Warning: This article contains spoilers forShrinkingseason 2, episode 5, “Honesty Era.”
Shrinkingseason 2, episode 5, “Honesty Era” ends with Sean (Luke Tennie) choosing to fight a group of construction workers, but his real problem is not with them. At the beginning ofShrinkingseason 2, Sean was doing well. He was getting to live his dream by using his cooking talents and running a successful food truck business with Liz (Christa Miller). Sean also began seeing Paul (Harrison Ford) for therapy instead of Jimmy (Jason Segel), which was a much-needed change given how intertwined Sean and Jimmy’s lives had become.
Despite this positive trajectory,Sean began to regress when he started working with his father, Tim(Kenajuan Bentley). Sean is now more on edge due to the many unresolved and complex issues he has with his father and due to being around Tim all day long. The anger issues Sean worked through with Jimmy inShrinkingseason 1and with Paul in season 2 have now resurfaced and reach a boiling point at the end of “Honesty Era.”
Sean reveals to his father that when he previously asked for help, he felt as if Tim let him down. Tim does not take this well, as he begins yelling at Sean about all the ways he has supported him, including draining his savings account to work with his son in the food truck even though he has a full-time job. Thisconfirms all of Sean’s worst fears about confiding in his fatherand, instead of taking out his anger on Tim, Sean takes it out on the construction workers who previously baited him.
How Old Sean Is In Shrinking
Apple TV’s latest hit Shrinking has an ensemble of interesting characters including Sean, a young military veteran living with anger issues.
When confronted by the antagonistic construction workers in a previous episode, Sean nearly fought them, and only resisted because Jimmy was there to calm him down. Without Jimmy there, Sean gives in to his worst impulses by following the construction workers later that night and tossing a beer bottle at their feet that they tossed earlier into Jimmy’s yard. Sean knows he has no chance of beating the construction workers in a fight, buthe baits them anyway to channel his unresolved anger with his father, and to punish himself for the way he is feeling.
He Is Causing Sean To Regress
Getting beat up by the construction workers does not solve Sean’s issues with Tim. Sean tried using the advice that both Jimmy and Paul gave him, but it backfires, with Tim instead twisting Sean’s words.Tim does not take any accountability and places all the blame on Seanand his therapists. This toxicity causes Sean to significantly regress and go down a dark path inShrinkingseason 2. The situation will not change unless Tim begins to take accountability for the way he made Sean feel.
Sean will not be able to get on the right path again until he and his father can work through their issues, which will require Tim to confront difficult truths asShrinkingcontinues.
It is a complex situation, as Sean genuinely loves Tim, even mentioning to Jimmy in a previous episode that his father is a good man who sacrificed a great deal for him. However, this does not negate the ways in which Tim has emotionally neglected his son’s needs, regardless of his intentions. Sean will not be able to get on the right path again until he and his father can work through their issues, which will require Tim to confront difficult truths asShrinkingcontinues.
Shrinking
Cast
In this series, a therapist grappling with personal tragedy begins to employ a radically candid approach with his clients and in his personal life. As he navigates his roles as a father, friend, and professional, his newfound method leads to unexpected consequences and self-discovery.
