Shrinking – Season 1 Episode 9 “Moving Forward” Recap & Review

Moving Forward

In Shrinking Season 1 Episode 9, Jimmy takes a client to spread his mother’s ashes to help him move forward, all while processing his own complicated feelings with Tia’s birthday coming up. 

At home, Jimmy takes out a scrapbook Tia kept of their lives together. He and Alice reminisce together about the music “listening parties” they used to have with Tia.

Brian reinstates Jimmy as his wedding officiant and tries hard not to regret that decision when Jimmy cries through the practice run of his opening remarks. And as Jimmy can no longer fulfill the role of best man, Brian has to ask his dad to step up–but he refuses.

Meanwhile, Paul prepares to receive a career achievement award in Las Vegas, but he doesn’t think he deserves to be celebrated. Jimmy disagrees and urges him to invite Meg and her family to the awards ceremony. When he does, however, it only angers Meg that he’s putting work first again by organizing family time around his award. She’ll be busy that weekend attending her son’s play.

When picking up Paul, Gaby finds out that he’s been sleeping with his doctor, Julie Baram. To add to her delight, Gaby reconciles with Nico over lunch. And when Nico insists he’s doing better and tries to rekindle their relationship, she nearly falls for him again. But in trying to avoid Nico’s draw, she ends up in bed with Jimmy again. She can’t fall back into Nico’s orbit. Right now has to be about moving forward, which is why she decides to apply for a professorship.

Sean’s dad, meanwhile, gets his son a job in accounting. Sean hates it however, causing Alice to help bring his catering dreams into reality. They ask Liz to invest in his business, and she agrees.

When Jimmy learns of Meg’s reaction to Paul, he decides it’s his turn to give Paul some difficult advice. Just because Meg’s refusal hurt him doesn’t mean he shouldn’t keep putting himself out there. If Meg won’t go to Vegas, he should ask Julie.

At the last possible second, Paul does ask Julie to go away with him for the weekend. Instead of going to Vegas for his award, however, they attend his grandson’s play and make Meg extremely happy.

At the end of the episode, Alice and Jimmy bring back their listening parties. It’s a sweet moment of connection until Alice realizes she forgot her mom’s birthday. Feeling terrible about herself, she cuts the listening party short.

The Episode Review

There’s a lot going on in this penultimate episode of Shrinking’s first season–too much going on, I would say. I understand the drive to tie up loose ends before the season finale, but that propels rushed and unsatisfying conclusions here for arcs that should have been more important.

Brian is suddenly allowing Jimmy to be his officiant (What was the purpose for that initial conflict, anyway?). Gaby is reconciling with Nico. Jimmy and Alice are finally connecting. It’s so much, so fast, and none of these developments ever had time to breathe.

One thing the show has and continues to get right, however, is the ever-present yet ever-changing nature of grief. Tia is still such a large part of Jimmy’s and Alice’s story. The moving journey of their grief grounds the drama series and balances out the show’s shallower moments.