Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched the disjointed magnificence that is The Chair Company’s Season 1 finale on HBO or via HBO Max subscription.
As The Chair Company left viewers hanging with a freeze-frame of Ron’s concerned face below the angered howls of a questionably vengeful boyfriend, my immediate reaction was to performatively blurt out “Ha! Ha!” as if my syllables amounted to a sincere slow clap. The entire episode brilliantly gifted audiences with answers for the season-long mysteries plaguing Tim Robinson’s Ron Trosper, but only in ways that made previous questions (as well as some previous predictions) feel entirely irrelevant. All I can say is, thank gawd HBO already renewed it for Season 2.
Wait, that’s not all I can say at all. I have plenty to say about everything in this baffling episode from beginning to end, literally. I won’t do that, because we all have that one Tecca mystery in our own lives that we need to get back to. But I do have some specific questions about everything that we’re left with while waiting for Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin to gift us with new episodes, hopefully before the 2026 TV schedule closes out.
Did Amanda Actually Use Low-Level Psychic Powers To Cause Ron's Chair Fall?
Just so we're all aware: I felt like a lunatic writing the question above. How did this show so casually stretch its reality-transcending storytelling to the point where Jedi mind tricks have entered the equation?
But since that option is 100% on the table now, are we really meant to believe this baby-faced stranger who has been antagonizing Ron all season long, going so far as to sit outside of his house in a threatening manner? Is it possible that Amanda has some kind of telekinetic powers that he's witnessed for real? And that she used them for lukewarm revenge by intentionally collapsing his chair during that presentation in the premiere? I knew Ron and Amanda's weirdness had to be connected to the endgame, but mental powers were not a top-of-mind explanation.
Even if all that is indeed legit, I think he's still overstepping any and all normal boundaries by bringing Amanda's panties to their high school and having Ron pick them up off the ground for recognition purposes. It's not even entirely clear what this boyfriend's true motvies are here, since Amanda has been more flirtatious than upset about anything. So is it just the boyfriend projecting his own jealous rage onto Ron? If so, what a weird fucking way to end a season of TV.
Who's The Kid With The Father Who Was Ruined By Stacy Crystals (And Presumably Red Ball)?
What is this, a Vince Gilligan show? The Chair Company's finale kicked off with a cold open that appeared to be entirely devoid of connections to Ron's life until he landed on that gold mine of info in Jeff's secret wall drawer. Stacy Crystals and Ron's boss Jeff are apparently the two head honchos at the elusive conglomerate Red Ball Market Global, with photographic evidence connecting the two to Robay Fisher's Alice (Zuleyma Guevara) and the actor Danny Donovan (Bradley Stryker) that Jeff was inspired by on his rich-people retreat.
For all the weirdness that Ron has stumbled upon, he hasn't seemingly come across any information that could destroy a person, and it's not even clear how any of the companies that Ron has investigated could have a real-world effect on anything beyond making someone go insane with conspiratorial confusion. Could that kid's dad have gone through a similar roller coaster of discoveries as Ron, only for that situation to go far worse? Or was the father one of the many underlings within the company who are threatened not to expose any info?
Knowing this show, it could very well have nothing to do with Red Ball, and could be tied to a years-old incident that predated anything we know about. Jeff knowing that Stacy was shot was the real takeaway here, right? But then also, how will that affect anything?
Are Any Of The Mysteries In Ron's Life Actually Connected?
I know I'm not the only person who has followed along with this season under the blanketed assumption that Ron's various foibles all fell under the umbrella of "Tecca-related weirdness." But the creative team also hasn't shied away from hinting time and again that all the disturbing shit in Ron's life is coming at him from different directions. Even in an episode where he makes a truly nutty connection between Jeff's original music and the Red Ball on-hold music.
But as Amanda's assumed boyfriend seemed to prove, for lack of a better word, though he was the one who showed up outside Ron's house with the Jason mask, they haven't been involved with any of the other Tecca-specific details.
Plus, Ron's attempt to connect Jeff and Stacy's RBMG paperwork to Barb's investor Alice came up empty, presenting the offchance that those two aren't connected on a meaningful level beyond the overall conspiracy.
I don't automatically think that any of the above would be responsible for whoever was responsible for sending Ron's information to various face modeling companies, or whatever happened that sparked all those phone calls he received about it. Was that even real, or just someone messing with him?
It also doesn't currently seem as if Ron's impulsive dive into the Mayor's scandals will prove fruitful to anything that involves him, although that's now more Mike's concern.
With all that in mind, is it within reason to say that nothing in Ron's life is actually connected to anything else? I mean, who even saw that stop-motion animation stuff coming?
More Questions I'll Likely Be Obsessing Over Until Season 2
- How will Mike get away with kidnapping that dude who really wanted to use Mayor Braccon's hot tub?
- Has Mike ruined other people's lives the way he went too far with Lynette and her family?
- What happened to Ron's old dog, and did Baby/Minnie Mouse's owner have anything to do with it?
- How is Ron's mall development related to RBMG's scheme?
- What are Danny Donovan's movies like?
- Can I watch one?
- Why not?
- Will Ron get over the fact that Barb insulted his investigation?
This would be a great time for HBO to hire someone to write the novelization for The Chair Company Season 1 where more details are included in the text that weren't privy to audiences during the TV airings. Also, those details should answer the above questions, and not just be about other rejected ideas for Wendy's offshoots beyond the ham-centric Carvers option.
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