Shrinking ends season two with an earned sweetness

And so we arrive at our final episode of Shrinking’s solid second season. I worried at the start of this sophomore outing that the show’s creators had opted for levity rather than embracing the darker undertones of its central premise (mostly since last season’s cliffhanger revealed that Jimmy’s unorthodox therapeutic strategies bordered on the clinically dangerous). There’s no denying Shrinking often leans on the sunnier side of what it means to do therapy (often even flouting the very ethical boundaries on which good work in that space depends). But season two, particularly with its addition of Louis (Brett Goldstein), a.k.a. the guy whose drunk driving killed Jimmy’s wife, was an intriguing gamble that, yes, given the final moments of “The Last Thanksgiving,” feels like it paid off quite handsomely. 

But before I get to talking about Jimmy (Jason Segel) and Louis sitting on a train-station bench, I have to go around and follow the episode’s lead (namely Gabby’s mom’s Thanksgiving tradition) and give thanks for all Shrinking offered us this finale.

I am thankful for…Paul thawing.  

Listen, I love watching Harrison Ford go full curmudgeon as Jimmy’s begrudging mentor. But watching him slowly open up (by having Julie move in with him, making a friend in his former patient Raymond, and just being more cognizant of how much help and support he’ll need when his Parkinson’s continues to get worse) has been a joy this season. And it’s there where the episode kicks off, with him helping Jimmy figure out how to get back on Alice’s good graces—and not, as he’d toyed with, flirt with his old drinking habits. 

Of course, Paul has the right thing to say to Jimmy: He needs to be honest with Alice about why he’d asked Louis to stay out of both of their lives. “It’s the act of revelation that’s healing,” Paul tells him, in a line many of us should keep handy on any given day.

That’s not at all what Jimmy wants to hear but it’s everything he needs to hear. And that honesty is eventually what gets him talking with Alice again at which point she proves to be quite mature about it all. (In this Shrinking is unmatched in our current TV landscape: Sitcom plots often require needless and endless misunderstandings that depend on people not wanting to be the bigger person… but that’s never the case here where everyone is eager to be the bigger and better person). Hearing Jimmy say “I’m sorry I’m not better” was both touching and inspiring—especially since we then got to hear of all the ways Jimmy has indeed shown up for Alice. He could be better but he’s really been quite good. And that’s why Alice finally tells her dad she understands why what she was asking of him (to be kind to Louis, to treat him with the same openness with which he treats his patients and any person that comes his way) was perhaps too much. 

I am thankful for…Sean thriving. 

The bulk of season one centered on Jimmy “Jimmying” Sean, his vet patient who was struggling with PTSD, not to mention anger issues and unresolved problems with his family. And while he was mostly sidelined this season (after his and Liz’s food truck took off and became a family business), it’s been lovely seeing him be so well-adjusted. It’s him who ends up giving Alice the pep talk she needs to finally see her dad’s betrayal (in, uh, not wanting to become besties or at the very least work at helping the guy who killed his wife) through Jimmy’s eyes. Their heart to heart (“real love is when you accept someone, limitations and all”) at the truck while they prep is touching and proof of how far he’s come.

I mean, he’s catering Gabby’s Thanksgiving dinner (which her mother still refuses to attend after being so hurt by the whole “I don’t want you living with me, mom” moment) and having a lovely one at his parents’ that’s as normal and uneventful as they come. Progress!

I am thankful for…Brian and Charlie’s parenthood journey… 

…and more specifically, for the Chappell Roan-scored babysitting montage we got wherein Liz got to help the two would-be-daddies find the help they need. It’s as funny a sequence as this entire season has gifted us. Of course, even when they find the right fit, there’s a wrinkle: Their perfect nanny can’t do Mondays or Fridays. 

Enter Liz. Or rather, enter Derek, since he talks to the boys separately and offers them a brilliant idea: Why don’t they get Liz to help on those days? It’ll be a win-win. The boys get the help they need, and the gig helps get Liz out of her funk (though hey, she’s now at peace polishing rocks and having tender convos with Jimmy, whom she gifts a rock to finally!). Of course, both of them botch the plan (don’t let Liz know this was all planned!) but still get the mom-at-heart (even if she can’t stand her grown-up boys too much) to agree. 

I’m thankful for…Gabby’s growth. 

Or her commitment to growth. She’s still clearly nursing her wounds from the relationship that could’ve been with Derek. And even as she tries mending things by inviting him to Thanksgiving once more, he—again, ever the mature human—sets boundaries: If she knows she has work to do on herself, let her do that and then have her call him. It’s perfectly understandable if heartbreaking. And to her credit, she takes it in stride. Sure, she won’t have a date or a mom at her Thanksgiving dinner, but she does end up being surrounded by her found family—all of whom share beautiful things they’re thankful for. (Paul’s, of course, is the standout for even as he was kidnapped and taken to Gabby’s under “duress,” he still manages to make everyone teary-eyed with his acknowledgment of his own limitations.) 

But, of course, that couldn’t be the end of it! Derek does eventually show up, with Gabby’s mom in tow! It’s a Thanksgiving miracle. And it would’ve made this season finale so treacly had the show not led itself into a rather dark corner at the same time.

I’m thankful for…saccharine endings that feel earned. 

Because yes, there was a moment when I feared Shrinking was going to one-up its season-one finale (Grace throwing her abusive partner off a cliff while hiking) with the unimaginable (Louis throwing himself in front of a train).

And what’s fascinating is it wouldn’t have felt gratuitous. After all, Louis got to see in real time how solid progress can vanish (in this case, once his co-worker/friend finds out about his drunk driving accident and disinvites him to Thanksgiving dinner) and how those demons you’d been keeping at bay could creep right back up. His texts to Alice had gone unanswered (courtesy of Gabby’s “no phone” policy) and so…up until the moment when Jimmy showed up for Louis, I worried Shrinking had truly gone too dark even for me.

This is what healing looks like. Just two guys trying their best, sitting next to each other, knowing they could be better. That they could do better. And, more importantly, knowing how difficult that is—especially given the circumstances. But good on them for doing so one step at a time, imagining other people’s lives while waiting for the train to come.

Was it too earnest? Too saccharine? Perhaps. But also very much in line with Shrinking’s very raison-d’etre. This is a show about the difficulties that come with grappling with one’s trauma: Wouldn’t we be so lucky to have a Jimm…or an Alice…or a Gabby…or a Paul…or a Liz or a Derek or a Brian or a Charlie in our lives. If television must be aspirational, let Shrinking show us the way.

Stray observations

• • Given how much real estate Paul’s book (Moving Forward) is getting, I’m ready to have his theories on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT for short) be more readily embraced by the show’s various characters.
• • Pickleball makes a return appearance!
• • How have we never talked about Charlie’s ascots?
• • Need more Jessica Williams vs. Ashley Nicole Black on my screens. (Also, with Gabby’s new Black BFF as well as Derek, it seems the show made a concerted effort to not maroon Gabby in a sea of whiteness this season, right?)
• • Sean’s impression of Paul (solid!) leads me to believe the writers are slowly trying to get every cast member to do their best Harrison Ford impressions, which I’m not mad at.
• • “Soy estoy berenjena”; normally I’d quibble with such bad use of Spanish (it’s not just “I am eggplant” but “I am am eggplant,” what with “soy” and “estoy” being two versions of “am”), but I have to admit it’s a cute line in its absurdity. 
• • Au pair vs. babysitter? Where do we land on that?
• • Need Derek’s “FUCKBOY” hat.