Shrinking – Season 1 Episode 10 Recap, Review & Ending Explained

Closure

Why is Alice mad at Jimmy?

In Shrinking Season 1 Episode 10, Jimmy decides it’s time to move forward. He boxes up Tia’s things and takes off his wedding ring. But Alice can’t handle the changes, and accuses him of being selfish.

She later confides in him that she feels like she’s losing little parts of Tia. She doesn’t want to talk to Jimmy about it, but he assures her he’ll be there for her whenever she does.

Does Sean allow Liz to help with his catering business?

Liz doesn’t know how to tell Sean that she wants to be more involved in his catering business. When she finally draws up the courage to ask, she finds it’s not a problem for him, and it assures her that maybe she’s more likable than she thinks.

Does Gaby get the professorship?

When Liz finds out that Paul made Gaby write her own letter of recommendation for Paul to sign, she storms into his office with Jimmy.

Together, they confront Paul about not being there for Gaby in the way he should. Jimmy tells Paul it’s not fair to Gaby that he’s been more of a mentor to Jimmy than he has to her.

Paul takes this to heart and goes one step beyond writing Gaby a letter of recommendation. He interrupts Gaby’s interview for the professorship to insist that Gaby get the job–before he’s told that it’s already been offered to her. But he continues on anyway to recommend all her talents and give her a boost of support he’s been withholding until now.

Is Alice able to move forward?

Jimmy takes out Tia’s things again so Alice can go through it all. He’s realized that it’s her choice too whether or not she wants to put her mother’s things away. While going through the boxes, Alice shares memories about Tia with Sean. In the end, she gets to hold onto the memories that matter most to her.

Does Jimmy break down at Brian’s wedding?

In a show of friendship to Brian, Jimmy is able to convince his father to be his best man. But he’s still not sure if he’ll be able to hold it together as the officiant. When the time comes for the ceremony, Jimmy can barely hold himself together. 

Standing in front of everyone, he decides to forfeit his speech and speak from the heart. Although his wife died, he shares that every second with her was worth it. He speaks lovingly of Tia, Brian, and Charlie. And before Jimmy marries Brian and Charlie, he tells everyone to be there for each other and to not forget that everyone here has each other’s backs.

Are Jimmy and Gaby still sleeping together?

At the wedding, Liz notices Gaby looking at Jimmy a certain way. Gaby recently confided in Liz about how she’s been sleeping with Jimmy. It’s fine, she thinks, because she won’t catch feelings.

But the look Gaby gives Jimmy at the wedding tells Liz differently. Jimmy is no longer “safe” for her.

Does Grace kill Donny?

After the wedding, Paul tells Jimmy he’s done well, although he’s still doubtful about his unorthodox methods with patients. Jimmy then has to admit–he got really lucky. All of his patients have made incredible progress.

In his last session with Grace, she talked about how she’s started to love herself and hold boundaries with Donny–something she owes to Jimmy. But Jimmy’s impact on Grace’s life could have more far-reaching consequences than he thought.

The episode ends with Grace hiking with Donny. He insults her and calls her an idiot just as they make it to the top of a cliff. It’s the last straw for Grace. As Donny looks out at the view, Grace pushes him over. “Boop,” she says. She learned that one from Jimmy.

The Episode Review

While a bit choppy in trying to wrap up each seasonal arc one by one, Shrinking’s season finale does manage to bring most characters into a new chapter of their lives in moving ways.

I was going to be dissatisfied with the show’s failure to wrestle with the ethics of Jimmy’s practice, until that unexpected scene with Grace and Donny. It’s not the nuanced treatment I was hoping for, but it gives me hope that the show has more in store for Jimmy and his character development.

It would be crazy to say that Donny’s (supposed) death is totally Jimmy’s fault. He has sincerely been trying to help Grace, after all. But maybe this will kick off a reckoning for Jimmy. Maybe he’ll finally have to struggle with the upsets he may have caused to the people he’s in the business of helping.

I feel like the ultimate message of Shrinking is to never lose sight of that mission–helping people, being there for people–while still allowing them to live their own story and make their own changes at a pace that’s right for them. I think Jimmy at least learns that in his personal life, if not his professional one. Perhaps that will be for another season!