RECAP: ‘The Chair Company’ Episode 6 – “Happy Birthday, a friend.”

HBO’s The Chair Company has been one of the best series of 2025. The Chair Company Episode 6 is no exception. Directed by Andrew DeYoung from a script by Marika Sawyer, “Happy Birthday, a friend.” brings many plot points to a head, taking its lead character to his lowest point while also making the most headway into the conspiracy we’ve seen yet. 

The Chair Company Episode 6 opens on a rather unconventional note. Rather than the Ohio setting of most of the show, we’re out in the desert in what looks like New Mexico. Jeff Levjam (Lou Diamond Phillips), the CEO of Fisher Robay, is attending a retreat with fellow CEOs. Libations are flowing, laughs are had, yet a co-worker’s comment to Jeff that his job is “building boxes to sell people more stuff” sticks with him. As the frat boy-like antics around him continue, Jeff looks sullen, lost in thought. This unexpected moment carries with it a surprising weight into the episode.

Back in Ohio, William ‘Ron’ Trosper (Tim Robinson) tracks down the “Life of the Party” class that actor Oliver Probblo informed him of in Episode 5. He questions the woman working there about the Red Ball Market Global photoshoot. She claims that they don’t do photo exercises in this class, at least “not on this level.” She elaborates that the course has multiple levels participants can move up to based on skill level, but ultimately concedes that it is a scam.

Ron is slowly making headway on the conspiracies around him in The Chair Company Episode 6.

Ron opts to stay in the class to see if he can ask the students about the Red Ball pictures. He sees a familiar face from the shoot and starts to question her about her involvement. In a tense, scary moment, the moment tearfully asks Ron if she can help him. As he nervously questions her as to what she means, she reveals she’s stuck on her current class level because she’s too dumb and needs help moving up.

Not only is this a dead-end for Ron, but it is also the first belly laugh in The Chair Company Episode 6. It never ceases to impress me how rapidly this show can spit out premises and punchlines that would make for great I Think You Should Leave sketches on their own. Here, they’re just part of the patchwork on The Chair Company‘s surreal world.

There are more serious matters at hand, however. When Ron questions a middle-aged man wearing a hoodie and comically large headphones, the man immediately runs off. Ron catches him by the bushes, holding him down to take a picture until the man speeds off. Not only does this moment show that Ron is getting closer to something sinister, but his public freak-out also indicates a lack of stealth that could get him in trouble later on. Something in Ron is changing, growing more desperate.

Not content to let Ron breathe for even a second, The Chair Company Episode 6 cuts to Ron and Amanda (Amelia Campbell) having a mock breakfast in front of HR head Diane (Moonie Fisburn) and the outside observer she brought in. Awkward doesn’t even begin to describe the interaction, although Diane claims that everything seems normal between the two. The observer states that he requires more time to observe the two to ensure a safe working environment. Is it possible that this man is working for Tecca or the company behind Tecca, keeping tabs on Ron?

The stresses continue to pile on when Ron and his team are called into a meeting with Jeff. A frustrated Jeff says that he wants this mall to be more than just a place of consumption; he wants it to reflect the indigenous architecture he saw on his retreat.

Therefore, he wants to start over completely on the mall’s design. Ron’s team is confused about what to do, and Ron can barely reassure them that things will be okay. When Ron exits the office late at night, he sees the HR outside observer snuggled up in a blanket, reading a book. Maybe this guy isn’t here to spy on Ron, but really loves hanging out at Fisher Robay? 

When Ron gets home, he’s surprised to see his son Seth (Will Price) hanging out with a much older man in the basement. Ron’s wife Barb (Lake Bell) tells him that this is Richard, a friend of Tara (Grace Reiter), who is here to help Seth work on a project that will be revealed once it’s done.

Seth comes upstairs and tells his dad that he’s excited for his upcoming birthday party, remembering a previous birthday when he did “the Pee-Wee Herman dance.” Ron uses this moment to chastise him for slipping up in basketball. It’s clear that Seth has other interests and wants to tell his dad that, whereas Ron is so caught up in his conspiracy that he’s not even bothering to take notice.

A birthday party aims at normalcy, but the universe (and Ron) has other plans to upend it.

Meanwhile, at the future mall building site, a group of people, hidden in the shadows, sneak past security. Back at the office, Jeff shuts down all the team’s suggestions during a meeting, pointing out Ron in particular. In a montage of the team scrambling to redesign the mall, Ron flashes back to moments of violence he’s enacted towards others. The Chair Company Episode 6 is smoothly pushing us towards Taxi Driver/Joker territory, where Ron seems about ready to explode. He gets a call from Mike Santini (Joseph Tudisco), who tells him to come outside. 

There, Mike has brought in the exterminator we met in the fourth episode. The exterminator claims he found bugs in Ron’s house that come from Eastern Europe. Hungary, Mike quickly notes, is the location where Tecca chairs come from. Elaborating, the exterminator says the only place he’s seen these bugs before is in Delaware City government buildings. Mike excitedly states that this goes all the way up to the government, albeit the government of Delaware City.

Now, the conspiracy is starting to get a bit out of control, and Ron, too, seems a little perturbed by how large this is becoming. Ron says he can’t go to Delaware City the next day due to Seth’s birthday. Mike asks to be invited, and Ron declines him not-so-nicely. It’s strange how much I’ve come to feel for Mike. He’s a crass, loud character, yet his gentle heart has been shining through, especially compared to how wound up Ron is in The Chair Company Episode 6.

Back at work, Brenda (Zuleyma Guevara) tries to convince Ron that he needs to dissuade Jeff from this major change in the mall design. Ron takes little to no responsibility for his failure to talk Jeff down, meekly agreeing to have a conversation with him.

As Ron goes to talk to Jeff, Jeff guilt-trips Ron, saying, “You’re not trying to talk me out of this, right?”. Before Ron can even interject, Jeff tells Ron they need to see each other the next day to brainstorm on the concept. Ron says that he can’t because of Seth’s party. Jeff, rudely, invites himself, refusing to take no for an answer. Slowly, Jeff is revealing himself to be something of an insecure tyrant, and Ron’s inability to rein him in will likely only cause Ron’s eventual release of these building negative emotions to become even larger.

Sitting back at his desk, Ron takes a break from his real-life stress to re-indulge in the conspiracy. He looks at Delaware City’s website, only to see it has a similar color pattern to one tattooed on the man who ran from him at the “Life of the Party” class. Moreover, when he cross-references this with Red Ball Market Global’s website, it has the same color pattern.

Realizing he might have just hit something big, Ron smiles a deranged, open-mouth smile like something out of a horror film before he gets a call from a mysterious voice, telling him, “I’m thinking of finally doing something to you.” There’s no doubt about it now, Ron has gotten close. 

As Ron gets closer to the truth, he is also closer to losing his job and everything he holds dear.

Before returning to that, we get to one of the cringiest, most upsetting scenes in the whole show: The Chair Company Episode 6‘s birthday party set piece. Things start nicely enough. Ron shows Natalie (Sophia Lillis) his latest findings, only for her to discover that the Delaware City Hall building will be empty tomorrow for a “Cop Hop” event. Barb also received some fantastic news, learning that she now has an investor for her stylish, portable breast pump business. 

The good vibes can’t last long, and Jeff arrives, immediately making passive-aggressive comments towards Ron’s house. Ron can’t stay that long, as Mike is in the front yard, holding a gift. Begging to come in just for a slice of pizza and to leave his gift for Seth, Ron rudely rebuffs him, ripping the wrapping on the present and telling him to “get the fuck out”. Mike’s puppy dog expression is enough to bring a surprising tear to the eye. Ron’s not done being a jerk yet. 

During the party, Seth plays the song “Tequila” and starts doing the Pee-wee Herman dance. He asks his dad to join in, and Ron says no. Ron clearly is trying to make an impression on his boss that he’s a “serious man”, but he’s letting his son down in the process.

Seth asks several more times until Ron raises his voice, telling him to turn the music off. Seth walks upstairs, going into Ron’s office and pouring his whiskey into his cup, chugging away. Now, Ron has been aloof all season, but we’ve never seen him be this outwardly cruel and dismissive towards his family.

Jeff eventually leaves the party, claiming he’s got an idea for the mall. The family sings Happy Birthday to Seth, who ends up vomiting from his drinking. Barb is incredibly disappointed in Ron for how he handled the party. As if he doesn’t feel like enough of a jackass, Ron opens the present Mike got for Seth, finding a giant chocolate King Kong and an incredibly sweet letter. You’d think Ron is at his lowest at this moment. If only. 

The next day at the construction site, Ron is on edge. That’s when he sees something that triggers him deeply: the group of people who broke in are here, and they built a mini remote-control Jeep course. Obviously stirring up in Ron some very ugly feelings about his failed Jeep Tours company, he angrily curses at the group to take it all down. As Jeff tries to calm him down, Ron screams at him and shoves him. At this moment, you can hear a pin drop. Ron has fully cracked and might have just lost his job in the process. 

Ron storms off as Jeff and everyone else look on in horror. Ron receives a call from the mysterious voice, but before it can even get a word in, Ron cuts him off. He’s reached the point of no return and speeds to Delaware City. As he blends into the crowd during the police event outside City Hall, the vibes of The Chair Company Episode 6 have shifted into something dark and thrilling. As he sneaks into the building and starts looking through files, it feels almost like watching Tim Robinson’s Hitman.

That is, until a police officer catches him with a stack of files in his hand. At this point, my heart damn near stopped. It only gets worse, as Ron is completely unable to explain what he’s doing here, eventually lying that he’s a friend of an employee.

By the end of The Chair Company Episode 6, we’ve finally arrived at a darker, more thrilling place.

When questioned further, Ron throws the files up in the air, hauling himself as quickly as possible through every room in City Hall. That’s where he finds the mother load: a room full of hundreds of Tecca chairs. Smiling the most deranged smile he can, Ron’s personal life may be in shambles, but he’s found the heart of the mystery. 

What can you even say about The Chair Company Episode 6? In many ways, it feels like the climax, or at least, the pre-climax of the series. It remains as gut-bustingly hilarious as ever, but Ron’s neglect of his personal life and his passive nature have caused everything to crash down, and it’s richly compelling.

What The Chair Company‘s ultimate thesis is remains to be seen, but The Chair Company Episode 6 highlights a seething rage boiling underneath the meek. This is the first time that Ron has been truly scary, shifting the tone of the show to a new level of discomfort that I, in the most terrified manner possible, am compulsively drawn to see through to the end.

He’s neglected everything: his family, his job, his own inner self, to chase down this conspiracy for nothing more than an embarrassing workplace accident. Now that he’s burned everything around him, he’s arrived at the belly of the beast. What resides there, we’ll only have to find out. The Chair Company Episode 6 is another perfect episode of a near-perfect show. 

The Chair Company Episodes 1-6 are now streaming on HBO Max. New episodes air every Sunday.

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