Review: Shrinking, “Daddy Issues” | Season 3, Episode 9

Two words came to mind as I watched Dr. Jimmy Laird blow a perfectly good thing because his dad was on his nerves and his daughter is moving away and he's going on hikes with people who don't or can't remember his dead wife's running jokes. And I think those two words are best said by the late, great Gilbert Gottfried: “You fool!”

Some of this reaction comes from the parts of myself that I recognize in Jimmy’s “Daddy Issues” behavior. In the past, I too have avoided conflict or discomfort by shutting down or withdrawing the way Jimmy does when he and Sofi are discussing his dad’s flakiness and the disgust with it that Jimmy and Tia shared. I can think of too many times when, overwhelmed by oncoming change, I have resorted to stewing or passive aggression–the sort of thing I’ve only recognized in retrospect and that, like Sean facing down an angry Jorge in front of the food truck, I’ve developed tools to cope with. Still, I wish there would’ve been someone there to shake me out of that state with a hearty “You fool!”

To inspire these feelings requires some savvy on Shrinking’s part. We have to be made to care for Jimmy; putting one of our most endearing comedic stars in the role gets you part of the way there, and wanting to see his character heal, make amends, and progress from the hot mess we met him as gets you further along. As does seeing the happiness (or more accurately, being told about the happiness and watching Harrison Ford act the hell out of it) that Paul has found in lowering his defenses and allowing his relationships with Gaby, Julie, Liz, and, yes, even Jimmy to guide him down new and less prickly paths. Jimmy and Paul’s connection is deeply important to Shrinking, but so are the personal, often parallel arcs they’re traveling along. To see the former get in his own way while the latter benefits from other people influencing his direction makes Jimmy’s actions in “Daddy Issues” feel all the more foolish.