Warning: This story contains spoilers from “Shrinking” Season 2, Episode 4.

“Shrinking” star Luke Tennie says that the explosively physical scene in Episode 4 between Jimmy (Jason Segel) and Sean (Tennie) was a second production and that viewers ultimately knew this would happen sooner or later, adding that he momentum in that scene from a scene. casting note he received when he first auditioned for the role.

“It’s a moment that we knew was coming because we hadn’t really seen it,” Tennie told TheWrap in an interview. “We saw Sean in episode 1, season 1, snapping to protect someone. We never really saw Sean lose without really understanding what the catalyst was. So it was exciting, but most of the preparation came from delving into Sean’s birth for me.

For those who need a reminder, Sean – an Army veteran who now lives with his Jimmy (who is also Jimmy’s therapy patient) – has been working on managing his anger, PTSD and family drama since season 1. In season 2, episode 4, Sean is still trying to forgive Liz (Christ Miller) for selling her stake in their food truck business to Sean’s father Tim (Kenajuan Bentley). At first, working with his father goes well, but when his father brings up his decision to remove Sean from their family home, fails to acknowledge the role he played in Sean’s anger issues, and takes credit for Sean’s new growth, Sean handles this in an elegant way. the moment, but ultimately suppresses his feelings.

Matters come to a head later in the episode when Jimmy confronts Sean about how he poorly dealt with some rude road workers (whom he almost fought), prompting Sean to reveal what irritates him: his father.

When Jimmy tells Sean that he can’t blame his father for not knowing what’s on his mind and that his father abandoned him in that incident, Sean snaps at Jimmy.

“Hey, this is complicated, okay? He’s a good man, okay?!” Sean says to a stunned Jimmy to his face, absolving his father of any blame.

‘He loves me. He worked his butt off for me and I’ve been through a lot with him, so I don’t want to hear you talk about my dad!’ Sean says as he pushes Jimmy.

Jimmy deescalates the situation by telling Sean to talk about it. Sean, visibly shaken by his own actions, apologizes. Tennie told TheWrap that the energy that filled that scene came in part from a note he received earlier before signing on for the show, as well as from the dialogue written into the script.

“What was so unique about that moment was that it forced me to go all the way back to my audition, which for me was the birth of Sean. And I remember getting notes from casting, like, ‘We should feel tension between Sean and Jimmy. It should almost seem like Jimmy is in danger when he’s in this room with such a volatile character.” And what we see now is the through line of that first note, that adjustment that I got.

He continued: “Underneath every moment of joy Sean had, there was always a little bit of that hair trigger. And of course there has to be, because we know that’s true of this character.

A lot happened in this week’s episode, titled “Made You Look.” Between Alice hooking up with her best friend’s boyfriend and Brian’s husband (Michael Urie) expressing his desire to adopt a child, there was a lot to juggle. But showrunner and executive producer Bill Lawrence knew the perfect person for the job: “Bad Monkey” and “Scrubs” star Zach Braff, who directed the eventful episode.

Lawrence says it’s always been important to him to keep gold stars like Braff — who also directed Episode 3 — in his universe.

“If I love someone and he or she is super talented, I would be an idiot not to keep him or her in my world,” Lawrence told TheWrap. “And Zach Braff is in ‘Bad Monkey,’ one of the leads in ‘Cougar Town.’ Bob Clendenin stars in ‘Bad Monkey’. There’s an easter egg you may have noticed in this episode, when they showed a photo of Brett Goldstein’s fiancée in one of those scenes (played by Meredith Hagner). She may look like the female lead in ‘Bad Monkey,’ who will appear in this.”

He continued: “So for me it’s a gift to work with my friends. And Zach is an extremely gifted director; received an Emmy nomination for directing ‘Ted Lasso.’ He’s a great artist. I look forward to – whatever I may continue to do – bringing all the actors, actresses and writers from this show to the next one. It’s part of the fun for me.”

Braff opened up about directing the episode in an Instagram post on Wednesday, saying, “I’ll be honest with you… tonight’s episode of ‘Shrinking’ is a doozy. Episode 4 of season 2 is the second episode I’m directing this season. Just wait until you see these performances.”

“Shrinking” releases new episodes Wednesday on Apple TV+.

The post ‘Shrinking’ Star Luke Tennie Unpacks Explosive Scene Between Jimmy and Sean in Episode 4: A ‘Moment We Knew Was Coming’ appeared first on TheWrap.