![]() ![]() I felt that way a bit when Gaby and Liz brought Sean along to Nico’s art show. That transition has felt pretty natural, but there are still moments when it feels like a certain configuration of characters is only hanging out because the plot demands it. And in general, the division of the ensemble in this episode points to Shrinking’s transformation into a pure hangout sitcom. ![]() Jimmy, Brian, and Paul’s different comedic energies make them a natural trio. In the car, Brian finally tells Jimmy he doesn’t want him to officiate, and it’s pretty brutal - but it makes a lot of sense, and Brian is sticking to his guns for now. The two have always had an agreement to officiate each other’s weddings, but after the engagement party showed Brian how easy it is to trigger a Jimmy meltdown, the prospect of him giving a speech at his wedding is a little frightening. I also find Jimmy’s conflict with Brian interesting in this episode, though it feels unfinished at the end. And I like the final beat, with Jimmy subtly nodding to himself, hoping this is for the best. The fight that follows is rough - no parent likes to receive an “I fucking hate you” - but Jimmy is right to reject Alice pulling the “Mom would never do this” card. In the end, Jimmy follows his own advice: He grounds Alice, the “boop” their relationship needs. There are real stakes here, and the timing of Alice learning about Jimmy and Gaby complicates it further. She had a point, but Jimmy knows that constantly letting her off the hook isn’t really parenting. The show set this up well a few episodes ago when Jimmy started to scold Alice about skipping school, only for her to pull an Uno reverse card and mention cleaning up his coke. There’s something interesting and unique about this dynamic: Alice has had the high ground in basically any argument with her dad, but she can’t keep using his (many) mistakes as a get-out-of-jail-free card forever. Jimmy may have put off the grieving process for a year using drugs, but he’s far from inexpressive.Īnyway, if you ignore the “anybody” at the end of Paul’s statement and replace it with “your daughter,” it fits better. In this episode, we see him shout at Brian for breaking the officiant news while Jimmy is driving. We saw him blow up at Liz just because her son had sex with his daughter and maliciously taunt Alice about her crush on Sean. It’s a smart bit of wisdom, but does it totally square with the Jimmy we know? Jimmy is far from a meek or emotionally restrained person throughout this season, we’ve seen him snap at his patients, too frustrated and impatient to let them come to their own conclusions. “You’ve screwed up so many times that you think you don’t have the right to be upset with anybody,” he points out. But he does come through for Jimmy, scaring Chet with a terrifying, extra-long story and later advising Jimmy to stop letting Alice get away with everything. Paul is having an off day in general, between failing to make contact with his daughter and failing to come through when Alice needed a push in the right direction. Paul and Brian join Jimmy for his ride around Los Angeles looking for Alice, bringing their own baggage with them. Maybe that’s why she takes Jimmy’s car and drives (without a license) to Summer’s garden party and then to the dorm room of a USC guy she met. After Paul projects all over the place during one of his usual chats with Alice, she feels even more alone. In Jimmy’s half, he and Alice are on shaky ground after he and Gaby reassure her that their tryst meant nothing (which backfires when Alice points out, “So, to get this straight, you banged someone who doesn’t mean anything to you but meant a lot to Mom, and you did it in Mom’s bed?”). It takes time and sometimes bravery.įor the majority of this episode, the cast is split clean down the middle. But in those cases, making a change is easier said than done. Gaby needs to let go of her unresolved feelings about her ex-husband, Nico. Jimmy needs to change his relationship with his daughter, which has grown a little too lax. That idea of the pattern interrupt echoes throughout “Boop.” Grace needs one to start really asserting herself with her emotionally abusive husband. Translated to therapy-speak, “boop” represents a “pattern interrupt.” When we find ourselves caught in destructive habits, sometimes taking just one small step to break free of the routine is helpful. In Grace’s first therapy session back with Jimmy since she ghosted him, she says that sometimes she wishes she could just push her husband’s coffee off the table, making a “boop” sound. Photo: Vulture Photo: Apple TV/Beth Dubber ![]()
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