Dr. Paul Weston will see you now. You know, that Dr. Weston, the therapist that all patients wish they had, played by Gabriel Byrne, the actor that all aspirants wish they were.
In Treatment returns for its third season on HBO with lighter patient load for Dr. Weston. In Seasons One and Two, the psychologist saw four patients a week, and on the fifth day he rested, or rather resisted, his own therapist, played by the beatific Dianne Wiest. This season, because the episodes are no longer based upon the Israeli series BeTipul, the show has been streamlined down to two hours a week, three patients and a new therapist for Paul whether he likes it or not.
Let's take a look at who's in the waiting room:
Sunil:
"I do not want to come across as the disgruntled daughter-in-law."
Julia brings her husband (Samrat Chakrabarti as Arun) and his father, Sunil, to see Dr. Weston for treatment for the older man's depression for an unconventional family therapy. Sunil is a recently bereaved math professor who has come from Calcutta to New York to live with his son and his daughter-in-law, a woman who seems to have no filter or consiousness of how she might sound to an outside party.
Actress Sonya Walger who once was Penny in that galaxy far away and a long time ago called ABC's Lost is now Julia, the latest in a long line of unpleasant married women who come to see Dr. Weston: Embeth Davidtz as Amy in the doomed marriage of Season One, Sherri Saum as Bess in the doomed marriage of Season Two, and then of course, there is the ultimate unpleasant married woman, Paul's ex-wife Kate (Michelle Forbes aka Battlestar Galactica's Admiral Cain - salute, please.)
Sunil's story, at its beginning, is full of the expected. Suffering from the loss of his wife and the dislocation from India. Sunil refuses to speak to Julia (who can blame him?), and in unsurprising turn of events, speaks perfect and open-hearted English to Paul once his son and daughter-in-law leave the room. It is also unsurprising to learn that the father has been hiding his Effexor in the houseplants.
Sunil seems too young to be the grandfather in a sandwich generation situation. His departed wife was 53 years old when she died according the storyline which makes Arun in his mid-thirties at most. Sunil can't be much older than sixty. His retirement isn't making much sense chronologically, India is not France, but maybe my math about the math professor is wrong. Wouldn't that be ironic?
Article comments
1 - Carl Zimmerman
Sunil indeed has culture shock. He may resent his son’s marriage to a western Caucasian woman. His consistent use of Bengali language may be regression to previous happy times in India. Paul could establish rapport by pointing out that his Irish ancestors, like Sunil’s Indian ancestors, lived under British rule.
2 - Kate
He could, Carl. Thanks for bringing that up. I've been long waiting for Paul's Irishness to be a topic. When Byrne was first cast, it was a puzzle, now of course we can see why - he's a fine actor first, an Irish national second - but it will be interesting to see how "being an outsider" will manifest itself.
Thanks for the comment.