Christy

By Christy Smith

In Treatment - Laura Week 8

Posted March 19, 2008

Please forgive me. I am playing catch up on my In Treatment viewing. Last week was a busy one for me, and I'm slowly working my way through the DVR'd episodes.

Laura's eighth "session" certainly didn't start out how I thought it would. Oh, I knew there was going to be a funeral. I saw that on the previews for this week. I wrongly predicted that Laura's father would die. It was actually Alex. Yes, THAT Alex.

The episode starts with Paul walking into the church for a funeral. It's pretty clear whose funeral it is, what with all the Navy guys wandering around. Apparently, Alex went up in a plane and crashed it -- just as I said he would if he returned to duty too quickly.

Oddly enough, the episode is less about Alex and more about Laura. Actually, it's about Paul's need for Laura to be at the funeral with him. It was so obvious. I mean Laura, who slept with Alex, couldn't even bring herself to sign the guest book because she thought it would be disrespectful to Alex's wife. And she's right. She had no business being there. But Paul called her and asked her to come. People even thought they were married.

Paul's not doing much to save his marriage, that's for sure. I'll bet Kate will go nuts when she finds out that Paul leaned on Laura -- not her -- during this sad time. I would be.

But back to Alex for a moment. I am stunned that the writers killed him off so soon. I didn't like him, but I certainly liked watching him and Paul lock horns. The guy had issues -- so many issues that aren't resolved. He never expressed the feelings he must have had from bombing that school, he never really worked things out with his wife, he never got to address the problems with his father, and he never admitted he was gay (I am sure he was). His death is like having cold water splashed in your face. It wakes you up. I mean, sure, the show is fictional. But it makes you think about how short life is. You never know when it's going to be your turn to check out. So it's important to make sure you leave no unfinished business, so to speak. Don't get me wrong, a television show hasn't shaken me to my core. I know all this stuff already. But this episode was a reminder.

I'm curious to see what happens in Alex's Week 8 episode now. I understand that his father shows up at Paul's office. Should be extremely interesting. Of course, I'm sure he'll blame Paul for his son's death. All that reflection. Yeah, right. Little does he know that his behavior and expectations prevented Alex from reflecting on anything --- or even living a true life.