Warning: This article contains spoilers for Shrinking season 2, episode 6, "In a Lonely Place."Brett Goldstein's writing and acting create a powerful scene between his character, Louis, and Alice (Lukita Maxwell) in Shrinking season 2 has been building toward a confrontation between him and Alice. In an earlier episode, Alice goes to the coffee shop where Louis works and begins to confront him, but she storms out as she becomes overwhelmed with her grief and anger.
Alice's resentment towards Louis remained unresolved, leading to her making the mistake of sleeping with her best friend's boyfriend, Connor (Gavin Lewis). Meanwhile, when Louis goes to Jimmy (Jason Segel) and Alice's house to return her wallet that she accidentally left at the coffee shop, he crosses paths with Brian (Michael Urie). While Brian is initially hostile towards Louis, he quickly becomes empathetic, leading to a secretive and unexpected friendship between the two characters, and when Alice learns of this, she demands to be taken to Louis.
Shrinking Season 2 Handled Alice's Emotional Visit With Louis Extremely Well
This Louis & Alice Scene Strikes A Difficult, But Effective Balance
The confrontation that follows is handled well as it deftly balances deep tension and awkwardness while being heartfelt and even humorous. Louis does not beg Alice for forgiveness or try to make excuses for what happened the night of the accident. He is receptive to what Alice has to say and validates her feelings, even when that means her saying devastating things about him and the pain he caused. Louis not only listens but asks sincere questions that allow him to better know Alice and even Tia.
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Instead of simply seeing Louis as the villainous monster responsible for her mother's death, Alice is able to see him as a sensitive person tormenting himself for his actions. He even helps remind Alice of a special memory she had of her mother. The two characters are emotionally vulnerable with each other; it gets tense when Alice shares what she wrote in the letter to Louis, but their conversation is also healing. Meanwhile, Brian's palpable discomfort, saying things like "Water is amazing" and "We love seats," provides an appropriately humorous touch to the difficult scene as well.
Why Brett Goldstein Deserves Credit For Alice & Louis' Big Scene
Goldstein Brought This Moment In Shrinking To Life In More Than One Way
In addition to being the actor who plays Louis, and one of the show's creators and producers, Goldstein wrote the script for "In a Lonely Place." The scene is incredibly well-written in its development of awkward tension and sentimental memories of Tia before culminating with an earned sense of forgiveness. Alice, Louis, and Brian's dispositions all feel natural and consistent with their characters, rather than contrived for the sake of drama.
Brett Goldstein, Jason Segel, and Bill Lawrence co-created Shrinking.
Shrinking's stellar writing is further enhanced by Goldstein and Maxwell's performances, as they make the scene feel genuinely heartbreaking, touching, and hopeful. Alice's anger, frustration, sadness, and the unexpected solace she finds in her conversation with Louis all come across as genuine because of Maxwell's portrayal. As for Louis, his appearances have been relatively brief compared to other Shrinking characters in season 2, but Goldstein takes advantage of this scene to capture how kind, thoughtful, and self-loathing his character is, which makes him feel more developed than ever before.
Why Alice Forgave Louis So Quickly In Shrinking Season 2
Alice Follows In Her Mother's Footsteps In Shrinking Season 2
Alice forgives Louis because she realizes that it is what her mother would have done. The story she tells Louis about her mother buying the three Goofy hats demonstrates how Tia was always thinking about how to help other people. Tia would not want Alice to spend the rest of her life consumed by the anger and bitterness she feels towards Louis. Alice can also see how much Louis is torturing himself, and there is no need for her to further contribute to that pain.
This is a beautiful way of honoring Tia's memory and ties into the season's overarching focus on forgiveness.
Now that Alice has forgiven Louis and formed a connection with him, she may continue to help him, just as Brian has been doing, and just as Tia would have done. This is a beautiful way of honoring Tia's memory and ties into the season's overarching focus on forgiveness. Alice makes enormous progress in her personal journey in this episode, but Jimmy is unlikely to forgive as easily, especially considering how explosively he reacts to Louis earlier in the season. Jimmy could learn a great deal and make strides in his healing by learning from Alice in Shrinking season 2.
Shrinking
- Release Date
- January 26, 2023
- Showrunner
- Bill Lawrence
- Directors
- Bill Lawrence
Cast
Jimmy
Luke TennieSean
WHERE TO WATCH
In this series, a therapist grappling with personal tragedy begins to employ a radically candid approach with his clients and in his personal life. As he navigates his roles as a father, friend, and professional, his newfound method leads to unexpected consequences and self-discovery.
- Writers
- Jason Segel
- Seasons
- 2
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