Review: Shrinking, “Happiness Mission” | Season 3, Episode 2

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Bringing Louis deeper into the Shrinking fold was always going to present some difficulties. Sure, forging relationships between Alice, Jimmy, and the driver who killed Tia was a good way for Shrinking to explore the nuances of forgiveness and the challenges of moving on. But even with lovable grouch/grouch lover Brett Goldstein in the role, we were never going to be able to completely chase away the thought that this is the driver who killed Tia. As we see in “Happiness Mission,” Louis’ presence in the life of anyone who isn’t the Lairds is a nonstarter. And with his story reaching a natural endpoint, Brett Goldstein writes a proper sendoff to his character—but not without giving one of his co-stars a chance to express the conflicting feelings Shrinking viewers have been holding for the past season-plus.

And that scene is a doozy. I can’t recall anyone asking Gaby how she feels about her best friend’s kid and husband palling around with her best friend’s killer, so “Happiness Mission” has a little catching up to do in that respect. Their eventual pre-Sparks-game confrontation is telegraphed by a stinkfaced reaction to a selfie and office-kitchen tension that you could cut with the knife somebody left in the sink (c’mon, people: The “your mom doesn’t work here” sign is right there), but that doesn’t make it any less powerful. She’s expressing a lot of what Jimmy did when he found out about Alice visiting Louis in season two, with a new spin from a smart angle: Louis made one bad decision that cost Gaby countless good memories.