Shrink

Shrink is the second episode of Chapters.' first season. Written and directed by Mike Barkhoff, it stars himself and Ashtun O'Rourke as a successful film star and a therapist, respectively, as the film star vents to his therapist about wrongful sexual allegations, but she refuses to believe he is innocent. The film was made in response to the overwhelming amount of allegations made during the 2018 MeToo movement. As Barkhoff explained "It's not me saying they're innocent. It's just me saying that we don't know."

Production
Barkhoff admitted that he was "extremely nervous" for the public to see the episode.

It remains one of Chapters.' few episodes with a political theme.

Plot
A filmmaker meets his therapist to discuss recent sexual assault allegations made towards him. He tries to suggest they are lies, but the therapist shows doubt towards believing him. The therapist ultimately suggests he kill himself and chooses to believe that he is a rapist.

Trivia
- Barkhoff conceived the idea after reading about all of the Me Too movement allegations and feeling as if someone were unwarranted to reach the conclusions they did due to lack of evidence.

Continuity
- The same Ford Taurus is used that was shown in the Pilot episode. This clues the twist of "The Typewriter", that two characters used the same car.

Reception
The episode has been met with positive reviews, with many positively reviewing the concept in the episode and the political nature without it being overt. Many have considered it a topic not discussed about enough.