Review: Shrinking, "Changing Patterns" | Season 2, Episode 10
The revolving door of conflict shifts again on Apple's serialized sitcom
Sitcoms are by their nature built around adjustments to equilibrium. Archetypal characters are naturally set in their ways, but being in a television show means conflict, and that forces a reevaluation before eventually settling back into the status quo.
Streaming sitcoms technically follow these same rules, but the difference is that there’s never a time when there isn’t some kind of major conflict operating in the story. And so with Shrinking we have a revolving door policy of sorts, as characters shift in and out of the proverbial hot seat. Liz’s affair disrupted her dynamic with Derek, and it’s still not back in balance this week in “Changing Patterns”—she’s being weirdly nice to him, where she used to be bullying him constantly. It’s the last vestiges of their conflict, and by episode’s end equilibrium is achieved: Liz screams at him, he gets emotional about it, and the show can shift its focus fully elsewhere.
Sometimes these conflicts can get resolved quickly. Pau…