The 5th Episode Of 'Shrinking' Was Arguably The Heaviest Yet, As Harrison Ford Brought The Heat And Possibly Inspired The Title "Woof"

Matt Fitzgerald2/19/2023 4:45 PM

Emma McIntyre. Getty Images.

OK, it's been a few weeks, so these blogs about Apple TV+'s new comedy series about grief titled Shrinking will start getting into more spoiler territory. The episodes average around 35 minutes so far. Very bingeable.

I'm actually a little mad at the creators of the show for making us plebs wait a whole-ass week between 'sodes but oh well. I'll plug the first blog here to provide an intro to the uninitiated, and then hopefully you'll be back for more thereafter.

OK without getting too specific, the previous episode ended on one of the most hilarious cliffhangers in television history and I don't say that lightly. Jimmy Laird (Jason Segel) finds out that his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) is crushing on a military veteran/Jimmy's therapy patient named Sean (Luke Tennie), who lives in their pool house temporarily while awaiting placement in Veterans Affairs housing.

I know. That sounds ripe with comedic potential already. And while the entire cast is absolutely slaying every single week and I've taken time to at least mention all of them in some degree or another in the post above or last week's write-up, we can't not talk about just how much Harrison Ford is feasting in this thing.

At 80 years young, arguably the biggest movie star of all-time is flourishing on the small screen not only in the Yellowstone spin-off 1923, but even more so here in Shrinking as Dr. Paul Rhoades. Paul strongly disapproves of Jimmy's psychological vigilantism (to borrow a term from the show) and implores him to promise not to intervene in his patients' personal lives.

Giphy Images.

So as you might imagine, Jimmy having a patient live in his pool house is not exactly Paul's cup of tea. Nevertheless, Paul understands that Jimmy is still struggling to grieve the death of his wife for the better part of a year now. He cuts him some slack, is there for him as a mentor, and their dynamic is hysterical throughout.

As funny as Shrinking is, it is a comedy about grief like I said. Plenty of weightier moments in there to take you through the entire emotional spectrum, which is the secret sauce that really makes the series so good. The latest episode is titled "Woof". It's revealed by Jimmy that Paul says, "Woof." whenever he's angry with someone. He's said it before this week's offering aired, but it wasn't explained.

Looking at the headline to this blog, you might be thinking, "Well of course Harrison Ford inspired the title. His character says the word throughout the show and we're given an expository explanation about it!"

Hold on now.

Speaking of "woof" and guys named Jimmy, once I saw this latest Shrinking title, I immediately flashed back to when Harrison Ford was promoting Star Wars: The Force Awakens around Halloween 2015 and did an interview with Jimmy Kimmel in a hot dog suit. When Kimmel's first question in this segment even dropped the slightest hint that we'd be wading into potential spoiler territory, all Ford would reply with was, "Woof. Woof woof."

That's my fan theory on where this Shrinking title came from. Someone in the writers room either saw this and decided to incorporate it into the show, or Ford improvised "woof" and it grew into a growing bit in the script. I'd like to think Harrison Ford just goes around saying "woof" to random strangers he doesn't feel like engaging with.

I'd imagine this is the type of shit that would trigger Ford to say something like, "Kid, get a fucking life!" if I ever encountered him in the real world. Sorry, sir. You may be all that fond of Han Solo compared to some of your other characters and I know you're pretty much unfazed by all the hype and fanfare since it's your job and all. I just appreciate these finer details, that's all.

ANYWAY. Everything kind of goes to hell in the "Woof" episode. Not to say there aren't funny moments. Watch this clip of Jimmy getting ribbed by his next-door neighbor Liz (Christa Miller) and co-worker Gaby (Jessica Williams) about Alice's feelings for Sean:

Even though Alice is crushing on Sean, they go for a walk in this episode and Alice skips class for it, only for Sean to climb up a massive tower and dangle off the top of it. Alarming behavior to say the least. Jimmy and Paul give each other the silent treatment for a while. Alice then gets angry at Paul for cold-shouldering her father, which features her making fun of Paul's hat — another possibly meta nod to the iconic Indiana Jones fedora.

Giphy Images.

All that sets the stage for a moving final sequence in which Paul brings beers for Jimmy and Sean in the pool house, and we finally get Sean to open up a little bit about what happened to him in Afghanistan that led him to win multiple military medals.

Then we get yet another amazing cliffhanger in which Paul gets on the phone and begins to tell his daughter Meg that he has Parkinson's disease. Man does it tug at your heartstrings after Paul spent a little time with Meg in the previous episode but couldn't bring himself to tell her about his diagnosis in person.

We're on the precipice of another The Last of Us episode. I'm telling you. Treat yourself and get out of that dystopian darkness for less than a few hours and binge Shrinking during what remains of this extended holiday weekend.

Since it's about to be Presidents' Day, it's fitting that I'm focused so much on gassing up Harrison Ford. Not only is he about to be Commander in Chief for Marvel as Thaddeus Ross, but he also gave us one of the most iconic lines in fictional president history once upon a time in Air Force One…