This article contains spoilers for Shrinking Season 3 Episode 9.
Cobie Smulders and Jason Segel in Shrinking © Apple TV
Shrinking was supposed to come to an end with Season 3, before securing a fourth-season renewal ahead of its premiere. “Daddy Issues” therefore feels like the beginning of the end, reflective in a way that suggests co-creators Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein, and Jason Segel are preparing to say goodbye, even if they no longer have to. Whether extending the series will ultimately serve it remains uncertain, but Season 3 has reached such consistent highs that continuing the story feels earned – for now, at least.
Each season of Shrinking has a clear thematic focus. If Season 1 explored grief, and Season 2 navigated forgiveness, then Season 3 turns its attention to moving forward. “Daddy Issues” leans into that idea, focusing on what progress looks like when haunted by the past. Jimmy (Segel) remains at the centre of that exploration. Throughout the season, he has positioned himself as a bystander in his own life, paralysed by the fear of loss. He convinces himself that opening up will only lead to heartbreak.
Jason Segel as Jimmy in Shrinking Season 3 © Apple TV
This episode further highlights the fragile progress he has made. His recent attempts to get back out there – dating, kissing Meg (Lily Rabe), and pursuing Sofi (Cobie Smulders) – suggest a man trying, however, tentatively to step forward. His early interactions with Sofi in the episode strike a balance between the awkwardness of a relationship its participants are trying not to rush and the ease of a pairing that feels as though they have known each other for years. Both reinforce the sense that this relationship could offer Jimmy something real.
Yet Shrinking refuses to let that progress feel easy. The episode opens with a flashback to Jimmy and Tia (Lilan Bowden) hiking together, grounding the episode in the reality that Jimmy’s past remains ever-present. The transition back to the present, where Jimmy walks with Liz (Christa Miller), Gaby (Jessica Williams), and Derrick (Damon Wayans Jr.), serves as a reminder of how life moves on. Few shows handle grief with this level of consistency, and the result continues to hit like a gut punch.
At the same time, the episode makes effective use of its ensemble, offering light-heartedness where needed. With Alice (Lukita Maxwell) preparing to leave for college and Paul (Harrison Ford) nearing retirement, the series recognises that its core group won’t remain together for much longer. That awareness leads to moments such as Alice asking whether she should cut her hair before college. Brian (Michael Urie) and Marisol (Isabella Gomez) encourage her to shave her head, earning an easy chuckle between the episode’s more touching scenes.
Harrison Ford as Paul in Shrinking Season 3 © Apple TV
Sean’s (Luke Tennie) storyline provides one of the episode’s more straightforward moments of progress. His success in securing the sous chef position serves as a payoff that feels both deserved and satisfying. His final session with Paul emphasises how much he has grown, while also marking the end of a significant chapter in his life. Paul insists it has been a privilege to watch Sean change. Sean notes that Paul has changed too, to the point where he barely recognises him. Tennie and Ford prove consistently compelling scene partners. Season 4 would do well to bring them together as much as possible.
Ford continues to deliver some of the best work of his career, surely enough to warrant award recognition. His interactions with Gaby once again bring the best out of him this week. Gaby’s hesitation about returning to work after Maya’s (Sherry Cola) death reflects the internal conflict plaguing her all season long. She fears that going back means settling rather than progressing, particularly with her trauma centre dream still at the forefront of her mind. Paul challenges that notion, insisting it isn’t going backwards to do something you excel at.
If Gaby won’t return for herself, he asks her to do it for him, given it’s his final week at work. If she can’t stand it after a month, she can quit and rub it in his face on a boat in Connecticut. In these moments, the episode makes it clear that Paul has begun to consider what and who he will leave behind.
That sense of legacy becomes the missing piece Gaby needs. After helping a patient and realising she is ready to return, Paul tells her to say the word, and the practice is hers to use as a trauma centre. It would mean the world to him to pass on his knowledge and wisdom for her to carry forward. While Ford and Williams deliver beautifully devastating performances, it’s a fitting reminder that moving forward means building on the past rather than abandoning it.
Jason Segel as Jimmy and Lukita Maxwell as Alice in Shrinking Season 3 © Apple TV
Elsewhere, Jeff Daniels returns as Randy, Jimmy’s father. As one of only two family members Alice has left, Jimmy tries to support the relationship his daughter so desperately wants to further with her grandfather, agreeing to fix up a car with them. However, it proves far from straightforward. The car is revealed to be for Alice, even though Jimmy had already bought her one from Sofi, immediately creating tension. Randy only deepens that discomfort when he admits he and Tia didn’t get along, before adding that he gets good vibes from Sofi and sees her as a better fit for Jimmy.
Jimmy inevitably falls back into old habits rooted in his father’s abandonment, undermining the progress he has made. Those unresolved begin to bleed into his relationship with Sofi – and with Paul in the final two episodes – something he comes to regret. During an argument, Sofi tells Jimmy that throwing Tia in her face is not fair. Jimmy admits he is not ready for them, and she acknowledges that they moved too fast. Segel remains exceptional here, reinforcing the idea that moving forward often means confronting the very patterns you’re trying, and failing, to escape.
“Daddy Issues” is a masterclass in all that moving forward entails. Shrinking continues to prove what happens when an ensemble is given the space to grow together. With The Studio and Ted Lasso unlikely to compete at this year’s Emmys, Apple TV would be wise to put its full weight behind the comedy. Shrinking has positioned itself as a contender, one capable of matching Hacks in every department while carving out a voice entirely its own.
