Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘Shrinking’ Season 2 Episode 5.Season 2 of the Apple TV+ comedy Shrinking, so far, has been all about forgiveness and facing mistakes of the past. Those themes are explored in Episode 5, “Honesty Era,” when a very important character connected to Paul (Harrison Ford) makes her first appearance. This season, Paul has been dealing with his Parkinson’s disease while reconnecting with his daughter, Meg (Lily Rabe), and moving forward in his relationship with Dr. Julie Baram (Wendie Malick).
Despite all this growth, Paul has still been avoiding a painful part of his past, which he can no longer ignore when his ex-wife Susan, played by the exquisite Kelly Bishop, comes to town. Fans who know Bishop from playing the polished and sassy Emily Gilmore in Gilmore Girls, know she has impeccable delivery and timing. In this role, Bishop doesn’t miss a beat, showcasing her range of talent in only a few scenes. While it’s been kept from the audience why Paul and Susan divorced and why they’ve become so estranged since, the truth eventually comes to light in a beautifully cathartic scene between these two extraordinary actors.
Paul Does His Best To Keep His Distance From Susan in ‘Shrinking’ Season 2, Episode 5
When viewers first meet Susan, she’s having a casual and seemingly friendly conversation with Julie, while Paul watches and sulks nearby. Brian (Michael Urie) — also referred to as Kevin — arrives to get a signature on Paul’s family trust. When Susan signs it, she makes a quip that it should’ve been done a while ago, but Paul has been avoiding her for 20 years, indicating that the estrangement was coming from him, not her. Paul quickly becomes visibly uncomfortable and uses Brian to escape the tension in his house.
Eventually, Paul explains to Brian that he and Susan got married young, but after they had their daughter Meg, his career took off. The relationship became tumultuous and Paul ended up cheating on Susan with another woman. As a result, Susan took Meg away from him, leaving Paul so “full of shame” that he didn’t even fight back. Now, Paul is questioning why she’s even there, which, thanks to a suggestion from Brian, he finally asks her.
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“We always knew we were going to bring Paul’s ex-wife.”
Paul and Susan Finally Have a Heart-to-Heart in ‘Shrinking’ Season 2’s “Honesty Era”
When Paul finally asks Susan why she’s there, she’s honest and tells him she had a friend who died of Parkinson’s and felt like she wanted to connect with Paul again before it was too late. Eventually, they do talk, which leads to a cathartic and at times hilarious trip down memory lane. In a truly vulnerable moment, Paul admits he’s been a coward for avoiding her. Susan pushes back on the characterization and colorfully suggests he was being more of a “little baby chicken bitch,” which deserves a “thank you” from the Shrinking writer’s room.
This lightens the mood a bit and Paul admits that he thought she was there to make him feel guilty for not “meeting her with goodwill” to have a conversation, echoing advice he gave to Sean (Luke Tennie) earlier in the episode. Paul tells her he hasn’t forgiven himself for cheating on her all those years back, but Susan forgave him long ago and even admits to being resentful of his success back then. Bishop plays this scene with such warmth and compassion and with an effortlessness that makes it feel like she’s been on the show from the beginning.
The conversation ends on a very healing note as Susan points out that the best thing they ever did was have Meg. Paul thanks Susan for coming and for giving them some much-needed closure. At the very end of the scene, Susan says, “When you’re connected by so much family and love, forgiveness is the easy part.” Hopefully, that is an indication that we’ll be seeing more of Kelly Bishop on Shrinking, this season and beyond.
Shrinking is available to stream on Apple TV+ in the U.S. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
- Release Date
- January 26, 2023
- Cast
- Jason Segel , Luke Tennie , Michael Urie , Lukita Maxwell , Harrison Ford , Jessica Williams , Christa Miller , Ted McGinley , Heidi Gardner , Devin Kawaoka , Lilan Bowden , Kimberly Condict , Lily Rabe , Tilky Jones , Rachel Stubington , Wendie Malick , Sawyer Jones , Mike C. Nelson , Matt Knudsen , Kenajuan Bentley , Adam Foster Ballard
WATCH ON APPLE TV+
