Jason Segel’s character in the new Apple TV+ drama, shrank, breaks every wizard rule during the first loop. But apparently, it’s okay! , because It’s funny and it seems to work every time.
The series that started streaming today and that hails from Segel as well Ted LassoBill Lawrence and Brett Goldstein cover similar topics as football comedy. But shrank He looks at grief and other issues through the lens of a therapist who can’t help it Himself.
In a bit, we’ll ask you what you think of the premiere. But first, a quick summary of “Coin Flip”.
At the beginning of the episode, we see our main character, Segel’s Jimmy, interrupted by his concerned neighbor Liz (Cougar TownKrista Miller), during a late-night backyard pool party filled with drugs, alcohol, and the company of two young women. Jimmy reluctantly shuts down the “party” as the sun comes up, then heads inside to see his teenage daughter Alice (generationLukita Maxwell), straighten a disheveled kitchen. The separation between father and daughter is evident in their short and awkward conversation.
When a sweaty, weary Jimmy arrives at work later, we get a montage of his clients looking shallow and predictable. In the end, fed up, Jimmy decides to give Grace to his client (Saturday Night LiveHeidi Gardner) ultimatum: Either she leaves her “emotionally abusive” husband or she stops coming to Jimmy for therapy. Grace is taken aback by this and simply says “OK” before walking out the door without further explanation.
After an unexpected outburst during Grace’s session, Jimmy is joined by co-workers Gabby (love lifeJessica Williams) and Paul (star WarsHarrison Ford is in the restroom and ranting about his patients. Later that day, Gabby asks him to see her latest patient as a favor. Reluctantly, Jimmy agrees to forgo his planned bubble bath and watch Home Alone (For the first time, he admits, which doesn’t seem possible) to confront Army vet Sean (CSI: Vegas‘Luke Tennie.) During Shawn’s session, Jimmy yawns conspicuously, which enrages Shawn enough that he leaves.
happy times | The next scene opens with Jimmy reminiscing about his wife, Tia, who we later find out is dead. After Liz warns him that he needs to pull himself together and mend his relationship with Alice, Jamie makes breakfast. She opts for the overnight oatmeal, looking forward to it warily, but at least he tried, right?
Jimmy’s first session of the day is with Sean, who returns despite telling his parents that Jimmy “sucked balls”. (I must love his honesty.) Jimmy Sean promises that he is he “Good at this,” his phone rings ironically as he picks it up mid-session. It’s Grace, who left her husband as Jimmy demanded. He hangs up excited to tell Shawn that he “helped her out”, but Shawn doesn’t seem impressed.
Fight the good fight | Then, Jimmy has a “cool” idea to take Sean to the gym to argue a bit, hoping that working out will release his pent-up anger. Even though Shawn’s bruises looked horrible afterward, he seemed to be enjoying himself. The two have a heartwarming moment afterwards, but are then interrupted by Jimmy in an impulse to leave after spotting his “best friend”, Brian (Ugly BettyMichael Urey). (Why wouldn’t he want to see it? We didn’t find out in this episode.)
Later, after we learn that Jimmy’s wife has died in a car accident, we watch him again as he tries to make up for his recent shortcomings in Alice. She seemed grateful for a second, but then admitted that his efforts weren’t enough to make up for his terrible behavior after her mother’s death. “You’ve been walking around for so long like it just happened to you, but it happened to us. It happened to me, and I’ve been dealing with it on my own because I had to,” says Alice. (Ouch.)
Winning is winning | When Sean later exercises patience instead of hitting the guy he bumps into in the street, he calls out to Jimmy, who comes running. They celebrate this victory by deciding to go to Alice’s soccer game. Racing through the city to get to the right time, they encounter a lot of obstacles (fences, hills, traffic, oh my).
Once they arrive, Grace’s furious husband approaches Jimmy and punches him in the face. Shawn, in turn, defends his contraction by whacking the crap off the guy while everyone else watches; The police end up taking him in handcuffs. Jimmy ends up with an ice pack, a bloody nose, and thanks from Alice for coming.
Now it’s your turn. What do you think of the premiere? Do you like Segel in this role? Rate it via the poll below, then ask in the comments your thoughts!