Wednesdays mean new episodes of Shrinking season 2. Yay! We're back with more of the comedy drama on Apple TV+. This week's episode was a really good one, and I'm excited to jump right into things. Here's our recap and review of Shrinking season 2 episode 3, "Psychological Something-ism." SPOILERS BELOW.
Alright, so it seems like the Grace storyline has been wrapped up now. Jimmy first tries to get Donny to drop the charges against his wife, but he's as unpleasant as ever and refuses to. Though because of the history of abuse and his multiple felonies, the state has decided not to press charges as they feel like they don't have a strong enough case. Hooray! This is amazing news. However, Grace is not happy and that's because of the guilt she feels for pushing Donny off a cliff and not getting punished for it
At first, she decides to go back to him. And I was like, no! You can't! Thankfully, Brian comes to the rescue with statements from her friends they were going to use in court if needed. Getting strength from her friends, as well as her sister, is finally the last step Grace needs to move on from her abusive husband. Phew. Sigh of relief. I was so nervous she wasn't going to get herself away from him and hopefully get that divorce. She decides to move back to Vancouver with her sister.
Overall, Jimmy is not doing too great in the friendship department. Gaby is still very mad at him, as she should be, after their big fight at the end of season 2 episode 2. Their mutual friends have even "sided" with Gaby in a way, and he's not allowed to come over and hang out with everyone because of it. There's also Brian this time. He's angry at Jimmy for not telling him he was hooking up with Gaby.
And while Jimmy doesn't think too much of it at first, there's a deeper hurt there for Brian. He feels like he and Jimmy's friendship has drifted in the last few years, and he had actually grown closer to Tia before her death. He's afraid he's losing his friend. Jimmy is not as understanding at first, and even gets a slap to the face from Brian.
This was a serious moment, but I'm sorry. I couldn't help but laugh. Sometimes I just want to shake Jimmy to make him see reason. A shake, or I guess in this case a slap, will do the trick. It's really heartwarming that like how Tia would go to Brian and Charlie's home for dinner on Wednesdays, Jimmy shows up and decides to start a new tradition with his friend. Well, at least that's one friendship fixed.
Speaking of friendships, things are about to get complicated between Sean and Liz. Coincidentally, Sean's dad comes across the food truck and at first thinks he's just working there and is not impressed. However when he learns Sean is the owner of the food truck, he becomes proud. Truly father of the year material over hear. I was rolling my eyes at this man so hard. Liz overhears his dad wistfully say that he always thought he and Sean would do something like this together because he's the one who taught his son how to cook.
Thinking she's helping, Liz decides to sell her share of the food truck business to Sean's dad so they could live out that dream together. But Sean is not happy at all. I mean, I know Liz was trying to do the right thing and it came from a good place. Though honestly girl. First, did you not pick up on the fact that Sean's dad is not the most supportive? And second, why would you do something so drastic without asking first.
Which Sean points out. However, his reaction was definitely too dramatic. Look, he's hurt and lashing out. But his response to all of this was a bit much in my opinion. I know the show wanted to add tension to this friendship. But, I don't know. It felt like Sean overreacted here.
Finally, we get to Paul and Alice. Paul and Julie's relationship is becoming really sweet actually. He decides to visit her husband, who has dementia, with her to meet him. This was sweet in a way, but also a bit weird. I don't know. That might just be me. Paul decides to get a new doctor so that Julie can just be his girlfriend, and not the person taking care of him. Alice shows Paul the letter she wrote to the drunk driver who was the reason behind her mother's car crash, and she tells him she went to his house. And he warns her not to speak with him. She's not emotionally ready yet.
Of course it's too tempting not to, and Alice doesn't listen. And boy. I'm sure she's going to regret this decision. Drunk driver tries to apologize and is sincere, but no matter what he says it's not going to be enough. And like Paul said. At this point, Alice is not ready to confront him. She flips out and starts shouting at him in the coffee shop where he works. She drops some kind of book when she stormed out.
And here comes the part where I was shouting "nooo!" at my screen. Through the hurt and anger, it's clear Alice needs to feel something. Conner is conveniently there, and she asks him to kiss her. I know Alice is really vulnerable and hurt right now, but this is not going to be good for her and her friend Summer, who is dating Conner. Oh no!
Shrinking season 2 episode 3 clearly focused on the theme of friendships. Brian and Jimmy's was able to be mended, and we even saw how close Summer and Alice are, with Summer being truly supportive of her friend. However, new tensions have arisen and will rise I'm sure in the next episode especially with the Alice and Conner cliffhanger. Overall I think the third episode of the season was a strong one, and I like the mix of drama and humor that the show does so well. Episode grade level: B.
Shrinking season 2 releases new episodes Wednesdays on Apple TV+. Follow along on Show Snob for weekly reviews and recaps of the series!