‘PONIES’: Vic Michaelis and Nicholas Podany Talk Wardrobe, Sacrifice, and Elton John
The Cheryl and Ray finale setup that we never saw coming
There’s a certain joy that happens when an interview goes from a formal introduction to a shared spiral in a heartbeat (in a good way). That's exactly what transpired when I sat down with PONIES stars Vic Michaelis and Nicholas Podany to discuss all things Cheryl and Ray Symanski—Peacock's most mismatched couple enveloped in Cold War paranoia and polyester.
What starts as laughs about platform heels and immovable 1970s hair quickly turns to what PONIES is all about: espionage as a mere costume to disguise something far more personal and dangerous.
The wardrobe was loud. The subtext was louder
The first thing you notice about Cheryl and Ray is how visually wrong they look together. She’s statuesque, immaculate, and perfectly controlled. He’s softer, quieter, and floating somewhere between extreme optimism and extreme denial. That dissonance isn’t accidental—it’s character work.
“Cheryl is so concerned about appearances…but she’s also like, ‘I’ll be wearing heels. You can also wear heels. Elton John wears heels..’”— Vic Michaelis
But the clothes do half the storytelling. Cherly's attire exudes a sense of "I am meant to be seen and heard," while Ray's cries of "Can't we all just get along?" This imbalance serves as the series' central theme for them as a couple.
Cheryl isn’t just power-hungry, she’s starved
One of the most striking things to come out of the conversation was how clearly Vic articulated Cheryl’s emotional math, the internal calculations she runs to justify her every move. She doesn’t do this to chase chaos and excitement—she makes dangerously precise decisions demanding acknowledgment.
“Everything I do is for you… I’m working a full-time job in a country I don’t want to be in.”
This emotional boiling point justifies (if slightly) Cheryl’s betrayal. It doesn’t come out of thin air. It grew from the silence where appreciation sought recognition. This is where PONIES understands what many shows miss: neglect doesn’t always explode. Sometimes it calcifies.
And when an opportunity finally says you matter, that feels more important than oxygen itself.
When “cosplaying your marriage” goes sideways
Nicholas Podany’s Ray is fascinating because he’s not a bad guy—he’s aloof and extremely complacent. He believes peace equals success. If Cheryl “wins” the argument, he thinks the problem is solved. Nicholas stated in his interview,
“He’s performing the idea of a relationship instead of actually paying attention to the person he’s in it with.”
That mindset makes Ray oddly sympathetic and deeply frustrating. He’s not malicious nor manipulative. He’s comfortable. And comfort, in PONIES, is a liability.
One of the many liabilities exposed in Ray and Cheryl’s marriage comes in the form of the now-infamous concert ticket debate (yes, that one). On the surface, Ray thinks it’s about the music. It isn’t. It’s about what Vic eloquently put as “optics, power, and assumptions.”
Cue the argument. And in that moment, Ray still chose someone else over Cheryl. A mistake he will regret soon enough.
The reveal of all reveals that changes the entire game
What makes Cheryl’s arc so shocking is that, in hindsight, it was inevitable. Once you see it, you realize the show has been telling you all along—just quietly.
“Can’t a woman just have a little bit of fun? Can’t she be a spy?”
Vic playfully defends Cheryl’s decisions, but it lands because PONIES takes great care to sidestep the trope of a woman’s existence solely being in service of her husband. She’s not just a plot twist. She’s a reckoning.
Ray, meanwhile, is cornered by circumstances that demand his growth—something he avoids at all costs. However, Season 2 (come on with the announcement already) will promise no comfort. It promises confrontation.
And honestly, that’s where the show thrives.
So…who was right about the concert ticket?
Let the record show that even the cast anticipated this argument.
There is a winner here but we played devil’s advocate to give one of the character’s a chance at a reasonable defense…
Why PONIES works
It treats marriages like battlegrounds instead of soft places to land
It knows that invisibility is a radicalizing force, driving character arc and behavior
It allows women to be messy, strategic, emotional, and dangerous
It shows that ugly truth—sometimes the scariest betrayals are the ones that also feel justified
Season 2 isn’t just a well-played setup—it’s a deserved achievement for a job well done. And if this interview proved anything, it’s that Cheryl and Ray Symanski are nowhere near done unraveling one another.
Stream PONIES now on Peacock and check out the interview below.
1Interview quotes sourced from my January 21, 2026 conversation with the cast.
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