A Spoiler-Filled Synopsis of Shrinking S1 w/ a Side of S2 Speculations!

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I just re-watched the last three episodes of Shrinking for probably the 4th time while stacking Madden wins which only reassured me of how fantastic this internet tv show is.

I've written about Shrinking thrice in 2023. Once recommending it, another expressing my excitement that it was picked up for a second season, and lastly, I referenced it in a SOD (song of the day for potential new readers) on March 27th, crediting how well Bowie's "Modern Love" was used in the S1 finale.

It's time for one of my least favorite but necessary caveats. This blog will be riddled with spoilers. If you somehow came across it without finishing the first season of AppleTV+'s Shrinking and would like to, please leave this blog and check out any of the thousands of other things I've written over the last seven years linked to the right of this paragraph. #HireDozo

Okay, like ya boi Ole Dozo, you've finished the first season of Shrinking....Holy shit what a fucking twist ending!!!! Not to suck my own dick, but I saw it coming during the montage of all of Jimmy's patients. After recently rewatching, there's plenty of Easter Eggs leading up to it, but of course, you're more aware of them at that point.

Earlier today I blogged about cross-genre covers, and Shrinking in an odd, way is a similar situation. Even though the fascist right is terrified about the blurring of lines, life is all about the gray and Shrinking is gray AF in the best way. It's so many different things. For every hilarious moment, there's another oh yeah, right this relatively young mom is dead, Indiana Jones has Parkinsons and our veterans aren't taken care of how they should be in the greatest country on earth. 

So, yeah, I guess you could call Shrinking a dramedy, but there's also some hot girl murder #slayyy. Yes, that SNL's Heidi Gardner.

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You can't pinpoint what kind of show this is, but it's a good one. I watch a lot of internet tv, and Shrinking is one of the best I've seen in years. It's like a 9.4/10. I'm just so bummed we'll probably have to wait a year to find out what happens next! Of course, with the age of some of the show's cast, maybe we'll get lucky, and they'll film season 2 this summer, and AppleTV+ will spit on S2 this fall. Either way, I can't fucking wait. It's sooo good---jam packed with all the emotions. I've legit watched every episode at least three times. I love this show; it's so raw and authentic. I'm a huge character-driven show guy, and Shrinking's cast is super well-rounded.

I'd imagine Grace's murder of her scumbag husband will be a focal point of S2. Donny got "booped"​ off a cliff, which was deliciously satisfying. Yes, killing people is wrong, but killing terrible people is, at the very least, less wrong. I mean, maybe it's seen as an accident? I guess we'll have to wait and see, but the potential repercussions of Jimmy's new approach to therapy will likely come into question. I mean, you can't blame it on him even though he used some pretty dark "metaphors" in his sessions with Grace (Heidi Gardner).

Even though I said that I saw that coming a very paragraphs ago, I'm still blown away that's how Shrinking's first season ended. It completely changes the direction of the show. In addition to Jimmy's "safe dick" being clearly much more to Gaby, Sean's new catering business (and Liz's involvement), Paul's prognosis, relationships with his Dr. and daughter, Brian's new gay marriage, Alice dealing with her dad, dead mom, feelings for Sean, & soccer, and Derek's retired life...we can add one of Jimmy's patients pushed her scumbag mentally (and probably physically too) abusive husband off a mother fucking cliff.

​Will we see new characters in the fold next season? Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) is one of the show's creators and executive producers. Could he end up with Jimmy, Gaby, or Paul? Will there be a montage of Tia's death? What did Grace do next after booping Donny and his awful half-sleeve off a mother fucking cliff?

Let's end with some rapid fire Shrinking takes/thoughts:

• Something is definitely going to happen between Sean and Alice next season once she's 18. Did you see when he kissed the top of her head after Liz agreed to fund his white guilt (working name) catering?
• Gaby and Jimmy dealing with the obvious next steps of their messy FOB/co-workers/dead wife's best friend situation while also low-key still loving her recovering artist ex-husband will be a significant S2 storyline
• Donny deserved to die for being such a sexist POS. Don't treat people that way!
• Brian and Charlie are def vers
• Jimmy might end up losing his job depending on what happens with the fallout of Grace (SNL's Heidi Gardner) booping her husband off a cliff while they were hiking (EVERYBODY ON THIS SHOW HIKES. IT'S LIKE HIKING SPONSORS THE SHOW)
• Paul definitely isn't the best father/grandpa/person (he's working on it), but his daughter's reaction to him inviting her, her husband, and her son to Vegas was ridiculous. Sure, it was work-related, but he was being honored and wanted you all to be there. You were being obtuse, Meg
• I feel like we're gonna get an episode showing Tia's final day(s) in S2, maybe some sort of flashback to the immediate aftermath too
• Brett Goldstein will make an appearance as a therapy patient
• I'm progressive AF, but wtf is up with Wally's name being Wally? I've never heard that as a woman's name/nickname before...bizarre! Can we get a quick origin story next season?
• Maybe this is just my fat guy brain, but during the flashback scene in the S1 finale when Alice eats ice cream with her mom but can't remember her laugh anymore....I'm calling bs. Not that she can't remember it. I believe that. But Alice says there are no good foods in the house cause dad's on a health kick, then Tia moves a FROZEN PEPPERONI PIZZA to reveal some "hidden" mint chocolate chip (trash flavor). A pizza in plain sight is a bizarre move when the whole idea of the memory is Alice and her mom finding a secret stash and just having a fun moment. I've been thinking about this one a lot, even though I forgot to mention it in this blog's first publishing. I love this show, but that's the kind of small detail I'd be great to have on the set to see. If blogging doesn't start making me money, I might have to see what's out there on other platforms. Writing sketches, tv shows, and movies has always been a dream I never had the confidence to truly pursue. Catching little things like that and being like...instead of the pizza, let's hide the ice cream under some frozen spinach. That's another thing I bring to the table @ anybody in the biz reading this.

And that's our time.