Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for ‘Shrinking’.Apple TV+’sShrinkinghas become one of the streamer’s most-watched shows for a reason.The series is both emotional and funnyas Jimmy (Jason Segel) changes his approach to helping his therapy patients and learns to improve himself in the wake of his wife’s sudden death. Not only does the series have a strong story, but the star power ofHarrison Fordanda cast of talented actorselevate it further. Even with the second season ongoing,Shrinkinghas found its stride and certainly deserves all the recognition it gets. However,it isn’t perfect.
Shrinking’s biggest flaw is common among current TV series. Like most streaming shows, it is just too short. Back in the day, half-hour TV series had upwards of 20 episodes a season, giving the overarching story time to develop slowly. Now, having only eight or 10 episodes per season is normal. These shortened seasons could tell a more focused story, but, at least withShrinking, that is not the case.While Season 2’s 12 episodesare more than others get,there is too much going on for the limited time, leaving the story rushed.Season 2, Episode 7, “Get in the Sea,” perfectly demonstrates this problem as main storylines skip over details that would have made them stronger.
Season 2 Episode 7 “Get in the Sea” Suffers From a Lack of Time
Season 2, Episode 7 is a dramatic addition to the series, with Liz’s (Christa Miller) andAlice’s (Lukita Maxwell)storylines coming to a head. While it is enough to keep the audience on the edge of their seat,the rushed plot points hurt the overall episode. Within the first five minutes, Gaby (Jessica Williams) has to stop and explain what happened between her and Derrick 2 (Damon Wayans Jr.) after a family emergency interrupted their first date. Derrick 2 has been absent for the last few episodes, making his reappearance seem sudden and requiring Gaby to recap how she blew him off. But, if that interaction is important as this relationship develops, then the audience should see it.
Alice has a similar problem as the episode skips from her emotional confrontation with Louis in Season 2, Episode 6, “In a Dark Place,” where she forgives him for causing the accident that killed her mother to Alice, Brian (Michael Urie), andLouis (Brett Goldstein)meeting for a friendly dinner. There are quite a few steps between not blaming a person for your mother’s death and having a casual dinner with them, yetShrinkingdoesn’t show any of that. Alice has hidden any contact with Louis from her father, but she talks about needing to come clean with him, making it seem it was more than a single meeting.It would have been better for the story if Alice slowly got to know Louis after they talked, rather than going from forgiveness to friendship off-screen.
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Yet the biggest issue created by the lack of time is in Liz’s storyline. After running into her ex, Mac (Josh Hopkins), Liz meets up with him, but the latest episode shows them kissing. Only seeing a little of their first meeting, the audience has to guess what happened in between. The time jump implied by the other events in the episode raises the question of how often they meet up, which changes the situation entirely.Liz is making a bad choice, meeting a man her husband,Derek (Ted McGinley), dislikes and lying to him about it, but the severity of the betrayal depends on what happens between episodes. The story skips from one ill-advised meeting to the kiss without clarifying if Liz continued to see Mac and develop a full-blown emotional affair. Each of these plots lacks critical details becausethey did not have time to grow properly, making the culmination of these events less effective than they could have been.
‘Shrinking’ Has Rushed Other Stories, Too
It’s not the first time the series has hurried through a storyline.Season 1’s major cliffhangerwas Grace (Heidi Gardner) pushing her emotionally abusive boyfriend off a cliff, calling into question Jimmy’s methods of getting involved in his patient’s lives more directly. But, after a year of waiting,the issue was resolved in just three episodes. Grace’s storyline could have been weighing on Jimmy for a full season as he questions his “jimmying,” but it ended up being a contained story that had little impact on the series after its conclusion. With so much story to address,Shrinkingdoesn’t have enough time, and asthe story continues, it becomes more evident. As good as the series may be, this issue will only worsen asShrinkingbecomes more ambitious.
Shrinkingis available to stream on Apple TV+ in the U.S. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
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