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Lukita Maxwell is opening up about Alice and Connor’s kiss on Shrinking. In season 2 of the Apple TV+ original series, she and her co-star, Gavin Lewis, who is also a childhood friend, kiss following an intense evening for Alice.

Kissing her childhood best friend on ‘Shrinking’ surprised Lukita Maxwell

In Shrinking Season 2 Episode 3: “Psychological Something-ism,” which aired on Oct. 23, 2024, Alice kissed her next-door neighbor, Connor, after meeting Louis (Brett Goldstein), the drunk driver involved in the crash that killed her mother, Tia (Lilan Bowden). 

Remember the surprise on Connor’s face as Alice leaned in for a kiss? After all, Connor’s dating Summer (Rachel Stubington) and Alice already made her disinterest in the college student clear. The kiss was surprising to Maxwell, too. 

In an interview with TheWrap, she called every Shrinking script a “fun shock” and explained that kissing Lewis was surprising because they’re longtime friends. 

“Any sort of romantic scene, on that basis, [is] not shocking to me. I was excited that Alice had some romantic things popping up in season 2,” Maxwell said. 

“What was shocking was the fact that [writers] had developed that relationship between Alice and Connor,” she continued. “Specifically because the writers know that me and Gavin…have been childhood best friends since we were maybe, like, 8 and 10 years old.” 

“He’s, like, my little sister’s best friend from childhood,” she added. “So it was a shock to get the script.” 

The scene reminded Maxwell of Emma Watson and Rupert Grint’s ‘Harry Potter’ kiss

Alice and Connor’s kiss had Maxwell thinking back to Rupert Grint and Emma Watson’s kiss in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Namely how in behind-the-scenes footage from the 2011 movie, the longtime co-stars described how strange it was to have a romantic scene. 

“I thought about…the BTS of Emma Watson and Rupert Grint kissing in the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, or whichever one it was,” Maxwell said. “And them talking about how it was like, ‘I love this person so much. But it’s just odd.’ It’s just odd kissing them.” 

So, how did Lewis and Maxwell get through it? They talked about the scene during a phone conversation. “Gavin and I called each other just being, like, ‘Wow,’” Maxwell said. “Obviously, we’re both actors, and it’s fine.”

Alice ‘makes mistakes’ and goes ‘through chaos’ in ‘Shrinking’ Season 2

Lukita Maxwell wears a blue shirt in a scene from 'Shrinking'
Lukita Maxwell on ‘Shrinking’ | Apple TV+
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The lip-lock with Connor won’t be Alice’s only slip-up in Shrinking Season 2. No longer is she an “anchor,” as Maxwell told Yahoo Canada. “I was really excited to dive into her mentality,” Maxwell said of her character. “Going from a rock, an anchor in season 1, to seeing her make mistakes and go through chaos and learn how to ask for help, and ask for forgiveness.”

Alice embraces some of the hallmarks of being a teen as she and Jimmy (Jason Segel) return to a more typical father-daughter dynamic. According to Maxwell, their relationship is “more amiable” this time around. Although Alice’s concern for her dad hasn’t gone away. 

“She’s just looking out for him. She wants to make sure he doesn’t fall back into his old chaos,” Maxwell said. 

A new episode of Shrinking Season 2 drops every Wednesday on Apple TV+. 

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