RECAP: ‘The Chair Company’ Episode 7 – “I said to my dog, “How do you like my hippie shirt?””

All roads lead here. The Chair Company Episode 7, entitled “I said to my dog, ‘How do you like my hippie shirt?”, directed by Andrew DeYoung (Friendship) and written by John Solomon, is the most consequential episode yet. Giving the audience the vital answer they’ve been looking for while bringing Ron to his absolute lowest point, this is an episode of television that would’ve taken my breath away if I didn’t have so much breath I needed to spare on recapping the proceedings for you, dear reader. So without further ado, let’s dive back in.

After finding the mother load of Tecca chairs at Delaware City Hall, William “Ron” Trosper (Tim Robinson) returns home in an upbeat mood. He brings home a large dog named Baby, complete with a bonnet, but his son Seth (Will Price) is not impressed. His wife, Barb (Lake Bell), is even less so. As she questions Ron about his erratic behavior, Ron reveals that he was suspended from his job at Fisher Robay and may not be allowed back. The Chair Company Episode 7 sees Barb go mask-off and express extreme disappointment in Ron, dejectedly telling him not to bring up his potential firing at a party her investor, Alice, is throwing that night.

With nothing but free time on his hands, Ron continues the investigation. At this point, he’s actively unhinged, muttering curses to himself as he drives to Delaware City Hall. There, he intends to speak with purchasing director Teresa Bonaventura, only to find she’s not present. His research next takes him to a man who tells him a little more about the strange bug in his house.

Ron engages in increasingly bizarre escapades. 

The man claims this bug is springing up in government buildings across Delaware City. The building that most catches Ron’s eye is the Probation & Detention Center. However, when Ron goes there, he spots the cop who caught him in his Hitman-like escapades in Episode 6, so he turns his attention to an “adult video” store.

Ron shows the owner pictures of the pornography he found in the Tecca office in Episode 1. The owner can’t help him, though he hilariously tries to download the pictures off Ron’s phone. Meanwhile, Ron’s daughter, Natalie (Sophia Lillis), begins her own investigation, visiting Teresa Bonaventura’s office. On the side of Ron’s investigation, he goes to the Delaware City Public Works building, only to see chairs being loaded in, realizing that this is the base of Tecca’s operations. Before he can pry any further, a group of kids starts throwing rocks at him. When Ron throws a rock back, he flees the scene to avoid more trouble with the law.

In one of The Chair Company Episode 7‘s most bizarre tangents, Ron ventures back into the Tamblay Menswear group chat he was added to in Episode 2. There, he finds a disconcerting message. In this message, a man says that he returned a shirt to Tamblay because, despite liking the design, the short sleeves did not suit him.

On another visit, when he walks into the store, he spots a similar shirt, this time with long sleeves and brown patches on the back. Proclaiming this his “hippie shirt”, he’s excited to wear it until his dog starts licking at the patches. When he removes a patch, he discovers a familiar toothpaste stain, and it’s the same short-sleeve shirt he had bought, only with replaced parts and resold at twice the price.

The series brings the varying storylines together. 

Not only is this scene a very welcome return to one of my personal favorite bits from this season, but it also leads Ron to a massive epiphany. Ron believes that Tecca is owned by someone in the Delaware City government who, whenever a chair breaks, simply has the parts replaced and resells the chairs back to the government. In essence, an embezzlement scheme.

The real magic trick of The Chair Company Episode 7 is how well it’s starting to bring so many out-there storylines together in a compelling, concise, and sensical manner. Given that Ron’s chair collapsed on him in the pilot, it looks like this was not a nefarious scheme to embarrass him, but a side effect of a shady sales tactic. Ron shares his findings with Natalie, who, in turn, gives him Teresa Bonaventura’s address. 

Ron goes to the address and finds that Teresa is an elderly woman. In a rare sweet moment, Ron really seems to connect with her imaginative spirit. He also discovers that, despite holding the title, Teresa rarely does any actual work as Purchasing Director. Someone else, whom she can’t recall, is performing her duties for her, allowing the purchase of Tecca chairs to go through by taking advantage of her limited faculties. 

As he’s prone to do, Ron immediately jumps to his phone and starts researching Delaware City scandals. He finds that the Mayor has gotten in a ton of hot water, so he goes to see an old friend. At the overwhelming apartment Mike (Joseph Tudisco) lives in, Ron makes amends, apologizing for not inviting him to Seth’s birthday party. Back in business together, Ron sets Mike on the mission of watching the Mayor at a public appearance while he attends his wife’s investor dinner. 

A significant meeting between Ron and Alice amplifies the tension.

Now this is where the real meat of The Chair Company Episode 7, and functionally the climax of the season, occurs, so strap in. Ron arrives at the party being thrown for Barb by the wealthy Alice Quintana. Ron is incredibly uncomfortable, waiting for an update from Mike. He’s being brushed off by Barb, who is very clearly sick of Ron’s antics, or so it seems. 

After suffering through dinner, Ron ducks into Alice’s office and receives an insubstantial update from Mike, who claims that the Mayor’s friend is trying to lure him away from the event to go back to his hot tub. As Ron prods Mike to keep the Mayor there as long as he can, he notices a photo on Alice’s desk: her with Teresa Bonaventura. That’s when Ron spots Alice’s nameplate, reading “Assistant Purchasing Director”.

To make matters even more apparent, Oliver Probblo (Alberto Isaac) calls Ron and tells him that the woman who took the Red Ball Market Global pictures wasn’t Maggie S., it was none other than Alice. At this moment, Alice and the man who Ron accosted at the Life of the Party class in Episode 6, revealed to be her nephew, walk in. Ron accosts her, and she calmly admits that she runs Tecca and has invested in his wife’s breast pump invention in order to “keep them in the family”. 

In a scene rife with tension, where all the cards are on the table, Alice goads Ron into saying something, pointing out that the District Attorney is at the party. But she vocalizes her suspicion that Ron’s not going to say anything, lest he blow up his wife’s dream. Ron is truly put in a rock-and-a-hard-place, but he has one more question to answer.

The Chair Company Episode 7 executes a perfect penultimate episode. 

He asks Alice’s nephew why he has the multi-colored tattoo and why he incorporated that design into all the websites he was webmaster for. The nephew reveals that the tattoo is the “color code to [his] life”. Each color represents a different sexual conquest he had. Befuddled, Ron immediately goes back to the party to tell the DA about Alice and finally put this scheme to rest.

That’s when Barb’s business partner stops him. He tells Ron that Barb is extremely proud of him for his detective hobby. Confused, Ron asks him what he means. He reveals that Barb has known the whole time about Ron’s investigation and is proud of him for doing something that makes him happy. In that moment, Ron realizes that his family really does love him no matter what, so he silently decides not to go through with exposing Alice.

As a loving Barb embraces Ron and thanks him for being such a supportive partner, the two dance as Ron looks into the mirror, fighting back tears and putting on a smiling face as he stares in the mirror. The credits roll over this haunting scene. Not only has Ron given up his investigation, he’s once again given up everything to make the people he cares about happy.

The Chair Company Episode 7 is the kind of bombshell episode of television that makes you feel like you need a cigarette. All the cards are on the table, most of, if not all, the questions are answered, and now our protagonist has been forced into a position that goes against everything they’ve been fighting for. This episode would work beautifully as a season finale, even a series finale, but now that The Chair Company has been renewed, it’s clear we might just be scratching the surface. All roads lead to the finale, which will no doubt be another perfect episode.

The Chair Company Episodes 1-7 are now streaming on HBO Max. New episodes air every Sunday.

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