Mikey Likes TV

Something I’ve learned over the last nine weeks: If you stare at Gabriel Byrne’s face for long enough, it begins to look grossly asymmetrical. Seriously, that right eye has got to be about a half an inch lower than the left one. (Maybe from all of that thoughtful nodding?) Then again, 43 episodes of In Treatment in just two months may have taken their toll on my mind’s ability to see images and process information. I watched them all. And I am quite exhausted.

In Treatment‘s greatest success was the subtle manner in which they shifted the attention from Paul‘s patients to Paul himself. Clearly he was the star, but the first week or so offered just a few glimpses of his own character. By the end, I was just looking at everyone else through his eyes and how it all related to his own crumbling life. The first season didn’t really do much to clear up any of the debris, and Friday’s finale ended on an almost sickeningly ambiguous note. Not that I really mind or expected anything more. The only loose thread that really upsets me is his relationship with his wife. As for his patients and his own therapist, their stories tied together quite nicely – even though most of them were razor blades next to the bathtub depressing.

Laura grew on me, mostly just because I fell in love with Melissa George’s speaking voice. At first I sort of looked at her as a manipulative hussy, but when Paul started pursuing her after she left therapy, I realized how protective I’d become of her. She figured out more about herself than anyone else in the series, and she deserves a lot better than to be with a man several decades her senior who’d always have some sort of unethical thrall over her. Hopefully she’ll get that now that he put the kibosh on it.

Alex died. He sure was a creep, but that may not have been entirely his fault. Also: he was totally gay right?

Sophie seemed to mature unrealistically fast for someone of her age, unfortunate circumstances and fragile mental state. My interest in actress Mia Wasikowska waxed and waned over the course of the series, but that has a lot to do with my inability to ever fully embrace child actors. It’s always hard to tell if they’re playing angst well or if they’re just annoying. The unusual bond she formed with Paul by their final session was one of the few heartwarming moments the dark series afforded, so I’ll thank her for that.

Jake and Amy decided to divorce. This breaks my heart because they were both so messed up, being together seemed like the only way they wouldn’t end up alone. Amy’s hysterics in week six and Jake’s emotional collapse in week seven were my favorite scenes of the entire series. Leaving them in such a broken state, as individuals and as a couple, was probably inevitable, but it still hurts.

Gina got less important as the weeks passed and they weren’t as strict in keeping to the real-time sessions. Her relationship with Paul wasn’t as developed as it really could have been, and insights into her past were just whack-you-over-the-head allusions to Paul’s situation. Also, in reference to her own crush on a patient, I will have nightmares of Dianne Wiest saying “I wanted to eat him up!” for many years to come.

Watching In Treatment certainly was an experience – one I don’t think should necessarily be repeated in a second season but one that I appreciated and kind of changed the way I think of storytelling.