Apology Tour

Brett Goldstein (best known as the shoulderless and foul-mouthed Roy Kent on Ted Lasso) should not be allowed to write for TV. Not one believable word came out of the mouth of any of the characters in this episode. His writing is self-consciously "look-at-me-aren't-I-cute-and-clever", gross, and full of expletives but it's not identifiable as anything real humans would say. The character's do not do what real humans would do. The premise of the series had promise but one can't care about any of the characters when the writing is designed to call attention to itself. There are other problems with Shrinking, most notably the casting of Harrison Ford, 80, as an actively employed therapist and the costume designs for Alice, the endlessly swearing (bad writing again) and overly-sexualized teenage daughter. Good writing allows a viewer to lose oneself in the story. I've had trouble engaging with the stories from the very beginning of this series and this episode is the one which caused me to permanently shrink from Shrinking.

Some of the best writing of any show. This is a choice episode. It is so raw because the transitional episode where Jimmy and everyone got drunk caused them to make mistakes which they are regretting in the morning. They now have to pull themselves back together to get on with their lives. Of course, Alice is really hurting, because she got caught up in her attraction to Sean and made a big mistake. Paul realizes he has to get to his place because his daughter is coming. He is left with a horrible choice brought on by good intentions. And Jimmy slept with Gaby and now has to sort everything out when they are really colleagues. Tremendous balance of emotions and realities. The scene with Paul and his daughter is so real and so painful.

The show is great. Brett Goldstein's writing is so fast paced and clever. The characters are relatable and well written. The dude who said it was bad also gave multiple Fifty Shades movies a 10/10... so... he doesn't know good movies. Each and every character is so interesting. It takes a really good script to make Harrison Ford come out of hibernation and NOT phone in his performance. He hasn't been good since "42!" Let's be serious... this show is a fantastic showcase of how to write an ensemble cast. Each character is interesting in their own right but MORE interesting when in combination with other characters. If you hate this show? You're a child. Grow up.