Name: Shrinking season 1 episode 7
Director: Randall Keenan Winston
Released: 2023-03-03T10:30:00

Episode 7 of Shrinking covers the aftermath of Brian’s surprise engagement party as everyone deals with the guilt of their actions. The episode is streaming on Apple TV+.

Recap

Everyone wakes up feeling a wave of emotions after Brian’s engagement party. Alice is filled with embarrassment after trying to kiss Sean and can’t even look at him.

Liz is completely hungover from the booze she drank, Paul wakes up on Jimmy’s couch after getting completely stoned, and Gaby and Jimmy wake up in bed together. The two of them have a momentary panic and then try to hide it from everyone else.

Alice wants to pretend as if nothing happened between her and Sean and things are quite awkward between them. Paul learns that Gaby and Jimmy had sex but he’s more focused on the fact that Meg is arriving that day.

Jimmy calls Brian to apologize for the previous night before moving on to Alice. Alice accepts his apology but is clearly still struggling with her own mistakes. However, she doesn’t want to talk to Jimmy about it and he’s not sure what to do either.

Meg gets settled at Paul’s place and he wants to have a conversation about their relationship before they start spending all this time together that she has planned. She says that the past is the past and she’s happy to be there taking care of him.

Derek takes a day off work even though he’s retiring the following week. Liz tells him that he needs to find something that keeps him out of the house, but he turns it around and says that it’s his turn to stay at home and she’s the one who needs to get out more.

Gaby goes to work and has a talk with a picture of Tia about what she did. She sees Jimmy later and tells him not to stress about it since they’re both adults and it was a complicated situation.

She says she had no regrets about it, but he says he did regret it which doesn’t come off well. He also mentions the fact that Alice is going through something and he would appreciate it if Gaby spoke to her.

Paul and Meg visit Paul’s doctor, Julie. She gives them an update on Paul’s condition and as soon as she leaves the room, Meg claims that Paul has a thing for her.

Sean returns from an interview that goes poorly and Alice suggests getting ice cream but Sean is a bit apprehensive about hanging out. She rushes off and Liz walks up to him, asking him if he would like to join her for a walk.

Alice shows up at Paul’s house to talk about what she’s going through but he tells her that he’s busy with Meg so he can’t really chat. Jimmy has a session with a patient and realizes that he’s been very selfish with the people around him over the past year.

Paul and Meg have a nice, heartwarming moment as Paul remembers a better memory he has of when she was a child. Sean tells Liz about Alice’s attempted kiss and worries that she’s mad at him.

Liz tells him that she’s just worried about being abandoned and that if they’re good friends, things will blow over eventually. She also gives him advice about his job hunt after talking about what Derek told her.

Brian goes over to Paul’s house to get the legal documents signed and after he leaves, Meg tells Paul that he should move in with her and her family. Paul says he’s not ready to uproot his life and leave his patients.

Gaby talks to Alice about her situation and consoles her about her actions. Meg decides to pack up her stuff and head back home because of Paul’s decision and he tries to convince her to stay.

The resentment that she held onto after he missed most of her childhood comes out as she accuses him of prioritizing everyone else over his own daughter and doesn’t care about fixing things with her.

Jimmy talks to Gaby after she’s done with Alice and he apologizes for saying he regretted sleeping with her. He admits it wasn’t the right thing to say and thanks her for just being there to back him up during a tough time.

Sean walks in with a ton of groceries and asks everyone if they’d be interested in a barbecue. Everyone has a wonderful time in the backyard, chilling and laughing together.

Jimmy goes back to his room later that night and talks to a picture of Tia. He apologizes for sleeping with Gaby but also talks about how difficult it is without her. Alice overhears him and walks away in disgust.

Review

This is easily the best episode of the series so far. The cold opening itself is so chaotic and awkward with all the characters interacting hilariously with each other.
That just serves as an appetizer for the rest of the episode which involves some profound emotions and playful banter between the characters.
The way Paul and Meg’s arc progresses within the episode is so touching and heartbreaking by the end as Harrison Ford and Lily Rabe give such convincing performances.
A special mention goes to Ted McGinley who has been gloriously entertaining as Derek and he has an especially brilliant moment in this episode where he makes a legitimate case to Liz about staying at home.