In Treatment: Sophie – Week Two
By fred | February 7, 2008
(S01E08) So I’m apparently going to stick around for another full week of In Treatment, and as the week goes I find myself amused to see how things are evolving. Is it the stories or characters, is it the episodes that are uneven, or is it just me, I’m not sure, but for the first two episodes of this week, things were reserved, like this was Bizarro-week or something.
Not in what actually happened or the characters themselves, it was still a continuity of their previous sessions, but I was now interested in the ones I hated at first, while bored with those I found interesting the first week. And last week, I didn’t care for Sophie, so I guess this might be a good episode this week…
So last week I said I didn’t care, and now, it’s not as clear as it was. One thing for sure is that, keeping up the Bizarro-week indeed, I liked this episode. Yet I’m not sure I care that much for Sophie, nor that I would mind if I was never to watch her sessions again. But to be completely honest, I pretty much feel that way about the entire show, about Paul and every one of his patients.
It’s the show in itself I think : when it’s interesting, when the stories and the characters make the half-hour not boring, you might like it. But you will never root for anyone like you would elsewhere. Don’t expect to care for any of them the way you do for Pam & Jim, don’t think you’ll ever get excited knowing that a new episode of this show is coming the way you are for a new Lost, Life, House or any show like that. I mean, for a great and captivating show.
This isn’t a one. It’s not bad, it can be good even at times, yet I think it could disappear any time and I wouldn’t really miss it. Just like this time, I find the character of Sophie to be growing on me, the way she was and interacted with Paul was nice, and it’s fun to see how she blocks everything and refuses to tell anything, and how Paul tries to find ways to get to her, to get her to feel safe her and that she can talk to him, to get her to eventually say things she wouldn’t say otherwise.
We don’t get any (direct) answers as to how her life really is, what’s going on and how things are between her and pretty much everyone else in her life. We only get clues. Clues that her relationship with her dad isn’t as perfect as she first wanted to have us think, clues that she may have indeed get into that accident willingly, clues that she might not feel at home anywhere, especially at her parents, that she may not feel loved anywhere, we get many clues of how her life may be, but no answers, nothing is ever clear.
This is make what makes it interesting, though, to get to see what you normally never see : someone else’s session with his therapist. You get to see Paul working his way into creating a “safe zone”, as he likes to call it, so he can find out what really goes on and try to help. So this week I liked Sophie’s session, and I do feel like I’d like to know more, and to be back next week.
But then again, should I never hear of her, or Laura, or Alex, or any of Paul’s patients, ever again, that wouldn’t bother me. Somehow I don’t feel drawn to this show, and if it was off the air for a week, I could easily completely forget about it. But it’s not, and there isn’t much else on, so I’ll keep watching (for now).
Posted in Reviews
Shows: In Treatment
