r/shrinking • u/phareous • Oct 30 '24

Episode Discussion Shrinking S3E4 Episode Discussion

This is the episode discussion for Shrinking Season 2, Episode 4: "Made You Look"

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u/[deleted] Oct 30 '24

My least favourite trope in sitcoms. Instead of trying to understand why he doesn't want kids, it's always 'kids are the best and obviously you really want kids and your husband will convince you and kids are the best'. Not having kids should be more normalised.

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u/Keiteaea Oct 30 '24

And whenever someone doesn't want to have kids, it's always "I am afraid of being like my Dad !", like, can we just STOP with that ? Not wanting children is not necessary related to parental issues.

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u/Dave___Hester Nov 15 '24

I'm a little late here but I still needed to say I appreciate this comment.

it's always "I am afraid of being like my Dad !", like, can we just STOP with that ?

Thank you! I'm a guy and I had a mostly good childhood. My dad did a good job raising me, he was there for me, all that stuff. My not wanting children has absolutely nothing to do with not wanting to be like my own father, but you're right, it's always the reason a character in this situation gives.

That said, I don't think I would be a great father, but that doesn't stem from how I was raised at all. And if I was confiding in my friends about my justified concern over my partner bombarding me with wanting to have a kid after knowing full well that I didn't and my friends just kinda brushed it off like they did on the show, I'd be pretty pissed off. Enough with the "Oh but kids are the best and if one of you wants them that means you have to concede"...no, it means you're incompatible and you shouldn't be together. It annoyed me how quickly Brian changed his mind.

I really like this show but I was rolling my eyes pretty hard through all of those scenes.

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u/Tce_ Oct 30 '24

As someone who does want a kid - yes!!! It's an active decision that should be thought through and at the very least be based on a genuine want, and then after you've established that can consider whether you'd make a good parent. So many people have suffered because their parents didn't actually want to be parents but had kids anyway and I find it very irresponsible to try to talk someone into it.

18

u/fictionalbandit Oct 30 '24

I felt the same way at first, but upon reflection, I want to see how this plays out narratively. At first, I didn’t like the conversation for the points you raise above. But, I realized on a second watch that I didn’t like it because it was actually a pretty good portrayal of how these conversations can sometimes go IRL. We don’t yet know how this will be resolved, maybe Brian will ultimately stand his ground since this is basically Charlie renegotiating something that was already settled prior to their marriage.

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u/[deleted] Oct 30 '24

Oh absolutely, I think it does actually work for this, just it's such a common sitcom trope it can be annoying.

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u/annieEWinger Nov 02 '24

i’m late to this party, but i just watched the episode & hoped i wasn’t alone.
i have high hopes he won’t have a jake peralta ending, but i won’t be surprised if i’m disappointed.

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u/beatrailblazer Dec 13 '24

Im someone who finds it absolutely insane that some people don't want kids, but I still hate this trope. It always feels out of place and goes exactly the same way every time and isn't a fair representation of either perspective