In Treatment: Sophie – Week Seven
By fred | March 13, 2008
(S01E33) Not all sessions are the same with Paul, some I like more than others, just because I don’t feel the same towards all of his patients. And some have me going back and forth, like with Alex. One week I’m bored, one week I’m liking it. But if there is one day that has always been above the rest, one patient who has been much more interesting than others, and let’s face it, sessions during which Paul finally acted like a (good) therapist, it’s on Wednesdays, when Sophie comes in.
This is the day of the week when In Treatment gets really good, every week. This is the one you get excited about, and whether it’s light and pretty dark, it’s always a real treat to get to see Paul and Sophie, who interact very well together, for another half hour.
And before going into the episode itself, I want to mention once again Mia Wasikowska’s name, because she does a pretty fantastic job. Sophie is a really well written character, but the way she brings her to life is pretty incredible. Just look at the moment of silence by the end of this episode, no words where spoken, Sophie and Paul just look at each others, and you could just feel the intensity of the moment of peacefulness they were sharing, pretty amazing.
Last week I mentioned how Sophie can go from one extreme to another, from smiling and cracking jokes to real angry and tearful, in a split second. It’s something she’s gone through many times before, but this week wasn’t the case. She didn’t start overly happy, and sometimes she raised her voice, but overall this was a very peaceful session, almost kinda like the calm after the storm (I sure hope it wasn’t the calm before the storm…).
Paul can be happy about the way things are going with Sophie, because if at first she was often on the edge, ready to jump into her anger, this week it was obvious that he successfully managed to get her to trust him and to feel comfortable. He’s always insisted that she could feel safe here, and now she does. This was most evident by the end of the session, and that silence I mentioned earlier.
Sophie didn’t really want to say anything else, and her time was up anyways, but she felt at ease here and didn’t want to leave, not right away. She feels safe with Paul, like she can trust him and count on him, it’s obvious that he’s filling the empty spot of a father figure that’s pretty much always been missing her whole life, which is also why she has this idealistic vision of her actual father.
It is because she now trusts Paul, that she was able to admit to him how she felt towards gymnastic these days, how it wasn’t as important to her as it used to. Something that is also probably a direct “side-effect” of her therapy. She’s becoming more at ease with herself, her life, and now not only does she feels at peace in Paul’s office as well as she does up there, but therapy is actually taking the lead on the two, and she’d much rather sit here and talk to Paul, even if it’s not always the easiest thing to do, because, unlike gymnastic, it has effects that last even after she left this sanctuary of hers.
I’ve mentioned how Paul is a better therapist with Sophie than with anyone else, and the best proof of that was how spot-on he was when describing Sophie, her childhood with a father that really is the opposite of this perfect figure Sophie is forcing herself to remember him as, and how it actually affected her. And what was I would imagine the most rewarding thing for Paul this week, was that Sophie listen to him, thought about what he said, and in the end I think agreed.
She’s always been defending her father, even against all odds, as Paul said she even refused to get angry at him, instead she always went after her mother, but she couldn’t really explain why : “she’s the one who… *pause* who pisses me off!” But after Paul showed her that her mother was always around, and had always been here for her, unlike her father who’s running away every time, caring only about his “art”, putting it and his libido always before his own daughter, Sophie actually thought about it.
Weeks ago she wouldn’t even have listened to such things, but now that she and Paul share a relationship where they can trust each other, and where she feels equals, and not just a patient – which I suspect might be why she always asks about him, almost at times turning Paul into a patient of hers, and it may be because she’s still a teenager, but Paul actually answers her truthfully, something he never does with any other patient, to whom he basically never answer any questions, personal or not, now Sophie is able to accept and consider those thoughts.
After those words, and during that silent moment at the end, I think Sophie was starting to look at her parents, both her father and her mother, quite differently. She is realizing that her rage and anger direct to her mother might not be (fully) justified, which may also be why she didn’t want to leave right away, she had to consider how to act with her mother now.
I feel that this session was one of the most peaceful for Sophie, and definitely the one that showed the most progress. They directly addressed the issue that are consuming Sophie, those were confronted directly but it was done without burst of rage or denial. Sophie has done lots of progress from the first day she walk in, suicidal and broken, although right now she’s probably becoming even more fragile and vulnerable than ever, but (hopefully) her sessions with Paul will continue and Paul will help her to reconstruct herself.
No doubt that Wednesday is the best day for this show, I just can’t wait for next week.
Posted in Reviews
Shows: In Treatment
