‘Shrinking’ Recap: ‘Made You Look’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Jason Segel and Harrison Ford as Jimmy and Paul in Episode 204 of ‘Shrinking’ – ‘Made You Look’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 204 of ‘Shrinking’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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There is an interesting trap that we all walk into when we start our healing journey. In that, we believe that because we are going through therapy or doing the work needed to heal, that we are in a way… ready to handle anything. Because with our therapist and our new skill set at our side, nothing can rattle or shake us. We’ve got this, and well… that’s not quite right. For are in the process of healing, of learning those skills so that in the future we are ready. But thinking we are good to go can be problematic, and it can set us up for a fall, and thrust us into a storm, and that sense of invincibility was put on display in the next episode of Shrinking on Apple TV+.

A feat that ‘Made You Look’ accomplished primarily through Jimmy and Sean. Who are truly in the midst of their healing journey but think they are further along. To the point where Sean didn’t fight all that much harder to get Liz back on the truck. He just rolled with it and hoped the for the best because he thought he had the skill set present to make magic happen. But his dad’s woeful lack of understanding of his condition and the fury of hearing about how his father failed him, kept pushing Sean to the brink. To the point where Jimmy had to step in, in unique ways to keep him calm. But Sean truly thought nothing was wrong, because he was in therapy, and he had support… so of course he could make it.

Which brings us to Jimmy’s journey. Because in this particular tale, he continued to ignore his own pain and he continued to not think about the fact that his wife’s killer was hovering about, trying to make amends. He just stayed the course, thinking he was in a good place before Louis arrived, so now was the time to let it ride. But alas, that just meant Jimmy was oblivious to the fact that he needed to do the work, and oblivious to how he was starting to slip back into old habits himself. Such as advising Sean and getting him to open up. All of which also spoke to how these two felt a sense of invincibility because they started the journey, when they still had so much work to accomplish to find the peace they so desperately needed. 

Not to mention, Gaby’s desire to be free of connection and emotion for a bit, led to struggles untold. Since she kept dodging an opportunity to date someone that she deeply connected with, and she missed out on important family news. And Alice of course, battled her mistakes and her pain as only she knew how, alone. Because her father wasn’t there yet. If anything, the only plot thread that wasn’t concerning here was Brian’s quest to understand fatherhood since there was talk of starting a family. But otherwise, there was trouble brewing here. Because everyone else thought they were far enough ahead when they were not, and that sense of invincibility really did brew a storm. One that even Paul acknowledged was on the horizon, as he battled through memory issues and writing problems because of his own affliction.

Which made for another bittersweet episode. One that reminded us of how complex the healing journey is and how hard it is. Because we make mistakes as we work to heal, and we stick with this kind of thinking, simply because we want that peace, and we want a normal life again. But a storm is coming, plain and simple, and it may relate to the keystone of this mess, since he was within inches of knocking on Jimmy’s door, and it will be interesting to see what the storm looks like when it arrives, and how these flawed individuals will handle it and pick up the pieces. As season two of this brilliant series, continues along. Until next time.

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