[TV] Shrinking Season 3
I posted my thoughts at the end of season 2, but since then, season 3 has been released and has also concluded.
Looking back at the three seasons, I think it is a brilliantly constructed series.
However, since a fourth season is planned, I have mixed feelings, thinking, 'Wouldn't it have been better to end it here?'
I'm sure they will make a fourth season that overturns that feeling, though...
Early in season 3, Louis, the perpetrator of the drunk driving accident that killed Jimmy's wife, who appeared previously and left a strong impression, exited the show.
It was a sad yet positive departure, and it strongly highlighted the theme of how life reaches milestones when people leave.
Brett Goldstein, who plays Louis, is also one of the show's producers, so in that sense, it's fine (what does that mean?) even if he's not in the show.
A highlight of season 3 is seeing many of the main characters face these milestones—the turning points of life—which is a bit cliché for a human drama but nonetheless important.
Jimmy and his girlfriend, his boss Paul, his colleague Gaby, former patient Sean, friend Brian, neighbors Derek and Liz, and his daughter Alice all reach major milestones.
It is moving to witness each of them let go of their old selves and find new ones.
The show also has a broad perspective, showing that while they don't necessarily overcome issues like their relationships with their parents, each person finds some kind of place to belong, which makes it a drama with therapeutic significance.
The fact that we, the viewers, feel affection for all the characters as if they were family or friends and can celebrate their futures is due to the foundation built up through season 2.
Every character has good and bad sides, and while I might laugh and be exasperated when I see their bad sides, thinking, 'He's doing that again!', their good sides are always depicted, so my affection for them gradually deepens.
In a word, it's the feeling that they are all just so lovable.
I just can't help but love them all.
While their individual relationships are interesting, the relationship between the protagonist Jimmy and his boss Paul has been a central theme throughout the series since season 1.
In season 3, Paul, who has Parkinson's disease, meets a man at the hospital with the same condition.
I thought, 'Wait, is this him?' and it turned out to be Michael J. Fox.
Apple TV has a standalone documentary about Michael dealing with Parkinson's called 'STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie,' which I watched before, and it was a wonderful piece.
Paul, played by Harrison Ford, is also highly capable and has achieved great things, but he is forced to change his self-image due to aging and illness, and through that, he gains insights into his relationship with Jimmy.
Michael's appearance as Paul's 'Parkinson's buddy' was very lively and charming, and despite his brief screen time, he gave the entire drama great persuasiveness and strength.
I've used somewhat abstract flowery language partly to avoid spoilers, but I am amazed by the show's production team and cast, who can depict such beautiful stories with such a frank and humorous tone.
In season 1, where the characters' challenges were depicted, they were new friends I wasn't that close to yet.
In season 2, my understanding of them deepened, my affection grew, and in season 3, I can celebrate them moving on to a new stage.
What a brilliant three-part structure...
I thought, but then I heard there would be a season 4, and I had mixed feelings.
That said, while stories have endings, the endings of lives don't come so easily, so if there is still room to spend time with them, that is also a happy thing.
It is a drama series that makes you feel that attached to it.
The fact that each episode is short, under 40 minutes, is a plus, and while it's hard to grasp at first because there are so many characters, it's not difficult to follow because of its sitcom-like structure, so I recommend it as a show that is easy to watch.