Abhiroop Das
Created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, Netflix’s ‘Long Story Short’ employs a unique narrative method to tell the story of the Schwooper family, charting the journey of Avi, Shira, and Yoshi Schwooper from childhood to adulthood. The story is equally informed by the ebbs and flows in the lives of their parents, Naomi Schwartz and Elliot Cooper. Save for the first episode, the show follows a pattern of jumping between two timeframes at once. The start of an episode features a snippet from an earlier period in the family’s history, which then informs the rest of the story. The narrative uses the web of time and space to its advantage, highlighting the nuances of the various interpersonal dynamics, while also shedding light on the cyclicality of many events, and how the present informs the past as much as the past informs the present. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The 1950s: A Glimpse Into Naomi’s Past
The story begins with Naomi as a child, struggling to get attention in a house full of many bickering siblings and arguing parents. Ultimately, she resorts to hurting herself to attract all eyes in one incident, an incident that serves as the backbone to her character from hereon out. Around the same time, Naomi is at her uncle, Barry’s, house when he falls through his attic and is stuck hanging to the ceiling. Mischievous as ever, Naomi begins painting his nails, marking an era of childlike joy and innocence. While not much is shown of this period, the crumbs we do get provide insight into the upbringing of the Schwooper matriarch. Additionally, we learn that Elliot’s family settled here during these years, but it would be a while before the two characters’ paths collide.
The 1990s: The Humble Beginnings of the Schwooper Family
From the 50s, the narrative jumps several decades, with Naomi’s marriage to Elliot, as well as the birth of Avi and Shira, taking place somewhere in between. The first glimpse of the Schwooper’s lifestyle comes in 1992, with the family having fun at the beach. Yoshi has just been born, and Avi and Shira are still little children. The latter nearly loses her life after she is engulfed by a large wave, but is saved by a kind stranger. Elsewhere, Avi is bullied by his cousins, but still yearns for their friendship. In 1993, Kendra celebrates her birthday party at BJBananas, an iconic party complex, and meets an entertainer dressed as an angel, who changes the course of her life. Both these events are formative for the respective characters, and still influence their psyche in the present day.
1996 marks a pivotal point in the story, with the death of Naomi’s mother. Notably, the rituals are full of trouble as the Rabbi mixes two different families during his sermons. At the funeral, Barry earns the nickname “entitled schmuck,” but the humorous exchange ends with Naomi reminding everyone that this is an event of mourning. The show itself begins here, with the family driving to the burial ground. The rest of the 90s are largely uneventful, with the family struggling to find its footing. Avi tries to indulge them with a new card game he is interested in, but the others find it too complicated. In 1998, Yoshi is introduced to basketball despite being a young child, and we learn that Shira is friends with her neighbour, Baby.
The 2000s: The Schwooper Children Come of Age
The 2000s turn out to be an eventful decade for the Schwoopers, marked by a period of growth but contrasted by internal strife. In 2000, Barry leaves the town for Las Vegas due to some legal troubles. He calls Naomi to take some of the family heirlooms with her, but refuses to give her the one she really wants, her mother’s brooch. In 2002, a local party is dedicated to Naomi Watts owing to her rich friend circle, bringing in a lot of funds. While the matriarch enjoys her time listening to praise from all her near and dear ones, her three children all face hurdles of their own. Shira skips the prom party, which also doubles as a 9/11 memorial event, but ultimately finds the courage to go to the prom. However, there she finds Baby, who is by now her sexual partner, with another man, and the two formally end their relationship.
In 2004, Yoshi has his Bar Mitzvah, and the entire extended family is invited. Avi arrives with his girlfriend, Jen, who struggles to find her place in the family. Yoshi has a crisis of faith, and his candle lighting ceremony becomes grounds for chaos when Barry gets mad about his deceased wife not being one of the dedications in the ceremony. In 2006, Naomi and Elliot meet a psychotherapist for Yoshi, and learn that he had a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders. The following year, Kendra prepares to bag a good position at BJBananas, but is heartbroken when the path to success involves firing the very entertainer who once saved her life. Sometime near the end of the decade, Avi and Jen begin a life together, which effectively puts a stop to Jen’s career as an actor.
The 2010s: The Schwoopers Have Their Ups and Downs
The 2010s mark the transition of the Schwooper siblings into adulthood, and with that comes a new set of opportunities and challenges. In 2012, Shira has her first interaction with Kendra at the supermarket. While the two get into a fight about the waiting line at the counter, the sparks fly immediately. Sometime following this, the couple gets together. On the other hand, Yoshi struggles to land a job, with every endeavour seemingly ending in failure. Success comes knocking at his door with TAMIT tubes, a product that stores mattresses in a small tube. Yoshi becomes the company’s star salesman, nearly closing a long-term deal with a university before the product starts malfunctioning en masse, causing the company to go bust. Around this time, Danny Wegbriet becomes a truck driver, although he still maintains connections with criminals.
In 2014, Shira and Kendra decide to have a baby and approach Avi with the idea of using his sperm. The family meets at a dance performance of Avi’s young daughter, Hannah, but Shira’s suggestion triggers a fight between siblings. Ultimately, Avi refuses, causing Shira to get Yoshi’s help. In the same year, Avi meets his mother, and the two talk about Hannah and whether she will have a Jewish upbringing. Although Avi does not give a clear answer, in his heart, he wishes to avoid that. The following year, Yoshi prepares for the process and is tasked with collecting his sperm and delivering it to a facility. However, he has a chance encounter with Baby. Just then, Yoshi loses track of his bag, and the subsequent search for it takes him, as well as Baby, on a nighttime tour through the city.
Yoshi and Baby develop a connection over time and get intimate, only for him to prematurely ejaculate, which renders him unfit for the in vitro process. Angered by both her brothers’ failure to help, Shira decides to get an anonymous donor, and a few months later, she and Kendra have twins. In 2019, the family reunites for Naomi and Elliot’s 40th wedding anniversary. However, they run into problems once again, with the most startling revelation being that Yoshi has turned to Orthodox Judaism. This puts him at odds with her mother, who is coincidentally also mad at Shira for not wearing right for the occasion, and at Avi for decisions from his personal life. The latter finally reaches his burning point and confronts his mother for all the wrongs she has done over the years. The night ends on a cold note, with the family further apart than ever.
The 2020s: The Family Learns to Live With Loss
The 2020s mark a darker period in the family, with the onset of a pandemic forcing everyone indoors. Naomi contracts the novel coronavirus in 2020 and dies shortly after. Around the same time, Avi and Jen’s marriage reaches a breaking point, and the two separate. Hannah spends time with both of her parents, but this time with a pre-planned schedule. In 2021, Hannah’s school has a wolf crisis, as well as a mountain of other problems. To that end, Avi joins the local parents’ association and deepens his bond with his daughter. Around the same time, Shira and Kendra wonder which school to send their children to, and come across the Altman Academy, which requires parents to prepare a homemade dish as part of their interactive meeting. Shira visits her previous home to learn her mother’s bread roll recipe, but ultimately changes her mind about the school upon noticing that they don’t follow social distancing rules.
The inaugural season of ‘Long Story Short’ ends its narrative in the year 2022, with the family getting together once again for the funeral of Naomi’s uncle, Barry. Everyone heads to Las Vegas with their own eccentric motivations in mind, but ultimately comes together to process Naomi’s death two years prior. Hannah takes part in her first Shabbat, and following this, she shows interest in having a Bar Mitzvah in keeping with Jewish tradition. Yoshi is now a changed man, having found stability in life through his faith. Shira and Kendra are confident in their marriage and expertly juggle a professional life with raising two children. Elliot now lives in the house all by himself, with the hopes of reuniting with his family more often. With several decades of experience behind them, all the characters now stand drastically different from before, and yet, at the same time, carry their original essence.
Read More: Long Story Short Season 2: What to Expect?
