Okay, we seem to be in a good groove here. One post, five episodes of
"In Treatment," with me struggling to remember to bump it up every night. Please honor the on-air schedule, so no posting about the Sophie episode until after Wednesday night at 10, etc.
With Laura apparently having gone through with her promise to quit therapy (even last week's episode wasn't an official session, but Paul helping her deal with her dad's health problems), we get our first completely off-format episode, though Paul's conversations with the two kids each resembled his therapy sessions in some way. (And the episode where Kate told Paul about her affair had only a tiny amount of real therapy, as Amy's miscarriage happened less than five minutes in.)
ReplyDeleteWhat'd you think? Interesting choice or not?
And is it fair to Mae Whitman that, every time I see her in anything, even though she doesn't remotely resemble the way she looked on "Arrested Development," I immediately say, "Her?"
I didn't like this episode. I didn't find Paul's relationship with his kids very believable overall and Paul came off as a crappy parent - he's had about a million warning signs that his daughter is 'troubled' and yet he treats her like she's a contemporary, rather than his child. I'm not saying talk to her like she's 5 but it seems like he should be a bit more concerned about her and should be expressing that concern.
ReplyDeleteAnd the son, ugh. It seemed inappropriate for Paul to be discussing his and Kate's relationship problems in detail with the son (was it Ian). And if he was going to tell the son about it, why lie to the kid? How's the kid going to feel when he finds out that a) his mom was sleeping around and b) his dad lied to him about it? I like Doctor Paul much better; Real Paul is a lying liar who lies!
I definitely prefer the episodes that focus on therapy, so I won't be sad if this family hour was a one time thing.
I'll write my thoughts on this episode just as soon as I eat a mayonn-egg.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, yes, Alan, it is perfectly fair. No one from that show with the possible exception of Jason Bateman, will ever outlive their roles. Such is the price of being associated with genius.
It felt like, after talking to his daughter and being supported as the injured party, Paul was telling his son in order to get the same response. He liked being told he was right. But when his son guessed that Kate had been unfaithful, and Paul saw Ian's reaction, he felt guilty and took the blame. He was playing the martyr and soaking up the blame until Ian started siding with him, understanding him. Then he shifted to defending Kate again.
Seemed to me, lot of the back half of the episode was Paul deciding how to let his son view his wife: should Ian share his worst view of her the way his daughter does, or see her as the victim? Neither is quite accurate...
And is it fair to Mae Whitman that, every time I see her in anything, even though she doesn't remotely resemble the way she looked on "Arrested Development," I immediately say, "Her?"
ReplyDeleteWell, I haven't seen her on Arrested Development, but I always recognize her as the girl with the severely curved spine from Grey's Anatomy---which is worse?
As far as the episode is concerned, it wasn't great for me. I liked Rosie a lot more than Ian, but I agree that Paul didn't seem to be at his best as a parent. I liked that he didn't let Rosie run off on her first try (he seemed to genuinely trying to be implementing what he got out of his session with Gina), but it was just sort of a blah episode for me.
Actually, the whole time Rosie was talking about Ian, I was thinking she meant Max. I completely forgot that Paul had an older son. Oops.
Maybe it was the blissful lack of Laura, but I liked the interactions between Paul and his kids. Not that I want Paul to be a lousy parent, but he does have some of the same problems as many dads (such as grilling his daughter), and I liked seeing him be a "regular person."
ReplyDeleteRosie is right, though--he doesn't know how to talk to his kids. Yikes!
I don't like seeing the previews for next week's show anymore, especially after this episode.
ReplyDeleteThe previews would be OK if it's just "tune in tomorrow" but now we know something about what happens five episodes from now. And based on what Alan said earlier today on the NJ site, I have a feeling I know what's coming up.
Yeah, I was gonna say, again, please don't discuss the content of the previews. There are things in several episodes next week that it's going to be very hard for the previews to not give away.
ReplyDeleteIf the show comes back for a second season, one of the first things they need to change is previewing the next night's episode instead of the next week's.
a) the show shouldn't come back for a second season, because what would be the point.
ReplyDeleteb) Mae Whitman is amaaaaaazing. :) I mean, I always "her" her as well, but even from Thief you could tell she's a very good actress. And I'd even go as far as saying that Bionic Woman would still be returning in April had she not been replaced by that bland chick.
Very boring episode. Very underwhelmed by the kids and the actors who played them. Sadly, a waste of a half hour.
ReplyDeleteI'd love this show to come back for a second season with a whole new slew of dysfunctional patients.
I think you needed to have this episode to complete the picture of who Paul is as a father but the reality of his relationship with his kids was not very interesting or exciting. Both of his teen children are growing away from their parents and creating new relationships with them and I thought they could have done a better job of conveying that idea.
ReplyDeleteDid the Israeli series extend beyond one season? Since the show is as much about Paul as it is about his patients (or maybe more so), I wonder what a new batch of patients in a second season would bring to it. Paul can't just keep falling apart in perpetuity, can he?
ReplyDeleteI don't like the family part of the show. The kids aren't interesting, except to show what a social misfit Paul is in his own home, and I'm not enamored of his wife and their interactions, either. The therapy sessions, including Paul's with Gina, are the only reason I watch. (And the acting is amazing.)
Bumping this up a little early to remind people: Do not talk about the previews if you've watched them.
ReplyDeleteBe'Tipul started it's second season in January, with the same therapist as the center of the show. The original plan was for it to center on a new therapist, but they decided to bring back the same actor, and several patients repeat.
ReplyDeleteI do imagine that successive seasons could be a problem if they insist on including incidents as unusual and dramatic as the first season. (The Jack Bauer syndrome?)
Paul finally started treating Alex as a patient instead of a rival, and Alex seems to be responding nicely--until he walks out the door. I liked watching Alex open up more and was sad that he was so hellbent on leaving therapy and going back into the air. I understand why he wants that control back, but he's so close to truly opening up that it's a shame he can't stick with Paul a while longer.
ReplyDeleteI would love for Season 2 to be five days a week of an out of retirement Gina with Paul as her Friday patient.
ReplyDeleteOkay, one thing I've been enjoying about the show in general is how each of the characters has some consistent staging/camera patterns. Alex always takes his coat off about halfway into the session after Paul has cracked him open a bit, and the only time (I think) he hasn't worn a coat was last week when he was forced open for most of the episode. With Sophie, the camera is stable at the beginning, and as Paul increasingly tells her things she doesn't want to hear, the camera goes handheld and shaky. Sometimes, if they meet on safe ground, it goes back to stable by the end. With Jake and Amy, they always sit on opposite ends of the couch, but her hands are down, while his arm hangs across the middle of the couch. Throughout the session, it goes back up and down based on the things Amy says to him or how he's feeling.
ReplyDeleteI haven't caught anything super consistent in this kind of thing for Gina, although I'm starting to think that blue and red painting above her mantle is sort of like her equivalent to Paul's wave machine.
With Jake and Amy, they always sit on opposite ends of the couch, but her hands are down, while his arm hangs across the middle of the couch.
ReplyDeleteThey've also been sitting farther apart each week as their marital rift grows. There are a lot of cool little touches like that.
Wasn't the wave machine on Paul's desk this week (maybe Monday's ep) vs. on the bookshelf where it usually is? Maybe that's what keeps him calm (er, that is, before he started unraveling)?
I thought when Paul got really quiet at the end of Alex's session, he was thinking about Alex's comment about being in control while flying and connecting it with how his own life is: therapy is a place where he feels in control while his life goes to pot around him. Both Paul and Alex had to deal with their "safe" places becoming equally chaotic, but now they're both getting back to business.
ReplyDelete^He's getting back to business for the most part, but there's still a little bleeding over from his life in his sessions. For instance, it seemed last night like he was speaking more about Kate than he was about Sophie's mom, which also made it seem like he is taking some responsibility for the problems in his marriage. It's good to see some growth in Paul, especially because it's mirrored in his patients. I can see better now why he has a successful practice.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I loved the silence at the end of the session last night as everything Paul said started to sink in for Sophie. I doubt she will immediately begin treating her mother better, but the wheels are starting to turn. Oh, and her dad parading naked models around the house and expecting her to keep his secrets is abuse. I hope Sophie can reach out to her mother before this show ends.
The whole time Amy told the story about her father dying I figured it was another big lie. It might just be me but I do not think this relationship is worth trying to save anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe whole time Amy told the story about her father dying I figured it was another big lie.
ReplyDeleteThis is the second time she told it, though, right?
(Keep in mind that all these episodes are starting to jumble together in my head, so I'll say no more until someone confirms that.)
The Jake and Amy storyline finally paid off for me. It has been my least favorite session so far, but last night it finally felt real
ReplyDeleteYou could be right about that but I must of missed it.
ReplyDeleteAlan I'm pretty sure Amy hasn't told this story of her father's death before this episode. Earlier episodes revealed that she adored her father and that he was tender and that he died when she was young.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Sophie episode, I noted the contrast between how at ease and competent Paul was with Sophie and how uncomfortable and not in control he was on Monday with his own children.
No thoughts on tonights ending?
ReplyDeleteWho do you think called? I think it's bad news about Sophie.
I thought Sophie, but then thought that it was one of his kids.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen previews, so I am spoiler free for this one.
I'm going to be devastated if it's bad news about Sophie, she still has so many things unresolved. I want to see her get a happy ending, dammit.
ReplyDeleteI have a bad feeling that call was about Alex. It's something about the way he ended his therapy and went back to flying--coupled with that mysterious phone call on Friday's ep, and I've got the willies for him now. Of course, I would hope it was something bad about Laura, but that's just because I hate the character. It better not be about Sophie, dammit. Heck, I don't even want it to be about Jake and Amy (whose session made me cry again, damn them).
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you said that about Laura... I am secretly hoping she's permanently out of the picture, however, she likes herself too much to actually off herself.
ReplyDeleteI got the same feeling with dez. When Alex left therapy in Tuesday's episode, for some reason I started wondering whether it could be possible that a character would die on this particular show. I really had this feeling that something bad would happen to Alex. Another heart attack, perhaps?
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that Laura's dad died. He was sick and it would make sense.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that Laura's dad died. He was sick and it would make sense.
ReplyDeleteI thought this too, but Paul wouldn't have to identify himself to Laura if she called to say that her dad died. When his phone rings, there's a brief bit of "Yes, this is he" kind of dialogue that implies it's someone talking to Paul who doesn't know him. No one from Laura's family other than Laura would call him.
Adding to that: Alex just got Paul's cell phone number; if something happened to him, I bet they might find that and call...
Paul also seemed in shock, and I don't think he would react that way about Laura's dad, someone he has never met. It has to be about a patient or one of his kids.
ReplyDeleteI agree - I think it's Alex. I think he committed suicide. I had that feeling after the session in which he was unshaven and desperate, and almost faced his deep, dark, secret.
ReplyDeleteIf it does turn out to be something awful like Alex dying, I hope it was an accident or a heart attack vs. suicide. For one thing, I was starting to care about Alex and his recovery, so him committing suicide would really suck. For another, I'm afraid of the effect Alex committing suicide could have on Paul and his ability to help his other patients, especially Sophie (who is the character I care the most about). So I hope it's not Alex. Or Sophie. Or Jake & Amy. Well, maybe not so much Jake & Amy, if only to save Alex and Sophie. Not that I'm biased, of course.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it was just some political mouthpiece calling to urge Paul to vote....come to think of it, his face was reminiscent of mine when I get annoying calls like that! :)
ReplyDelete