Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0
4
There’s a good reason the second stage of grieving is anger. Once you can’t deny reality anymore, the best defense is an aggressive offense. Thus, “anger is the bodyguard of sadness.”
On Shrinking Season 3 Episode 10, “The Bodyguard of Sadness,” Jimmy hits that stage, but misdirects that energy because, of course, he does.
After highlighting the differences between Randy and Paul on Shrinking Season 3 Episode 9, we get to see how similar they are when Alice introduces them to each other as Grumpy Grandpa and Happy Grandpa.
(Courtesy of Apple TV)
I’m loath to admit it, but there are a lot of points of comparison between the two, which is probably why Jimmy finds his relationships with them so confusing.
Shrinking, “The Bodyguard of Sadness”
Jimmy does a lot of projecting in all directions here. He projects his need for family onto Alice in an effort to get Randy to step up. He represses his anger at Randy when Randy dares him to let it out and spews it all over Paul.
Instead of moving forward, Jimmy’s sinking. Everything he does drags him further down, and the road back to healing gets farther away. And to be fair, things suck from his perspective right now.
Alice is graduating and leaving him to go play soccer on the other side of the country, following her dreams and eager for a fresh start.
(Courtesy of Apple TV)
Paul has retired and is leaving him to live with his daughter and wife on the other side of the country, turning a page on a life Jimmy wishes he could have.
And his dad is just the worst. Who would’ve believed that Jimmy and Liz could bond over the trauma of being the children of “shallow but charming” men?
And There are Things Still Waiting To Blindside Jimmy
Besides Gabi turning the clinic into her trauma center and Brian leaving with Charlie and Sutton to go (say it with me) to the other side of the country for three months, Jimmy doesn’t even know how many more things will change.
Sean’s about to move out of the pool house and start a new job. That leaves Jimmy completely alone in the house.
Liz and Derek are going to be grandparents AND leave to travel the world before Liz morphs into Mega-Grandma Mode.
(Courtesy of Apple TV)
And because Jimmy deep-sixed his relationship with Sofi after Randy so effectively triggered every negative “Tia’s Dead” emotion, he’s not only physically alone, but emotionally isolated too.
Even Louis is gone, hotter and happier than he’s been in years, fully on the road to reclaiming his life after killing Tia. How is that fair to Jimmy?
But It’s Not All About Jimmy, Is It?
Despite Jimmy Laird’s lone storm cloud drifting through the Shrinking stratosphere, there’s a lot of joy happening here.
(Courtesy of Apple TV)
My favorite scene is Liz and Derek sitting down with Will and his pregnant girlfriend, Peyton.
Peyton: I plan on doing an unmedicated water birth at home.
Derek: Uh-oh. Count.
Liz: One. Two.
Peyton & Will: How long is she gonna count?
Derek: For water birth, probably a hundred.
Liz: Four. Five.
I don’t think I realized that Matthew is actually the least ditzy of Liz and Derek’s spawn.
With Connor hitching his wagon to Summer’s crazy and Will contemplating the effects of childbirth on his nipples, the Sneaker King might actually be the most life skills prepared of the trio.
Crank Calendar and all.
(Courtesy of Apple TV)
And there’s the Derek Effect. While he’s learning to stand up to his Shadow Self for the benefit of his boys and boring everyone silly with his “Life is Short” mantra, he doesn’t stop being Derek.
Where he keeps finding amazing properties that he’s able to just hold onto for an indeterminate amount of time, before flipping them, we’ll never know.
But the half-finished — already needs fixing because Matthew — condo is his golden ticket to repair Sean and Jorge’s relationship.
Seeing the healing process through to successful milestones is such a dopamine high.
Sean’s arc, from an angry PTSD veteran with father issues to an up-and-coming chef and a supportive roommate, is beautifully executed.
(Courtesy of Apple TV)
Sacrificing for the People We Love
My second-favorite moment on Shrinking Season 3 Episode 10, “The Bodyguard of Sadness,” is Brian and Liz busting each other’s proverbial balls over their refusal to overcome their instinctive reactions to non-preferred activities to accommodate their long-suffering partners.
Brian: You won’t even sniff butt fruit with a man whose only crime is loving you too much.
Liz: You won’t even relocate with your husband ’cause you’re scared of pecan pie.
Brian: It’s too sticky! What if I can’t get my mouth back open?
Ultimately, their love for their husbands shines through, and they open themselves up to the new and novel so their relationships can also grow and evolve.
Crossing Thresholds
Shrinking does a fantastic job of framing celebrations not as frivolous events but as meaningful rewards for putting in the work.
Alice and Summer deserve to be lauded and praised for braving the standard, if artificial, ritual of high school graduation. The teenage years are a terrifying mix of potentially catastrophic events and dangerously emotional subtext.
(Courtesy of Apple TV)
One has to wonder where post-secondary life will take Summer.
That’s a character who says “yes” to everything. With Shrinking Season 4 greenlit, I’m excited to see what kind of chaos she finds.
Acceptance
As a penultimate episode, there’s a solid springboard built here to take us through to the finale. As always, Jimmy is our primary concern, but we can feel secure knowing his network is there to guide him home.
Whose journey has been the most meaningful to you, Fanatics? Who do you want to see go further? What is the craziest adventure Derek and Liz could go on, and how selfless and altruistic can Brian become?
Hit our comments with some wild and wonderful fanfic for our favorite characters!
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