Analyze Scripts

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"Yellowjackets" Season 1 with Dr. Jessi Gold Apr 10, 2023

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Welcome back to Analyze Scripts, where a psychiatrist and a therapist analyze what Hollywood gets right and wrong about mental health. Today, we are joined by Dr. Jessi Gold (@drjessigold) to discuss the first season of "Yellowjackets" on Showtime. We break down the show's depiction of various forms of posttraumatic stress disorder and how the characters' pre-trauma backgrounds contribute to the different symptoms they experience in adulthood. We also explore the show's depiction of adolescent, teenage girl group dynamics, and the blurriness between psychosis and mysticism. We hope you enjoy!Analyze Scripts InstagramAnalyze Scripts TikTokAnalyze Scripts WebsiteDr. Jessi Gold's InstagramDr. Katrina Furey: Hi. Welcome back to another episode of Analyze Scripts. My name is Dr. Katrina Fury and I'm A psychiatrist. And I'm joined by my friend and co host Portia Pendleton, a licensed clinical social worker. And today we are super excited because we also have Dr. Jesse Gold joining us to discuss season one of Yellow Jackets, the hit show on Showtime. A couple of episodes of season two have already started rolling out, but we're going to focus on season one today because there's a lot to talk about before we welcome our guests. I just wanted to give a little bio. I feel very strongly about reading people's full biographies, especially women, so I'm going to read the whole thing and I love it. Jesse Gold is an assistant professor and the Director of Wellness, Engagement and Outreach in the Department of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. She's a nationally recognized expert on healthcare worker mental health and burnout, particularly during the Pandemic college mental health using social media and media for mental health advocacy and the overlap between pop culture and mental health, including celebrity self disclosure. She works clinically as an outpatient psychiatrist and sees faculty, staff, hospital employees and their dependents, particularly their college age kids. Dr. Gold also writes for the popular press and has been featured in, among others, the New York Times, the Atlantic, InStyle, the Washington Post, Time and Self. So, like, no big deal. She is on the Rare Beauty Mental Health Council and the Mental Health Storytelling Initiative and a co author of The Mental Health Media Guide, which can be found@mentalhealthmediaguide.com. Dr. Gold is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a BA. And a master's in anthropology, the Yale School of Medicine, and completed her residency training in adult psychiatry at Stanford University, where she served as chief resident. Again, no big deal. Her website is Dr. Jessegold.com, and she can be found at Dr. Jessegold Drjessigold on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. Cool. Well, thank you so much for joining us, Jesse. This is so super cool.Dr. Jessi Gold: Thanks for reading that thing. I was really hoping everybody would get to hear that also.Dr. Katrina Furey: I know, I know. If you want to tell us your favorite color or your deepest, darkest fears, we got all the time in the world.Dr. Jessi Gold: Can't wait.Dr. Katrina Furey: So speaking of deepest, darkest fears, this is probably one of mine. Plane crash in the middle of the mountains of Canada. In adolescence, I cannot imagine a more frightening, terrifying experience. And Portia here, we're learning that she likes more of, like, the light hearted things. And I really like the dark and twisty nasty things.Dr. Jessi Gold: So I was like, really worried for you.Dr. Katrina Furey: I know.Portia Pendleton: You gave me some. You were like, episode six, trigger warning this. And I was like, okay. I watched some things on. I skipped over a couple of scenes.Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah. I was like, you got to watch it in the day with the lights on, hold all your pets. It's a lot, right?Portia Pendleton: It didn't help my plane anxiety, but.Dr. Katrina Furey: Oh, yeah, I forgot you have plane anxiety, too. You got to take a beta blocker before you watch these.Dr. Jessi Gold: Who.Portia Pendleton: You're just fine.Dr. Jessi Gold: Oh, gee, sorry about that. It's a really interesting show in that when you try to tell people about it, one minor is just horrible. You're like, hey, it's a really great show. I swear. It's about teenagers who crashed in an airplane and may or may not become cannibals. And also they see them as adults, too. And people are like, what? And I don't like horror and really dark stuff. I like psychological thrillers. That bother me. I thought you guys said you kind of have boundaries on what it's going to show, and you can choose not to watch some of the stuff.Dr. Katrina Furey: And I think it's just such a fascinating portrayal of how one trauma affects so many people in a different way and then how you sort of simultaneously see the depiction of their back stories and their future stories and how they all weave in. And it's like at the beginning, the things you think are going to happen don't happen.Dr. Jessi Gold: Yeah.Portia Pendleton: I think Vanessa the goalie. I liked that we saw a little bit of her backstory with, like it seems like mom is an alcoholic. She was kind of like a caregiver. And then the trauma of the plane crash, and then she was left in the plane almost like, died via fire. And then comes out and is really mad at Jackie and Shauna for kind of like leaving her there. So I think even that initial, it's like she had a double trauma right at the crash scene, like the crash, and then had her friends leave her for dead. And then she survives. And then I think that she does not like Jackie.Dr. Katrina Furey: Right? Yeah. So Vanessa, again, to remind everyone, because there are a lot of characters, is the redhead on the goalie team, and she's ties love interest van oh, yeah.Dr. Jessi Gold: People knowing kids.Dr. Katrina Furey: And even like you're saying there we see those traumas right back to back, but also we see her backstory of her mom and how she's kind of been left by her mom in that way. And now here she is strapped in a plane that's exploding or catching fire, and now she's kind of left again but somehow gets out. So I think maybe we'll start with a rundown of the main characters.Dr. Jessi Gold: Sure.Dr. Katrina Furey: Probably just to orient ourselves a bit. So Jackie is on the team. She's kind of like the it girl, right? Like, she's the pretty one. She's the popular one. She has the boyfriend. And I thought she was the one we saw running naked through the woods originally. Who they sacrifice or something. Something. Now I don't know. I don't know who anyone is anymore. And then Shauna, played by Melanie Linsky, is her best friendfriend. Of me, maybe unclear. She's the one who ended up having sex with her boyfriend, with Jackie's boyfriend and getting pregnant. Oh, my God.Portia Pendleton: Ends off right. She is still pregnant.Dr. Katrina Furey: She's still pregnant, yeah. At some point. The trigger warning I gave you, Portia, was she tried to have an abortion in the woods. I thought that was really heart wrenching. I can't even find a word strong enough. What do you think? What did you think about all that part? Yeah, that part. That little part.Dr. Jessi Gold: I think I get it in a lot of ways. If you don't have food and you are a kid anyway, like, what would have your choice been? A choice in the normal kind of setting, let alone setting where you're starving, everyone else is starving. You know nothing about babies or how to have a baby, and you are a baby. And I mean, I get and it's almost like you saw something on TV and that's what you do and so that's what you try to do. That's what it felt like.Dr. Katrina Furey: Right.Dr. Jessi Gold: This is what I thought be a thing. And it's almost like just sort of the influence of restrictions and what people learn from that. But it's heart wrenching and it also just shows how scary it must be to be in that position as a kid anyway, let alone after a flame crash in the wilderness.Dr. Katrina Furey: I know.Dr. Jessi Gold: I think it's a lot of trauma and a lot of vulnerability and it comes to ahead of it there. But I think it shows also how they support each other.Dr. Katrina Furey: Right.Dr. Jessi Gold: Introduce Taisa, but she's there.Dr. Katrina Furey: Right, exactly. And that dynamic between Taisa and Shauna, I feel like again, in their adolescence and now in adulthood, as they're coming back together, just thinking that they were there together through these awful, horrible things. And when Ty, like, really is showing up for her in that way, I just thought was really intense and just really interesting way to see how the characters relationships develop over time. And with Ty, like, keeping that secret for as long as she could about the pregnancy and things like that, tyisse is another main character. Yeah.Portia Pendleton: I was kind of shocked, I guess, at the end, which I don't want to just skip all over her other.Dr. Katrina Furey: Scenes, but how it really did in.Portia Pendleton: Fact impact her, like eating the dirt, her sleepwalking, her family situation, kind of like after the crash, her son, so we think is like the problem.Dr. Katrina Furey: Right.Portia Pendleton: Or having some reaction to his mom, clearly. And then her political run, and then all of a sudden trying to jump back into the media. And it seems like all the other characters are like, we planned and we promised that we wouldn't do this, we were going to stay kind of under the radar. And here you are doing like a Senate run.Dr. Katrina Furey: Right.Portia Pendleton: But I feel like I like her character a lot as a teen, I feel like she's really strong. I just saw a lot of resilience with her through everything, like trying to go out and lead them to find help, knowing that it was probably like a death sentence, but she was going to risk it before the animal attack. And then her relationship with Van is really sweet. I feel like there's some sweet moments that come out with her and her family and then with Van kind of back and forth, which is nice in kind of the whole conflict within the trauma, and it being really terrifying.Dr. Katrina Furey: I don't feel like we got a lot of her backstory. Pre crash?Portia Pendleton: I don't think so.Dr. Katrina Furey: Did we hear a lot of I don't think we really got a lot.Dr. Jessi Gold: Remember correctly, her parents were kind of supportive. They were there, they said, Bye. There wasn't anything that we saw that was particularly traumatic in a Natalie kind of way. I think some of the backstories are there to show that sometimes the resilience comes from previous history, previous trauma, or you never know what people are coming in with that's important. We can have the same trauma affect everybody, but whatever your history is, it.Dr. Katrina Furey: Might affect you differently 100%. And we see a lot of her family in the present day, like with her wife and their son. And I think touching on her sexuality with Van being a teen in the an all girls soccer team, how she was very reluctant to be open at first and then got more comfortable. I thought that was a really interesting storyline, too, and how she, again really showed up for Shauna when she really, really needed her. And, yeah, I think with her character in particular, all the snippets along the way of, like, she's running for politics, for Senate, I think state senate. And then the stuff with her son, at first I thought, like, oh, something's up with her son. And then as things unfolded, it was like, oh, she's the lady in the tree. He's not seeing. I thought, does he have some sort of early onset psychosis or is he stressed or what's? Like his full story? And then I thought the show's depiction of his evaluation with the two way mirror, that was him. Right. Was really good. I think overall, I think the two way mirrors and stuff, I don't know about. At Wash, you like, at Yale, we didn't have that, but I know at Duke, when I interviewed, they did stuff like that for family therapy, so I know they do that, and I think it was actually a pretty good depiction of that. And I always love when I see accurate and well rounded and positive depictions of therapy in the media, because so many times they are terrible.Dr. Jessi Gold: Yeah, I mean, it's sort of like you're concerned about your kid, you come together to figure it out. It's important enough to you. You can see that there's some tension about who it's more important to, which I'm sure comes out. At Stanford, when we learned outpatient, we even did it behind, and the patients knew we'd, like, come out and talk to people and go back in. It's interesting from the family side to also have the family behind and giving feedback. We're allowed because I think people tell their own stories and kids tell their own stories, and it helps to have context or see even family reactions to things when people are talking. But I think in a lot of ways, too, it wouldn't be surprising if their kid had issues and the mom was like, there's all this data even, like, let's say extreme example comes to my head. Like, Holocaust parents, like parents who survive the Holocaust. There's a lot of restriction and limits and trauma exposed to the next generation 100%. That doesn't surprise me. If you had something like that, that a kid could struggle 100%, it makes a lot of sense.Dr. Katrina Furey: Right.Dr. Jessi Gold: So you're kind of like, okay, I get where that's it wasn't, like, surprising that the kid could be dark and struggled 100%.Dr. Katrina Furey: Right?Portia Pendleton: Yeah.Dr. Jessi Gold: Look what happened to the mom.Dr. Katrina Furey: Right.Dr. Jessi Gold: Of course there's something there, and, like.Dr. Katrina Furey: Actually, it still is the mom. Yeah. We had a fellow Yale psych grad, Christine Aradondo, on a couple of episodes back to talk about Encounter and, like, the very different movie from this show.Dr. Jessi Gold: But.Dr. Katrina Furey: Totally different vibe, but talking about that intergenerational trauma, like how the first trauma kind of trickles down in Generations. At first, as we were watching Taisa and her family in present day, I was thinking, is that just like, you're saying, jesse, of course he might have some stuff going on, and she's, like, running for Senate, and he comes from a home with two moms. It sounds like maybe he had switched schools. Now he's in public school. There's a lot going on. I didn't see coming that it was going to be like, Taisa doing all these things sleepwalking. But then as they connected that to what happened to her in the woods sleepwalking, and when Van and her would tie themselves together and she would bite her and all these things, I was like, oh, okay, now I see it. But it's really sad to see that kind of unraveling of her family. The moment where she asked Simone to go stay with her mom, and she was really pleading with her, like, you don't understand. I could really hurt you. That really broke my heart, but I thought was really genuine and authentic. And I don't even think she's aware of everything she's capable of. I don't think she remembers that place in the basement with the dog head and all this stuff. Right. I would say I don't often see things like that with PTSD. I feel like that's a very severe depiction of it. I guess it could happen. Right.Portia Pendleton: Or almost just like how much it impacted their brain. Th…

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"The Whale" Apr 03, 2023

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Welcome back to Analyze Scripts, where a psychiatrist and a therapist analyze what Hollywood gets right and wrong about mental health. Today, we are analyzing the Oscar-winning film "The Whale" starring Brendan Fraser. This one's a doozy! This emotional film stirred up a lot of different, conflicting emotions for Dr. Furey and Portia. While exploring our own sadness and rage, we also discuss the masterful portrayal of depression, binge-eating disorder, childhood abandonment, and end-of-life care. We hope you enjoy!Instagram Analyze Scripts Website Portia Pendleton: Hi.Dr. Katrina Furey: Welcome back to another episode of Analyze Scripts. I'm Dr. Katrina Fury, a psychiatrist, and I'm joined, as always, by my friend and colleague, Portia Pendleton, a licensed clinical social worker. Thanks for joining us. Once again, or if it's your first time, welcome. Today we are going to be talking about the film by Darren Aranovsky. I think I'm saying that right. The Whale, which recently Brendan Fraser, who stars in this movie, won an Oscar for best actor. So we're pretty excited to talk about it.Portia Pendleton: Yeah.Portia Pendleton: Brendan Fraser is, like, all over the place. He just seems so precious. And that's a perfect word to describe.Dr. Katrina Furey: And precious.Portia Pendleton: I like that it means, like I don't know. I want him to be I want.Dr. Katrina Furey: Good taking care of him. I know. I want him to have, like, a serenity garden with a little quiet waterfall and some butterflies. Yeah, that's what I want.Portia Pendleton: And all the awards and accolades that he deserves. So I think a lot of people remember him from Georgia the Jungle, the big shirtless man. And then he was in the Mummy trilogy, and then he kind of stalled for a bird.Dr. Katrina Furey: I thought maybe he just was like, all right, I'm done now.Portia Pendleton: Yes. I think we've learned more recently I don't think that this really came out of the time, but he did report a sexual assault in 2003 by Philip Burke, who was the then Hollywood Foreign Press Association president. So I think this kind of piggybacked on what we've seen before with the MeToo movement and what's the guy's name?Dr. Katrina Furey: Harvey Weinstein.Portia Pendleton: Like a Harvey Weinstein kind of situation. And I think Brendan Fraser can be added and welcomed into the Me, too. He put himself out there as a young man, 30s, back in the day, and what happened is really normal then, right. It kind of got brushed in the rug. He was blackballed by the industry. His name was not brought up for things. And I think it's just such, like, a beautiful story that now he got this opportunity and he just, like, knocked out of the park. I mean, he got, I think, an eleven minute standing ovation when this film was shown at the Sundance Film Festival. People are just loving him and his performance.Dr. Katrina Furey: And I think it's kind of shocking, right, to see someone who was like George of the Jungle or in these other shore roles that weren't so deep and emotional to really perform in that way.Portia Pendleton: Yeah.Dr. Katrina Furey: I think there was also some sort of I don't know about controversy. I don't think that's the word I'm looking for. But I don't think he went to the Golden Globes specifically because I don't think he felt supported when all this happened and he continued to take a stand. I was really proud of him for that. Really proud of him for that.Portia Pendleton: Yeah.Portia Pendleton: I think he just is. I hope that he's being welcomed back with kind of open arms into a supportive and getting the credit that he.Dr. Katrina Furey: Deserves, and I hope he has some good therapy along the way.Portia Pendleton: So The Whale has kind of, like a little bit of an interesting story. I don't have the details exactly in front of me, so I'm kind of just going to recall it, but it was based on, like, a play, and it was forever. Like, the script has been floating around for, I think, the past 1510 to 15 years. And there's been, like, different directors, different producers, different actors kind of floated around with it at some point. I think that oh, he's the host of the Late Late Night Show.Dr. Katrina Furey: Seth Meyers? No.Portia Pendleton: Steven Colbert. England.Dr. Katrina Furey: The redhead?Portia Pendleton: Yes.Dr. Katrina Furey: No. James Corgan?Portia Pendleton: Yes. Okay.Portia Pendleton: As a potential he was going to play not a good he didn't yeah.Dr. Katrina Furey: I'm really glad I didn't know he was an actor.Portia Pendleton: I don't know.Dr. Katrina Furey: That's what I saw, according to the Internet.Portia Pendleton: So I just think it's an interesting path that both The Whale, in one sense has had and then Brendan Fraser and I feel like they both kind.Dr. Katrina Furey: Of came together like it was meant to be. Wow.Portia Pendleton: Yeah.Dr. Katrina Furey: That is nice.Portia Pendleton: So why don't we do, like, a little brief, brief, brief rundown about the premise of the movie?Portia Pendleton: Okay.Portia Pendleton: So if you haven't seen it, but you want to kind of just, like, hear the podcast episode, we'll try to give you some context.Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah. But also I think we wanted to include a trigger warning with this episode because The Whale is a really emotional film and we will be talking about some pretty intense themes today, including disordered eating patterns, strained parent, child relationships, abandonment, trauma, and suicide. So we did just want to give that little warning because it is intense. And even if you haven't watched the film yet, again, do so, but just be aware it's intense.Portia Pendleton: Yeah, I definitely was feeling a lot of emotions throughout the movie.Portia Pendleton: Yeah.Dr. Katrina Furey: And it's really interesting that we both left the movie feeling very different, but very strong feelings. So we'll talk about that. So the premise I recall from this movie, again, I feel like I was so angry at the end, I've blocked some things out, which is interesting. But basically we see this very obese man and I don't know, we wanted to talk about even what terminology we wanted to use to talk about his character.Portia Pendleton: Yeah.Portia Pendleton: So, I mean, there is, like, kind of, I guess a split field with just, like, how to refer to someone who's in, like, a much larger body. I think some people would prefer just to be called fat. This is a fat man. Other people, I think, prefer to use more, like, just medical terminology. And it's like, with non judgment, but just kind of stating more facts most.Dr. Katrina Furey: Likely meet medical criteria for morbid obesity.Portia Pendleton: Yeah.Portia Pendleton: So I think maybe we will use interchangeable language throughout the podcast, whether we are referring to him as fat and a large body or morbidly obese, we'd.Dr. Katrina Furey: Be curious to hear your thoughts about what you think about these words and terminology as we talk about these tough issues. So, anyway, Brendan Fraser plays Charlie, who it looks like is a teacher for like, an online college writing course. And he also appears to be somewhat of a hermit. The whole film takes place in his apartment. My husband, he's so witty. He kept saying, like, wow, they really saved money on the budget there.Portia Pendleton: I had that thought after. And again, such a quote unquote low budget film. There's not really per se, like these crazy special effects and all of these sets. It's like they built this set, this home, and we really don't see anything outside of it besides this one flashback. So totally like a beach. But yes, it's like around the apartment. It's in the apartment. It's right outside his apartment door. The parking lot of the apartment, right.Dr. Katrina Furey: And we didn't know for a while was it an apartment or a house. We just start off right in the house and in the home. And then as the film moves on, we see the different rooms and like the one room he's kept locked and things like that. And then at some point, I don't remember exactly how far into the movie, but not right away, we see that he's actually on the second floor. And so, again, that sort of was like, well, okay, now I see why he really doesn't leave because he has a lot of mobility trouble. But so basically, it seems like this film is sort of capturing the last week of his life, right, that he is morbidly obese and dealing with all of the medical consequences that unfortunately come with that. As a physician, I thought they did a really good job accurately depicting that. They depicted hypertensive emergency with his blood pressure being I wrote it down. Actually, I was going to ask you. I wrote it down in my notes. My first note was while he's masturbating. That was a surprise, just real quick. And then the next one's. Blood pressure was 238 over 134. And I have three exclamation points because that is so scary high. Normal blood pressure is around 120 over 80. So that is really high. In us physicians, we really worry about the bottom number, the diastolic number. I mean, we worry about both, but especially the diastolic number. We worry about it when it's between 91 hundred. So 134 is like, really scary high. Like, he could have a stroke.Portia Pendleton: He could have heart attack.Dr. Katrina Furey: He could all the things. And then you see him, like, I.Portia Pendleton: Think.Dr. Katrina Furey: As he ********** or something I thought was having a heart attack. He's wheezing, he's sweating, he's grabbing his chest like he's having chest pain. He's like moving his left arm, indicating it's radiating down there. And I was like, oh, my God, he's having a heart attack. He's not going to die because then the movie will be over. But this is, like, really accurate. And then with his wheezing and his friend who comes over to listen to him, immediately, I thought he's probably in heart failure and his legs are swollen. All of it was really accurate.Portia Pendleton: Right.Dr. Katrina Furey: So, again, from a medical perspective, I thought they did a really good job portraying that. And the struggles of living in such a large body, like with the walker, with the wheelchair, with all the assistive devices, like the four year lift to get in and out of the bed, things to grab things from up high or down low. He alludes at some point to having bed sores and things like that, which is probably true if you're not able to work around too much. So I did think that was spot on.Portia Pendleton: Yeah.Portia Pendleton: And I think kind of right away, we are introduced to a couple. Again, not a big cast.Dr. Katrina Furey: There's like five characters.Portia Pendleton: So there's Brendan Fraser, who's Charlie, and then there is his friend, it seems like a longtime friend who is a nurse, I believe, or some kind of medically trained she looks like a nurse.Dr. Katrina Furey: Liz, I think was her name.Portia Pendleton: She was nominated, I believe, played by Hong Chow. And then Thomas, who is this, like, traveling missionary, seems like. But then there's a little bit of a twist at the end. His daughter, who's played by Sadie Singh, Ellie. And then we briefly see Charlie's ex wife and Sadie Singh's. Or Lily's, Ellie's mom, Mary, who was.Dr. Katrina Furey: Played by Samantha Morton. And then we also have Dan, I believe was the name of his partner.Portia Pendleton: Right.Portia Pendleton: And then a little brief character of the delivery person.Dr. Katrina Furey: The delivery person, that's right.Portia Pendleton: Yeah.Dr. Katrina Furey: So I got kind of sidetracked summarizing the plot. Did you have anything you wanted to.Portia Pendleton: Add before we dive into we kind of get the feeling that he is a little bit of a hermit. His apartment is really dark, like, windows, shades are drawn, a lot of clutter.Portia Pendleton: Yep, yep.Dr. Katrina Furey: Maybe kind of hoarding, but not like kind of hoarding.Portia Pendleton: And then we see him teaching. He doesn't have his camera off. So I'm kind of getting the feeling that he has some shame about his appearance because it's kind of demonstrated to us the camera does work. It's just kind of like a choice that he's not putting it on.Dr. Katrina Furey: I at first thought, Is this during COVID I did, too.Portia Pendleton: Yeah. So my first thoughts were like, Whoa, there's masturbating. Is this during COVID And then I was like, wow, like, really interesting. Those were, like, my kind of back and forth.Dr. Katrina Furey: So, anyway, intense feelings right away.Portia Pendleton: Yeah.Portia Pendleton: We start to see his health seriously decline. It seems like he appears at first to not want to get to medical help because of worries for cost. We learn later, like some other information around that. But that's what he's telling Liz to not go to the hospital. She's encouraging him.Portia Pendleton: Right.Dr. Katrina Furey: So Liz, who at first we think of as his friend, she's always showing up in scrubs. She has a stethoscope. She seems to be a nurse. She works night shifts, things like that. She's sort of like being his nurse and medical caretaker. Which I kept thinking, like, what a hard position for her, to be sure. But I know, like, toward the end, they were like, oh, wait, you do have this money. You could go to the hospital.Portia Pendleton: Let's be real.Dr. Katrina Furey: The level of care he would need is, like, ICU level of care that is crazy expensive. Like, his bill would be astronomical. Like, the 140 grand or something that he has would not cover it.Portia Pendleton: Maybe like two days is you can afford health insurance. Okay, there we go.Portia Pendleton: Yeah.Portia Pendleton: I feel like that's also something that I wanted to spend a little bit.Portia Pendleton: Of time talking about.Portia Pendleton: It's just, like, health insurance and kind of, from our perspectives, his potential barriers, or just like, potential systemic barriers. But my thought was really, like, he might not qualify for Medicaid. Maybe he does make too much. But then I would assume that there is some kind of supplemental insurance or that he would be paying into something. And again, even if he was paying into a high deductible and his deductible was, like, $15,000, that's way less than hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars of his bill.Dr. Katrina Furey: So it's so true.Portia Pendleton: That's where I was a little angry. Kind of like it felt like a little bit of misinformation. While I'm very aware that health insurance can be wildly costly and there's a lot of people who need better care, and that's a barrier. So I think I'm trying to balance both sides of the coin.Dr. Katrina Furey: But I think that is sort of the mixed feelings Charlie stirs up in you, at least for me, is like, you get so frustrated with him that he's not getting help or taking the help that's being offered. And I think that's actually a really good example of that. You do have the funds to get health insurance. Like he said, his expenses are very minimal at that point at somewhere along the way, he could have gotten some help and he hasn't. And so that stirs up some really kind of icky feelings, at least in me. I was feeling really angry with him for a lot of the movie.Portia Pendleton: Yeah.Portia Pendleton: And I think that anger is magnified because, again, a part of the storyline i…

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"Shrinking" Season 1, Episodes 7-10 Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

Welcome back to Analyze Scripts, where a psychiatrist and a therapist analyze what Hollywood gets right and wrong about mental health. Today, we wrap up our analysis of season 1 of "Shrinking" on AppleTV+. We are THRILLED this show has been renewed for a second season! In this episode, we chat about various character arcs, including the cliffhanger at the end. We also share a tender friendship moment and demonstrate how to sit with big, vulnerable feelings. Much like "Shrinking," this episode is full of tears and laughter! We hope you enjoy!Analyze Scripts Instagram Analyze Scripts TikTok Analyze Scripts YouTube Analyze Scripts Website [00:17] Dr. Katrina Furey: Welcome back to another episode of Analyze Scripts. This is Dr. Katrina Fury, a psychiatrist, and I'm joined, as always, by my friend colleague Portia Pendleton, a licensed clinical social worker. And today we are going to dive into the last four episodes of the first season of the show on Apple TV, plus shrinking. So this is episode seven to ten. And fun fact, we actually just watched episode ten together, so that was kind of fun.[00:45] Portia Pendleton: I cried in front of you.[00:47] Dr. Katrina Furey: That's okay. I cried at home when I watched it the first time. And then I watched you cry as you watch. So it was really interesting. I thought about, like, is this what content is? Like, should I be filming you cry? And then we put that we probably.[01:03] Portia Pendleton: Should have, only the setting was a little awkward because I can't figure out how to put Apple TV on my living room TV. So we watched it from a bedroom.[01:13] Dr. Katrina Furey: I'm really cool with.[01:15] Portia Pendleton: I don't know if I'd want to put that out in the ether.[01:19] Dr. Katrina Furey: This show is about crossing boundaries.[01:26] Portia Pendleton: Funny.[01:26] Dr. Katrina Furey: Oh, my gosh. So there's a lot to talk about. We pick up where, turns out Gabby and what's his name?[01:34] Portia Pendleton: Jimmy.[01:35] Dr. Katrina Furey: Jimmy. They went all the way.[01:36] Portia Pendleton: They did.[01:37] Dr. Katrina Furey: They went to fourth base. Fourth base. Home run. They sure did. Out of the park. And then a lot has transpired. Yes, a lot.[01:51] Portia Pendleton: I feel like every single person in the show had emotional growth.[01:56] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yes.[01:56] Portia Pendleton: In many ways.[01:57] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah, they totally did. Yeah.[01:59] Portia Pendleton: So we see the aftermath of the party. Jimmy's on his apology tour. He's apologizing to everyone. He has to apologize to Brian, but Brian's like, I'm not sorry.[02:08] Dr. Katrina Furey: We're engaged. Yeah.[02:11] Portia Pendleton: He apologizes and has a conversation with Gabby where Gabby's like, it's fine.[02:15] Dr. Katrina Furey: I don't regret it.[02:15] Portia Pendleton: And then Jimmy's like, I do, and.[02:17] Dr. Katrina Furey: You'Re like, I know, but then Gabby's like, you're safe, ****. And then that sort of comes up over and over. And spoiler alert, turns out he's not. At the very end, when they're all gathered at Brian's wedding, and he's giving this really moving speech, which I thought was actually really touching. You see Gabby kind of having the feels, and I think Liz, like, pops over her shoulder and is like, I hear your ****** humming.[02:42] Portia Pendleton: She's like, It is not safe, ****.[02:43] Dr. Katrina Furey: It's not safe, ****. So we'll see what happens in season two since it got renewed. Yes.[02:49] Portia Pendleton: Very excited.[02:49] Dr. Katrina Furey: Very excited.[02:50] Portia Pendleton: So I don't even know who to focus on first. Maybe we should just focus on Jimmy, like, his curve. So he seems like he kind of just falls apart at the party. Right. He's reminded constantly by Tia.[03:05] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah, I know.[03:06] Portia Pendleton: It feels like he has gone up since then, so that would make sense. I wrote down a couple of things that I was still a little bit, like, annoyed with, with his patience. Like, I feel like in those episodes, or in his sessions after the party, like, he's still, like, over sharing. And I'm like, Wally.[03:25] Dr. Katrina Furey: But then I was so glad when she called him out and said something. I didn't write down the exact sentence she used, but she was like, you're making it about you. Or she called it out that he has a tendency to do this. I think he knew that, but it helped that being brought to his attention. And also I noticed that one of the writers of the show is named Wally. Oh, wow. Okay. I know wally, if you want to come on the podcast yeah, I was going to say holler at us, but we don't say that anymore.[03:53] Portia Pendleton: Just like DM us.[03:54] Dr. Katrina Furey: DM us.[03:56] Portia Pendleton: That's more cool.[03:58] Dr. Katrina Furey: Okay.[03:58] Portia Pendleton: So, yeah, I think Wally's the OCD patient. Yeah. So I thought it was funny. I wrote down, like, her eyes are closed in the session. She won't look at him because of the kiss. Like, she's really embarrassed.[04:10] Dr. Katrina Furey: At least she came.[04:11] Portia Pendleton: Yeah, that was a big step. And he's kind of, like, trying to make her feel better by over sharing. Like, he shares a way that he is embarrassed, and again, that helps her, but I'm like, stop doing that.[04:24] Dr. Katrina Furey: And then eventually again, I didn't write down exactly what she said, but she basically draws it to his attention. Like, dude, you're over sharing too much. Good for you.[04:32] Portia Pendleton: Yes. So we also see Jimmy and Paul and Brian in the episode track down Alice at the college. I'm kind of, like, rescue her from this college boy. So Jimmy, through these last couple of episodes, is becoming stepping back into his parent role.[04:54] Dr. Katrina Furey: Thank God. Finally. Thank God.[04:57] Portia Pendleton: It sounds like you're finding that attractive.[05:01] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah, I know. I was telling Portia by the end, I was, like, really attracted to Jimmy, maybe.[05:05] Portia Pendleton: And in the beginning you were not. No, I didn't.[05:07] Dr. Katrina Furey: Like because he's, like, being a parent now.[05:11] Portia Pendleton: You're fulfilling your role in your duties. You're stepping up. And again, we know why. That he had kind of a breakdown and wasn't able to be there and still right.[05:24] Dr. Katrina Furey: There's no exceptions. I'm a very harsh judge when it.[05:29] Portia Pendleton: Comes to this, to parenting. We want what's best for the kids.[05:33] Dr. Katrina Furey: Right. And we were so worried about Alice and is she going to rebel? Is she not? And she kind of did. I love they're like, no, not a guy in a vest. But I felt like she did enough maybe to finally get his attention, which sometimes teens act out, right? All teens act out right. Like, to push buttons and stuff. But I felt like she did it enough to get his attention, not so much for this show to take a different turn.[06:02] Portia Pendleton: And I feel like it was within her character. Like, I don't see her as a big risk taker. I don't see her.[06:10] Dr. Katrina Furey: But yeah, I.[06:11] Portia Pendleton: Just feel like she's very risky.[06:12] Dr. Katrina Furey: She told a friend. She told a friend where she was going. I loved when they barged in on that what did they call it? The garden party.[06:23] Portia Pendleton: Party I've ever seen in my life.[06:25] Dr. Katrina Furey: But they're all their food. Oh, my God, it's so funny. But I loved how it was so similar to drinks under the bridge, and Paul had said something like, oh, so and so is really good at coming.[06:34] Portia Pendleton: Up with the name Summer.[06:35] Dr. Katrina Furey: Summer. But then when Paul's leaving and he tells so and so, like, stop trying to get with your English. Yes.[06:42] Portia Pendleton: And everyone's like, what?[06:43] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah. I thought it was just so funny.[06:45] Portia Pendleton: That these are the parties, right? I'm expecting to raise your house party. Or again, like a garden party where you're in a garden, but everyone's trash and there's balls everywhere. And I was just like, all these.[06:55] Dr. Katrina Furey: People are just like, you're drinking like.[06:56] Portia Pendleton: An insultzer and you're smoking marijuana and you're on your phone, like, not playing music. I mean, hey, this is a relatively speaking safe party, so that's great.[07:08] Dr. Katrina Furey: I will fingers crossed that's the party my kids go to someday. That's the extent of it. But I thought that was just, like.[07:15] Portia Pendleton: A funny little I don't know, it made me laugh.[07:19] Dr. Katrina Furey: Are we millennials? Yeah. I am Millennials. You are older than you are. You not? No, we both are.[07:24] Portia Pendleton: Yeah. We're in the middle.[07:26] Dr. Katrina Furey: We're in the middle. Okay. And then whoever wrote the show maybe is a millennial or older, I'm assuming. I feel like it was, like, a funny commentary on that generation.[07:36] Portia Pendleton: Gen Z.[07:37] Dr. Katrina Furey: Is Gen Z the young one. Okay.[07:39] Portia Pendleton: I think they got a lot, right?[07:40] Dr. Katrina Furey: Like Alice's Style.[07:42] Portia Pendleton: I just think it was funny.[07:44] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah, but even the party, I feel like they're just like, oh, the kids are on their phones now. Maybe they are. I don't know. So I don't know. I thought that was pretty funny.[07:52] Portia Pendleton: I liked when the college guy opens the door and he's like, alice, your two dads and grandpa here.[08:01] Dr. Katrina Furey: I love that.[08:02] Portia Pendleton: And then so mortifying. And then Paul is, like, saying we as they're walking in, and Brian's like, don't. We're not peers. Stop comparing me to you.[08:10] Dr. Katrina Furey: I loved it. And I love that they had to use Brian's car because Alice took his car and Paul can't drive, and that they make Brian sit in the back.[08:18] Portia Pendleton: Yeah. He's like, I think this is about my self esteem.[08:20] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah, but all these details are so perfect. I just loved it. And I love how Harrison Ford, I guess we'll call him, paul is so protective of Alice, and even then, when she's so mad that they were there, you could tell she appreciates. And that is so true of teenagers, Toddlers. All children appreciate when their parents set boundaries. And then I love that he finally grounded her. Although it looks like maybe the sentence didn't last long. I don't know. I guess she wasn't really like, going out and about. But he did ground her. And even though she was mad, that's, like, the appropriate step. Yeah.[08:55] Portia Pendleton: And I think in that moment, it was a little bit I could see a parent having a hard time setting that boundary, because, again, I feel like Alice at the time, and that's the reason you set boundaries, is a really good kid.[09:08] Dr. Katrina Furey: Right.[09:09] Portia Pendleton: I don't think she would maybe do.[09:11] Dr. Katrina Furey: That again, but you still have to set the limit.[09:14] Portia Pendleton: Setting the limit. And initially, she's really mad and upset, and she still says, mom wouldn't do this. And he's like she would exactly.[09:21] Dr. Katrina Furey: And I thought that was so powerful.[09:23] Portia Pendleton: And then she says, I ******* hate you.[09:26] Dr. Katrina Furey: And he goes, I ******* love you. And I started crying. I cried a lot in these episodes. I was like, whoa.[09:35] Portia Pendleton: It was like, I'm crying. My eyes are watering. A tear falls. And then the next scene, there's a comedic relief, and it's from Liz or Gabby.[09:46] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah.[09:46] Portia Pendleton: And that was a really I think the balance was really nice.[09:50] Dr. Katrina Furey: I know we kept saying as we again watched episode ten together, and I kind of watched you watch episode Ten, which was like a fascinating anthropological adventure. Do you have no, I sketched you. No. I was like, I want to work with them. I want to be friends with my neighbors. Like this.[10:09] Portia Pendleton: I know.[10:10] Dr. Katrina Furey: Put rocks in that thing, make it.[10:12] Portia Pendleton: Really smooth and give it to someone.[10:15] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah. I don't know. I'm so glad this show is coming back.[10:20] Portia Pendleton: So, like, Jimmy is on this arc. He's stepping up as a parent. He's being such a good dad. He is having tough conversations with Alice. He's having tough conversations with himself.[10:28] Dr. Katrina Furey: Oh, my God. But we have to talk about them sitting her down to tell her that they have I love when she's like, alice has never called me Auntie Gabby. Like, do you want to make this worse? It's just so funny. I have to say again, this is like a comedy. We want it all to end up fine. But I was like, I don't know if Alice will get over that easily.[10:49] Portia Pendleton: Yeah.[10:49] Dr. Katrina Furey: I don't know. I feel like they kind of blew through it.[10:52] Portia Pendleton: Do you think it's like a little bit of almost like a stereotypical? Like, a therapist as a parent, psychiatrist as a parent, like thing to do, sitting her down and talking about it? I feel like another parent would just be like, yeah, this is really uncomfortable.[11:07] Dr. Katrina Furey: We're not going to talk about or, like, avoided.[11:09] Portia Pendleton: Right. And the therapist parents are like, let's.[11:12] Dr. Katrina Furey: Talk about it a lot. Yeah.[11:15] Portia Pendleton: There's got to be a medium. There's got to be a middle ground.[11:18] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah, I have no comment on that. Okay.[11:23] Portia Pendleton: I'll ask you a couple of years.[11:30] Dr. Katrina Furey: I think Jimmy was talking about how he's, like, starting to slip up at work to Paul, and it's like, starting, like, you know, he's been sort of acting silly and he was like, yeah, I told the patient to like, ********** for, you know, anxiety relief instead of meditate. And Paul was like, well, they both work. I feel like their banter is so funny. I just love it.[11:50] Portia Pendleton: I mean, I know we say this every time, but I really, really give like 100 out of 100 stars to the writing. They get things, the smallest details, so right.[12:02] Dr. Katrina Furey: How'd you do it? I don't know.[12:04] Portia Pendleton: I could never come up with that. This is not my strong suit. The things that they think about because.[12:11] Dr. Katrina Furey: We want them to someday call us to consult. This is our strong suit.[12:14] Portia Pendleton: Let me rephrase that.[12:16] Dr. Katrina Furey: We are so witty and we're mental health experts, so give us a call, guys. I know exactly what you mean, though. I don't know how to do it. Yeah, because the writing is so funny. Like that tongue in cheek, the part how it makes you cry and laugh sometimes at the same time. So you don't know which way should my mouth be happy or sad? But then also the mental health layers that are pretty accurate. I'm just like how'd you do it.[12:43] Portia Pendleton: Totally how'd you do it. I 100% agree. And I do feel like it's worth kind of bringing up and laughing at. So when Brian, Paul and Jimmy are again…

Full show notes at the publisher

"You" Season 4, Part 2 Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

Welcome back to Analyze Scripts, where a psychiatrist and a therapist analyze what Hollywood gets right and wrong about mental health. Today, we are thrilled to recap the end of the fourth season of "You." We touch on topics ranging from ketamine to ideas of reference and - of course! - erotomanic delusions. But mostly we spend time analyzing all of the twists and turns. Do YOU think Joe Goldberg is a psychopath? Listen to hear our take and if it's changed over four seasons. This episode is brought to you by our first sponsor, Therapeutic Bodywork, out of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Check them out at www.therapeutic-bodywork.com if you need a "calm" box after listening to this episode! We hope you enjoy!Analyze Scripts Instagram Analyze Scripts TikTok Analyze Scripts YouTube [00:17] Portia Pendleton: So today we have a sponsor for our kind of wrap up of season four of you.[00:23] Dr. Katrina Furey: And guys, this isn't a fake sponsor or like our previous fake sponsor. For real? Yeah.[00:28] Portia Pendleton: So we're really, really excited, really grateful yes. To kind of share with you therapeutic body work. They are kind of a do it all wellness center in the Cape in Massachusetts. They do ship nationally. So I am going to kind of talk about briefly just what we received from them, which is the calm box.[00:51] Dr. Katrina Furey: Perfect for winding down after this episode or finishing season four of you or just like a normal Wednesday.[01:00] Portia Pendleton: So we received four products in it. They're all kind of to promote calming, relaxing. So one of the first products that I was really excited to get is their magnesium mineral magic cream. So this is something that I have tried before. You basically rub this cream on your wrists or the bottoms of your feet before bed. And the intention is that it's supposed to kind of help you have a restful sleep and also to reduce some of that anticipatory anxiety that you get pre bedtime if you just watched something.[01:37] Dr. Katrina Furey: Stressful looping in your mind.[01:39] Portia Pendleton: Yes, exactly. So we also received this let me just get it out here. The Sleep Easy Oil, which is again, to promote deep restful sleep. You can put it on different parts of your body. The directions are on it. It's very clear. Head temple, solar plexus, soles of feet for a night of sound sleep. Putting it on 20 minutes before I have not tried this. I'm really looking forward.[02:02] Dr. Katrina Furey: I can't wait. And those two products pair really nicely with the other things that they were kind enough to send us. A lavender eye pillow, which I might just wear for our whole next episode as we talk about you. But this is the kind of thing where you can either heat it up or keep it cold and you just place it on your eyes and inhale the lavender. I cannot wait for this. I love lavender. And then the last thing they gave us was this awesome tea called Zen AF. Quit freaking out already. Herbal tea to calm stress and anxiety. Has no caffeine, which is great. Has a lot of natural ingredients that have been shown to help soothe anxiety, provide some calm and relaxation. As always, whenever using over the counter supplements, please check in with your provider if you are taking any prescribed medication to make sure there's no drug drug interactions. But overall, I can't wait to try all of these things.[02:54] Portia Pendleton: Yeah, I'm super excited.[02:56] Dr. Katrina Furey: And I'm also just like, how did.[02:57] Portia Pendleton: You know I needed something calming?[02:59] Dr. Katrina Furey: Well, over therapist. Thank you.[03:02] Portia Pendleton: Exactly. So they have other boxes that are for sale. Again, they ship nationally so you can get a detox box. Immunity. Calm love. Yeah, that one looks cool and very fitting for you. They are located on cape Cod, Massachusetts, where they do provide in person services.[03:17] Dr. Katrina Furey: Like reflexology, acupuncture, massage, body work, really nice things like that. And then I believe they also ship nationwide at no charge.[03:27] Portia Pendleton: Yes, they ship some nationwide at no extra charge. And you can find all of these boxes for sale at their website, which is therapeutic.com. Again, that's therapeutic.com.[03:41] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah. So check them out. And thank you so much to Therapeuticbodywork for being our first sponsor. I feel like we're in the big league now. Yeah.[03:51] Portia Pendleton: So grateful.[03:52] Dr. Katrina Furey: So grateful. Super cool. All right, I hope you enjoyed this episode. Hi, welcome back to another episode of Analyze Scripts. I'm Dr. Katrina Fury, and I am here with my friend and colleague Portia Pendleton, a licensed clinical social worker. We are thrilled you're joining us today to dissect the second half of season four of you. There's so much to talk about. So before we dive in, Portia, I just wanted to give you some updates because I don't know if you can believe this. Not only have we gotten our first sponsor, but we've also gone international. Okay, so someone in New Zealand and someone in Canada is listening. Hi, there. Hey, what's up? What time is it there? That's so cool. I have no idea who you are, but thank you. Please feel free to spread widely and send us a DM or an email or something. Introducing yourself. That's so cool. And then I had a couple of thoughts in between the last time we recorded for part One, as we were waiting for part two to be released. The first is, do you know about Anna Delvey? Yes, of course. Right. Doesn't she belong at Sundry House? Oh, yeah. Isn't that, like, what she was trying to do? Right.[05:12] Portia Pendleton: I feel like she belongs 100%.[05:15] Dr. Katrina Furey: Like, not just as, like, a scam artist, but that's her kind of place. And then my other thought was, and I can't take full credit for this, my husband kind of had this thought, too. He's been really into watching Yellowstone, which I haven't gotten into yet. Have you? I haven't.[05:29] Portia Pendleton: I've heard great things.[05:30] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah, it looks really intense. It would probably be a good thing for us to discuss at some point. But anyway, why doesn't Joe find himself in a Yellowstone situation? He always ends up with this new crew. That's the same, right? Like these really wealthy, egotistical narcissistic people. But what if in season five, he's, like, in Yellowstone or something, right? Like in the Wild West with cowboys.[05:55] Portia Pendleton: Like, I wonder how he'd do that's a good thought. Because it's like he's attracting a type of person or purposely, intentionally bringing them into his circle. I don't know. I don't think he would ever maybe even put himself in that position.[06:11] Dr. Katrina Furey: Right. I don't think he'd go to Montana to him.[06:14] Portia Pendleton: Or more unsafe. I know that maybe doesn't make sense, but it's like he doesn't know if he would understand them enough or he wouldn't feel like he could manipulate them or I don't know.[06:24] Dr. Katrina Furey: I think you're totally right. It's so funny. He's like this interesting character where on the one hand, he really looks down on the very people he's surrounding himself with almost as a way to make himself feel better. But anyway, that's not where we find joe.[06:39] Portia Pendleton: No, we don't. We find him kind of back after almost being killed at the estate in the country. So we kind of see him back with all these people. We're like, what's going to happen? Is he going to get in trouble? What's going on with reese? Are him and reese friends? Is reese going to kill him? It's just like, what's going on?[07:03] Dr. Katrina Furey: And I do have to say, after we recorded our first episode, without having watched the second part, I was, like, a little down with the first half, right? Because I was like, oh, where's marianne? Where's the cage? Where's the plot? I'm used to what is going on? And this yeah, we both said that. Right? And then this, I was like, all right, you redeemed yourself. Like, very good. A plus. Like this all track. And I was like, whoa, I didn't see a lot of these coming at all. I feel like I was just getting.[07:31] Portia Pendleton: Like, slapped in the face left and right.[07:33] Dr. Katrina Furey: Like, whoa, whoa.[07:35] Portia Pendleton: So we kind of see right away, marianne get on the train again.[07:40] Dr. Katrina Furey: As soon as we did, I was like, okay, good. We are going to see what happened to mary.[07:44] Portia Pendleton: They didn't just, like, write her off exactly. But then he says something that's, like, he's really trying to heal his heart after letting her go, and I was like, okay, we talked about this last episode. This does not fit the profile of a psychopath. Does not fit his profile of letting things go.[07:59] Dr. Katrina Furey: And you had the ingenious idea, and it's like you were on the money, where you're like, something had to have happened to Mary Anne for him to move on.[08:06] Portia Pendleton: And lo and behold, plot twist of the century. Yeah. So we see kind of joe watching reese. He's at, like, a press conference of his. He's just listening.[08:21] Dr. Katrina Furey: And at this point, we think that reese is the eat the rich killer and that he's trying to frame joe to sort of make himself look good for catching the real killer as he's trying to become mayor. And remember, we left last time being like, how did reese figure all this stuff out about joe?[08:40] Portia Pendleton: Right?[08:41] Dr. Katrina Furey: Turns out he did it. Oh, my god. That was the plot twist of the century for me.[08:46] Portia Pendleton: Yeah. So reese, it seems like he wants a friend, and then it seems like he's kind of pressuring joe to kill because all these other people are now, like, a liability.[08:56] Dr. Katrina Furey: Right.[08:56] Portia Pendleton: Like, all these rich people at the sundry house, they know too much. Reese is like, maybe risky sides, and he needs them to die a mayor and great, clean guy.[09:09] Dr. Katrina Furey: Right. And Reese kept basically being like, okay, Joe, this is the last time I need you to do this. Plant Simon's ear on someone. Just anyone. I don't care who it is, but plant it on someone, and I promise that's it. And then you'll be left let out scot free. I can become mayor all as well in the world. And he kept saying, like, we're doing this to do good. We're killing to do good, which I feel like just spoke to Joe's inner views of himself. Yeah, it was fascinating.[09:41] Portia Pendleton: So he kind of decides to frame Connie at first, and he meets with him, and then Connie appeals right to this ego of Joe that Connie is like, you know, you make me want to change. I'm going to go to rehab. Really just seeing everything, like, you've made me into this better person. And then Joe is, of course, his narcissistic traits being like, oh, I'm helping him so much, and I've impacted his life, so he chooses not to. Connie and again, reminded me of when.[10:15] Dr. Katrina Furey: We were talking about PTSD back in our shrinking episodes. I think it was episode nine, like the fight, flight freeze or fawn response. This is an example. Connie's not doing it on purpose. Right. He doesn't know Joe's trying to frame him. But of like, that fawn response, which we've seen in the show before, mostly when people are locked in cages and really afraid they're going to die. So, yeah, here it is again.[10:35] Portia Pendleton: And it seems like that one does really work on Joe. If he feels like it's genuine, it is. Connie wants to make a change. So Reese wants Joe to kill Kate's father or find out what he has on him.[10:53] Dr. Katrina Furey: That part got a little confusing to me, but it sounds like I was like, oh, is Tom Lockwood running for mayor too? Is that his opponent, or does he have something on him?[11:02] Portia Pendleton: Or is Reese's, one of his policies, going to damage something of Lockwood's business who's super powerful?[11:10] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah. So somehow it became like that was Joe's final act of service to Reese, was going to be to kill Tom Lockwood.[11:19] Portia Pendleton: So he brings him into his office at school, and remember, there's the tarp down on the floor.[11:24] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yes.[11:24] Portia Pendleton: And I'm just like, this is so obvious, especially, I feel like, in Lockwood's world. And he knows. He calls him Joe, first of all, at that lunch when he takes the bathroom, he knows who Joe is, I believe, and knows what he's capable of. And so he's like, oh, why is there a tarp on the floor? And she's like, oh, you know, there's 3 miles.[11:45] Dr. Katrina Furey: He's like, okay. You could give the sense also like, hey, what's up, Greg Canier? Nice to see you.[11:51] Portia Pendleton: He did a really good job in.[11:52] Dr. Katrina Furey: This role, but you got the sense, like, Joe felt uncomfortable around him because what he was doing was predictable to Tom Lockwood. Tom Lockwood was like, a step ahead almost every step of the way.[12:06] Portia Pendleton: And Joe is not used to that.[12:07] Dr. Katrina Furey: He's not used to that, and it really throws him off his game. And then I don't know when we start talking about the major twist, but at some point I started wondering, is this happening at all? Like, what parts of this actually happened? What parts of it are delusion that we're kind of seeing play out? Right.[12:26] Portia Pendleton: Yeah. That's interesting to kind of think, like, hindsight wise.[12:29] Dr. Katrina Furey: Yeah.[12:29] Portia Pendleton: Because Lockwood convinces, at that moment, Joe to kill Reese.[12:35] Dr. Katrina Furey: Reese. Right. And before we get into that, we have to talk about the blonde lady. Yes. Remember in our last episode, I was like, we were so blonde lady. Like, why do they keep showing her? Is it Reese's? Mom.[12:49] Portia Pendleton: What does she have to do? Is it someone from Joe's past?[12:53] Dr. Katrina Furey: My God, Porsche. Can I tell you how titillated I was when that became a whole storyline?[12:58] Portia Pendleton: I was like, oh, my God. And it was like a Rotomania everywhere. It was all over the headlines. And I was like, from you to you to boop.[13:05] Dr. Katrina Furey: Oh, my God. I was like, this is the you I love.[13:09] Portia Pendleton: Finally, it's back.[13:10] Dr. Katrina Furey: So basically, it turned out don who's like this server or waitress as Sundry.[13:16] Portia Pendleton: Gets hired for that event.[13:18] Dr. Katrina Furey: For that event. She's been seen in the earlier episodes as, like, a paparazzi photographer. She was in the very first episode following Joe at the art show in.[13:29] Portia Pendleton: London, which didn't really make sense.[13:30] Dr. Katrina Furey: That didn't make me quite on there.[13:32] Portia Pendleton: Because he had not met at that crew. Yeah, that crew.[13:36] Dr. Katrina Furey: Right.[13:37] Portia Pendleton: I don't know. Maybe we're missing something.[13:38] Dr. Katrina Furey: Maybe.[13:39] Portia Pendleton: I know.[13:39] Dr. Katrina Furey: I feel like I want to rewatch it now, like, with a fine tooth comb. Kind of like, I'm rewatching Vanderpump rule since the scandal broke. But anyway, so finally it turns out she's like, oh, Lady Phoebe, security…

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Episode 10 - "Shrinking" Episodes 4-6 (Part 2) Mar 13, 2023

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Welcome back to Analyze Scripts, where a psychiatrist and a therapist analyze what Hollywood gets right and wrong about mental health. Today, Portia and Katrina continue exploring "Shrinking" episodes 4-6 on AppleTV+. We decided to split this analysis into two parts because HARRISON. FORD. GETS. STONED, which deserves all the attention it can get! We discuss turning on Liz when she emotionally blackmails her son and being shocked when Gaby hooks up with Jimmy! UGH WHO IS WATCHING OUT FOR ALICE?! We hope you enjoy!Analyze Scripts Instagram Analyze Scripts TikTok Analyze Scripts Website [00:17] Portia Pendleton & Dr. Katrina Furey: Welcome back to kind of, I guess, part two of Shrinking, episodes four through six. Turns out there's a lot of content cover. Yeah, we wanted to kind of break it up a little bit to give listeners a little break and not make like a two hour episode. So I'm Portia Pendleton. I'm a licensed clinical social worker, and I'm here with Dr. Katrina Fury, a psychiatrist. And we're breaking down. Currently, the show shrinking on Apple TV. Plus last episode, if you didn't listen to part one of this, we are talking about or we spent a lot of time talking about Sean PTSD. Again, kind of inappropriate boundaries. We talk about OCD and the kiss or the attempted kiss between Wally and Jimmy, his patient. So I think we're just kind of going to move right into more thoughts and feelings about these episodes. It's kind of funny because these episodes are like 30 minutes long. So I kept thinking, like, gosh, I don't know if you're going to fill the time. And then turns out it's so rich. There's so much to talk about. So where do we start? I think you wanted to spend a little bit of time talking about marijuana. Oh, my God. Cannabis. Seeing Harrison Ford, like, high as a kite, I felt like we needed a whole episode just about that. I mean, I really didn't see that coming. I was surprised that Liz was the one who had these gummies. And I'm also, like, not surprised, but also not surprised. Right. They are in Pasadena, and Liz seems like kind of bored. Yeah. But I loved that she was like I don't know exactly what she said, but she was like, my yoga teacher's cousin got these from their nephew who said this has, like, totally been proven scientifically to help, and it cured him. And I have to say, as a psychiatrist, I get so many questions about CBD gummies, cannabis, marijuana. And of course I do, because it's everywhere right now. It's being legalized and everything like that. So of course people have questions. But I just loved that that's where she got it, because I just feel like that's always what I hear. Well, I got it from this person who got from that person who got from this person who said it helped their dog. I hear that a lot about diets of work. Like, oh, my hairdresser aunt did this diet and it cured her of this. And it's just like, what? Yeah, well, it probably won't work for you for these reasons. Why? Right. Again, knowing that you treat a lot of patients who struggle with eating disorders, that makes a lot of sense. So, yeah, I mean, what did you think about I wanted more. I feel like I just loved when he kind of showed up and she is removing his sunglasses and he's like, oh, wow, it's so much better. He has cotton mouth. His mouth is really dry. So to sort of rewind a little bit and set the stage. So eventually, the lawyer, whoops brian. Brian decides to propose finally sounds like he's really been hesitating about commitment. And he had that touching, like, faux therapy session with Gabby, which I thought was nice, but also kind of predictable. It wasn't earth shattering, but it was nice. And so he finally wants to propose. So he plans his party to invite his partner over. He's, like, super nervous. He's buzzing around it's. At Jimmy's house. Jimmy was really hesitant about the party, I think. Right. A lot of stuff was coming up for him, like, pre party that I think he should have maybe been really forceful with a no. Like, I want to host this. Right. Again. Boundaries, Jimmy. But it sounds like he and his wife used to throw parties, and this was the first party he was throwing since she passed. And that maybe that fight they were sort of flashing back to was happening around a party or something. And he started we again start to see that their relationship wasn't perfect. When the wife died, they were fighting. She seemed kind of unhappy, and he was really struggling with that. So they're having the party. Initially, Paul is like, I can't come. I'm busy being alone. He doesn't want to go, which, again, kind of inappropriate boundary when you're, like, the boss of all these people. And then he shows up high as a kite. And I think he took the gummy because he'd told his daughter about his Parkinson's diagnosis, and she was about to fly out, and he was feeling really nervous and for his character. Right. Paul is so a little bit kind of tightly wound. I feel like he's very cautious by the book. It seemed like it was just, like, super impulsive, kind of like an effort moment. Do it. And then it was like and they took a couple more. Yeah. And then all of a sudden, he shows up at the door, and everyone's like, oh, my God, you're here. And he's got this funny little hat on his glasses, and he's like, you poisoned me. He's, like, pointing at Liz. He's like you poisoned me. I was like, God, I hope he didn't drive there. Maybe he got an Uber. Well, it seems like he's not driving right now. Hopefully he didn't impair. And then just like, the banter when Liz is like, I took one too, and we need Popsicles. And then her husband is like, which ones? And she's like, the special ones, apparently, for when their mouths are dry, when they're hot. Oh, I didn't catch that. And he was like, okay, I guess I'll go get them. It's so funny. Oh, my God. And then my favorite part was when the proposal goes awry, because Jimmy's supposed to play you are so beautiful, and they start throwing up every projectile again. I cannot tolerate seeing puke like that. And I was like, gagging to myself while laughing, while being like, it was so funny. This episode was so good. Like, from an entertainment perspective and also from a psychology perspective, I thought there were some really nice moments. Like, I thought Gabby and Liz's relationship going. They had like a repair. They both kind of owned their lie or their kind of mean spirited comment. And then they got really close and we're connecting. I thought there was a nice moment between Gabby and Jimmy when she shows him the picture of yes. His wife looking at him. But as soon as she came in that bedroom, I think you blocked that out. I did block it out. You're just remembering it right now. Oh my gosh. I was so I knew it was going to happen. I know. As soon as she came in, I just knew they were going to make out. I can't believe I know. I totally blocked it out. I did, because it's painful. I was disappointed about the trauma. I was so disappointed because I thought it was such a beautiful moment. And I think you seems like you picked it up like a couple of seconds before maybe like 2 seconds before they did it. I was like, oh no. Yeah, you can feel the tension. There was maybe music. I was just like, I know. Oh my God, it was so nice. I wish they had just left it at that hug. Right? Give each other a hug. Pat on the back, go your bed. Right? But I think she was drunk and she was saying, Remember partner? And she was like trying to get back out there, remember? And she was like, I can't get a lady *****. What do we call it? All that stuff is really funny. Oh my gosh. So Jimmy throws up everywhere. Projectile vomiting, like a lot. Too much. Don't show that. But it was so funny. And I'm always like, how do they do that? Yeah. Is there like a hose behind him that someone's like under the piano? Like funneling vomit looking liquid through? Is it like a sprinkler? I'm always so curious about Hollywood, especially. I don't think it is. Yeah, it looks like can you imagine, like, if your job was to create the vomit? No, but so he ruins the proposal and then Brian is all flustered, like, oh, forget it. Forget it. Jimmy starts singing. Brian's like, trying to sing. This isn't a duet. It's so funny. But then finally Brian and his partner outside, and the partner says yes, and that was so sweet. And then you hear Harrison Ford eating doritos. And I just died. You just think of like, hi as a kite eating doritos. Of course it's doritos. It was just so doritos amazing. It was so funny that you hear the crunch and then oh my God, I just love it. Just like the camera pans and you're like, again, because that's so out of character for paul. He would never wander outside with his turn and then just being a part of this special moment. But I thought it was kind of sweet because Brian, it turns out, is doing like the life planning for him. And in that way, he is seeing a very vulnerable side of Paul that no one else has seen. So in that way, it was kind of touching to me that now he gets to witness this really vulnerable again. We got such poor boundaries in this whole group. But I thought that was really sweet. And I feel like Paul used the gummies to begin with because he's so nervous that his daughter, now that he's finally told her, is like, flying in. She's like, we're going to go see all the specialists tomorrow. We're going to come up with a plan. She's like, really on it. And I think that's why he was hesitating, because he doesn't want to feel dependent yet. And I think that's like, again, a nice depiction of something super common when people get diagnosed with things like Parkinson's. Yeah. It totally changes the relationship. I think it just automatically launches people into caregiver roles to some degree. And so now kind of like, he's the father, he's the caregiver, but he feels so guilty because he really wasn't there. There's so much there. I think his emotions about it feel really authentic, like the hesitancy and then they're not wanting to be a burden and wanting to be close to its grands. I mean, all of that, I would say, is really spot on. Yeah. And I think Mr. Ford is doing a really nice job depicting all of that comedy. I saw online that they approached him kind of as like a lol. He'll never say yes, he did. And they said he's so great at it. He's having so much fun, his sense of humor that he is able to portray really dryly at times. I love the role. I do, too. I love it. I know. Now that you say that, I feel like I only remember him from Indiana Jones, star Wars, Fugitive. Did you ever see that movie? Oh, so good. We watched it as a kid. So good. Air Force One. Is that a movie? Like Action? For sure. But I love him in this role and he can bring that grittiness and the comedy element to it. Seems like it's perfect for him. I know. Can't picture anyone else playing. And can you imagine everyone else acting with him? Like they are just like over the moon, right? All right, portia. Well, we don't have sponsors or anything like that yet, but maybe someday we will. And if we did, this is where they would go. So what kind of sponsor would you like to see? I think really anything that is like I want to use, like spindrift, sparkling water. I would love for that to sponsor us. You love that you have them all the time. All the time. So what else would I like? I feel like I don't wear a lot of makeup daily, but I am like a makeup. Get ready with me, girly. I love watching that stuff. So any makeup brand want to send me something? Even though you can't see us, that maybe is problematic. What else? Again, on the delusions of all grandiose delusions on our vision board is an airline with the lay flat seat. I really want to take a flight and lay down. I mean, if you're going to go big, maybe you should just do Emirates and you don't actually have to take me anywhere. We'll just lay down, go up in the air, circle around a couple of times and we can come down. But that's my ultimate sponsor dream. So this is where you'd hear a commercial. If we had them so far, we don't, but keep subscribing if you don't. I just love the whole cast. I love everyone from Liz's husband who just makes these appearances. I think he's so silly. I like Alice. I like, obviously all the therapists. Like, it's just Brian. Yeah. I think all of the casting is just so good. It's so good. It's so, so good. It's such a good show. Like, I'm really enjoying watching it, even though I am so mad at Jimmy. I'm so disappointed in him. I am so mad. We talked last time about again, how I just feel like he's hurting everyone around him with his patience, for sure, but also Alice. And we really see that continue to develop. He gets so uncomfortable and angry when she reveals that she lost her virginity to Connor, who's Liz's son. And it sounds like it was like a nice way to lose your virginity, right? Of all the ways it could possibly happen, it was consensual. They knew each other really well. They were friends. They used protection. Right. They were safe. And he just flips out. And there's a part of me that's like, dude, you don't get to be mad. You've been like Mia. Even especially within that context. Her losing her virginity in that way, I feel like is a very nice way. There is a thing from a father about her age which I could see. You never want to think about your children, but Jimmy, you were absent and she saw others, those young girls, in many different ways. You don't get to be mad at this at all. You don't also like her reaction. Remember the first scene ever those young girls in the pool who we think are like hookers and he's doing drugs and it's like, you haven't exactly like she says, or her comeback is like, well, I cleaned cocaine off the picture of Mima. Right? Like when he got mad at her for cutting school to go hang out with Sean again, it's like he's trying to be like, I'm the dad and we're going to have rules now you really have to repair first. Totally do. Not going to work. It's not going to work. And he was, like, so mad at Liz, and I'm just like, you're mad at yourself, dude. That's what it is. But you're not looking inward or like, doing any of the work. You're just acting out externalizing and hurting everyone around you. I know. Drives me nuts. Yeah. I think he apologized to Liz later, which I appreciated just for his kind of outburst about it. Again, it's funny. Like, it's funny part of the show. He's having a temper tantrum. It's funny and everything, but it just makes me, like, angry at it. Well, and then Connor keeps reaching out to Alice, and she's, like, not responding because she's so caught up with Sean. Grown man in the house. So I was just kind of like I think it's like that's, like but again, like, appropriate, like sweet. Like, they seem like they're an age apart. Like, yeah, you know, that's who she should be interested in. And now she's also just, like, setting a boundary and seems really, in some ways, like like positively mature. Right. She didn't really want to go to that party under the bridge. I love that too. That's like, such a typical high school. We're going to have a party under the bridge. We're going to be a wine cooler. I…

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Episode 9 - "Shrinking" Episodes 4-6 (Part 1) Mar 13, 2023

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Welcome back to Analyze Scripts, where a psychiatrist and a therapist analyze what Hollywood gets right and wrong about mental health. Today, we jump back into "Shrinking" (episodes 4-6) from AppleTV+. In this episode, we explore the unraveling of three therapist-patient relationships due to Jimmy's poor boundaries including a depiction of erotic transference. Ugh!! JIMMY!!!! We also analyze Sean's depiction as a Veteran struggling with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Using this character as a case study, we provide education about the clinical presentation, neurobiology, and treatment strategies for PTSD. If you or someone you love is a Veteran struggling with PTSD, please consider seeking treatment at the Veteran's Administration Hospital system. We hope you enjoy!

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Episode 8 - "Encanto" with Christina Arredondo, MD Mar 06, 2023

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Welcome back to Analyze Scripts, where a psychiatrist and a therapist analyze what Hollywood gets right and wrong about mental health. Today, we are joined by our very first guest, Christina Arredondo, MD, who completed psychiatry residency at Yale University alongside Dr. Furey. Dr. Arredondo currently works as a medical director of several opiate treatment programs and as director of Behavioral Health at a federally qualified healthcare center (FQHC) in Tucson, AZ, where she is raising three daughters amongst an extensive family unit. She provides thought-provoking insights based on personal and professional experiences as we explore themes of intergenerational trauma, displacement, and toxic familial expectations. We hope you enjoy!

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Episode 7 - "What About Bob" Feb 27, 2023

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Welcome back to Analyze Scripts, where a psychiatrist and a therapist analyze what Hollywood gets right and wrong about mental health. Today, we analyze the psychoanalytic classic "What About Bob." Bill Murray and Richard Dreyfuss portray a larger than life characters allowing for a rich discussion about the therapist-patient relationship. We discuss everything from our diagnostic impressions to our critiques about Dr. Marvin's office decor and...bizarre family puppets?!? We hope you enjoy!

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Episode 6 - "You" Season 4, Part 1 Feb 20, 2023

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Welcome back to Analyze Scripts, where a psychiatrist and a therapist analyze what Hollywoods gets right and wrong about mental health. Today, the hunter becomes prey when we revisit Joe Goldberg in "You" Season 4, Part 1 from Netflix. We wrap our heads around a new cast of disgustingly narcissistic characters while trying to figure out - who's stalking Joe? Along the way, we discuss everything from benzodiazepines to Spencer Pratt. We hope you enjoy!

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Episode 5 - "Shrinking" Part 1 (Episodes 1-3) Feb 13, 2023

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Welcome back to Analyze Scripts, where a psychiatrist and a therapist analyze what Hollywoods gets right and wrong about mental health. On this episode we are breaking down three psychologists in "Shrinking," a new show on Apple TV Plus. The characters are everything and their boundaries are questionable, but that makes for great TV, right? Listen to us discuss their grief, hijinks and water consumption. Who would you want as your therapist, Paul? Gaby? Jimmy?

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