Author: Robert Skuch Published
If you’re tired of by-the-numbers, completely predictable psychological thrillers like Netflix The woman in cabin 10I’m here to tell you not to give up. Hope you’re not sleeping in Tim Robinson’s bed chairman companyThe HBO original series, which airs on Max, is heating up as the season 1 finale approaches. As a psychological thriller comedy, chairman company Robinson is known for the same over-the-top, ridiculous energy that also keeps you on the edge of your seat with surprisingly thoughtful musings on burnout, obsession, familial influences, and finding meaning where there might not be any.
Just dropped the sixth of eight episodes, “Happy Birthday, Friend” chairman company Continuing into deeply uncomfortable territory, it raises more questions about Ron Trosper’s (Tim Robinson) rapidly deteriorating mental state. Unlike other works in the genre, the looming mystery surrounding Ron has continued to escalate since the show premiered on October 12, 2025, with so much ambiguity for viewers to make sense of.
gleefully subverts the unreliable protagonist trope
One flaw of most psychological thrillers is the unreliability of the protagonist. Audiences realize that the story they are following is incomplete or imagined, leading to speculation that the protagonist has either lost his mind or is being tortured by outside forces. chairman company Ron Trosper falls into both categories. By the time we get to “Happy Birthday, Friend,” his actions and experiences reflect both of these possibilities, as he becomes increasingly unhinged, and in a way that only leads to more chaos.
Ron’s initial claim chairman companyIt makes sense that a corporate entity called Tecca Chairs was trying to ruin his life. He follows clues, makes connections, and navigates a crazy scenario where everyone starts to worry about him, including the audience, only for his crazy assumptions to be proven correct time and time again. This is exactly what is set up chairman company separate. The problem is twofold. The pressure pushes Ron to his limits, causing him to distance himself from loved ones and falter at work, but what he discovers validates his actions to the point where his daughter Natalie (Sophia Lillis) can’t help but be drawn into it.
As the conspiracy continues to unravel, Ron’s right-hand man, de facto detective Mike (Joseph Tudisco), continues to uncover more incriminating information that seems poised to unravel the mystery and allow us to unravel it.
Thoughtful thoughts on burnout and the weight of obligation
Thanks to Ron’s family, we have some background on his behavior. In the past, his obsessions got the best of him. After his Jeep Tour business fails, he reluctantly returns to Fisher Robay’s white-collar corner office job, clearly unhappy that his wife, Barb (Lake Bell), is starting to thrive with her own business. The original chair incident occurred at the moment when Ron gave up his career to support his family and Barb took a risk. His discomfort is present from the start, but it’s also clear that he’s good at his job and a reliable provider, which only heightens the tension.
Ron becomes so obsessed with Tecca chairs that Natalie openly confronts him when he mentions the Jeep business, and he discovers enough evidence for her to quietly throw herself into the situation. At this point, we’re not sure if she’s humoring him to prevent things from escalating, or if he has legitimate reasons and she wants to get involved.
Things get more complicated when Fisher Robay CEO Jeff Leviman (Lou Diamond Phillips) returns from vacation in Sedona. Jeff’s insecurities about his legacy are projected onto Ron, who is trapped in the bureaucratic hell of corporate double lies. Morale in the Trosper family is at an all-time low, and things aren’t getting better in the office. Douglas (Jim Downey) is an eccentric office drone who even threatens to dress up as a chicken to lighten the mood.
More questions than answers
By this time chairman company Run, everything fell apart for Ron. He’s estranged from his family, his relationship with Mike is on the rocks, and his job situation is making everything worse. As his obsession grows stronger, he keeps uncovering more important clues that should lead to a clear solution anyway, but the narrative keeps us too close to the picture to understand what we’re actually seeing. Ron is losing his mind, and his family watches as he loses himself in fruitless projects from the past, stripping his claims of any validity because they’ve been down this road before.
Who is here?
Totally agree Ron, as we approach the final two episodes I have no idea where the series is going. I myself have had the experience of focusing on theories or projects that led to dead ends that compromised my happiness, but I also kept my head above water while falling down some of these rabbit holes. I received an unwanted promotion at my corporate job due to the obsessive attention to detail demonstrated by Ron throughout chairman company. Sometimes, what seems crazy on the surface is actually invaluable in exposing costly inefficiencies to corporate overlords. Sometimes, feeling one’s own worth in such a soulless, fluorescent-lit hellscape is priceless, and it’s a burden that people like Ron want to escape by spinning more interesting fictions in their heads.
Either Ron has “reached his limit,” like the shirt he investigates at the beginning of this futile chase, or he’s about to uncover one of the most sinister conspiracies ever devised in corporate America. We still don’t know. People on Reddit have no idea where this mystery is going, and they’re already rewatching the show, looking for subtle visual clues about Ron’s mental state. He’s either completely gone or he’s right on target, and I can’t wait to see if we can make it out of this.
chairman company Now playing on Max.
