Shrinking is firing on all cylinders. Paul, Alice, Jimmy, and Liz all struggle with trying to do the right thing for others, but their lack of intuition leads to fractured relationships in Psychological Something-ism.
In Psychological Something-ism, Jimmy and Brian work together to get Grace out of prison, and Brian is fed up with Jimmy being a lousy friend. Paul meets Julie’s husband, who suffers from dementia. He fears a similar future with Julie due to Parkinson’s. Alice wants to confront the man who killed her Mom, which goes as well as Jimmy’s confrontation with the man from the season 2 premiere. The fallout from the encounter leads Alice to make a poor decision. Finally, Liz meets Sean’s father while working at Sean’s food truck. To improve the father-son relationship, Alice gives up her percentage of the ownership to Sean’s father.
Liz and Paul have good intentions but fail to ask their partners to weigh in. Alice follows her father’s self-destructive path. Brian and Jimmy are able to patch things up because, in this episode, they’re the only characters who open up about their feelings.
The dramatic moments of Psychological Something-ism are balanced by great comedic moments. One of my favorite bits is Brian giving a positive definition of narcissism and Derek giving a pep talk to Paul. The pep talk revolves around getting rid of obstacles, to which Paul questions how he should just get rid of Parkinson’s, and Derek walks off in satisfaction like he had a breakthrough.
The only element of Psychological Something-ism that fell flat is the fallout following Jimmy and Gaby’s relationship ending. Outside of a scene in the therapist lounge, there were not many meaningful Gaby moments in the episode.
Lukita Maxwell, Luke Tennie and Christa Miller are the episode MVPs. Miller’s crestfallen reaction to Sean’s outburst of anger is heartbreaking. Maxwell’s exchange with Louis (Brett Goldstein) as Alice was incredible, raw television.
There isn’t a show on TV right now that can match the combination of humor, heart and humanity in Shrinking.
Here’s a closer look at Alice, Liz and Jimmy’s storylines in Psychological Something-ism. Shrinking is streaming on Apple TV Plus.
Like Father, Like Daughter in Psychological Something-ism
Alice pens a letter to Louis. She reads the letter to Paul and tells him she knows where Louis lives. Paul urges her not to meet with Louis.
Alice proves to be a chip off the old block. She even promises in a very Jimmy-like manner that she won’t meet Louis. However, she does show up at his job, which is at a coffee shop. Louis recognizes her and tries to stammer out some kind of apology. Alice explodes at Louis and leaves the coffee shop.
She compounds her mistake by kissing Connor, the boy who has a crush on her. Connor is now dating her best friend, Summer.
Good intentions, Bad Outcomes
While working out the food truck with Liz, Sean’s father and brother accidentally stop by the food truck. Sean’s father had no idea about Sean’s new enterprise. He’s proud of Sean but taken aback. Sean’s choosing to work with Liz adds to his confusion.
When Sean was younger, it was their shared dream to open something together as father-son. Liz notices the distance between Sean and his father. After discussing it with Derek, she transfers her ownership percentage to Sean’s father. She never talks about it with Sean.
When she reveals the decision to Sean, he’s furious and storms out of her house.
Rekindling Friendships
Jimmy and Brian finally get the charges against Grace dropped. Jimmy is ecstatic over the news, while Brian is still angry with Jimmy for keeping his relationship with Gaby a secret.
Grace’s choosing to move back in with Donny forces another uncomfortable conversation between Brian and Jimmy. Brian questions whether they would really be friends if they met today. Jimmy cruelly says no, not at this moment. There’s a hilarious bit about narcissism, and Brian positions it in a positively horrible fashion to a therapist.
Eventually, they can get Grace out of the house and rekindle their friendship after Jimmy shows up for dinner at Brian’s house with his husband. Jimmy and Brian’s relationship ends on a positive note because they constantly communicate with one another throughout the episode.
Psychological Something-ism Final Thoughts
Shrinking Season 2 continues to provide equal parts comedy and feels. I love where the friendship between Jimmy and Brian started and ended in Psychological Something-ism. In the explosive scene in Liz’s house, Tennie and Miller’s performances as Sean and Liz were fantastic. I’m also curious to see the ramifications of Alice’s poor choice at the end of the episode.
The Review
Shrinking Episode 3
PROS
- Christa Miller's crestfallen reaction to Sean's anger is the best acting performance of the new season.
- The Brian and Jimmy friendship is a blast.
- Alice following her father's self destructive path is bad for her but great television.
CONS
- Not much followup to the Gaby-Jimmy relationship.
