In Treatment: Week Six (1.26 - 1.30)

Fathers affected every single session this week. I figured it was a cliché in bad TV shows that pretty much every psychological problem has something to do with either a) the patient's childhood, or b) the patient's parents. Here, Laura told her father everything, Alex, Sophie and Amy all confided in Paul about their respective dads, and Paul's father trauma is still affecting his mindset. It's intriguing, but surely there's gotta be more to each patient that that, right?

Laura - Monday 9:00am
I was pretty amazed that my opinion of Paul could once again be in complete turnaround with just one session. His decision to tell Laura about his feelings was controversial, yes, but it actually made sense. The intimacy between them bothered me a little, but hopefully both of them can grow from this. Paul loves her, but wouldn't want to take advantage of her like every other man in her life. On another subject, it took me a while to understand the whole thing with Laura's father. Was his hospitalization some kind of side effect of being told about Laura's abuse? Like his body just shut down or something? I was a little confused with that.

Alex - Tuesday 10:00am
Once again, ridiculously sad. Personally, I don't actually believe Alex is gay, but I do believe he has major issues when it comes to masculinity. I said it weeks ago, but he has a persona that he believes he needs to live through, all a result of his abusive father. He's not the insanely masculine, sometimes abusive and careless man, he's in fact a lot deeper than that. And it's that slow realization of being "average" that is taking its toll. It all comes down to fear, and his intrinsic belief that fear equals gay. Right from his childhood, he's been forced to deny his own fears. It's so sad, and so insanely screwed up.

Sophie - Wednesday 4:00pm
I didn't completely get the connection between Sophie, her father and "the models". While I don't know if some kind of emotional abuse has been implied, I got the obvious impression that Sophie has some issues with eating and that may or not be due to her father's work with women of impossible beauty. It was pretty shocking how her entire mood changed after Paul mentioned her eating with "gusto". In the end, Paul finally (six weeks in) seemed to make Sophie aware that therapy is a "safe place" away from her real life.

Jake and Amy - Thursday 5:00pm
Or, to be more specific: just Amy. Like always, I loved this episode. Amy continues to be hysterically obnoxious, from her uncomfortable flirting with Paul (calling herself a "naughty schoolgirl") to her obvious fear of Jake's emotional tenderness. Once again we're forced to ask why the hell she's with this guy and what the hell she actually wants. According to her, she now misses the feelings of wanting to kill each other she once shared with Jake. Her repeated lying is also linked to her past, and the weird little games she played with her sister. Amy's father fitted into her backstory, but it didn't seem inappropriate, distant or downright abusive like practically all the other characters. In a household of cruel women, her father was where she sought solace and protection. Still didn't stop her from growing up ridiculously complicated, though. Also intriguing was her relationship with Reeves. She almost wanted Paul to be against it, rubbing her plans in his face with a cavalier "what do you think of that?" She's a really fascinating character. Well, fascinating in her awfulness.

Gina - Friday 7:00pm
And, the show once again is allowing its protagonist to be seen in such a negative light. Paul's treatment of Kate here reflected what was likely their entire marriage: his talking to her like a child, like a patient, and unintentionally patronizing and belittling her constantly. And I also disagreed with Paul that Gina was filling Kate's head with false truths. He just can't stand that he's being seen as the bad guy when, in fact, he actually is the bad guy in this situation. Kate, like last week, was heartbreaking. To her, Laura is the kind of woman "that always gets her man". Even their brief meeting at the start of the week was almost engineered to make Kate feel as shitty as possible, Laura glamorous and made-up, Kate dressed in sweats and taking out the trash. Michelle Forbes continues to make my heart break. She has made what could have been an aloof, almost extraneous character somebody that I completely understand and completely sympathize with. I almost wish it was her show I was watching. A

Credits
Laura Teleplay Amy Lippman Director Paris Barclay
Alex Teleplay Bryan Goluboff Director Melanie Mayron
Sophie Teleplay Sarah Treem Director Melanie Mayron
Jake and Amy Teleplay William Merritt Johnson Director Paris Barclay
Gina Teleplay Davey Holmes Director Paris Barclay