The second season finale of Apple TV+ comedy drama series ‘Contraction‘, titled ‘The Last Thanksgiving’, follows Jimmy Lairdefforts to reconnect with one’s girlAlice, with the help of her boss and friend, Paul Rhoades. The psychologist learns that it is important to admit your mistakes to repair your relationship with your beloved child. While he thinks about what he needs to do to make things right with Alice, Gaby struggles to stop thinking about Derrick. Their relationship takes a turn when they speak after the intense fight in the eleventh episode of the second part. The emotional season finally ends with a major decision made by Jimmy regarding Louis, the man who accidentally killed his wife, Tia. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Shrinking Season 2 Episode 12 Recap

“The Last Thanksgiving” begins with Jimmy deciding to make amends with Alice no matter what. He receives meaningful advice from Paul, who asks him to admit his mistakes to his daughter. For the senior therapist, the act of admission or revelation has a healing power that can help repair human relationships. The psychologist’s boss doesn’t want him to wait any longer, which convinces him to decide to have an honest discussion with his child. Surprisingly, he receives a call from Summer, who is being reprimanded at a pharmacy. With her parents away, she calls him for help, because she doesn’t know anyone else to turn to.

After arriving at the store, Jimmy learns that Summer tried to steal a morning-after pill and pays the same to leave the premises with her. Meanwhile, Sean prepares food for his friends. Thanksgiving party. Even if he takes care of the catering, he will not join his companions since his father waiting for him and his friend Jorge. Brian and Charlie prepare for a new chapter in their lives as parents by interviewing candidates for the nanny position. After talking with several people including Liz, they are impressed by Kellie Brown. However, she can only work for them five days a week.

Derek realizes that Kellie’s weekly days off can be seen as a new opportunity for his wife, Liz. The latter struggles to find a new purpose in her life, especially after their children leave home to go to college. Even though she pursues her passion for stones, it doesn’t satisfy her as much. Derek convinces Brian and Charlie to consider Liz as their second nanny, only for the latter to accept the position. Even though Paul plans to celebrate Thanksgiving quietly on his terms, Julie takes him to Gaby’s party, where he realizes that he is lucky to be surrounded by so many people who love and care for him. him.

End of season 2 of Shrinking: why does Jimmy meet Louis?

While Alice celebrates Thanksgiving with her family and friends, Louis is asked by his colleague not to join them for the celebrations due to his involvement in Tia’s death. The confrontation deeply disturbs him, only for him to plunge into grief and guilt. He texts Alice asking for company, but when she doesn’t show up, he contemplates suicide. However, just before he can end his life, Jimmy appears out of nowhere to calm him down. Instead of expressing any anger or rage, the psychologist speaks calmly to Louis and even plays the game of analyzing the people around him.

Jimmy meets Louis to forgive and accept him. Even though he can’t yet accept Tia’s absence, he knows that there is no point in blaming the man for his wife’s death since it was an accident. As a psychologist, he has helped many people make sense of their grief and troubling feelings. This experience is enough for him to understand that Louis, ruthless, will not help him manage his sadness. However, Jimmy keeps his distance from the man because the latter reminds him of his failure as a father.

Every time Louis’ presence becomes evident in his life, Jimmy thinks about the time when Tia died. Shortly after his disappearance, he lost his mind. He got immersed in drugs and with casual companions without caring for her daughter, Alice, or helping her cope with her absence mother. Tia’s death, in a way, made him selfish and lonely, especially at a time when his child needed him the most. He remembers this damnable period every time he meets Louis in one way or another. His anger towards man is therefore no different from his anger towards himself.

Jimmy finally forgives Louis because he accepts this anger towards himself. He stops running away from him and even deals with him by admitting the mistakes he made. As the rage drains from him, he finds Louis tolerable. In the final scene of the series’ second season, Jimmy does not see the man as a killer. Instead, he sees an injured person. His impulse to help overcomes any trace of anger left in him to make him care for the sick man. The psychologist’s actions once again save a precious life, this time from death.

Do Jimmy and Alice reconnect?

Jimmy and Alice make amends afterwards their fierce fight. While the psychologist learns to reconnect with his daughter, she talks to Sean about the difficult situation, then motivates her to accept her father. The veteran has a very complex relationship with his father, Tim, which improves once he accepts the latter as he is. This decision helps her focus on the good things about her parents, which Alice does after her conversation with her friend. When she learns that Jimmy helped Summer, she turns her attention to the myriad of things her father did, even at his worst.

Since Tia’s death, Jimmy has made several mistakes as a father. Her selfishness and ignorance even forced Alice to find a parent in Liz during her emotional absence. Yet, regardless of these drawbacks, the psychologist did many things for her, even if they may seem insignificant or trivial. Looking back, Alice discovers the value of these actions, which helps her empathize with Jimmy. She realizes that her father cares, even if he isn’t perfect. This realization slowly sinks into her, causing her to forgive and reconnect with him.

In Jimmy, Alice has a father who constantly fights for their relationship, something she can’t say about many fathers. When she sees Summer call the psychologist instead of her own parents, Alice must have realized how irreplaceable her father is. Even Paul, one of his trusted companions, had not been a good father. Compared to these numbers, his father is reliable. She can expect him to take care of her, even if he’s not in his best state. Jimmy asking her for forgiveness makes this quality evident and sets the stage for their reunion after a brief separation.

Are Gaby and Derrick getting back together?

Gaby and Derrick’s endearing friendship is threatened when the former emotionally ghosts her former partners instead of being honest with her feelings. This revelation sets the stage for the birth of fears and worries in her boyfriend, who begins to wonder if he will join the line. Given Gaby’s past, it might not have been surprising if this argument killed their relationship for good. However, she overcomes her insecurities and fears to make amends with Derrick and get back together with him. In other words, she faces her true feelings and embraces them, which brings her back to her partner.

Although Gaby is a reliable therapist who helps her clients/patients delve deeper into the intricacies of their minds, she never does the same for herself. She’s been running away from her true feelings and emotions for a long time, which is why she had to ghost her partners until they got a clue. This unhealthy lifestyle finally ends when Derrick makes her confront her feelings. He stands up for himself and turns her attention to his patterns so she can understand that she is holding herself back from taking the next step in their relationship.

Derrick’s actions leave Gaby no choice but to introspect, which helps her accept her mistakes. She extends her hand to him for forgiveness while he wonders if he still exists in her thoughts. Derrick appreciates her efforts to do the right thing, which motivates him to forgive and get back with her. He even brings his mother, Phyllis, to Gaby’s party, showing how perfect he is for her.

Why does Liz give Jimmy a rock?

Even though Liz and Jimmy have been neighbors and friends for a long time, there is an unignorable distance between them. When the psychologist got lost drugs and a hedonistic lifestyle following Tia’s death, Liz had to replace him in Alice’s life. This turn of events must have caused incessant conflict between them. When she looked at him for a long time, all she saw was a failing father. Likewise, Jimmy could only see an intrusive woman replacing him in his child’s life when his attention was turned to her. Maybe that’s why Liz doesn’t give him her signature rock despite the long time they’ve known each other.

Liz changes the nature of her relationship with Jimmy in one of the final scenes of the second season by giving him a rock. His relentless efforts to redeem himself as a father must have greatly influenced this decision. Like Alice, Liz had to realize that he wasn’t a total failure as a parent after seeing him try his best to reconnect with his daughter. Moreover, despite their differences, Jimmy has always been there for her, even if it is to curse her. As she drifted aimlessly through her life, his constant presence and support must have helped her feel grounded. Ultimately, her life wouldn’t have been the same without Jimmy.

Liz wouldn’t have had Alice as a baby, Gaby as a friend, Brian and Charlie as “co-parents”, Sean as a business partner, and Paul as a friend without Jimmy. By giving him a stone, she must recognize his precious presence and influence in her life.

Learn more: Narrowing down: Is Rhoades Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center a real clinic in Pasadena?