I Watched The First Episode Of Gwyneth Paltrow's "The Goop Lab" To See What It's All About

The One Where Gwyneth Paltrow Sends Her Staffers to Jamaica to Do Shrooms

Gwyneth Paltrow has a new show on Netflix, and it is unfortunately not a television version of Shakespeare in Love.

The Bedford Falls Company

It is something called The Goop Lab, in which she shows the world the inner workings of Goop, the wellness brand she founded in 2008.

Netflix

You know, the brand behind the controversial $65 jade egg.

Anyway, this show seems as wild as a vagina candle, so I thought I'd watch the first episode to see what the deal is.

Netflix

The intro starts with Gwyneth saying, “My calling is something else besides making out with Matt Damon onscreen or whatever," which, for the record, did not happen in either of the movies they were both in. But that's neither here nor there.

Netflix and Gwyneth told me I could watch the episodes in any order, but I like to play by the rules, so I started with Episode 1, called "The Healing Trip." Here's the synopsis:

Netflix

"Flying to Jamaica to take magic mushrooms and experience psychedelic psychotherapy, the goopers laugh, cry, and release a gamut of intense emotions."

It features the following disclaimer:

Netflix

The point of the show seems to be to try unconventional (aka not FDA approved) healing methods like magic mushrooms to help with different wellness issues. This episode focuses on psychedelic psychotherapy with the use of psychedelic drugs like MDMA, LSD, and psilocybin (magic mushrooms).

Netflix

Four goopers (Elise, Kevin, Renee, and Jenny) are chosen to go to Jamaica to try psilocybin in a "ceremonial" setting rather than a clinical one.

Netflix

Gwyneth herself does not go, but mentions that she did once try psychedelic drugs on a trip to Mexico.

The episode cuts back and forth between the trip to Jamaica and a discussion on psychedelics between Gwyneth, Elise, and two guest experts: Mark Haden, executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association of Psychedelic Studies, and psychiatrist Will Siu.

Netflix

There is not a doctor present while the goopers drink mushroom tea in Jamaica.

In Jamaica, the goopers express what they hope to get out of the experience.

Netflix

They are also told the only rules: "The only thing we don’t do is get sexual with each other, and we don’t take our clothes off, but other than that anything goes."

And then we're off! The goopers drink some shroom tea and things immediately get trippy. Elise says she feels like she's in a birth canal and needs to lie down.

Netflix

Important to note: Richard, Sasha, and Gillian — who are the facilitators meant to guide the goopers through their trip — also drink shroom tea, which means that as far as I can see, there isn't a sober person around.

Back at the Goop office, Mark and Will explain how psychedelic psychotherapy differs from regular therapy because it accesses the subconscious "trauma tapes" that a person might have repressed.

Netflix

Gwyneth asks about the risks of psychotic breaks when trying psychedelics for the first time, but Mark reassures her (and us) that "periodically distressing experiences are not bad experiences," whatever that means.

Meanwhile, things have taken a turn in Jamaica. The goopers are at the height of their mushroom high, and Jenny and Kevin are both sobbing uncontrollably.

Netflix

We also get to hear from a few non-goopers who have tried psychedelic psychotherapy and found it very helpful. Estalyn and Jon both tried it in clinical trials, and Naima has been taking mushroom microdoses for six years.

Netflix

All three of their testimonials seem entirely unrelated to what the goopers are doing in Jamaica, but what do I know?

Then Mark says something that is confusing to me, since it implies that anyone trying psychedelics should do it in a controlled environment and under therapist supervision, which is not what is happening in Jamaica.

Netflix

Gwyneth and Elise also have this perfect exchange:

Netflix

To be fair, Elise is talking about others' perception of Gwyn, not necessarily her own.

And finally, Kevin (who is actually Gwyneth's assistant) sits down with his boss to discuss how much he loved his time in Jamaica and how healing the trip was.

Netflix

Do we think this is Gwyn's real office? It seems weird to me that she'd have something as normal as a pencil mug.

And that's it! That's the first episode of The Goop Lab. It feels like I just watched a 35-minute informercial for shrooms. If you were hoping we'd get to see Gwyn do some, this is sadly not the place.