When last we saw Sylvia (Rose Byrne) and Will (Seth Rogen), both were on top of the world. After blundering all season, Will seemingly tumbled right into a healthy romantic relationship with Jenna (Rachel Rosenbloom) and back in the beer game, albeit in the corporate restaurant beer game. Sylvia, meanwhile, has established a new event planning business, addressing her need for a professional life beyond her home. Platonic Season 2 more or less picks up right away, but quickly reveals the shaky ground beneath those successes.

Rogen and Byrne relished making their characters likable but messy in Season 1. Happily, they keep that going in Platonic Season 2. Where the show improves is that creators Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller share that wealth a bit. They and the writers’ room deepen the messiness of the characters around their leads, giving the supporting players more space to develop and add depth to their characters. Additionally, it lets Sylvia and Will be the sane and mature—or, at least, more sane and mature—ones for a change.

Take Charlie (Luke Macfarlane), for example. Perhaps realizing that Macfarlance was at his best during the episode where he sort of/kind of kissed a co-worker (Janet Varney, sadly only briefly present this time) and subsequently flipped out, the show pushes him off his pedestal. While Sylvia makes several references to him being the solid one, Platonic Season 2 delights in altering that status quo. After he fulfills a lifelong dream of going on Jeopardy, Charles starts a drift that rapidly accelerates. With the audience immediately in the know, it is a kick to watch everyone else not notice or willfully ignore the signs. By the end, though, even Sylvia can’t overlook her husband’s crisis. Macfarlane looks like he’s having a blast playing the unravelling Charlie. It also lets the show stealthily get serious as it upends the roles in the marriage and each’s sense of the other.

Contrasting their suddenly unstable but healthy marriage with Jenna and Will’s stable but doomed-to-fail relationship is another wise Platonic Season 2 choice. Rogen embodies the typical “cold feet” male fiancé without making Will’s waffling seem mean-spirited and stupid. The Meet the Parents shenanigans he endures are both over the top enough to snag laughs and brief enough not to feel like the torturous slog Parents put the Stiller character through. What works best about the storyline, however, is its exploration of sexual chemistry as a fundamental element of many functional relationships, not just a bonus. It plays like a mirror of Season 1 when Will realized his relationship with a 20-something wasn’t smart or healthy.

Platonic Season 2 is funnier and less eager to please than the inaugural season. Everyone has a better grasp on their character, letting the likes of Guy Branum and Carla Gallo pop more. Additionally, it gives guest stars like Beck Bennet, Aidy Bryant, and Kyle Mooney a stronger showcase. Mooney, in particular, takes to the more confident show like a duck to water. As Will’s new boss, Terry, he’s all nasty passive aggression and too cool for school disaffection, and every line hits.

Another area that benefits from this better sense of itself is in portraying the central friendship. It moves beyond simply demonstrating the ways that Will and Sylvia frequently create chaos in their lives. This time, the series illuminates why their friendship remains worthwhile. In Season 1, it frequently seemed both would be better off if they stayed away from each other. Here, though, the show better balances that sense of messiness with a clearer vision of how they care about and support each other. They’re individually messes, so it makes sense that their attempts to help one another lead to further disarray. However, without each other, they are sadder, lonelier, and more prone to simply let life beat them up. It isn’t always pretty, but eventually they manage to improve each other’s lives.

What more can you ask for in friendship? Or from Platonic Season 2?

Platonic Season 2 starts staying in AppleTV+’s guest house on August 6.

Platonic Season 2 Trailer: