‘Shrinking’ Recap: ‘Woof’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Five of ‘Shrinking’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Over the course of the past few weeks, we’ve been treated to a powerful examination regarding the power of grief… courtesy of the Apple TV+ series, Shrinking. For this series has dug deep into grief and all of the negative behaviors it elicits in us and how difficult it can be deal with. Because grief hurts and the pain runs deep and isn’t easy to simply shake off or suck up, as some people believe. That’s led to some powerful and moving moments in this show, the kind that have given us pause since they’ve reminded us of our own struggles with grief or serve as a warning of things to come. But what the show hasn’t done yet… is take a moment to explore… how we truly start to heal. Because thus far, Jimmy and his daughter, and those suffering around him… seem to be stuck in a cycle.
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But thankfully, the next episode in this story took the time to finally explore that and well… what ‘Woof’ informed us of… is that the company we keep can contribute to the start of our healing journey. Because the people we love and the keep we choose as family, should feel comfortable enough in our relationship to call us to the carpet on our behavior and our struggles, to get us focused and motivated to do what must be done to finally remove ourselves from our funk, when the time is right, of course. And all it took for that work to begin… was more toxic behavior between Jimmy and Paul. Because they continued their nonsense feud in this tale, and since their pain ran deep, they added this quagmire to their daily routine like it was no big deal and well… that’s when friends stepped in. 

For Gaby noticed that Paul was using her as an impromptu sounding board for his issues with his clients. Something she was proud to have in her corner, but she knew Paul was just compensating for not having Jimmy around and doing everything to avoid confronting what was a nothing more than an impasse amplified by grief and emotion and everything in between. So, she neatly and sweetly called him to the carpet on that and over his other isolationist behavior and that moment, alongside Alice even going so far as to call him out over the same things… gave Paul pause. For it informed him that he really was indulging in behavior that wasn’t healthy and was indeed related to his desire to isolate from grief related to his diagnosis and that… that wasn’t him. 

Which in turn motivated him to do some bold things. Such as make his way to Jimmy’s place and let himself in and help himself to some beers, so that he could sit down with Jimmy and Sean and be the wise advisor and friend that Jimmy needed. To get Sean back on track and to focus a severely unfocused Jimmy and perhaps… call him out as well for his own bad behavior, and the wonder of Paul’s wake-up call in this story, didn’t end there. Because he knew the other rotten behavior that had come forth because of his diagnosis and the pain and grief it caused him… was making a point to avoid telling his family about said diagnosis and what it meant, and well… armed with this newfound knowledge about his behavior, he did the seemingly impossible and reached out to his daughter to tell her the truth.

All of which made for a powerful exploration on how those we love… lift us up and guide us and start to move us on the right track. Because we saw it in action here and we saw that power and the end result, was nothing short of amazing. Since it gave Paul focus and direction and an understanding that his grief related behavior wasn’t sustainable, nor was it healthy and that made for one brilliant tale. One that reminded us that we are never alone when we grieve and with the right support network, we can achieve wonders. Not to mention, the power of honesty extended beyond grief related lessons in this story, since it helped Brian get over his fear of commitment. Making it clear to all of us to keep it real in life with those we love, come rain or shine… simply because we do need that honesty to be better people in life, and well, now that we’ve seen Paul begin to tackle his grief and his pain, it will be interesting to see who is next in line to do the same, as season one of this magnificent show rolls along. Until next time.

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