In Treatment: Week Nine (1.41 - 1.43)

For the final three episodes, we were given some resolution, but not so much that it clashed with the naturalistic feel of the show in general. While the fact that pretty much the entire cast have either quit therapy or died is a little contrived, In Treatment has successfully crafted an absorbing closer to the year. Along the way, a lot of the show's patients developed new sides to their personalities, while fittingly other patients remained stagnant. It's the realist approach to such deep, damaged characters that has made the series so powerful.

In Treatment: Week Eight (1.36 - 1.40)

An important part of this week's episodes was the assumptions we make as people, and the realities we either don't know, or aren't willing to find out. Paul questions his own methods, especially when he actually encounters the people who he had so far only "constructed" in his head. Elsewhere, we have Alex's father, and his own assumptions of both therapy and parenting. And then there's Gina. Fiction vs. reality made for the most interesting theme this week.

In Treatment: Week Seven (1.31 - 1.35)

With the series nearing its conclusion, the sessions are becoming a little more fragmented, and each is winding down to their respective endings. There seemed to be a sense of walls being erected or alternatively knocked down for a lot of the characters this week. Paul continues to put up walls between him and Kate, helped by the involvement of their children, walls are being broken down and exposing real vulnerability in both Amy and Sophie, and Alex is forging his own wall, because allowing himself to be vulnerable is just too much for him.

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?

In Treatment: Week Five (1.21 - 1.25)

I understand that "breakthroughs" are an important part of therapy. That moment where the patient suddenly hits a realization, or reveals something about themselves that suddenly casts all of their problems in a new life. In terms of In Treatment, this week was a real "breakthrough". We really do know these characters now, but all of these episodes managed to create new conflicts and expose previously unknown secrets about our protagonists. By far the best week this show has produced.

In Treatment: Week Four (1.16 - 1.20)

The show has become more of a soap opera, with certain story developments feeling more than a little contrived, but the general quality of the series is pretty much the same. Paul continues to be exposed as an idiot, and Sophie's storyline takes a dramatic (if lazy) turn.

In Treatment: Week Three (1.11 - 1.15)

The Sophie and Jake & Amy episodes are quickly becoming my favorites on the show, and I think that it may have something to do with Laura. The other three sessions are so incestuous now with their constant discussions of Paul, Laura and now Alex that it's becoming almost suppressive. So when we get that welcome breather with two self-contained sessions, the show for me improves a little.

In Treatment: Week Two (1.6 - 1.10)

One of the most successful things about week two was the turnaround in sympathy towards the characters. Kate, somebody we barely know, suddenly became one of the most emotional characters on the show. Elsewhere, both Paul and Laura revealed sides to themselves which were neither expected nor particularly likable. This show keeps surprising me.

In Treatment: Week One (1.1 - 1.5)

Before I began watching In Treatment, I was fully aware that patience was the key ingredient to actually enjoying it. The show is literally characters sitting around talking. And, I may add, the first season is 43 episodes long. Now, that's a lot of talking. But with the DVDs in my hand, I think I have that patience, and with the promise of a collection of big-name stars and, of course, the fact that this is HBO, I'm sure it'll be pretty great.