"I went to a place to eat. It said 'breakfast at any time.' So I ordered french toast during the Renaissance". --Steven Wright ... If you are a devotee of time travel, check out this song...

Saturday, March 15, 2008

In Treatment 7: Alex in the Sky with Diamonds

The most powerful session in Week 7 of HBO's In Treatment was with Alex.

I actually think of this as Part II of Alex's session in Week 6, in which he began to come to terms with his gay feelings, as well as fully realizing he needed help to sort out his life. In Week 7, Alex's session goes in the opposite direction - macho, in charge, knowing just what he wants to do - which is to get back in the sky and fly again. When his superiors contact Alex, and tell him they have a new assignment, he's all set to go.

Paul has already indicated that he thinks Alex may not yet be ready to return to the sky. Alex pleads with Paul - well, with Alex, it's a always as a much of a demand as a request - that Paul tell the military shrink that Alex is in good shape now. Paul clearly doesn't feel good about doing this - but it looks as if he will.

Blair Underwood once again gives a tour-de-force performance. And when the session ended, I had the feeling that we may not see Alex again - that he may die in the skies. I hope I'm wrong.

Sophie's session was also excellent, as always. She and we learn a lot more about her relationship with her father, and what went wrong back then. Paul continues to be at the top of his game with Sophie.

Monday was a holiday - Paul's kids were home from school, and Laura was nowhere to be seen. Paul's daughter Rosie confronts him about what's going on with Kate, and Paul confides in son Ian about his feelings for Laura. It was good seeing Paul with his kids - the different tableau was refreshing. But I found Paul's confession to Ian ... I don't know, implausible, not completely motivated.

Jake and Amy were, again, the weakest of the sessions. Their main value to the series, as I mentioned last week, is the contrast they provide to Paul and Kate's sessions with Gina.

Both marriages are clearly in trouble. With not that many weeks left in the series, I'm wondering which will survive - or maybe both, or neither....

The predictable answer would Jake and Amy's won't survive, and Paul and Kate's will - but I'm thinking the endings may be a little different...

See also In Treatment on HBO ... 2. Scalding ... 3. Triangle ... 4. Love and Death ... 6. Paul's Greatest Strength ... 6. Paul's Boat ... 8. A Princely Performance ... In Treatment Concludes: For Now







The Plot to Save Socrates


"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book


more about The Plot to Save Socrates... good reading if you're in a doctor's office...


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2 comments:

Dinah said...

Interesting. Not so far from my own thoughts. Thanks for visiting...

Paul Levinson said...

You're welcome, Dinah - your Shrink Wrap is a fine site.

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