Is anybody watching IN TREATMENT?

[yurbud]

So far there's only been one episode that even started slow, but the rest have kept me glued to the set.

Individual episodes are good, but the cumulative effect is devastating.

For the first three episodes, it was fairly easy to see what he should do, but when he did a married couple, I was totally baffled, partly because one character not only refused to be honest, but fabricated a sincere explanation for her behavior then immediately said it was bullshit. He also does one risky move that looked like a tactic that worked.

One of his patients declared she was in love with him and he seemed to handle it correctly in that episode, but later when the therapist sees her therapist, it's clear he's tempted by the patient. He also says the risky move with the married couple was purely out of frustration rather than a tactic as I thought.

The session with his shrink is especially uncomfortable because she used to be his supervisor, he ended the relationship, but got back in touch with her to serve as his therapist, so their talk goes from friends catching up and reconciling, a supervisor critiquing a subordinate, and a therapy session and they try to pretend they aren't all the same thing.

Then at his next session, the patient who declared her love for him comes in all happy because she accepted her boyfriend's proposal and the shrink's disappointment shapes their session. She sees through him and calls bullshit on his distancing tricks.

Also, when he sees his shrink, he says his wife is distant and may be having an affair, but when we actually see him interact with her, it's clear he's pushing her away.

It's a very Rashomon effect without seeming contrived.

I would be especially curious to hear what any shrinks think of the show.


If you don't have HBO, you can watch episodes online or download them to your iPod.
http://www.hbo.com/intreatment/

[soleft]

1. Who's in the cast?

[yurbud]

2. Gabriel Byrne plays the shrink, Dianne Wiest is his shrink and the chick from Schindler's list is

a client.

otherwise, it's a couple of faces you'll recognize but not know their names.

Byrne is great as the shrink, but the strength is the script.

[soleft]

3. Mbeth David? Miss Honey from Matilda?

Is she the one in love with him?

[yurbud]

4. no, she plays an icy executive wife in a married couple

they go in for counseling because after doing fertility treatments for years, she finally gets pregnant then thinks she wants an abortion.