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, Episode 6, “In a Lonely Place.” Since it was revealed that Louis was the drunk driver in the car accident that killed Tia (Lilan Bowden), Shrinking season 2 is building up to a showdown between him and Alice. In a previous episode, Alice goes to the coffee shop where Louis works and begins to confront him.but she storms out while overwhelmed with her grief and anger.
Alice’s resentment towards Louis remained unresolvedleading her to make 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 the wallet she accidentally left at the coffee shop, he crosses paths with Brian (Michael Urie). Although Brian is initially hostile towards Louis, he quickly becomes empathetic, leading to a secret and unexpected friendship between the two characters, and when Alice discovers this, she demands to be taken to Louis.
Shrinking Season 2 handled Alice’s emotional visit with Louis extremely well
This Louis and Alice scene strikes a difficult but effective balance
The confrontation that ensues is well handled, as it expertly balances deep tension and awkwardness while also being sincere and even humorous. Louis doesn’t 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 it means she says devastating things about him and the pain he has caused. Louis not only listens, but asks sincere questions that allow him to get to know Alice and even Tia better.
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 who is tormented by 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 tells Louis what she wrote in the letter, but their conversation is also healing. Meanwhile, Brian’s palpable discomfort, saying things like “The water is incredible” and “We love seats,” also provides an appropriately humorous twist to the difficult scene.
Why Brett Goldstein Deserves Credit for Alice and Louis’ Big Scene
Goldstein brought this cringe moment to life in more ways than one
In addition to being the actor who plays Louis and one of the creators and producers of the program, Goldstein wrote the screenplay for “In a Lonely Place.” The scene is incredibly well written in developing an awkward tension and sentimental memories of Tia before culminating in a well-earned sense of forgiveness. Alice, Louis, and Brian’s dispositions feel natural and consistent with their characters, rather than contrived for the sake of drama.
Shrinking‘s stellar writing is further enhanced by performances from Goldstein and Maxwellas they make the scene feel genuinely moving, poignant and hopeful. Alice’s anger, frustration, sadness, and unexpected comfort she finds in her conversation with Louis feel genuine because of Maxwell’s portrayal. As for Louis, his appearances were relatively brief compared to other Shrinking characters from Season 2, but Goldstein takes advantage of this scene to capture how kind, caring, and self-deprecating his character is, which makes him feel more developed than ever.
Why Alice Forgave Louis So Quickly in Shrinking Season 2
Alice forgives Louis because she realizes that’s what her mother would have done. The story she tells Louis about her mother buying Goofy’s three hats demonstrates how Tia was always thinking about how to help other people. Aunt wouldn’t want Alice to spend the rest of her life consumed by anger and bitterness she feels for Louis. Alice can also see how much Louis is torturing himself, and there’s no need for her to contribute further to that pain.
This is a beautiful way to honor Tia’s memory and tie into the season’s overarching focus on forgiveness.
Now that Alice has forgiven Louis and established a connection with him, she can continue to help him, just as Brian has done and Tia would have done. This is a beautiful way to honor Tia’s memory and tie into the season’s overarching focus on forgiveness. Alice makes huge progress on her personal journey in this episode, but Jimmy is unlikely to forgive so easily, especially considering how explosively he reacts to Louis earlier in the season. Jimmy could learn a lot and make progress in his healing by learning from Alice in Shrinking 2nd season.