all of it was for this: Peyton telling him to his face that he is old. If that isn’t enough, he is disrespected by Alan, and she doesn’t even say a thing to him. Maybe this is enough of a sign for him. Platonic Episode 6 ends with Will walking out of Peyton’s house with an expression of disgust and anger.
We must remember that Peyton is still Sylvia’s children’s babysitter. Will Will ask Sylvia to sack Peyton? Will Sylvia even listen to him? Because her children like Peyton a lot, and that’s exactly what Sylvia wanted; that’s what anyone would want for their kids. But Will doesn’t have kids. And we can be sure that he will tell Sylvia at least something about it. The irony here is that this is exactly how he addressed Sylvia earlier, telling her that whatever doesn’t confirm her lifestyle, she disagrees with. Will is going to do the same. But the question is, will Sylvia listen to him this time? And more importantly, has Will moved on from Audrey? Sylvia understands Will better than Will understands himself. So, if she gets any hint of what’s on Will’s mind, we will find out about it too.
