Shrinking Season 3, Episode 5, “Hold Your Horsies,” explores the choices that come from various catalysts in the characters’ lives. This episode, written by Sofi Selig and directed by Randall Keenan Winston, takes some big swings (The end of the episode!) that propel the season forward. Even so, Shrinking does a great job of not dropping other narratives, like the new rift in Liz and Matthew’s dynamic. Some of the episode’s best moments are its quieter ones, like a productive conversation between Alice and Sean. “Hold Your Horsies” can be a little heavy-handed with its themes and lessons, but it never detracts from the final product. Shrinking is clear without talking down to its characters or audience because it leads with earnestness.
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Sean, Alice, and Stepping Out of Patterns
“Hold Your Horsies” makes Alice and Gaby’s casual therapy sessions their own. That reflect the differences in Gaby and Paul’s professional approaches, as well as their dynamics with Alice. Relatedly, Alice and Gaby’s relationship remains criminally underrated, so it’s genuinely exciting to see them share this scene. It’s also impactful to see how Gaby’s stopping Alice’s negative self-talk spiral propels Alice through the rest of the episode. It’s really exciting to imagine what’s ahead for Alice (and Lukita Maxwell as a performer) in Shrinking Season 3 (and the recently renewed Season 4), now that Alice plans to move through the world differently.
The episode explores Alice’s acute sense of awareness. While partly because she became a “mini adult,” it has everything to do with Alice’s core. Relatedly, she notices a change in Sean and sticks around so he can articulate it. That scene is impactful since Paul names Marisol as a catalyst to help Sean. It feels huge for Sean to say, “Marisol doesn’t get it. My truck is not just a truck. It’s about structure and feeling in control and stability,” and “I feel safe now. Finally.” It’s nice that Alice doesn’t refute that but encourages Sean not to use that safety as an excuse not to live; it works coming from her.
Unfortunately, despite their shared history, the relationship between Sean and Marisol is still lacking substance. It’s like Shrinking is missing a few scenes that could really sell their dynamic’s significance. That disconnect is all the more evident in that scene with Alice and Sean because the two previous seasons are felt, where an entire previous relationship isn’t all that present in Sean and Marisol’s scenes. That’s something that can quickly turn around with some more scenes, and hopefully, Sean’s realization leads to just that.
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Gaby, Derrick, and the Inner Circle
Elsewhere, as simple as it sounds, it’s exciting to see Gaby so excited about work that she’s dreaming up a trauma center. Given where this season starts with her, this confidence and passion boost lands as a deserved win for Gaby. It’s understandable that Derrick “we”-ing her rocks that a bit. It raises a real emotional reaction in the character, but Jessica Williams’ facial expression is a fantastic beat of physical comedy. Derrick being just over Gaby’s shoulder when it happens makes it all the more chaotic – and rewarding, when he knows her well enough all along.
Williams and Damon Wayans Jr. have such excellent chemistry and comedic timing that they balance their scenes’ silly and sentimental sides. Look no further than the scene when Gaby tries to lift Derrick onto the counter! Derrick doesn’t even have to be in the scene for the picture of their relationship to become sharper. The reveal that he anticipates her needs is incredibly endearing and meaningful since Gaby is always taking care of others. “Hold Your Horsies” earns the fact that Gaby feels sure of Derrick.
The inner circle of it all feels like Shrinking trying to remind the audience about Gaby’s story since Season 1. Even so, it’s completely enjoyable. The emotional impact of these group scenes always lands because the characters have believable connections. Therefore, there’s so much for Shrinking to play with at any given moment. The threads in that scene – Paul listening to Phyllis’s story, Brian begging Liz for a rock, Liz digging at Aliyah – make it better overall.
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Jimmy and Meg Make Things (More) Complicated
The idea that Jimmy and Meg can be each other’s catalysts has been in the works since the ongoing “daddy” bit in “My Bad.” Also, Shrinking has been anything but subtle about Meg and Dave’s relationship over the years. Of course, there’s irony in Jimmy wanting something uncomplicated before Sofi, who “seems very right for” him, and choosing the most complicated option – the married daughter of his father-like mentor. The same is true for Meg, who chooses the man who is her father’s co-worker and like (being the key word there) a long-lost brother.
The episode repeatedly defines how complicated Jimmy and Meg’s dynamic is. Shrinking most effectively finds a parallel when Meg recognizes how badly Jimmy needs that thank-you from Paul and knows he won’t get it. That relatability pulls them together in the way the episode subverts earlier. They both want something romantically less complicated than Meg’s relationship with Dave and Jimmy’s (hopeful) eventual relationship with Sofi, and they crave an emotional connection that Paul can’t (or won’t, really) give them.
In fairness, “Hold Your Horsies” makes it abundantly clear that these characters won’t know if it’s a wrong choice until they make it. Shrinking has plenty to wade through in the next episode – if not even longer. The touch of Jason Segel singing “Night Swimming” immediately eases some of the tension of waiting for the other shoe to drop. Even so, it doesn’t hold a candle to Segel and Michael Urie performing nearly the entirety of “Confrontation” from Les Misérables. That lead-in to the title sequence is one of Shrinking’s very best.
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