Platonic – Season 1 Episode 7 “Let the River Run” Recap & Review

Let the River Run

Episode 7 of Platonic begins on the first day of Sylvia’s new chapter in her life. She is joining a law firm after almost 13 years. The day begins terribly as Simon, her little son, drops his drink on her suit.

Katie is excited to see her go but will miss Sylvia’s company. Stewart confides in Charlie that Sylvia will not find it easy to fit in with associates in their 20s. Since it is a law firm, these younglings are also terribly overworked.

Will has come up with a new blackberry sour taste beer that Reggie and Andy really like. The problem with it is that the ingredients are almost 10 times the price of a normal beer. And, Will wants to sell the bottles as a limited edition for a huge loss to establish it as the prestige offering of the bar. Reggie and Andy are caught in a fix and they ask him to take the rest of the day off.

Jessica, the HR rep at the firm, welcomes Sylvia and shows her around. Moments after sitting in a chair, Sylvia starts getting files on her desk. The associates show no interest in getting to know her, as she had expected.

It is all quite awkward for her. She makes an offensive joke against one of the associates and then tries her best to get out of the situation. But she isn’t able to. Ultimately, she has to concede ground and apologize to Andrew. But this is not the worst thing that happens to her (or could happen to her). Overburdened with work, tired due to her normal routine, and determined to prove herself by working late, Sylvia falls asleep while standing in the copy room. She loses her balance and crashes into a hanging painting of Friedkin’s portrait.

Sylvia notices that there is a small tear in her boss’ painting. She tries to fix it with glue but only makes it worse. She calls Will for help, who uses white-out to make the tear even more visible. He proposes they contact Audrey, who connects them to Lord Roetero, a local art restorer she knows. The man is as intense and unique as his name. When Audrey and Will patronize him after he suggests a “rejigged” version of the painting, Sylvia shouts out her intention to get it back to its original shape.

Audrey manages to convince Rotero to keep the substance intact and mentions a party at Will’s bar. Will is shocked to hear it and goes with Sylvia. Her claims turn out to be true. Reggie and Andy had given him the day off as they wanted to launch their Kamboocha drink, which Will was not on board with. Andy also makes it clear that he does not like Will’s idea of losing money to establish a prestige line of beer. Sylvia is shocked to see Katie at the party getting intimate with Andy.

Their affair has been going on for a while but she wasn’t informed about it. Now it is Will’s turn to lose his cool as he sees Peyton at the party too. Omar has invited her from his side. Sylvia and Will take a private moment to process the events. The former reveals she has called the authorities over a gas leak and the party is abruptly brought to a stop, bringing a smile to Will’s face.

In the morning, Sylvia is disappointed to learn that Rotero has restored the painting with one change. He has replaced Friedkin’s nose with male genitalia. Sylvia still hangs it up in the office but things go awry from there. Friedkin notices it and takes action. Jessica calls Sylvia into her office and reprimands her, showing her the footage from CCTV. They “hug it out” and get over the incident. Sylvia thinks she is in the clear but Jessica sees her working in her office and tells her that she has been fired. A bitter and heartbroken Sylvia walks out with tears in her eyes, now having to bear the mantle of having been fired after just one day of work.

The Episode Review

The cringe comedy in episode 7 was quite unbearable. But in a good way. Sylvia’s first-hand humiliation will be a difficult pill for her to swallow. The final moment of the episode was similar to what Will experienced with Peyton. It is another feather added to the motley of adult experiences we have seen already in the series.

Let’s hope Sylvia does not take it too hard on herself. Her misfortune might be a blessing in disguise as she gets to be home again. But she was excited to work again, so it will be a mood dampener for sure. Platonic’s flexibility has been impressive thus far. The creators have come to terms with the idea that a narrative with rigid dimensions revolving around just one theme would be dull. They have negated that with fresh ideas and that must be appreciated.