Simple Simon

Frida left because Simon's interruption during sex was the final straw in a series of ongoing tensions. Simon's rigid routine, his wall chart imposing schedules on everyone in the house, and his inability to understand social boundaries had been causing friction for some time. When he barged in asking for toilet paper while they were intimate, Frida decided she could no longer cope with living there.

Earlier scenes showed Simon's habits creating tension with both housemates, particularly his insistence on controlling their daily schedules.

Simon has Asperger's syndrome, which means he processes language very literally and struggles to understand sarcasm, metaphors, or social hints. When Frida told him he "ought to find another girl to take her place" in a moment of anger, Simon understood it as a direct instruction rather than a sarcastic remark. His nature is to take what people say at face value and act on it seriously.

Simon previously took Sam's critical remarks about Frida's habits literally, demonstrating his tendency to interpret everything at face value.

Simon compiles a list of 13 questions based on Sam's actual preferences and habits. These include practical questions like "do you prefer dogs to cats?" and unusually direct ones like "do you make noises when having sex?" He approaches random women on the street, asks each question, and if a woman answers all 13 correctly, he records her details and takes her photograph to add to his candidate album for Sam.

The film establishes Simon's methodical, checklist-based approach to life through his wall chart system.

Sam rejected the album because he found the idea boring. He explained to Simon that being with someone who matches his habits exactly would be uninteresting. Using a magnet analogy, Sam said that opposite poles attract, meaning a partner who differs from him would be more attractive than one who is identical to him.

Earlier, Sam criticized Frida's habits to rationalize the breakup, showing he already valued some differences in partners.

When Simon becomes overwhelmed by stress or changes in his routine, he retreats to a large pot in the house and seals himself inside. He imagines floating in space, where everything is perfectly quiet, predictable, and under control. This is his coping mechanism for managing anxiety caused by disruptions to his carefully ordered world.

The film's opening establishes this pot as Simon's sanctuary, showing it appears multiple times when he faces emotional distress.

Simon uses a wall chart to allocate chores and schedule leisure activities for himself and his housemates. This rigid schedule governs every aspect of daily life in the home, from when meals are eaten to what activities are permitted. The chart reflects Simon's need for absolute predictability and his attempts to impose his preferred routine on everyone around him.

The wall chart appears in the opening scenes as a key source of tension with Frida, who must adhere to Simon's strict schedule.

Simon experiences a meltdown because Frida's departure represents a massive disruption to his established routine. He is accustomed to a specific way of living with both Sam and Frida, and her absence threatens the stability he desperately needs. When Sam also orders pizza instead of their usual Friday tacos, the change becomes too overwhelming for Simon to handle, triggering an emotional breakdown.

The timeline shows Simon's routine was already precarious, with small changes causing disproportionate stress throughout the film.

When Simon visits Frida after the breakup, he asks her to return and adjust her habits to fit their household better. This happens because Sam, upset about the breakup, had been criticizing Frida's habits, such as being bad at sex and eating caviar sandwiches. Simon interpreted these criticisms literally and thought if Frida changed these specific habits, she could come back. He believed he himself was incapable of changing, so the solution had to be for Frida to adapt.

This scene directly follows Sam's rationalizing criticisms, which Simon literally absorbed and acted upon.

Simon works as a groundskeeper in a special program for mentally disabled people. His duties include tending athletic fields and roadsides. The job provides him with a highly structured routine, which reinforces his need for order and predictability. Working within this organized environment helps Simon maintain stability in his daily life.

The film establishes his work routine early as one of the few things that remains constant and comforting to Simon.

When Sam uses the magnet analogy, he is explaining to Simon why his list of perfectly matching women would not work for him. Sam is saying that attraction between people works like magnets, opposites draw together, not identical matches. This means someone who differs from Sam in personality, habits, or preferences would be more appealing to him than someone who is exactly like him.

Sam's earlier criticisms of Frida's habits, though meant to rationalize the breakup, hinted that some differences were actually problematic to him in ways he was only now reconciling.