IN TREATMENT Season 2, Week 3 Preview
By Norm Schrager at April 19, 2009 | 3:55 pm | Print
Now that the newer characters have been developed over the first two weeks, Week 3 of In Treatment dives into greater detail, more intense conversation. Here are some thoughts.
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6
:: MIA
Paul pisses off Mia (Hope Davis) by arriving late to their early-morning session… which ends up focusing almost exclusively around Laura, of all people. Seems Mia has an uncomfortable level of information about Paul’s former obsession and uses it against him. Her tendency to fantasize about what Paul and Laura did (or didn’t do) makes her seem somewhere between compulsive and unstable. Nice work by Hope Davis to keep us on edge.
:: APRIL
April (Alison Pill) shows up early (see the subtle connections?) having not slept for days. She’s just finished an architecture project — a 9/11 memorial concept — and is torturing herself with different thoughts that keep tearing through her mind. And her brother’s presence is always just simmering under the surface. After April sleeps on Paul’s couch for exactly one minute (you’ll see), Paul implores her to tell her mother about her diagnosis. He leaves the room, she makes the call. Or does she?
:: OLIVER
After sharing news about an improved situation with his father, Oliver (Aaron Shaw) admits he can’t sleep (more connections) regardless of the parent he stays with. He also lets slip the identity of his Luke’s new girlfriend, pissing off Bess — and leading Oliver to continue believing he causes trouble whenever he speaks. Shaw and Gabriel Byrne build a sad, sincere moment when Oliver tells Paul he’d like to meet Paul’s son.
:: WALTER
In Treatment goes topical, Law and Order-style, when Walter (John Mahoney) reveals his company’s battling a recall due to some tainted baby formula (did I hear that right?) While his phone won’t stop ringing, Walter doesn’t have his business front of mind: Instead, he details a recent trip to see his daughter in Rwanda, with some disappointing results. More talk about Walter’s deceased brother, and his parents’ reaction.
:: GINA
First, Paul gets laid. No big spoiler there, you’ll get it in the first 30 seconds. (That’s what she said, heh.) But this episode takes a turn, as Paul and Gina devote their session to more intense details about Paul’s life, from his relationship with his father, to moments of memory that he may be filtering beyond the truth. But how come they don’t mention his latest romance? Oh, Gina saves that one for last…
Share your comments
Like this post? Digg It
Trackbacks For This Post
6 Comments
-
Cowabungas! Somehow I like to think that Paul would not say about himself what you said (oh, my delicate sensibilities!) but still, whoa nelly and hold the phone. Finally. I see some deep waters ahead but I’m happy for our favorite therapist, all the same.
-
My head is still swimming from last night’s Mia episode. The seductive way that Paul dug under Mia’s armour was downright unsettling . When he started asking Mia what she imagined went on between Laura and himself, and kept challenging her to expose her thoughts on the subject, I had to turn away from the television for a moment. It affected me that much.
It felt stunningly intense and personal. I know that Paul’s aim was to disarm Mia enough to make a breakthrough with her, but to me, Gabriel Byrne’s portrayal of this exchange was so scorching and sexy, I simply couldnt keep staring at him staring back at the camera.
Anyway, Paul succeeded in blasting past Mia’s shell, and the result is that he disarmed me and most of the female viewers across the country in the process.
Oh Lord, that man has got “it” in spades! This season is definately getting more interesting!
-
@Stella-
Yeah, pardon my vernacular there…@TouchedByThPoet-
Pretty intense episode. Can’t tell yet whether I want to empathize with Mia or kick her out of the office. -
Heh, heh. Yeah, Norm. I think you captured Paul’s feelings, too–Mia is a complicated being. I imagine Paul shifts from empathy to kicking a lot with her. But he is making progress and she is listening. So, there is some hope.
-
@Stella-
Yeah, but Hope Davis is doing a good job of conveying Mia as hopeless too… she’s just a bundle of contradictions and I end up siding with the Paul character. If you’re Paul, who has time for that kind of crap?!
[...] Maximum Tenderness…A Woman Under The Influence (1974) « Moo-girl’s Movie Munchies…» IN TREATMENT Season 2, Week 3 Preview :: Meet In the Lobby: Movie News, Views, Reviews…“Breathless”: A New Korean Movie on Domestic Violence « The Grand Narrative… [...]