The Ted Lasso-ing of Shrinking

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As a mental health professional with over two decades of experience, I must say that watching the evolution of “Shrinking” from its initial premise to its current state has been quite a rollercoaster ride.

The season finale of the show “Shrinking,” titled “The Last Thanksgiving,” was aired on Apple TV+ on Christmas Eve. Beware, there are spoilers below.

The central dilemma in the second season of ‘Shrinking’ centered around whether or not Jimmy (Jason Segel) would eventually forgive Louis (Brett Goldstein), the man responsible for Jimmy’s wife Tia’s (Lilan Bowden) death due to drunk driving. It wasn’t a question of if, but rather when this forgiveness would occur. This emphasis on maintaining harmony, a hallmark of creator Bill Lawrence’s work spanning shows like ‘Scrubs’ and ‘Cougar Town’, gained massive popularity with ‘Ted Lasso’, and is now being applied to ‘Shrinking’. In its second batch of episodes, the series has veered away from the unpredictable banter that characterized its initial run.

Discuss the character development in ‘Shrinking’. Take Sean (Luke Tennie), a patient of Jimmy’s who struggles with PTSD due to his experiences in Afghanistan. He was at odds with his family, letting others mistreat him, but remarkably, he manages to persuade a nearly-acquaintance to enlist in the U.S. Army within weeks for reasons like ‘seeing the world’ and ‘getting her life together’. Jimmy’s friend Brian (Michael Urie), who initially shied away from having a child due to fear, finds his apprehension vanishing when he perceives a baby as an accessory. It seems that no character on ‘Shrinking’ is allowed legitimate reasons for their preferences. The marital issues of Jimmy’s neighbors Liz (Christa Miller) and Derek (Ted McGinley) are seemingly resolved when Derek accepts that his role in the relationship is to serve as a punching bag for Liz’s happiness. The dynamic between Jimmy and his senior colleague Paul (Harrison Ford) at work improves once Paul acknowledges that Jimmy’s unconventional therapy approach has some merit. This change in Jimmy’s methods, initially seen as selfish, now seems to work effectively. These resolutions, while seemingly effortless, feel both hasty and predictable. The most seamless of these transformations is how Jimmy and Louis reconcile their animosity.

After Louis’s arrival, he and Jimmy have been reflective counterparts: They’ve both experienced the loss of the women they deeply cared for, harbor destructive self-doubt, and seek redemption towards a child they’ve hurt, specifically Jimmy’s daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell). The flashback scenes in “Last Drink” appear to cover the days leading up to Tia’s demise, and they display striking similarities. In these scenes, Jimmy and Tia share laughter and jokes in bed, then turn serious, vowing to look after Alice. Similarly, Louis and his former fiancée Sarah (Meredith Hagner) exchange playful banter as she moves in, followed by a serious moment where Louis declares his love for her. Despite the distorted portrayals of these characters in “Shrinking” to enforce this comparison, it’s evident that they share more similarities than differences.

The resolution unfolds thus: Brian surprisingly develops enough empathy to establish friendship with Louis, despite their lack of common interests, mirroring his college days when he befriended roommate Jimmy under similar circumstances. Simultaneously, Alice, grappling with her identity as the daughter of a deceased mother, forgives Louis for causing her persona change, only to grow distant from Jimmy due to his refusal to forgive Louis. Alice’s advocacy for “Jimmying,” urging her father to extend this approach to the man who killed his wife (“Can’t you help him? … It would mean so much more coming from you”), aims to convince us that Jimmy should have been acting this way all along, disregarding conventional therapeutic methods and professional ethics. The emotionally manipulative scene of Jimmy preventing Louis from jumping in front of a train and the final scene where they confront each other, signifying recognition and camaraderie, is intended to leave a sour taste, with a hint of familiarity. Yuck, and also, a sense of déjà vu.

In simpler terms, “Ted Lasso” and “Shrinking” are two shows that share some similarities due to their creators’ history on “Ted Lasso.” Both stories revolve around an unconventional character who forms inappropriate yet likable connections with those they guide, and exist in a setting where mercy is harshly enforced. In “Ted Lasso,” Ted is the coach of AFC Richmond, while in “Shrinking,” Jimmy plays a similar role. Roy, from “Ted Lasso,” is portrayed by Paul in “Shrinking.” The dynamic between Liz, Ted’s favorite people, and Rebecca, the owner of AFC Richmond, has parallels with Jimmy, Paul, and their relationships. Alice, Jimmy’s daughter, mirrors Henry from “Ted Lasso” in her demand for forgiveness, while the reconciliation between Ted and Nate in the third season of “Ted Lasso” echoes the peaceful resolution between Jimmy and Louis in “Shrinking.

After adopting a Fast & Furious style expansion by incorporating villains-turned-heroes, such as Goldstein who is a less developed version of Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw in Shrinking, the show hasn’t delved much into Louis’ prison experience or his reasons for returning to the town where a woman died due to his actions. Instead, it portrays him as a good man who made a mistake once. However, Louis appears to be more of a plot device than a fully-fledged character, and Shrinking will need to develop him further in its upcoming third season. Goldstein, being a co-creator, is likely to remain in the cast. Possible developments include Louis becoming roommates or working with Sean in his food truck, seeking therapy from Jimmy, Paul, Gaby (Jessica Williams), or even enrolling in Gaby’s psychology class. There’s also speculation that Liz might give him one of her rocks as a sign of acceptance into the family. The show seems to be making its world increasingly smaller, intertwining character dynamics, and oversimplifying self-improvement to the point of offense. A Ted Lasso-style reprise of tearing up the “Believe” sign could be a welcome addition at this point.

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2024-12-24 20:56