A comedy drama show like Shrinking is usually bound to have some slow moments and episodes that are not too significant to the plot in the context of the whole season. Season 2 seems to be drifting that way in episode 4, as it hardly takes any of the main plot points forward and instead just takes a breather to introduce some more points and nuances to add to character depth. There is not much development with regards to Alice’s impulsive decision to kiss her best friend’s boyfriend or with the main highlight of the season, the character of Louis. Instead, Shrinking season 2 episode 4 mostly spends time with a possible new romantic interest for Gaby and a personal situation between Brian and his husband, Charlie.
Spoiler Alert
What had happened between Sean and his father?
At the end of season 2 episode 3, Liz had revealed that she had just given up her shares of the food truck business to Sean’s father, just so that he could get to live the dream of running a business together with the man. But she had no idea that Sean actually did not want such a thing to come to pass, and although he and his father had made it a personal goal to run a food truck together when he was a child, the relationship between them had changed massively in the recent years. Sean could not control his anger after learning of what his business partner had done, and he simply could not see the positive side of it or how Liz had technically tried to do something good for him. His angry outburst before walking out of Liz’s house had naturally disturbed him a lot and had also undone the days of therapy that he had been receiving for his anger management issues, and so Sean tells Jimmy about it.
Although Sean just wants to discuss the matter with Jimmy, only as a friend, the problem with such a conversation is that the man has been recently receiving his sessions from Paul, as the senior therapist had taken over his case from Jimmy. Therefore, Sean’s nonchalant and friendly chat with his neighbor and friend is actually like a strange situation of sitting down with his ex-therapist and discussing his problems with him. Jimmy does not think about it so deeply either, and he just keeps trying to comfort Sean, but the conversation starts winding towards an unwarranted space where the latter talks about his reluctance to work with his father. Jimmy senses that something big must have happened between Sean and his father in the past, because of which his relationship with the man is in such an undesirable state.
Neither of them talk about it directly though, and later in the episode, Paul directly confronts Sean about it. He asks Sean about any incident or event that broke his bond with his father, but the young man does not answer the question. However, in a later conversation with Jimmy, Sean actually opens up after Jimmy asks him about the same. The experiences that Sean had had while serving for the US Army overseas had completely broken him. When he returned to his country and his home, he was confused about what to feel and think about everything that had happened. During this time, he had told his father about these emotional difficulties, but the latter reacted to it in a very nonchalant and unserious manner. His father almost tried to make him understand that these confusions are insignificant in the larger scheme of life and that they would go away within a short while.
Essentially, Sean felt that his father had given him disregard when he needed emotional support and understanding the most. Perhaps the man had tried to comfort him in the way he knew best, and perhaps the generational gap had also had a huge role to play in this difference in opinion about mental health issues, but to Sean, this incident felt like his father emotionally abandoning him. It was after this that he presumably developed an extremely short fuse and a serious anger management problem, and so a lot of his problems actually stemmed from this very bitter incident.
Why does Paul fear the worst is still to come?
After Jimmy gets to know about the root of Sean’s frustrations, he goes and informs Paul about it, quite naturally so, since Sean is now a patient of Paul. The elderly therapist is actually quite upset about the fact that his patient had opened up to Jimmy and not to him, and feels that the protagonist should have been more careful and should have stopped Sean due to professional grounds. It is not a great look on Paul that his patient had gone off to his earlier therapist and found it more comfortable to speak about his traumatic past to this ex-therapist instead of to him. He begins to see it almost as a betrayal of trust, especially after Paul had warmly accepted the fact that Jimmy had quite honestly made a mess of Sean that would be difficult to solve. He had even consulted Jimmy and taken notes about the case, for the sake of the patient’s betterment, of course, but also because he trusted Jimmy enough as a therapist.
For a change, the characters in Shrinking do not misunderstand each other in this scenario, and Jimmy does not get too upset that his guide and mentor is now suddenly expressing jealousy against him. Instead, he takes his time to explain why stopping Sean from speaking out at the time would not have been a great idea. Ever since Liz had given up her shares to his father and he had had to work with someone with whom there were already unresolved problems, Sean had reverted to his earlier self, becoming extremely angry at a moment’s notice. One such incident takes place when Jimmy and Sean are driving home and are stopped on the way by some construction workers, one of whom makes a demeaning pass at them. Sean immediately storms out of the car and is surely about to get involved in a fistfight, but Jimmy successfully calms him down and de-escalates the situation.
It was after this incident, when they got home, that Sean finally spoke up about the real roots of his anger issues, and so it would have actually been very rude, and even wrong, to not let him speak due to professional boundaries. The young man would have ended up misunderstanding Jimmy as well, and that would create much more problems in his life. Paul understands the difficult scenario, and he finally admits that his Parkinson’s disease, which is getting worse by the day, is what has been making him doubt his credibility. He says that when someone much younger, like Jimmy, performs as a better therapist than him in some situations, Paul starts to wonder whether he is losing his only skill in life and should just stop working altogether.
Jimmy consoles his mentor, saying that he would be the very first person to tell him if he ever loses his edge, but for now, there is nobody better at understanding and helping people than Paul. Although this situation ends on a positive note, Paul admits to his daughter, Meg, who is visiting for a conference, that he fears the worst regarding Sean is yet to come. Bottled-up anger and frustration and unresolved problems between a father and son are never good things, and they often have the tendency to turn either side volatile. Although Sean is seen working with his father inside the food truck, there are moments when he zones out and cannot help but think of his complaints against the man. Similarly, the father is also seen driving by Jimmy’s house, and seeing his son with the protagonist does not necessarily leave him too pleased. Perhaps a storm is really about to come Sean’s way, and he will have to deal with family troubles next.
Does Alice confess her betrayal to Summer?
When Alice had returned home after her heated outburst against Louis, she’d found Connor in the front yard and let loose all the barriers she had built between the two of them. Although Alice did not really like Connor in a romantic way at first, she seemed to have gradually developed some feelings for him. Therefore, she went in for a kiss, and at the beginning of Shrinking episode 4, it is confirmed that the two had even spent the night together. This is particularly very troublesome for them because of the fact that Alice’s best friend, Summer, had just gotten into a relationship with Connor, that too at her insistence. Therefore, Alice knows that this is the worst betrayal that one can carry out against their best friend at their age, and she immediately struggles with the guilt of her actions.
Alice returns home sneakily and seemingly tries to stay away from her thoughts of what she had done the previous night, but the situation gets extremely difficult later on, when Summer visits her. Although Summer and Connor act like any usual couple, the boy is equally as guilty as Alice, and he even lets slip some comments about Alice’s body unmindfully. The two of them manage to avoid getting caught only because Summer is not really the sharpest tool in the shed. Although Alice does not yet tell her best friend about what had just happened between her and Connor, she might have to tell her soon enough in order to avoid any further trouble.
Does Gaby have a new romantic interest?
Gaby seems to finally have a new romantic interest in this episode, although she very consciously tries to stay away from any such thoughts. She feels that it is way too soon for her to get involved in any romantic relationship just yet, so soon after she decided to stop seeing Jimmy. However, when she meets a young man named Derrick at Liz’s house, there seems to be an instant connection between the two of them. Derrick happens to be an old colleague and friend of Derek, and he is definitely the newest introduction to the set of characters in Shrinking season 2. The man actively shows an interest in Gaby as well, and the two hang out way longer on their very first day of knowing each other than usual.
By the end of the episode, Gaby still isn’t considering any romantic relationship with Derrick just yet, as they have just become friends. Derek is very direct and straightforward in asking her to date his friend, though, and Gaby has to cite her recent failed relationship attempt with Jimmy. Either way, there is an enjoyable chemistry between Gaby and Derrick already, and it would be quite interesting to watch them together, even as friends. Gaby also receives a number of calls from her sister, Courtney, most of which she ignores because she does not really have the best sisterly relationship. While more about Gaby and her family will be revealed later on, the episode ends with Courtney informing her that their mother had just had an accident. Although Gaby rushes away from her house in order to go help her mother, this might be some false alarm raised by Courtney, only so that her sister responds to her texts and calls.
What happens when Louis comes to Jimmy’s house?
At the very end of Shrinking episode 4, Louis comes to Jimmy’s neighborhood, although not technically to his house, but to Liz’s instead. His main intention is to return Alice’s purse, which she had accidentally left at the café where he works, but the man also clearly wants to speak to the family he has wronged so much. However, none of the family members or the neighbors would have been pleased to see Louis appear at their house out of the blue, and so a real crisis is averted as Brian happens to run across Louis before he can reach the doorstep of the house.
Brian is initially irritated too, but then when Louis admits that he wants to know whether Jimmy and Alice are doing better than earlier, something seems to change in his demeanor. Brian himself had just learned the importance of understanding and basic respect between humans through his own experience with Charlie earlier in the episode. Charlie had just told him that he genuinely wants them to have a child, as he wants to be a father, and despite having reservations at first, Brian seems to accept his husband’s wish. Perhaps softened by these conversations, Brian tells Louis that Jimmy and Alice are doing better indeed, and then actually asks about his mental and emotional state. This is the very first time that anyone asked Louis how he is doing, and this small act of kindness will probably change up the dynamics. We can, for sure, expect Louis to have his first real conversation with the Baird family members soon.
