‘Shrinking’ Recap: ‘Fifteen Minutes’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘Shrinking’. To revisit the previous episodes, including the series premiere, click here.
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More often than not, television shows that focus on grief and recovery from it, tend to heavily gloss over the actual process of grieving and it makes sense as to why. After all, these stories are in essence, designed to inspire and remind us of how we can indeed overcome when the odds are seemingly against us. So, having the grieving character tackle their pain and conquer it, does just that and leaves us with a good feeling in our souls when the story comes to a close. But while that is wholesome and fulfilling for a viewer, it does do them a bit of a disservice. Since it glosses over the realities of the grieving process and how much work goes into it and that is something we shouldn’t shy away from. Since there are people eager to use fiction to guide them at the right moment, and an honest look at the process… would help them greatly.
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Thankfully, there are shows out there that take the time to look at the process in great detail, such as Shrinking on Apple TV+. For this series is holding nothing back in its comprehensive look at how we grieve, as evidenced by this week’s episode. Because ‘Fifteen Minutes’ is a story that examined how grief pushes us to take part in some confusing behaviors and sometimes unhealthy ones. For grief is a wild process, filled to the brim with a range of emotions and that’s why it was fascinating to learn… that some people just… worry when they grieve. Which is what Paul and Liz did in this tale. Since Paul is in fact, grieving the fact that his life is about to change and Liz is grieving over the changes in her family life, and the two of them were so rattled by their grief, they worried. Worried about the happiness of others, worried about doing the right thing, because we want control and some sense of stability and joy, and worry forces us to find it. 

Not to mention, this is a story that also examined how grief can fill our hearts with guilt. Because we’re the ones who get to go on when we leave someone behind or lose someone, and the thought of being happy when pain has come into play from those situations, prompts us to feel that guilt. Because we cannot believe that we are feeling joy when someone we love is gone forever or when we’ve made a choice that impacts a life and Alice, and Gaby were the ones who experienced that in this episode. Since Gaby was in the process of divorcing her husband because of his struggles with substance abuse, and couldn’t reconcile feeling good about leaving him, even though it was the right thing to do. And Alice battled moments of levity with her mother gone, because it didn’t seem right to find joy this soon, and this was fascinating to see play out, since finding joy is part of healing and reconciling, and it will be incredible to see how they do that as this series continues along.

However, while there was positivity to be found in all of those explorations since they were somewhat selfless and uplifting in nature, it was Jimmy’s journey here that explored the more opportunistic aspects of grieving. Because he once again, buried himself deep in his work here and pushed super hard to try and get his clients to rise above their pain and his desire to quickly heal others spoke to a man… that was doing everything to not heal. Who instead opted to numb his pain and use the little wins to try and smooth over those quick flashes of sorrow, out of the belief believe that somehow, such external acts would eventually stitch his soul back together. Only to learn, that numbing and working on shortcut healing for his clients, doesn’t garner the results that one would hope for. Reminding all of us that we have to face the pain, face the trauma and resolve it, for only then can we actually heal.

But what matters most about all of these compelling plot threads… is that they truly did an amazing job of showing us all the give and take the grieving process takes us through. And how hard the process can be. Because despite what the moments of levity might feel like, the pain is there, the darkness is there, and it is always waiting to creep back to the surface of our minds and our hearts. Until we do the thing and face it and that alone… makes this a poignant episode of television. One that offers the audience so much regarding insight on this process and the various ways we respond to it, and that makes this show special to say the least and it definitely pushes us to continue the journey and see how these characters get to the next step, to give us peace regarding their health, and to help those… in need of a guide right now. Until next time.

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