Shrinking – Season 2 Episode 10 Recap & Review

Changing Patterns

Episode 10 of Shrinking Season 2 begins with Jimmy and Brian helping Gaby’s mom move into her house. Meanwhile, Alice tells Paul that she feels ready to navigate life without therapy for a while. Around the same time, Julie’s husband passes away, and everyone attends the funeral, where Paul awkwardly mentions how Julie will be “crashing in” with him, still visibly uncomfortable with the idea of sharing his space.

As Alice’s 18th birthday approaches, Jimmy plans a big surprise for her—a car just like the one her mother used to drive. Sean takes charge of baking the cake while the others focus on party preparations. Liz’s changed behaviour around Derek is called out by everyone, and she finally admits she’s been living with guilt.

Later, Gaby and Liz negotiate how long Alice should spend at her party with family and friends, while Jimmy and Derek go to buy a second-hand car for her. Jimmy bonds with the car owner but awkwardly leaves due to his doubts.

At work, Gaby reluctantly agrees to babysit a patient’s child, leading to a heated argument with Paul. Both hurl criticisms about each other’s inability to deal with personal situations. Paul points out that Gaby is living with her mother against her own wishes, while Gaby fires back about his discomfort in sharing his space with Julie.

Alice’s birthday goes smoothly, with Jimmy gifting her the car and all her friends celebrating together. Later, Alice takes the car out for a drive with her friends and receives a message from Louis wishing her a happy birthday but saying they should stop staying in touch. Suspicious, Alice confronts Louis and correctly guesses that Jimmy must have spoken to him.

Meanwhile, Paul apologizes to Julie and formally invites her to move in with him. He updates Gaby about this, inspiring her to confront her mother with the truth—though it doesn’t go as planned.

Back at home, Derek expresses his frustration with Liz’s newfound behaviour after the incident. However, as he’s chatting with Jimmy and eating cake, Liz finally reverts to her true self in a sleep-deprived moment, which makes Derek visibly happy.

As the episode wraps up, Jimmy receives a text from the car owner, but before he can respond, Alice confronts him about asking Louis to stay away from her.

The Episode Review

The Shrinking Season 2 lives up to its name. While the characters’ problems are indeed “shrinking,” the episode shows that the challenges of life are far from over. Sean is carving out his place in the world, Gaby is starting a new relationship, Jimmy is working through his loss and getting better at supporting Alice, Brian is becoming comfortable with the idea of parenting, and Alice and Louis continue to find solace in each other despite their complicated dynamic.

Even our favourite grump, Paul, takes steps toward opening up to new relationships, all while still referring to kids as “bald f***.” (This will never get old!)

The episode cleverly underscores the fact that healing doesn’t just mean moving past trauma—it’s about accepting and engaging with difficult situations, a lesson Jimmy is still struggling to fully embrace, unlike Alice. Overall, it’s a fitting end to another stellar episode of this seriously comic show. Like the lives it mirrors, the plot ebbs and flows, but it consistently leaves a lasting impression.