Death serves so many narrative purposes. It can be a warning, a form of closure, a transformation.
On Shrinking Season 3 Episode 7, “I Will Be Grape,” everyone’s got a different take on death. Jimmy and Alice celebrate Tia’s birthday with her music, her favorite foods, and her friends, despite the fact that she’s dead.
At the same time, Paul recognizes that his time is running out and decides to throw in on the legacy game, Derek risks dying to get away from the friction between his wife and his mother, and Gaby gets a hard lesson on the limits of therapy and healing.
And, not to bury the lede, but how LEGEND is it that Candice freakin’ Bergen plays Derek’s mother, Constance? I need to know whose get that casting was and if the role was written with her in mind because, good LORD, does she ever nail it.
“She says the right words with the right tone, and then she holds eye contact for an extra few seconds so I can feel the judgment that no one else can.” — Liz
Shrinking “I Will Be Grape”
Watching someone outmaneuver Liz in her own house was never on my Shrinking bingo card, but here we are.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that Derek’s mother is as crazy smart and scary as his wife: there’s something Freudian at the root of every adult relationship.
Both women are incredibly aware and intentional in their strategies to get under the other’s skin. It’s a vicious game of poison politeness and vicious gaslighting. Their mirrored traits and expressions grow hauntingly more similar with each encounter.
It’s not until Derek disappears that they unite in the common interest of keeping him alive. The fact that Paul steps in as the responsible caregiver is pretty adorable.
In fact, his initial interaction with Connie in the kitchen immediately demonstrates how the women’s feud automatically casts everyone else as peacekeepers, regardless of their natural social role.
Liz and Connie’s candid park bench convo is everything Shrinking does best. Two nuanced and authentic characters with gripes that have gone too far and grudges held too long, laying it all out in direct language.
They adhere to all social conventions and still manage to express themselves honestly, giving due credit to the other — as mothers, as women, and as people who aren’t quite there yet. But, for Derek’s sake, they might get there eventually.
Old Bags and Icons
Part of moving on is leaving a legacy. Connie wants to impart her lived life experience and wisdom so Derek and Liz can benefit from what she’s learned. Her delivery style needs work.
Paul, on the other hand, is far more concrete with what he offers to bestow upon Gaby. Offering her the practice — brick-and-mortar building and business and all — is a sign of his esteem and respect.
And I have to believe that it’s out of respect that she explains that it’s a legacy she can’t accept because she doesn’t want to work in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) forever.
Legacies are gifts, but they’re also burdens.
Of course, her declining Paul’s offer further highlights the differences between Gaby and Jimmy.
Jimmy would’ve been honored and overwhelmed by the offer and would’ve immediately accepted, even though he’s already turned his professional back on CBT.
However, her future in trauma counseling may be uncertain as she deals with Maya’s death. Although she reached out by phone when Maya cancelled their session, jokingly threatening to track her down, she never followed through.
“I have died every day waiting for you.” — Christina Perri
She’s never going to hear the lyrics of “A Thousand Years” the same ever again. There will always be a “What if?” behind her memories of Maya. What if she had tracked her down? Could she have made the difference?
We know Gaby has a strong inner circle who will intervene when she starts to withdraw, lash out, or deflect. Hopefully, she’ll be able to learn from this tragedy, and Maya’s death will be a legacy of healing for others.
Hot Louis
Jimmy and Alice share some very strange ideas about social gatherings.
Alice invites Louis, the man who killed Tia, to Tia’s birthday celebration at her graveside, while Jimmy invites Sofi to Tia’s birthday house party. First dates and dead wife parties don’t usually mix.
Ultimately, Alice’s intention to use Louis as a live-action example for Jimmy of how to move on backfires, but Brian certainly enjoys the view while Louis is around. Admittedly, it was nice for Brett Goldstein to get his Roy Kent facial hair game back on track.
Brian: So, Louis, how has life been now that you’re hot?
Louis: I mean, pretty good, actually. You’ll be proud of me. I learned how to make a drinkable cup of coffee, and I got promoted at work, and I have started seeing someone.
Jimmy: It’d be funny if I killed her.
Sofi’s introduction to Jimmy’s extended friend-family, as well as to Alice, at Tia’s birthday sing-along is so many shades of awkward that my head spins. Shrinking’s cringe moments are remarkable and many, but also the best-written and executed ones on television.
What’s your takeaway, Fanatics?
Did Shrinking Season 3 Episode 7, “I Will Be Grape,” strike a harmonious chord for you, balancing the tragic with the absurd?
How will Jimmy deal with Alice leaving? Does Sofi stand a chance with this crowd, which is — to understate it — a lot. What about Gaby? What will be the Maya fallout for her, and will she give Derrick the chance to be there for her?
There’s a lot to unpack here. Let ‘er rip in our comments with your raves and reactions, props and predictions!
Shrinking streams new episodes every Wednesday on Apple TV.
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