S02.E11: The Drugs Don’t Work

[chitowngirl]

Paul encourages Jimmy to seek help. Brian and Derek take Sean to look for a new place. Gaby struggles with her guest list for Thanksgiving.

[SoMuchTV]

Lol, re: thanksgiving. “Brits don’t need a special day to celebrate stealing land from other people. To us, that’s every day.” Very efficient way to call out two cultures in one blow. 

[aghst]

Wow it's a long season.

I still don't recall a story arc that's particularly memorable.

These characters are all so overbearing.  Wish it was limited to Liz but now Alice is making demands.

And they keep adding more side characters, didn't recognize the woman with the dog.  Then they go back to the patient who pushed her husband off the cliff instead of leaving him.  Paul is  trying to help both.

But Paul still has his own problems.  I know that therapists still get therapy themselves, for instance Melfi on The Sopranos.  Still Paul seems pretty messed up to be trying to counsel to her people.

[Blakeston]

2 hours ago, aghst said:

But Paul still has his own problems.  I know that therapists still get therapy themselves, for instance Melfi on The Sopranos.  Still Paul seems pretty messed up to be trying to counsel to her people.

You mean Jimmy, right? I'd say Paul is very well-adjusted by the standards of therapists!

Jimmy had a rough breakdown here, which wouldn't have happened if his daughter hadn't behaved like an entitled, insufferable brat. I get that teenagers are often bratty, but I really hope Alice gets called out on how completely out-of-line she was to try to guilt her father into giving therapy to the man who killed his wife.

[aghst]

Yeah Jimmy.

[Good Queen Jane]

Jimmy didn’t break down because of Alice. Jimmy broke down because he never really dealt with the death of his wife. He covered it up with women and alcohol at first and then by “jimmying” his patients. But, as Paul said, that wouldn’t be enough until Jimmy finally admitted he wasn’t okay.

The final scene brought me to tears. I never thought I would say that about Jason Segel.

[AheadofStraight]

Poor Jimmy. I do not get how everyone has been ok with Louis. We know he's actually a very nice guy but if someone killed my spouse, I would not want my daughter hanging out with them and certainly wouldn't treat them. Wouldn't there be ethics issues around that anyway (not that this show isn't loosely goosey already)? 

I also didn't buy Sean with the doctor for even one second. 

[aghst]

2 minutes ago, AheadofStraight said:

Poor Jimmy. I do not get how everyone has been ok with Louis. We know he's actually a very nice guy but if someone killed my spouse, I would not want my daughter hanging out with them and certainly wouldn't treat them. Wouldn't there be ethics issues around that anyway (not that this show isn't loosely goosey already)? 

I also didn't buy Sean with the doctor for even one second. 

They should call this show Incestuous or Who Needs Boundaries?

Sure people have mutual acquaintances or friends but they take it to the next level, every character has several ties to each other through relationships which most people would keep at arm's length.

Sean went with Paul to Paul's doctor and now he's dating her or maybe it's a booty call thing with him willing to close his food truck immediately whenever she becomes available.

[juno]

This is really Harrison Ford's season. He has become the star of the show. I really noticed they adjusted his completely grumpy character in season 1 to show more depth and fit in more with the characters around him.

Paul also seems to be the only support system for Jimmy as well. All the other characters seem to help and support each other and yet they have nothing but derision and apathy towards Jimmy.

I am hoping that there is a bit of an adjustment of the characters towards Jimmy. This show has gone off the rails regarding Louis and Alice and the baffling amount that he has been welcomed into the gang, while Jimmy is melting down and the only one there for him is Paul.

[Dminches]

Jimmy’s storyline is heartbreaking but also very realistic. He will always be processing his wife’s early death and his recovery is compounded by Alice’s lack of understanding of how difficult it is for him. However, Alice is acting like most teenagers in this regard; she can’t only see things from her perspective. For her to suggest to Jimmy that he try to help Louis shows her blindness.

The final scene was very emotional. For Jimmy to realize he was falling apart was really telling.

 

[Blakeston]

I remember when Brian seemed like an actual human being, and not just a hodge-podge of over-the-top neuroses.

[possibilities]

To me, Paul and Liz are similar.

Liz was GENUINELY a lifesaver during Jimmy's first breakdown. She fed Alice, helped with homework and went to school conferences  and was there for her emotionally FOR NEARLY A YEAR, while Jimmy was high and bringing prostitutes home and ignoring all his parenting duties.

Paul is gruff and grouchy and insulting and cold -- a curmudgeon all the way... but he's there when you really need him, he's insightful and he's right most of the time.

Neither of them is right all the time, and both of them are annoying and unpleasant sometimes. Neither of them observe social conventions, but underneath their supposedly anti-social veneers, they are both tender-hearted and caring and you would be very grateful to have either of them in your corner. They have your back when you really need it and don't ask for anything in return, which is just about the rarest quality to be found in any person.

I think it's interesting that Paul is beloved and Liz reviled.

[Blakeston]

On 1/5/2025 at 6:17 PM, possibilities said:

To me, Paul and Liz are similar.

Liz was GENUINELY a lifesaver during Jimmy's first breakdown. She fed Alice, helped with homework and went to school conferences  and was there for her emotionally FOR NEARLY A YEAR, while Jimmy was high and bringing prostitutes home and ignoring all his parenting duties.

Paul is gruff and grouchy and insulting and cold -- a curmudgeon all the way... but he's there when you really need him, he's insightful and he's right most of the time.

Neither of them is right all the time, and both of them are annoying and unpleasant sometimes. Neither of them observe social conventions, but underneath their supposedly anti-social veneers, they are both tender-hearted and caring and you would be very grateful to have either of them in your corner. They have your back when you really need it and don't ask for anything in return, which is just about the rarest quality to be found in any person.

I think it's interesting that Paul is beloved and Liz reviled.

The difference is that Paul isn't entitled and controlling in the way that Liz is, and he isn't nasty to his partner the way that Liz is to Derek.

He wouldn't be snide to Black people who were justifiably angry that a white person cut in front of them, and then take it as a sign of validation when people on the internet called them out on it.

He wouldn't threaten to kick Claire's ass for making too much noise.

He also doesn't demand to be in charge of people who he has no business being in charge of.

[Girl in a Cardigan]

On 12/18/2024 at 5:17 PM, AheadofStraight said:

Poor Jimmy. I do not get how everyone has been ok with Louis. We know he's actually a very nice guy but if someone killed my spouse, I would not want my daughter hanging out with them and certainly wouldn't treat them. Wouldn't there be ethics issues around that anyway (not that this show isn't loosely goosey already)? 

I also didn't buy Sean with the doctor for even one second. 

This is where I am. I genuinely don't understand why Alice (and now her friends - though that's more understandable) WANTS to hang out with Louis. I mean, I get the Brett Goldstein charisma for sure, but why is everyone acting like JIMMY is the problem for not wanting the guy who killed his wife to hang out with his kid and his friends? And he definitely shouldn't give him therapy! At most, he could give him a list of referrals, but even still, this guy should have a lawyer or social worker or whatever since he must have done some time or diversion program or something with the DUI and vehicular manslaughter, you know?

I know Jimmy abandoned Alice for a long time so now he doesn't feel like he can parent her, but it's absolutely wild to me that she just texted him that she was crashing at his co-worker's house "for a few days" (which I assume includes school?) and he's just like, oh well.

Glad Damon Wayons Jr called Gabi out on letting him go. I mean, if he's already just showing up in Liz and Derek's kitchen and then going for TB night at Gabi's house, why would he be at Thanksgiving? WTAF?

Excellent work by Jason Segal in the final season. And Harrison Ford had some great work with his Parkinson's symptoms as well.

[aghst]

Yeah if you think about it, even if they don't have this unfortunate history between them, a grown man trying to be around a teen girl would raise some eyebrows.

He'd likely be labeled some kind of creep, a predator.

But Alice, like every other character, is suppose to be special, wise beyond her years and compassionate.

When we look at how Jimmy conducts himself as a therapist, doing unconventional things, which is a very charitable way of saying he is on ethical thin ice, are we suppose to be confident that he's a good parent?

Are we suppose to assume that Alice is turning into a great adult because of Jimmy's parenting?  Or maybe the credit goes to her mother's parenting for the person she has become.

It is very kind of her to be supportive of Louis but most people would just politely tell him that they forgive him but don't want anything more to do with him.

 

[possibilities]

The way for him to make friends is to seek out other people who are marginalized, especially in something like AA or wherever people go who have major, significant regrets they want to make amends for but can't do directly. 

People who have similar histories to you are more able to empathize, and believe you really have changed and deserve a 2nd chance.

It's tough, though.