Marvelous Geeks

We’re halfway into the season, and Shrinking’s “In a Lonely Place” thoughtfully explores how profound loneliness and pain manifest in various ways. Written by Brett Goldstein and directed by Randall Keenan Winston, the episode closes the binds on one wound while leaving the door open to true healing in other areas. Progress isn’t linear nor immediate, but the commitment to forgive leads to more healthy means of coping, and that’s what we’re effectively watching unfold this season.

This week, Alice and Brian confront Louis, Jimmy and Paul talk to Sean’s father, Gaby comes to an agreement with her sister, and Liz doesn’t know how to vocalize what she’s feeling. It’s a riveting episode right from the start that makes it seem like things are good, but with six more episodes to go, we can reasonably predict that there are countless steps to take still.

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Written by Sofi Selig and directed by Zach Braff, Shrinking’s “Made You Look” highlights all the intricate ways people claim to be okay right before a tumultuous disaster hits. We’re four episodes into a twelve-episode season, and the development continues to turn over puzzle pieces that we’re meant to carefully assemble. 

Shrinking Season 2, Episode 4, “Made You Look,” is both deeply unserious and seriously terrifying at the same time. Sure, we don’t have to worry about Paul’s Parkinson’s diagnosis at this very second, but it’s still there, making its presence known and giving us that little fear that he doesn’t have it all together. No human being who’s decided they don’t want kids suddenly has a change of heart just because their partner wants it, so there’s another huge change to unpack. Alice’s mistakes will continue to unravel, and new beginnings for Gaby might either be the best thing or the worst. 

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Written by Brian Gallivan, with directing from Zach Braff, Shrinking’s third episode of the season cranks up the dial and emphasizes the importance of forgiveness through confrontations and more mistakes. 

So much of what happens in Shrinking Season 2, Episode 3, “Psychological Something-ism,” feels like it should’ve happened at the midpoint, but it’s even more compelling to see it earlier, to draw out the tension and marinate with the emotions. It packs a few meaty storylines into the thirty-minute slot, but somehow, none feels too much. Grace and Donny’s storyline is resolved, Brian and Jimmy argue over their friendship, Paul makes another big decision in his relationship with Julie, Liz and Sean’s partnership comes to an unfortunate halt, and Alice confronts Louis at his workplace. Each of these plot points, save for Grace’s (hopefully), will continue to make the season’s thematic focus on forgiveness feel that much more earned, resulting in what I imagine will be some even more jaw-dropping moments.

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Written by Annie Mebane, with directing from Randall Keenan Winston, Shrinking’s second episode of its sophomore season diligently focuses on the power of our fear and the human ability to overcome it. Interestingly, even while the premiere drops the bombshell of bringing in the drunk driver who killed Tia, the series is elongating the process of a confrontation, which will make it that much more riveting when we do get there. 

Instead, this episode rightfully focuses on Sean, and it allows us to see how he’s doing with Paul as his therapist. It’s certainly an adjustment, but it’s one that leads to great places with all the characters, showcasing how deep the thread of fear runs and why it’s important. 

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Shrinking Season 1, Episode 9, “Moving Forward,” is aptly titled as the penultimate of this arc. It’s an episode that loudly and quietly explores the perils of grief through moments that demand to be felt. While the show is far from over, with a renewal announcement that thankfully came last week, there are stepping stones here that equate to healing.

Where Derek retires, Paul makes a significant decision regarding his relationship with Meg, and Jimmy takes time to grieve again while celebrating Tia’s birthday. But the thing about grief and life and humanity is that even when all three intermingle, they do so apart from each other. One cannot exist without the other, but they don’t all work together either, setting human beings on different trajectories as they move on, taking everything day by day. In the grieving process, we’re all told that one day at a time is the best way to go, but sometimes amid that, our complexities force us to forget things. Our humanity becomes the problem, making an even bigger mess of things before we clean them up.

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If last week’s “Fifteen Minutes” was all about timed crying, then Shrinking Season 1, Episode 4, “Potatoes,” is about coming to terms with the words we can’t say aloud—the confessions that don’t come easily and the ones that do. It’s about rebuilding and rewiring and learning to understand that everyone suffers from something on the inside, no matter how okay they seem.

It’s about messing up and coming clean while revealing stubborn traits many of us carry, whether we’d like to admit it or not. Would I chew on a raw potato just to get back at someone else? No, but it’s entirely understandable and completely (albeit ridiculously) human to showcase Jimmy doing so. As much as Shrinking is a series about grief, its central theme focuses heavily on reconnecting with people, and in this episode, it’s not merely about Jimmy and Alice, but it’s about Paul and his daughter, Meg. And reconnecting or relearning how to bond with someone is seldom an effortless stunt, especially after prior complications or internal battles that people are still fighting. Through a surprising turn of events and some awkward conversations I would personally avoid like the plague with my family back when I was a teen, Shrinking’s “Potatoes” manages another winning episode.

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