This article contains spoilers for Shrinking S3E5.
Continuing Season 3’s theme of moving forward and all that this entails, Shrinking builds on last week’s heartbreak to focus on disruption and growth, exploring how its characters navigate change, challenge, and stepping out of their comfort zones. It’s another stellar episode, further emphasising how the show is at the top of its game.
While Liz’s (Christa Miller) trouble with Matthew (Markus Silbiger) largely takes a back seat in Episode 5, she finds some delight in watching Sean (Luke Tennie) and Marisol (Isabella Gomez). Matthew still isn’t returning her calls, despite her desperate attempts to apologise after he overheard her tell Brian (Michael Urie) she was ashamed of how she somehow raised an arsehole.
Sean’s storyline builds on last week’s fears that Marisol will notice he is no longer the man he used to be. Marisol wants him to play hooky and go to the beach, but he refuses, prioritising his business. Later, she asks him to take the night off to attend a party where Summer (Rachel Stubington) will be. He hesitates, but Alice (Lukita Maxwell), Jorge (Trey Santiago-Hudson), and Marisol eventually wear him down. Sean gives in, though he remains visibly uneasy about the plan.
In therapy, Sean’s sessions with Paul further highlight the insecurity driving his reluctance within his relationship. His worry spills over into overthinking what to wear and how to act at the warehouse party. Paul’s argument, that everyone needs to be pushed out of their comfort zone sometimes, and that anyone can tolerate anything for one night, is blunt but persuasive. Another strength of Shrinking is how well-suited its ensemble is, particularly when the group splits into smaller pairings. Luke Tennie and Harrison Ford are yet another sublime duo. The show trusts the unspoken understanding between them, and it pays off.
When the group discovers it’s $40 a head (cash only) to enter the party, they reopen the food truck to earn the money. Once they finally have enough, Sean hesitates at the last minute. He sends everyone ahead and stays behind, insisting that working Fridays feels right. His need for structure continues to hinder his relationship with Marisol. Were this any other series, it might feel tedious, but writer Sofi Selig ensures Sean’s self-sabotage feels entirely consistent with the man we know him to be.
Alice’s decision to come back for Sean is sweet. She challenges his reliance on structure as a form of avoidance, arguing that they are both people who have survived awful things. They have been hiding from the world, but she is done – and he should be too. Lukita Maxwell continues to deliver promising work this season, and Shrinking would feel her absence were the series to bid Alice farewell once she leaves for college.
Sean eventually turns up at the party, delighting Marisol as they take another step forward. It is encouraging to see the show setting up Sean’s potentially happy ending. Hopefully, this continues into Season 4. Isabella Gomez already fits into the series’ fold despite a large portion of her screentime revolving around Sean, Alice, and Summer.
Meanwhile, Maya (Sherry Cola) reveals more about herself this week after Gaby (Jessica Williams) met her at bar trivia in Episode 4. She admits that when she feels low, she mixes Xanax and Zinfandel. Gaby is quick to remind her that they are not supposed to be friends. Loneliness becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when you isolate and self-medicate, and Gaby makes it clear she will not enable that spiral. She urges Maya to call her if it happens again.
For Gaby, Paul’s retirement means she cannot stop thinking about opening her own trauma centre one day. She imagines an inpatient retreat where people can detox and take part in group therapy. However, Derek (Ted McGinley) has other ideas, pushing Gaby and Derrick (Damon Wayans Jr.) toward having a baby. Brian warns that if they do not, their friendship will dissolve within one to three years. Derrick reminds everyone that he and Gaby agreed to hold off on marriage and baby talk until January 1, 2027, a pact they have dubbed Operation Hold Your Horsies.
Derek then takes them to view a property that would be perfect for Gaby’s future trauma centre. It’s a fixer-upper, but Derrick will round up investors; they can make it happen. Gaby bristles at the “we” of it all. She later tells Liz and Brian that Derrick “we’d” her without her consent and even asks Liz to confiscate her phone in case she rings him and ends things on impulse. Gaby believes he has found a loophole to undermine Operation Hold Your Horsies. She would be correct.
An inner circle, including Paul and her mom, helps her navigate the panic. Paul tells Gaby that while Derrick comes with pros and cons, everyone knows why she is scared. He suggests her divorce left her terrified of commitment, which is why she prides herself on being fiercely independent. Her mom suggests she is waiting for permission to be happy. Paul pragmatically reminds her that no one can decide for her; you only learn whether a choice is right or wrong once you have made it.
In the end, Gaby admits to Derrick that they almost broke up that day because the trauma centre proposal threw her. She’s not ready to decide about that future yet, but she feels sure about him. To hell with the rules, he can talk about the future whenever he likes. Jessica Williams and Damon Wayans Jr. continue to make Gaby and Derrick easy to root for.
Elsewhere, Lily Rabe returns as Meg, arriving to spend the weekend with Paul. Unable to drive himself, he asks Jimmy or Brian to drive him to the airport. Jimmy drives while Brian controls the music, selecting ‘The Confrontation’ from Les Misérables. Jimmy and Brian belt it out, much to Paul’s dismay. When he asks whether they made the song up themselves, they insist they did. It’s by far the highlight of the episode.
Meg spends far more time with Jimmy than with her father. She needs family photographs from Paul’s storage unit, and Paul also wants some old notes collected while he tends to another patient. Paul suggests they go together, which, in turn, leads to a situation he may regret.
The episode circles back to Jimmy’s struggle with Alice’s upcoming departure to Wesleyan University. He admits he wishes he were less attached to her, as he is finding it difficult to pretend that her leaving for college is not breaking him. Meg asks how he is coping with both that and Paul stepping back. Jimmy insists he will manage; Paul will still be around. Meg, however, reveals that she returned to convince Paul to move to Connecticut – and that he has agreed.
Jimmy takes the news far better than expected. He confides that he has tried to put himself back out there, taking Paul’s advice to heart. He tells Meg about Sofi (Cobie Smulders), noting that she is weird and makes him laugh. She feels right for him, but he cannot quite get out of his own way. What he wants, he says, is one easy romantic moment: an uncomplicated kiss to get him over the hump.
In perhaps the most predictable turn Shrinking has delivered so far, the episode ends with Meg turning up at Jimmy’s house. She tells him he deserves a thank you and kisses him. Whether this proves helpful for either of them remains to be seen – Meg is married, after all – but it would not be Shrinking if the series did not keep its characters, and its audience, on their toes.
