this looks familiar ....

whether it can struggle back would not be the issue to me ...

it would be looking at it every day ..wasting my emotional energy ....

get rid of it ...

and buy smaller... they are easier to carry.. plant.. and get going.. and in a 5 year period.. will outgrow a larger transplant ... and that goes for just about any tree/conifer ....

the one to the right of it does not look like a GG ...

and finally.. two GGs should not be planted that close together.. 8 feet min ... and within about 5 years.. the rest of the bed will be lost to the GG ...

IMHO ... you can do a lot better than a GG in that spot... if interested.. we could probably name a couple hundred prime plants to fill that space .... and if you take some time to peruse down the pages of the forum.. you will see a bunch ...

all we would need to know.. is where you are.. to insure you pick good things ....

ken

No, it's a crispy critter. Agree with Ken, it's planted too close to the other which looks 100% to me a GG.

Dax

Even one will fill that bed and then some, unless sheared to remain a small spire - the "Giant" is not a dwarf cultivar. And if you shear it into a formal shape it won't be in keeping with the informality of the rest of the planting and setting.