Platonic – Season 1 Episode 5 “My Wife’s Boyfriend” Recap and Review

My Wife’s Boyfriend

Episode 5 of Platonic begins with a glimpse of Will and Peyton’s growing intimacy. Even though there is a considerable age gap (almost a decade), the two are getting along well. From waiting in line for fast food to participating in a dollar-per-pound sale at a store, the couple seems comfortable in each other’s arms.

Inspired by Peyton’s liking of Machine Gun Kelly, Will gets a makeover at Sylvia’s hands. Charlie comes home to find the two friends laughing about something and Sylvia rubbing colour onto Will’s head, which makes him uncomfortable.

Charlie is a textbook overthinker and Sylvia’s wild rager from the previous night has planted seeds of doubt. He mentions it to Sylvia while going to bed but she assures him nothing is wrong. He discusses the issue with Stewart at work the next day and Stewart has the same thing to say. In his bid to better know Will, Charlie invites him to the Dodgers’ baseball game the staff is going to. Will finds it strange, and so do his friends Omar and Reggie.

Sylvia and Katie are the same when Will tells her. But there is no way he can say no. Since Will isn’t a huge sports fan, he has to struggle to find fun in other traditional baseball festivities like eating a Dodgers’ hotdog and wearing a merchandise baseball cap. Although it starts patchy, the experience gets better for Will as the game goes on and they get drunker. There is some underlying tension as Albert, Charlie’s co-worker, calls Will “Charlie’s wife’s boyfriend.”

Will invites Charlie and Stewart to his bar afterwards. The night evolves as more alcohol is involved and everyone gets into their groove. Charlie phones Sylvia to come to the bar and there is an elaborate montage where our main characters perform their respective “secret skills” in public. The atmosphere is electric and infectious, until the “barbitration.” Sylvia takes offence when Charlie mentions Will’s “girlfriend” Peyton. He didn’t tell her about it.

Will keeps his calm as the pressure on him piles on from his friends. But he breaks and mentions how Charlie’s co-workers call Will “Sylvia’s boyfriend.” She gets upset and Andy lets slip her wild night with ketamine, which now makes Charlie upset. All of this tension is swept under the carpet as Will tumbles on broken glass and a shard pierces his forearm. Charlie comforts Will and an ambulance is called.

Peyton comes home to take care of Will, including making him dinner. He breaks down with gratitude and it seems that this might just be a long-term thing for this season. Remember, Sylvia and Peyton haven’t met yet. That would be really interesting. Sylvia and Charlie apologize to each other for their misgivings. The night ends on another wild note as Sylvia gives Charlie a dizzying makeover, which his co-workers find hilarious the next morning. All is well that ends well!

The Episode Review

Platonic has taken giant strides with episode 5. The show is now delivering on every promise made with its premise of lighthearted yet grounded exploration of adult relationships and friendships. Episode 5 saw Will and Charlie have a boys’ day out. Once the latter opened up thanks to a thing called “alcohol,” he seemed like a completely different person. The “secret skills” segment was hilarious and the wildest thing our characters have done so far.

Perhaps something wilder – doing ketamine – came back to bite Sylvia and Will in their behinds. But all was good by the end. When it seemed like episode 5 was heading to a cliched conclusion, a shard of glass saved the day. Luke Macfarlane came into his own as Charlie, providing a refreshing twist to the boring husband trope.

Apple TV+ has another hit at its hands. This episode will undoubtedly hit differently with people like the characters in the show, which is every third person in the entire world.