This holiday season we’re thankful for Shrinking‘s superb Season 2 finale.
The slump-free sophomore season of Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein, and Jason Segel’s beloved Apple TV+ comedy was an emotional roller coaster full of twists, laughs, and tears. But the final episode of the season packed the strongest punch, with standout performances by Harrison Ford, Segel, and Goldstein that will shatter viewers’ hearts and piece them back together again — as is the Shrinking way.
Written by Neil Goldman, Goldstein, and Lawrence — who also directed the finale — Season 2, Episode 12, “The Last Thanksgiving,” (which hilariously premiered days before Christmas) showed the Shrinking fam celebrating Turkey Day, having major heart-to-hearts, and taking crucial steps towards Season 3’s theme: moving forward.
Season 2’s penultimate episode ended with a career-great performance from Segel, who palpably portrayed Jimmy’s emotional breakdown. The finale picks up with him on the other side of that low, nearing a breakthrough thanks to the help of his wise pal Paul (Ford), who will be the main source of your Episode 12 tears.
After some serious self-reflection, hard conversations, and another near-death finale scene, Shrinking‘s sophomore season comes to an emotional end. So what happens in Shrinking‘s Season 2 finale? Decider’s detailed Season 2, Episode 12 recap has answers. Just be mindful that major spoilers lie ahead.
Shrinking Season 2 Ending Explained: Season 2, Episode 12 “The Last Thanksgiving” Recap
Shrinking‘s Season 2 finale moves Jimmy and Paul from the park bench to Paul’s office, where Paul tells Jimmy that he’s never going to forgive himself for “shitting the bed as a father” until he bares his soul to Alice. “She might still blame you, but it’s the act of revelation that’s healing,” he says. “That’s how confession works…It’s about you admitting what you did and why it was wrong.” Jimmy, stubborn as ever, tells Paul “it’s not gonna happen,” because he doesn’t want Alice to think his suffering was her fault. (Jimmy also told Paul he’d never call him to ask for help, and we all saw how that turned out.) He pays Paul for the session with candy and a new hat (Paul gave his to Alice when she graduated bench therapy) and with that we say goodbye, fedora! Hello, knit beanie with ear flaps and braids! And thank you, Shrinking, for keeping the Harrison hat bit alive.
During a Thanksgiving pregame pickle ball game, Liz is horrified to learn that Brian and Charlie haven’t started prepping to become parents with only four months until the baby arrives. She offers to help them with their nanny search, and after an intense interview montage set to Chappell Roan’s “Femininomenon,” she allows them to hire Kellie Brown (Nora Kirkpatrick), a CPR-certified, pro-sleep training gem who considers it an honor to help build a family.
While everything is (still) going Brian’s way, not everyone in the friend group is having a happy holiday season. Gaby’s mom, still upset over the way her daughter handled her living situation, declines an invite to Thanksgiving dinner. Plus, after Gaby realizes Derrick is “fucking amazing” and she was scared to commit because he doesn’t need her to be his caretaker, she calls him to apologize and he turns down her Thanksgiving invite, too. “You work on all that stuff you need to work on, and once you get it in order, you give me a call,” he says.
Alice, still mad at Jimmy for isolating her from Louis, seeks advice from Sean, who made major progress with his own dad in Season 2. Though Sean cooked Gaby’s Thanksgiving dinner, he’s spending the holiday with his pal Jorge (Trey Santiago-Hudson) and his own family, thanks to the healthier relationship he’s developed with his dad. Sean tells Alice something Paul once told him: “If you only love someone hoping they’ll change one day, that’s not love. Real love is when you accept someone, limitations and all.” Sean says his dad earned that from him forever, and though Alice replies, “Fuck you for being emotionally healthy right now,” it’s clear she realizes Jimmy earned the same from her.
Speaking of Jimmy, he runs to Summer’s rescue after she tries to shoplift Plan B from a pharmacy. She says she needs the pill because Connor’s condom broke and she didn’t know who else to call. So like the “Pimp” that he is, Jimmy pays for the emergency contraception and argues that Summer is “a really good kid,” proving that whether he’s ready to admit it or not, the man he is today is someone who shows up for the people in his life.
Still processing the news about his medication, Paul learns that he and Julie no longer have to spend Thanksgiving in Connecticut with his daughter. He’s delighted by the thought of doing “sweet fuck all” and swiftly declines Gaby’s invite (Everyone have mercy on Gaby!), but he does ask Jimmy to coffee and encourages him to talk to Alice again. Paul knows Jimmy is ashamed to open up to his daughter, just like he’s ashamed of people seeing his Parkinson’s tremors. He tells Jimmy he didn’t take his medication that morning so the whole cafe could see him just how he is, then admits he chickened out and took the drugs, but he knows Jimmy has the courage needed to face his shame. “Anybody that’s gone through what you’ve gone through and isn’t cynical or jaded — that’s very inspiring,” Paul says. BRB, crying!
Liz spends Season 2 searching for new purpose with her kids off at college, and in the finale she finds it. She has her rocks and photography, but Derek knows she still craves deeper meaning in life, so he asks Brian and Charlie to let her be their baby’s nanny for the two days a week Kellie can’t work. The deal comes with two caveats: When they ask Liz, the idea didn’t come from Derek. And Liz gets to be in charge of the other nanny. Though she instantly clocks that Derek put the guys up asking, he says being a mom is her gift, and she accepts the offer. (I want a Derek, damn it!)
Thanks to Paul’s encouragement and a special rock from Liz, Jimmy works up the courage to talk to Alice and properly apologizes for not rising to the occasion after Tia’s death. He admits that Louis is a walking, talking reminder of how much he let her down when she needed him most, and says she’s an amazing woman “in spite of” him “fucking up” and being “a terrible father.” After another moving, honest performance from Segel, Alice acknowledges that he did fuck up, but he’s forgetting all the times he showed up. As we saw in her emotional Episode 6 monologue, Maxwell seriously stepped her game up this season. Here, she delivers another heartwarming performance that showcases Alice’s empathy and maturity, telling Jimmy that during his worst days she passed out on the couch one night and woke up in her bed. Even at his lowest, Jimmy carried her upstairs and let her know he was still in there. “Maybe you were a bad dad for a second,” she says. “But you were also the best fucking dad, and I’m so lucky that you were mine.”
Think the finale tears stopped? Not a chance.
Julie claims she’s driving Paul to his dream Thanksgiving dinner at In-N-Out Burger, but he quickly realizes she kidnapped him. Destination? Dinner at Gaby’s. After learning she brought his meds and his blazer, Paul — wearing his snazzy new hat — sticks his head out the window and hilariously screams for help, but it’s too late. He arrives “under duress” and joins Ray and all their friends for a feast.
Gaby collects cell phones in a basket so everyone can be more present at the party, but before Alice surrendered hers, she texts Louis “Happy Thanksgiving” to make sure he’s OK. He’s all set to whip up some spotted dick (a real British pudding!) and spend the day with his colleague, Eddy (Edgar Blackmon), until Eddy un-invites him because his friends found out Louis “got drunk and murdered someone.” Louis says he’s fine, but Goldstein’s face lets viewers know he’s crushed inside.
In the Season 2 finale’s final stretch, Shrinking does what it does best, oscillating between highs and lows, joy and sorrow, and humor and heartbreak. At Sean’s Thanksgiving dinner, he takes a moment to share how grateful he is to be celebrating with his family and Jorge. At Gaby’s house, she keeps one of her mom’s favorite traditions alive by asking guests to share what they’re thankful for. Jimmy, Alice, Liz, Derek, and Gaby’s sister all shoutout their families. Julie’s thankful for her new roomie, who’s chomping away on a turkey leg. Charlie and Brian are thankful they’ll both be dads next year. And friends like Summer and Ray are thankful to be included. When Gaby’s turn is up, Derrick bursts through the door with an extra surprise: Gaby’s mom (not to be confused with his aunt, who walks in first in an A+ joke). She even brings pie!
The Thanksgiving miracle shifts to tragedy, as a lost Louis makes his way to the train station, sits down on a bench, and texts Alice, “Hey at train station, you around? Could really use a friend.” Once again, Goldstein’s powerful performance will gut you. As he sulks in the spot where he and his ex-fiancé Sarah made so many memories together, Alice’s phone lights up in the basket, away from her and her loved ones, who are taken aback when Paul, who hasn’t shared what he’s grateful for, announces, “I DIDN’T GO YET.”
Ford lets Paul’s guard down and paints a beautifully raw portrait of a man coming to terms with his progressing Parkinson’s disease. Though his speech starts on a light note, he reveals he didn’t take his pills because he wants to quit hiding his tremors from his loved ones. As he pours his heart out, talking about how easy it is to feel sorry for himself and his fragile body, there’s not a dry eye in sight. Despite his setbacks, Paul says, “I look around this room and I say to myself I’m a lucky guy.” As Ford does some of the most striking acting of his career, Paul grabs Julie’s hand and adds, “I don’t know how much longer I’m gonna have to work with you, hang out with you, laugh with you. The road’s gonna get tougher and tougher, but I do know that I’ll get through it because of everyone in this room, and that’s what I’m thankful for. We can get through everything if we have people to lean on. I’m leaning on you.” (Though Ford doesn’t have Parkinson’s he continually strives for honest representation while beautifully honoring those close to Goldstein and Lawrence who inspired the personal Shrinking storyline.)
Think the finale tears stopped now? Not a chance!!!
With minutes left in the episode, Shrinking sets the mood with “Coastline” by Hollow Coves, a song with literal lyrics about moving on. (Christa Miller, you icon.) The finale toggles between shots of Gaby’s group hugging, laughing, and sharing sweet moments of joy together, while Louis is losing hope, succumbing to his sadness, and preparing to jump in front of an oncoming train. (Shrinking writers, I have a lot of questions. Number one, how DARE you?!)
As the train whistle blows, Louis balls his hand into a fist, looks down at the tracks, and takes a step towards the edge. Before he takes another, he hears a voice say “hey man,” whips his head around, and finds Jimmy standing there; the perfect person to lean on. Rather than dive into the Phone In A Basket story, Jimmy says he’s there for Alice and Tia, but mostly for himself. The two sit down a bench, Jimmy breaks the ice by saying it’s been “a shitty couple of years,” and in a full-circle moment so perfect and so Bill Lawrence that it feels gloriously genuine rather than incredibly cheesy, Jimmy motions to a woman across the tracks and says, “How bout her? What’s her story?”
The nod to Louis and Sarah’s train station tradition, which he shared with Alice, gives characters and viewers alike so much context by saying so little. We know that Jimmy showed up for Alice and took the time to hear her out. He learned about Louis and put himself in his shoes. He confronted his own past mistakes, apologized to his daughter, and opened his heart to true forgiveness — and in doing so, he not only saved himself, but Louis’ life.
After laughing over made-up backstories of school teachers, brooding rock stars, and an assassin, Fink’s “Looking Too Closely” (the Season 2 premiere end credits song) plays as Jimmy exhales and puts his arm around Louis. The men turn to look at each other, and as a train passes, Shrinking cuts to black before directing viewers in need of support to apple.com/heretohelp. The stirring, incredibly hopeful exchange was the perfect way to tee up Season 3’s moving forward theme, and we can’t wait to see what Shrinking has in store. Read on for everything we know about Shrinking Season 3.
Shrinking Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+.
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