The Chair Company Recap: Jeep Tours

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Okay, let me tell you about the latest from The Chair Company. This episode, titled “@BrownDerbyHistoricVids Little bit of Hollywood? Okayyy,” feels…comfortable. And honestly, that’s not a bad thing! The show seems to be finding its rhythm, settling into a consistent style. But for me, that meant it lost a little of the delightful surprise we’ve seen in earlier weeks. It’s a solid episode, don’t get me wrong, but it didn’t quite wow me like some of the others. It’s like the show is just…being the show, and that’s okay, but I was hoping for a bit more of a spark.

It’s funny, because even with something totally bizarre happening – like a bug crawling into Ron’s phone and being brushed off with a single line – the show still manages to feel really unsettling. That’s what I’ve noticed – there’s this constant sense of dread bubbling under the surface, even when nothing overtly dangerous is happening. A lot of the tension comes from things being misconstrued or explained away, and I think that’s kind of the show’s whole thing: it hints at something creepy, then pulls the rug out from under you, sometimes just a scene later, sometimes not for episodes. It keeps you off balance, which I actually really appreciate.

The episode begins by resolving last week’s cliffhanger: the man secretly photographing Ron is revealed to be an employee of Mike Santini. He was meant to simply monitor Ron and send the photos to Santini, but accidentally sent them to the wrong number. While this doesn’t diminish the excitement of the initial chase scene – which immediately follows the man bursting out of the closet – it does establish a common pattern for the show: taking a potentially frightening situation and turning it on its head.

It’s clear Ron is deeply affected by each frightening experience, and these moments seem to be building up over time. He’s becoming increasingly anxious, and at this rate, he might become a recluse. The recent encounter with LT was just the latest in a series of disturbing events, as evidenced by his frantic nighttime checks of the closets with a broom. Even though LT turned out to be a false alarm, the situation caused Ron to imagine a terrifying scenario – someone breaking in and forcing him to harm his family. He explains to Barb that people capable of such acts exist, which is why a robust security system feels necessary.

This episode sees Ron and Mike making progress in their investigation, uncovering more details about the Tecca conspiracy. Mike learns that his boss, Jim X, paid someone $50,000 to have Mike intimidate Ron – a fact Mike understandably isn’t thrilled about, considering he only received a small portion of that money for actually doing it. Meanwhile, Ron, using an alias, visits the county clerk’s office and discovers that RBMG, Inc. owns the deed to the abandoned building he previously explored. He also finds out that the last person to look at the deed was a man named Steven Droyco, information Ron cleverly obtains through some amateur sleuthing.

A quick search reveals RBMG stands for Red Ball Market Global, a questionable company whose website features a picture of the large red ball from the old, empty office. The site lists board members with names and photos – Mike even calls one woman, Ronda, beautiful – but the information doesn’t lead anywhere. When Ron calls the RBMG number, he’s stuck listening to endlessly repeating, surprisingly memorable hold music. “That’s just how it is these days,” Ron complains to Mike while they’re having beers. “People create junk, and then you can’t get anyone to take responsibility.” What’s the central idea of the show?

This week, Ron focused on two things. First, he sent a heated, incoherent message to National Business Solutions referencing the RBMG board. More importantly, he and Mike located Droyco. Droyco appeared very agitated and quickly left when questioned about Tecca. Despite this, Ron and Mike entered Droyco’s location and took some documents. They also had a strange encounter with an elderly woman who was believed to be deceased – Droyco’s mother, who is apparently faking her death to avoid paying her sister a debt.

Droyco revealed this information to Ron during a surprise visit to Fisher Robay. He confessed to working at Tecca for four days, where his job involved disassembling and reassembling chairs while completely naked. He identified a photo of Ken Tucker, the CFO of Red Ball Global, but couldn’t provide any additional details. Ron promised to return Droyco’s documents when he was ready to talk more. Shortly after, Ron received a security alert showing a menacing figure in a hockey mask and hood sitting in a Tecca chair near the Trosper house, shaking his head wildly. Ron jokingly exclaimed, “Jason!” to ensure the scene didn’t become too serious. The author anticipates the unsettling nature of this image will be explained and lose its impact once more information is revealed.

Ron is mostly keeping his intense interest in Tecca from taking over his work and family, although things are a little strained in both areas. He faced some opposition and media attention – even a tearful former Cleveland Browns player – when he decided not to include football in the new Canton mall. While Ron wants to stick to his original plan, his boss, Jeff, and coworker, Alon, quietly added a small football-related feature anyway, which really bothers him. This is partly because Ron feels a lot of pressure to live up to his father’s accomplishments – a trait reminiscent of the show Detroiters. As Ron tells Mike, his father was a highly respected man who even had a bridge named after him.

This episode shows a side of Ron’s home life that feels reminiscent of the drama in Breaking Bad: his wife is questioning where he’s been, and his son is misbehaving. When Ron spots Seth having a drink on the security camera, he meets him at a café. Seth surprisingly explains that drinking can be enjoyable in moderation. He admits that when he’s drunk, he tells jokes because he genuinely finds them funny, not just for attention. (He also occasionally enjoys beer while watching Abbott and Costello, which seems unrelated to his deeper issues.) Ron doesn’t argue with Seth’s point, perhaps because he understands the desire to simply be himself, rather than trying to live up to the image of a perfect, hardworking family man.

Ron keeps secrets by diverting Barb’s attention. He uses the situation with Seth to avoid explaining his own recent activities, which breaks his promise to Seth and shows how far he’ll go to hide things – ultimately making him a worse husband and father. Barb is starting to suspect Ron is returning to his old passion for Jeep tours, especially after seeing a box in the garage that LT and Mike were handling. This darkly comedic story isn’t about drugs or crime, but about a man obsessed with Jeep tours and the lengths he’ll go to pursue that obsession.

When The Chair Company gets too caught up in its dramatic storylines or complicated plot twists, it starts to feel a bit absurd. While the show has a clear style and atmosphere, it’s also clearly an opportunity for Tim Robinson and the team to have fun and be unpredictable, and that’s especially true in the episode “@BrownDerbyHistoricVids Little bit of Hollywood? Okayyy.” Moments like the clerk being sent home to shower because people can supposedly smell her, or Douglas’s unsettling “mistakes party” with its yellow and green wristband system, are what really stand out. Even with all the theories and misdirection in this episode, it’s those wonderfully strange detours that you remember most.

Company Secrets

• “You put a little guy in my closet?”

A sales representative offered a casual and friendly greeting, saying something along the lines of, ‘Just stopping by to say hello, and it’s always great to see you, Ron Trosper.’

• Ron reassures Barb about their expenses by saying they’ll have “a billion bucks” soon. Sure, Ron.

Mike shared a strange story about his ex-wife allegedly giving him a large number of pills meant to improve sexual performance, and while it’s a concerning claim, he did mention they gave him a peculiar duck-like odor.

Honestly, I’d expect Ron to be worried about Mike reaching out to his son directly, but maybe he figures Seth isn’t the brightest and wouldn’t even think twice about it.

I originally didn’t want the green one, but he insisted I take it, and then questioned me, asking what I planned to do and what I might mess up.

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2025-10-27 05:56