Shrinking Recap: Trending Upward

Halfway through this week’s episode, Paul drops a bit of wisdom that speaks to one of the show’s key themes. “Fucked-up people are good at helping fucked-up people,” he says. “I mean, look at us.” In this instance, the idea applies to two principal characters: Sean, whose military buddy Jorge needs him right now, and Jimmy’s patient Dan, who only opened up to Jimmy once Jimmy opened up about his own issues. But really, it could apply to pretty much everyone on Shrinking because pretty much everyone on this show is fucked up. Aren’t we all?

As always, the lesson doesn’t totally apply in the context of professional treatment. But on a basic level, shared experience frequently leads to increased empathy, and people often feel safer sharing what they’re going through when they don’t feel alone in those feelings. That’s a core idea in “Get in the Sea.”

Brian is the one who most obviously needs help in this episode, and unlike Liz, he’s never one to hide it. Stuart came to him and Charlie today with the news that they could have a baby by tomorrow night, a possibility that feels understandably overwhelming. I mean, Brian wasn’t even sure he wanted a kid until a month ago, if that! He longs for the built-in nine-month prep period.

Derrick, who’s on his third attempt at a first date with Gaby, suggests that Brian gather people he trusts and “get in the sea about it” to solve his issue. The still-present Dan offers his assistance here again by asking how Charlie feels. At that point, Charlie reveals that he’s just as terrified as Brian and that he’s just been putting on a brave face. I’m happy with their choice to wait until they’re really ready, though Charlie is still a bit of an enigma to me. Brian should really try to get better at talking to his husband when he’s troubled.

The gag of Dan showing up at almost every new location is a funny one, and overall the story of this man spending a day out of his comfort zone works pretty well. There’s a concrete goal to work toward this time: He really wants to attend his best buddy Stan’s wedding tomorrow but just doesn’t know how he can bear to sit alone at a table of strangers. (The day before is a little late to be deciding on this, isn’t it?) Jimmy’s exposure therapy begins with eating pancakes at a communal table, but it quickly turns into just bringing Dan around everywhere while Jimmy works on problems with his family and friends.

I’m still a little skeptical of the show’s shift toward largely supporting Jimmy’s unorthodox methods, especially after everything that happened with Grace. Here, too, it feels possible that Jimmy is screwing up; he cancels another appointment to spend the day with Dan, and he makes it too much about himself, bragging about his hot streak so that Dan’s progress becomes more about pleasing his therapist than actually improving himself. But it seems like their work together that day works anyway. By the end of the episode, Dan is no longer so anxious about going to the wedding, and he even reluctantly accepts Jimmy’s hug.

It seems Jimmy has been doing well lately, especially when it comes to parenting Alice. The conflict between her and Summer is escalating, with Summer posting an extremely catchy song on TikTok calling her best friend a “cheater bitch.” It leads to a physical fight that ends in both girls’ one-day suspension, but Jimmy efficiently helps Alice remember that Summer is hurting right now. Summer specifically told Alice that Connor was the best thing that had happened to her for a while, but Alice slept with him anyway. She needs to acknowledge that betrayal.

The scene when the two girls make up is nice, but the episode saves with the biggest Alice-and-Jimmy development for the end: Jimmy spots his daughter at a restaurant with Brian and Louis, seemingly only minutes after they agreed to tell him they’ve been hanging out. It’s a thrilling cliffhanger, especially because Jimmy has been so stable lately, only really falling apart the first time he saw Louis in his office. What could this do to him?

Liz is already in the process of fully unraveling, though she’s in denial about it. She’s continuing to hang out with her ex, Mac, because he listens to her and flatters her, something that she’s not getting so much from Derek these days. When she runs into Paul during one of these hangouts, she overcompensates by following him and downplaying what it all means. Hanging out with Mac isn’t inherently suspicious, but her over-explaining certainly is.

At the microbrewery, Mac mounts a full-court press, presenting Liz’s hung-up dog photos and telling her how cool and funny and talented she is. She’s powerless to his charms, and when he makes a move, she kisses him back (for longer than a second and a half, mind you). Liz cuts it off before it can go further, and from there, she’s off to meet Paul for the park-bench therapy session he originally had scheduled with Alice.

There’s no long, drawn-out internal struggle about whether Liz should keep this secret from Derek. Paul suggests she’ll be tortured by this if she doesn’t come clean, so she does. That final scene between Liz and Derek is a tough one to watch; he’s right to be upset, especially knowing it’s Mac of all people. Liz knew what she was getting into from the beginning by hanging out with her ex. It’s valid not to feel heard or understood by your husband, but acting out in this way is the worst way to respond to that feeling.

In a cast of hurt people, Derek is the most happy-go-lucky, the least encumbered by demons and insecurity. Perhaps being around somebody with such a positive outlook on life can be stifling in its own way; Dan is far from the only character in this episode to prove that there can be a strange comfort in knowing everyone else is miserable, too.

Progress Notes

• Cheater, cheater, cheater, cheater, cheater, biiiiitch.

• Jimmy gets very insecure about where he lands in Gaby’s sex-partner rankings when it comes to hotness, which probably comes from his own ego more than any real jealousy of Gaby and Derrick’s budding relationship.

• Speaking of which, I’m liking Derrick! Damon Wayans Jr. is a very natural fit in this ensemble. I also can’t get enough of Paul and Ray’s friendship — they really are Statler and Waldorf.

• “Not sure what your deal is, Keisha, but you should probably patch things up with your dad.”

• Great delivery from Mike Nelson when Dan attempts to make small talk about his breakfast: “These are pancakes, and I got them. Yeah, it’s fucking insane.”

• “I’m sorry to interrupt what I can only assume is a camel-toe intervention.”

• “I’ll get you a list of other therapists. It’s nothing personal. I do it for all of Jimmy’s patients.” This is a funny line, but also a bit of realism I appreciate.

• We don’t actually get to the Jorge hangout, so maybe we’ll see that next week.