The Patient
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Alan Strauss is a therapist, not a murderer.
Is it indecision that stops him?
Fear of his own death?
Fear of causing an innocent womans death?
I definitely found myself wishing for this outcome at the end of last weeks episode.
would be rendered moot.
Now that Alan has had his own big breakthrough, his mind is wandering to darker places.
(Side note: Frankl survived and then he wrote a book.
Does his inclusion in the narrative allude to Alans potential fate?
Lets hope so.)
Alan has found meaning, he just needs to get the fuck out of that basement.
And so he tries to create some meaning for his captor.
The role-play scene is particularly cringeworthy as Sam stammers his way through asking even the most rudimentary of questions.
Alan just puts on his empathetic face and encourages Sam to keep going.
Oh, and he recommends that Sam serve something that Mary likes to eat.
Change takes time, yall.
Its no surprise that Sam completely fumbles brunch.
And if I had questions about Mary and Sams relationship before, ooh boy do I have questions now.
Was their time as man and wife just a series of silent, stilted exchanges?
If Sam was the one to propose, how did he propose?
What TV shows did they watch together?
I want to know it all.
Sam probably would have just kept on keeping on, but Mary found the strength to break free.
First, he tries to tell a joke, and he has no comedic or storytelling rhythm.
When Sam goes back up to brunch, he tries another tactic.
He tells Mary about his history with his father.
Both women arent too sure what to do in the wake of this confession, so brunch breaks up.
Thats what he gets when he tells his nearest and dearest about his deepest, darkest traumas?
No wonder the guy kills people for emotional catharsis.
He encourages Sam that his feelings are valid and that feeling bad is part of therapy sometimes!
You gotta kiss a lot of frogs to find your princess, my dude!
And rejection is hard, but its necessary to find people you truly connect with.
Kemper came to the realization that his violent impulses stemmed from an abusive relationship with his mother.
Once he killed her, his desire to kill vanished.
Alan tries to stop Sam.
But Sam is sure of what he needs to do.
Thats our time for today.
Ill see you next week at our final (!)
As a parent, you always worry if your worst traits will be passed down to your kids.
Alan knows this as he just recently realized that Ezra inherited many undesirable traits from him.
So Alan tells Sam what he knows, which is that we dont know.
PSA: If youre in therapy and its hard, stick with it!
The pain usually means youre getting somewhere.
The way that director Chris Long chooses to frame Alan throughout this episode is incredibly effective.
