Shrinking Season 2, Episode 8, “Last Drink” Spoilers Ahead
Written by Sasha Garron and directed by James Ponsoldt, Shrinking’s “Last Drink” is a cathartic episode that underscores the challenges of self-forgiveness and explores the importance of the connections we make. In its first few moments, it takes viewers back to the past, allowing us to piece together more details from the night Tia was killed to understand how these characters could move forward.
In the present, every character, save for Gaby, is grappling with how their actions set the trajectory of their lives. It results in a surprising tear-jerker as almost every actor at some point is given a beat to dig toward their character’s most hurting wound. While last week’s “Get in the Sea” spent a bit of time telling us what we ought to know, “Last Drink” ensures our glass is overflowing with what we need to see.
Shrinking Season 2, Episode 8 Is a Testament to the Performers
Shrinking is indisputably a well-developed show, but it’s also because of the actors that it’s as sensational. It’s every person stepping into their character’s shoes and, with a single look, managing to break every heart watching.
At the top of the list is Lukita Maxwell, whose embodiment of Alice in Season 2 is an undeniable treasure trove. How she holds her own with each actor is no small feat, but I’m consistently in awe of the words she speaks in silence—the harrowing grief she brings to life as a teenager trying to grapple with the insurmountable loss of losing her mother. We don’t just see the colossal fractures in her spirit during the flashbacks, but we see it while she’s with Liz in the present, trying to comfort another person while she’s undoubtedly hurting, too.
At the moment, she’s there to make Liz feel better, but we get another clear reminder of how profoundly she misses her mom. The stark differences in her doe-eyed excitement as she runs into her parents’ room to play a song for them versus the face of a girl who’s forced to grow up too soon are as evocative as they are because Maxwell shows us everything.
Next up, we have Ted McGinley, and if you’d told me that a line about grilled cheese followed by Derek reaching for Liz’s hand at the dinner table would make me weep, I wouldn’t have believed you. (No, seriously, my good friend and fellow journalist Shelby Elpers tried to warn me.) But that’s exactly what happens because McGinley is finally given the chance to ensure that Derek is more than just a punching bag. He’s a man realizing that he hasn’t been there for his wife and that while she’s hurting, he’s breaking right alongside her.
Including their troubles in Shrinking Season 2, Episode 8, “Last Drink,” gives us a detailed exploration of how sometimes, mistakes come from how others make us feel. Derek doesn’t need to apologize, and Liz is undoubtedly wrong here, but it also makes complete sense for his realization to arrive during a therapy session with Gaby. It makes sense for them to both make changes in their relationship. Given his heart and vast capacity to love her, it also makes sense that he’d also accomplish the one thing that initially triggered the dominos to fall—bring back all her boys under one roof. Christa Miller and Ted McGinley are always great scene partners, but everything we see in this episode cements them as a pair with a full range of emotions, clocked and ready to hit at any moment’s notice. Simply put, I am floored.
Further, while it’s no surprise that Jason Segel is doing his best work as Jimmy Laird, I have a feeling still that the best is yet to come. What we see in this episode is a modicum of his talents, veiled under a rug he’s brushing heavy emotions under, waiting for the opportune moment to bring it all out the surface. His hollowness in the early days isn’t new, and his scene with Louis isn’t full of the vulnerability I wanted to see, but that’s largely because Jimmy still has so much work to do, and I appreciate the season is drawing it out a bit.
The best of Segel’s abilities come in fragments here—we see it first with Alice for a singular beat, but there’s a real crack during his conversation with Paul. This might be Paul’s last drink because he’s serious about ensuring that his Parkinson’s doesn’t worsen, but it isn’t Jimmy’s last confrontation with his inability to forgive himself. This narrative is why Shrinking is so compelling as a series because when Alice hears Louis’ side and sees his loneliness, she can safely empathize with the person who made a mistake.
Jimmy could easily forgive him, too, but the painful inability to forgive himself is what forces him to address Louis with such harsh statements. He doesn’t want to ever see him again because every time he does, he remembers his own inability to be a father. It hurts him thrice as hard because even though Louis getting behind the wheel drunk is a colossal mistake, when Tia died and Alice needed her father, Jimmy wasn’t there for her. That wound is deeper and more prominent than anything else for him. It’s so easy to watch how it destroys him, and it’s fascinating to see a moment of truth like this occur between two men who are the ones who often conceal their demons.
Thematically, Shrinking Season 2, Episode 8, “Last Drink,” breaks down numerous walls and shows viewers how our choices ultimately become our crosses. Almost every scene includes some answers that layer our characters and advance the story. It’s basically everything I feel like I’ve been asking for, minus wanting so much more when it comes to Brian. (What’s his last name? Will we get more flashbacks of him and Charlie?) Still, it’s an excellent turning point, and with four episodes left, I can’t wait to see what the direct aftermath is next week.Â
Stray Thoughts
- “Can I ask his dad for a brewski?” Jimmy and Tia were so ridiculous together, and I’m so glad we get to see more flashbacks of them.
- Paul’s mic drop, for the win! I really think that this is Harrison Ford’s best role, friends. I also love that Sean went with him to the doctor.
- “If it’s a girl we’re going to name her Sutton Foster.” And every theatre kid watching CHEERED.
- This episode is really so sensational when it comes to performances that I keep thinking about little scene breakdowns to possibly dissect the performances more. Yes? No? Maybe.
- I genuinely forgot Liz had other sons when they walked into the room.
- Brett Goldstein truly kills me in this role. It was nice to smile for five minutes, but it was back to tears the next.
- MICHAEL URIE IS TOO GOOD. WE. NEED. TO. UTILIZE. HIS. COMEDIC. CHOPS. AND. EMOTIONAL. RANGE. MORE. PLEASE.
Now streaming on Apple TV+: What are your thoughts on Shrinking Season 2, Episode 8, “Last Drink?” Let us know in the comments below.
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