The Secret Reason Why "Good Witch" Feels Emotionally Off

TL;DR It's the Botox.

For the past 3 months, my wife, Stacia, and I have been watching Good Witch (via Netflix and Amazon Prime). Stacia adores winding down to "Hallmark-y shows." We can rely on Good Witch episodes to always resolve happily. The episodes are never too intense. The height of conflict revolves around things like someone's inability to locate the perfect spot to snap a romantic photo for a new tourism brochure. I consider my time watching these shows spouse bonding time, and emotional training.

My favorite thing about watching feel-good shows with Stacia is getting to observe her facial reactions to the on-screen drama. When two people lean in for a long-anticipated kiss, Stacia tucks her knees into her chest and frowns with her forehead while lifting her chin and bottom lip. While I'm typically unable to suspend my disbelief, Stacia seems completely entranced by the various characters' emotions. Wishing I could join her in being swept away, I tried harder to lose myself in the drama by examining the actors' faces more closely—to no avail; in fact, I think I made it worse.

Some moments felt captivating. But those moments immediately gave way. Something was emotionally off about the actors. And I was determined to figure out what it was. At first, I chalked up the frequent emotional misses to a number of reasons:

• Some actors were inexperienced. 
• Other actors were overacting (too affected). 
• Others seemed to occasionally show up sick or phoning it in. 

All that made sense to me. But the one character who I couldn't figure out was Cassie Nightingale, the show's protagonist, played by 51-year-old Catherine Bell.

Cassie plays the empathetic matriarch (witch) in the show. Her purpose is to go about town, adding a touch of "magic" to everyone's lives. In those moments, when the supporting characters' eyes fill with joy, gratitude, and meaning (when they understand why they had to endure hardship and their problems are amazingly resolved), Bell produces a silent yet compassionate, knowing smile. (Cassie's trademark smile is not unlike Jeannie's "your-wish-is-my-command" arm fold and head nod from I Dream of Jeannie.) My problem was that, despite Bell's best attempts at pulling off this nuanced look, it never quite landed. I caught myself mimicking her in order to fix or perfect it somehow.

[Upload photos/video of my attempts at the "Knowing Smile".]

While listening to an audiobook called Stealing Fire, it was only this morning that I realized why Bell's smile seemed off to me. It's Botox. Bell's Botox was seizing and inhibiting Bell's facial expressions, causing her emotions to not quite hit.

Here's what the author reported after sharing Nicole Kidman's history with Botox and sharing findings from a scientific study regarding the correlation between Botox and one's capacity to feel:

Our facial expressions are hardwired into our emotions: we can’t have one without the other. Botox lessens depression because it prevents us from making sad faces. But it also dampens our connection to those around us because we feel empathy by mimicking each other’s facial expressions. With Botox, mimicry becomes impossible, so we feel almost nothing at all. ― Steven Kotler, Stealing Fire: How Silicon Valley, the Navy SEALs, and Maverick Scientists Are Revolutionizing the Way We Live and Work

This frightened me because I know that getting Botox is a norm for many stage actors, especially women, later in their careers. I suppose they do it in order for far-off audience members to continue seeing big smiles and wide eyes as the actors age. But what happens to these actors' emotional capacities off-stage. One of the reasons I married Stacia was because of her immense emotional capacity. I'm afraid that if my wife ever elected to paralyze the muscles under her skin, her emotional greatness might be muted...

Side note: I still don't know why I have trouble getting into Hallmark love stories. I do love getting sucked into some shows! But unlike my wife, I prefer action-packed, high-stakes dramas. (E.g., Breaking Bad and Sherlock.) Shows at IMAX theaters all but guarantee a captivating experience. I love feeling the rumble of the speakers in my bones and being surrounded by fellow electrified viewers—gasping in unison. I love being fully immersed in the big screen. My favorite movie-going experiences happen when my prefrontal cortex (thinking brain) numbs out and my face is (ironically) frozen in a state of shock and awe. For example, I know I've just experienced a great TV show when I must shake myself back to reality after an episode, mouth agape with incredulity. (E.g., The OA.) But hopefully, in time and with practice, my emotions will become more sensitive, just like those of my awesome wife.