What I’m Watching: Shrinking

Shrinking: Season 1, Episode 6 “Imposter Syndrome” (B+)

This show is very funny, but it’s even better when it reaches dramatic territory. Those moments in which Jimmy flashed back to painful memories before his wife died were very powerful, and I like that Gaby was prepared to rub in his face that she had found a photo from just before her death that showed her looking at Jimmy with a clearly loving expression. I did think that they were going to end up sleeping together given how Gaby was obsessing about feeling something for a man and Jimmy was just all-around lost, vomiting profusely while he was supposed to be helping Brian with his proposal. While Brian got very worked up about it and was not at all happy about the unplanned duet with Jimmy, Christopher was very sweet and accepted even when Brian didn’t quite ask him. Paul showing up at just that moment with some unsolicited advice was surprisingly endearing, and I love that he got to bond with Liz over the course of the episode as even Liz acknowledged that Derek wasn’t all that relevant, dismissing him as a waiter rather than remind the many people in her life that he’s actually her husband. Meg’s impending visit is sure to still be difficult, but now at least Paul has found some way of coping with it. Sean was very comforting to Alice when she ran upstairs following Jimmy confronting her about drinking, but now she’s going to be in very bad shape after Sean rejected her kiss. He’s not innocent in all this, clearly flirting with her and leading her on when he knew the whole time that a relationship between the two of them would have been very inappropriate.