When the fiancée is away, I will watch TV without hearing the groans of a man who hates romantic comedies. And baby, Platonic season 2 just dropped on Apple TV+ – which means I get the middle of the bed, a face mask, and the uninterrupted joy of watching fictional people unravel in hilarious, wildly inappropriate ways.

Created by Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller, Platonic first hit our screens in 2023 with the chaotic chemistry of Rose Byrne as Sylvia and Seth Rogen as Will, two former besties who reconnect in midlife with all the messiness that entails. It’s weird, relatable, and just the right amount of cringe. And in this brand-new season, we’re back for more.

And let me say this upfront: I’m so glad they didn’t ruin it.

If Season 1 was about reconnecting, Season 2 is about reckoning. Byrne and Rogen are back in full form – still codependent, still ridiculous, and still refusing to admit how much they’ve wrapped their entire lives around a friendship that’s hanging on by a thread of denial and sarcasm. And you know what? I love that for them.

Season 2 picks up with Will freshly engaged (to a woman named Jenna, who looks like the algorithm manifested her from a dating app), while Sylvia continues navigating motherhood, marriage, and a friendship with Will that never quite behaves. Their dynamic remains as charmingly unhinged as ever.

This season, the stakes are higher, the boundaries fuzzier, and the passive aggression? Chef’s kiss. Sylvia is a walking “I’m fine” while clearly not being fine, and Will – bless his commitment-phobic heart – is just trying not to implode. Or maybe he already has. Hard to say. Either way, their dynamic is the kind of hilarious dysfunction you want to scream at, but also kind of root for.

What makes Platonic work so well is that it doesn’t romanticize the mess. It sits in it. It lets the awkwardness play out, it lets the characters flail, and it reminds us that friendship – especially the kind that spans years, marriages, kids, breakups, and bad decisions – can be just as intense and complicated as any love story. Sometimes more.

The tension? It’s thick. And it all comes to a head in a dinner scene in episode 2 so awkward I had to pause to regulate my own nervous system.

Will’s new fiancée is suspicious of their friendship after Will and Sylvia mysteriously disappear during the engagement party. So how do we fix that? Insert awkward couples dinner here.

Why’d they disappear? Because one of Will’s friends loses his champagne glass laced with acid, and instead of telling the truth, they create a fake tradition to pour out all the champagne “for the ones who came before us,” forcing the party to dump their drinks. Then they leave to buy more booze. Again: chaos, wrapped in codependency, sprinkled with vintage Rogen panic energy.

And it’s not the first time someone has wondered whether Sylvia and Will are really just friends. Season 1 lays the groundwork – with Sylvia’s husband calling it out – and Season 2 doubles down on that discomfort, with Jenna clearly not buying what they’re selling.

But this is what Platonic does so well. It doesn’t give us the glossy, Instagram-filtered version of friendship. It gives us the mess. The ambiguity. The what-the-hell-are-we moments that so many of us live through in silence while pretending everything’s chill.

Seth Rogen continues his hot streak (shoutout to The Studio) by leaning fully into what he does best: playing a lovable man-child who knows just enough about craft beer to distract you from his inability to commit. His wardrobe choices? Still deeply upsetting. His emotional availability? Spotty at best. But his heart? Big, chaotic, and occasionally endearing.

Rose Byrne as Sylvia, though – she is the moment. Watching her facial expressions is like watching a masterclass in passive-aggressive exhaustion. Every eye roll, every sharp inhale, every “oh my God, Will” is delivered with Olympic-level precision. Sylvia reminds me why female rage disguised as polite patience is an art form.

Her performance is especially resonant for me, someone who once had to manage the emotions of a male friend while also managing my own household, career, mental health, and dinner plans. Her face says what I wanted to scream into the void: You’re exhausting, and I love you, but please, for the love of God, get your shit together.

We’ve got some new faces this season – Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett – adding their own flavor to this already solid ensemble. The supporting cast continues to shine, especially Carla Gallo as Katie, the kind of friend who would help you hide a body and then judge your outfit while doing it.

It’s clear Season 2 didn’t lose its edge. The show is still dumb in the smartest way, a cringe comedy with real emotional stakes hiding just under the surface. It’s a show that knows how ridiculous people can be, especially when they don’t know what they want. And it’s not afraid to let them be fully, gloriously messy.

Catch new episodes every Wednesday on Apple TV+. And if you’re wondering whether you should rekindle your friendship with your ex-bestie? Maybe just watch Platonic instead.