Sigh. Where should I start? shrinkage?

That's how I started my recaps of the first season of this funny and often heartwarming, if clumsy, AppleTV+ series. I almost wrote “Sitcom.” That seems like an apt description of this Jason Segel/Harrison Ford show, which is about a psychiatrist (get it?) who goes rogue in therapy with his patients. And yet the show's actual themes, dark and ethically unclear as they are, make such a label seem like a misnomer.

I'm bringing this all up because I hoped so final moments of the first season of the comedy would usher in a much more biting tone, the first two episodes of shrinkage The second season shows that little has changed, at least tonally and narratively.

Sure, Jimmy (Segel) is still reeling from the fact that his client Grace (Heidi Gardner) pushed her abusive husband off a cliff and landed her in prison while awaiting trial. (Thankfully, Michael Urie's Brian will be there to help.) It's an obvious sign that Jimmy's therapy techniques (aka “Jimmying,” or crossing every ethical guardrail imaginable) may not actually be as effective as that by Jimmy I'd like to think they are. Will this force him to reckon with the damage he is causing and that he is clearly using his patients as a stepping stone to his own recovery, making him a rather callous and self-serving therapist? Judging by this two-episode premiere, the answer is a tentative yes – but only to the extent that it makes for some pleasant, enjoyable viewing.

The first episode back draws heavily on the trauma that Jimmy himself has been working through: we see scenes from the night his wife was killed by a drunk driver, a scene that still haunts him and his and his world daughter forever changed. The fact that he reveals many of these details to one of his patients is another reminder of this shrinkage They should in no way be construed as anything remotely resembling what healthy sessions look and feel like in the real world.

As Jimmy struggles to admit that he may need to get back to basics (and perhaps set boundaries with patients and friends alike), we actually see the tension underlying this shrinkage. This is a show that wants to champion the importance of therapy and one's mental health, but wants to do so within the framework of a 21st century single-cam comedy. The former requires neatly drawn boundaries and a clear separation between a therapist's work and their life, while the latter insists on blurring these to create the clutter between the many characters that makes good television. And while Jimmy keeps trying to turn people like Sean (Luke Tennie) into “Jimmy” and getting his teeth knocked out in the process (because Sean thought boxing was a good way to encourage him not to run away from his past), ( apparently) the series' voice of reason (that would be Paul from Ford) keeps nagging him.

Maybe it's time for him to stop seeing Sean. “It’s Not This Child’s Job to Heal You” may be the show at its clearest and most confident. But if he doesn't see Sean anymore, that would mean Paul would have to take him with him. That would mean that he is one of his patients – maybe even his favorite patient (played by Peelsis Neil Flynn). Of course it's true shrinkage Fashion, Paul does the right thing and ends up letting Jimmy's unethical tendencies influence him and ends up befriending his long-time client, which feels like a fantasy for any of us who think we could be best friends with our therapists if they were just not, you know, our therapists. This is probably proof of that shrinkage wants to have his cake and eat it too.

Perhaps that's why the series is most fascinating when it focuses solely on Jimmy's own life. Watching him and Gabby (Jessica Williams) navigate their shitty sex buddy situation is both hilarious and endearing. They may all be tongue-in-cheek sitcoms, especially since Liz (Christa Miller) spends so much time trying to keep her new best friend away from Jimmy for her own good, even showing up at her new campus office (remember, Gabby is a teacher ). now!) and confronts her in front of her new eager students. But this is where the real comedy lies – and this is where some of the most moving meditations on processing trauma lie.

Which brings us to the big reveal of the season: We knew Brett Goldstein was going to be there shrinkage Crew (he is co-creator after all) and boy, does he play a key player. It's Goldstein who shows up unannounced at Jimmy's office, hoping to talk to him – to actually apologize for drunkenly driving into his wife's car. It's a bombastic moment that will have a significant impact throughout the season.

Jimmy yells at him to leave and later takes his time before sharing the visit with his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell). It obviously upsets him. And there are fears he will return to the self-destructive behavior that followed his wife's tragic death. On the other hand, this could very well describe his sex maneuvers with Gabby, which are becoming increasingly sensitive: the two get into an argument when, after coming over to comfort Gabby about family matters, he was clearly hoping to have sex with her again – even after some ground rules were laid down (namely, that they wouldn't do it). Can they be friends and fuck? Can they fuck and remain colleagues? Can they really untangle their feelings for each other and remain civil?

As always, the show shows us once again how important boundaries are – between therapists, but also between friends and colleagues. We'll see how that works out, especially since each of these characters likes to play fast and loose with them.

This is definitely the case with Paul, who has much stricter rules with Sean than Jimmy. How novel! A therapist who doesn't constantly text you, only answer your most urgent calls, and doesn't see you where you live every day!

Here is the moment shrinkage offers us what therapy can look like: Paul equips Sean with some tools of his own to deal with the anxiety he's feeling these days about the upcoming commercial for the food truck he and Liz run. For someone who still hasn't spoken to their father and doesn't have a social circle outside of their (former) therapist, this is a valid concern. Liz is clearly excited about Sean and the truck; He doesn't want to put that at risk. But he values ​​his privacy.

Enter: Desire Reversal Tool. No, it's not a Nic Cage erotic thriller. It is a way to run toward what is causing you fear and anxiety rather than away from it. While he imagines what Liz would say (in the worst case scenario), Sean is able to be honest with her (in real life) and is rewarded by the kind person she doesn't yet think she's developing into.

There is growth everywhere in these two episodes. Paul and Julie get along well while recognizing how difficult it can be to build a life around someone their age. Jimmy reluctantly recognizes the error of some of his ways; Gabby may finally be setting the boundaries she needs with Jimmy; and Liz obviously enjoys being a little more likable. Even Alice, now legally allowed to drive, is taking steps toward perhaps some much-needed closure.

As these various characters take stock of where they are and where they want to go, we eventually see Alice take the car and drive to the one place she probably shouldn't have gone: the drunk driver's house. This won't end well.

Crazy observations

• • You might think this was almost two decades ago Grey's Anatomy While it may have perfected the maudlin needle drop for every type of end-of-episode montage imaginable, other shows would work from different angles to bring out our tears. But here we have a show that drops the “Cope” of aka Lisa.
• • What do we think about “Roommates with Bennies”? How about “Double D”? Is one of them fetch?
• • “Screw hiking! Fuck the headband! I actually really like this headband.” This is proof that Michael Urie remains the secret MVP of the series, even though we barely saw him in these two episodes. He actually shows up to be upset that Jimmy didn't tell him he slept with Gabby (which is why his headband hisses), and later to help Gabby unpack and decorate her new apartment (a trick of Liz's to help her friend in times of need).
• • Speaking of her new apartment, have you checked out Gabby's Obama Coffee Table books?
• • The picture read “Jason Segel showing off his chest talents.” shrinkage Bingo card?
• • It's enchanting, how clever shrinkage employs Wendie Malick, showing a softer side of Ford's Paul while emphasizing what a mature (not just older, but actually healthy, boundary-setting and communication-centered) relationship can look like.