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| Gabriel Byrne returns as the troubled psychotherapist Paul Weston on this poster for season 2 of Rodrigo García's In Treatment |
Psychotherapist Paul Weston, now divorced, has relocated to Brooklyn, New York, and gets sued to the tune of 20 mil. $ by the father of his former patient Alex, an Air Force pilot who committed suicide. He is contacted by his patient and lover 20 years earlier, Mia, who blames Paul for abandoning her then and her bad behavior since.
April is Paul's second patient this season, a 23 year-old student with terminal lymph cancer, who has not told any one about this and lives with an intense anger.
Oliver is an 11 year-old boy patient, whose parents are bickering over his head, divorcing but without the guts to tell their son.
Walter is a big-time CEO, who suffers from insomnia and precious little patience and is looking for a quick-fix. Paul, unable to supply this, listens to the man's anxiety about his daughter's work in Rwanda, as he suffers a panic attack and rushes out.
Paul still visits his own former mentor and current psychotherapist Gina, who is deposed for the trial and planning to support him.
Paul works on April, who is against chemotherapy. Oliver forgets his pet turtle at Paul's, after his parents have announced their divorce to him. Walter expands on past trauma and returns to Paul despite his lack of patience. Paul eventually talks April into telling her mother of her cancer. Paul's father is dying with Alzheimer's, and Paul spends much of his own sessions retro-analyzing his father as well as his own childhood and youth.
Walter steps down as CEO, self-medicates and is miserable. While Paul admits hating his life to Gina, she gets him to visit and forgive his dying father. Paul visits Walter in the hospital after a failed suicide attempt. Alex's father 'offers' Paul a terrifying dilemma: Take full responsibility for his son's death in a written letter, and the case will be dropped. April's chemo works, but she consequently struggles with turning away from death and face life.
The death suit is rejected in the final episode, and Paul ends his therapy with Gina in a response of relief.
In Treatment - season 2 is created by Rodrigo García (Bull (2016, TV-series)), based on the Israeli series Be Tipul (2005-08).
The show sets its claws deeper in its audience in the second season with some highly rewarding dramatic stories and characterizations, and the series' weak points are few and far between here: Paul's visits with Gina, where he complains about his "mess of a life" and harangues her, mostly without justification, are tough and at times hard to sit through, as two therapists being therapists with each other can be, especially as Paul's woes need to be retraced back to his mother's death, his father and his childhood in what can feel as psychological navel gazing. Gabriel Byrne (In the Cloud (2018)) is terrific, and Dianne Wiest (The Humbling (2014)) emanates intelligence as Gina, but their sessions are the show's least interesting.
In Treatment is incredibly dense and mined with tragedy and tough topics (suicide, death, abuse, self pretense, neglect, fear, betrayal etc.), and it will be too much for many. But for the right viewer the second season delivers riveting stories, deeply moving moments and breath-taking performances: John Mahoney (Dan in Real Life (2007)) is incredible and raw as Walter, not least when he attempts to fake rapid improvement for Paul following his suicide attempt, and the therapist sees through it. Walter must realize many painful things about his life in the course of the show. Alison Pill (The Same Storm (2021)) is strong as April; Hope Davis (Greenland (2020)) is a layered wreck of self insecurity as the lonely and complex Mia. Most heartbreaking in season 2 are the sessions with Oliver and his parents, who give a prime example of supremely dysfunctional parenting - and dysfunctional divorcing. The boy is severely bullied at school in the midst of the home front debacle, which both to him and us is revealed as a case of intensely egotistic parents that basically don't want him.
In Treatment - season 2 is an intense and highly emotionally and intellectually stimulating drama.
Best episodes:
8. Oliver - Week 2 - Written by Keith Bunin (Onward (2020)); directed by Ryan Fleck (Billions (2016-17))
Paul has a tough heart-to-heart with the boy, who gets bullied at school and now gets told by his parents that they are divorcing.
14. Walter - Week 3 - Written by Pat Healy (Mullitt (2000, short)); directed by Norberto Barba (Reacher (2022, VoD), TV-series))
Walter is exhausted following an unsuccessful visit to his daughter in Africa and a dire scandal involving his company. Electrical television.
29. Walter - Week 6 - Written by Warren Leight (Shelter (2017, TV movie)); directed by Paris Barclay (Monsters (2022-24))
On leave from the hospital, Walter tries to trick Paul to sign him out, but he sees through the ploy, and they arrive at a breakthrough.
Related posts:
Rodrigo García: 2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Albert Nobbs (2011) - Glenn Close's triumphant, tender tranformation in García's great film
In Treatment - season 1 (2008) - Red-hot performances fuel heavy therapy drama
Carnivàle - 1st season (2003, TV-series) - Grand but oft clotted-up period mystery show
Watch a trailer for season 2 here
Cost: Unknown
Box office: None - TV-series
= Uncertain
[In Treatment - season 2 debuted 5 April - 5 May (HBO) and runs 35 episodes of an average 25 minutes each, coming to approximately 875 minutes. Shooting took place in New York. The viewer ratings are regrettably not public information. The season was nominated for 3 Emmys. The creators and Byrne returned for season 3 in 2010. Also in 2009, Byrne made a voice performance in Perrier's Bounty. In Treatment - season 2 is fresh at 100 % with an 8.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
