Shrinking Season 2, Episode 11, “The Drugs Don’t Work” Spoilers Ahead
Shrinking’s “The Drugs Don’t Work” is the kind of brilliant penultimate that strikes like a harsh summer storm that wasn’t in the forecast—a flash of lighting, the slow clap of thunder, and then roaring rainfall that makes itself heard. And to top things off, the incomparable Christa Miller brings in another song by The National, garnering the most visceral reaction I’ve had to this show all season.
Written by Neil Goldman and directed by Randall Keenan Winston, everything slowly comes crashing from “Changing Patterns” and reminds viewers that this series centers around the people who show up when we’re breaking down. And, in a beautiful sense, it takes it one step further by displaying who our therapists call, homaging the people in the world who are constantly looking out for others.
Shrinking Season 2, Episode 11 Is Jimmy’s Breakdown
Shrinking has been building to this moment since its first episode. Carefully, step by step, one narrative at a time, it’s been highlighting Jimmy’s slow descent, disguised as normalcy; only anyone who looks closely can see where it’s all going. The rapid domino fall began when he saw Alice and Brian talking to Louis, but her blunt sadness sends everything into motion, and Jason Segel’s means of showing that to the audience is no small feat. It’s a tremendous exhibition of his gifts as an actor and how diligently he embodies Jimmy. The pain and hollowness he imbues into him throughout the season meticulously pushes him to the haunting cyclone we get at the end of “The Drugs Don’t Work.”
Yet, the riveting thing about this episode is that he isn’t the only one drowning. While for different reasons, he and Paul walk along parallel lines. Today, Paul is the reason for the episode’s title. His meds aren’t working, and the neurologist gives him about six months to a year before they potentially stop completely. This bit of news gives Paul the advantage of knowing he needs to make significant changes in his life that’ll stick. He’s aware of how important it is to really feel.
Additionally, anyone who’s ever been given bad news knows there’s no real way to process it, but something in you snaps, and you think, well, at least it’s not a loved one of mine. It’s always easier for a person to suffer themselves than to watch someone else they love suffer, so for Paul, all of this extends toward Jimmy.
He sees the waves Jimmy is swimming underneath, drowning without a life vest and refusing to ask for help. He knows a breakdown is coming, and Shrinking Season 2, Episode 11, “The Drugs Don’t Work,” utilizes Harrison Ford’s incomparable aptitude and range to have Paul deliver a statement that’s so chilling, I had to pause to take a breath. The way Paul’s voice breaks, and his eyes reflect uncontrollable pain demands upcoming actors learn from Ford’s delivery. Watching the two of them go head to head with each other and ending with Jimmy saying he isn’t going to call Paul? Oof.
Still, what Shrinking achieves in the final few moments of this episode is a powerful presentation of humanity in its purest form. The way that the episode makes us think Jimmy will go back to his old ways, only to have him call Paul while The National’s “I Need My Girl” blares alongside the horns and street chatter equates to sheer perfection. For a man like Paul to show up in his robe and pajamas and then hold onto Jimmy while he crumbles in his arms makes for the type of heartbreaking scene that I’m sure will haunt me. Someone somewhere is going to watch this moment right when they need it most, and they’ll likely have the type of breakthrough necessary to move past the tides drenching them.
Because interestingly, that’s what happens to Jimmy when he watches Wally have her breakthrough. The human brain is so fascinating in times of need because we can never be sure of what’ll get to us. We’ll never know how much we’ll need someone else’s success or heartbreak to unveil something within us. Jimmy’s breakdown has been coming for a while, and the authenticity with which Shrinking delivers it truly floors me.
The vulnerability in that moment from both men is a portrait of healing as it demonstrates the catharsis uncovered in finding someone whose presence acts as an immediate life vest. Jimmy has fought too hard to go back to his ways, and that’s why forgiving himself is so challenging in the face of Louis’ presence. But this moment right here isn’t just an indication of him choosing Alice again; it’s the decision to choose himself—to take the necessary step and help himself learn how to breathe again.
And my God, the importance of this will be measured differently by every viewer’s reaction as it gives them something to feel—an imperative inkling or a bit of hope. Because that’s just it—for me, this scene represents hope. It’s a reminder that in our pain and loneliness, someone will show up with pajamas to hold us through the waves. And we’ll do the same for them.
Upcoming Thanksgiving Plans and Where We Go From Here
Shrinking Season 2, Episode 11, “The Drugs Don’t Work,” rightfully focuses on Jimmy, but it comes loaded with plans and realizations for other characters, too. As a light at the end of the tunnel, Brian and Charlie are getting a baby! The pregnant woman changes her mind upon learning things about the other couple, deciding in the end that she wants Brian and Charlie to be the parents instead. The celebration is a little odd because I would’ve loved to see Charlie’s reaction to the news, too, but it’s interesting that it comes to Brian while he’s with Liz, Gaby, and Derek. Right time, right moment I suppose—a village.
Elsewhere, Gaby hesitates to invite Derrick to the Thanksgiving dinner, leading to a confrontation where he asks about his place in her life. There, Gaby vocalizes all her fears aloud, which leads to Derrick walking out, making things feel a little bleak. Despite everything, Louis is surprisingly doing well and is also invited to a Friendsgiving with the other barista at the diner. He’s the one who tells Alice to give her dad a break, yet she does this by moving in with Gaby for some space.
Shrinking Season 2, Episode 11, “The Drugs Don’t Work,” is solid—really, undeniably special, even if some things don’t fit as seamlessly. Yet perhaps it’s those jagged edges that make the narrative work so well. The only thing I know for sure is that I will be thinking about this one for a long, long time.
Stray Thoughts
- “You help every other person on the planet. Why can’t you help him?” Oof, this stings.
- Not sure how I feel about Sean and Paul’s neurologist? But sure, why not.
- “You bring me fun dip and a new hat.” Brilliant. Simply brilliant.
- “You are this close to a breakdown, and when that happens, you better f-ing call me. Because you’ve got two choices: one, you get some help. Or you go back to where you were when Tia died, and that scared me, man.” HARRISON FORD. Half of my notes for this episode are just me screaming about Harrison Ford’s brilliance.
- I really want Taco Bell after this episode.
- At some point toward the end of my notes, it was just key smashing because I legitimately stopped breathing when the first few notes of “I Need My Girl” came on. Oh, past Gissane, and you thought the needle drop for “Your Mind Is Not Your Friend” in Season 2, Episode 4 messed with you. It’s been weeks since I watched this episode, and I’m still not okay. Will I ever be? Who knows.
Now streaming on Apple TV+: What are your thoughts on Shrinking Season 2, Episode 11, “The Drugs Don’t Work?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Apple TV+