Review: Shrinking, “Fifteen Minutes” | Season 1, Episode 3
The new series’ ensemble gains their own dramatic angles
As Shrinking tries to dial into its dramedy balance, Paul offers both Alice and Jimmy a way to compartmentalize the pain that keeps them from fully embracing the more light-hearted version of their lives: take 15 minutes a day to put on a sad song, let the full weight of your grief roll over you, and then when it’s done move on with your life.
Alice chooses Phoebe Bridgers’ “I Know The End,” and Jimmy steals it for himself when Paul unknowingly reveals his ongoing talks with Alice by giving him the same advice. And sure, Jimmy’s emotional catharsis comes with a pratfall on a car door and him screaming “Fuck you, Phoebe Bridgers” as he rides his bike down a suburban street, so there’s definitely some comedy to be found here. But the core message is that in order for these characters to find the comedy in their lives, they need to be able to have moments where they do nothing but grieve the wife and mother they lost.
We knew this coming out of the show’s pilot when it came…