What I’m Watching: In Treatment

In Treatment: Season 4, Episode 16 “Brooke – Week 4” (B-)

While the first three installments focused on Brooke were indeed compelling, I’ve been wondering why it is that there’s an episode each week reserved for her when she doesn’t actually have an appointment. It would help provide some structure for the episodes and for her to be able to talk about her feelings in an organized way like she provides for her patients, though Rita is essentially serving that function, even if she’s going a bit above and beyond what a typical therapist might do in terms of taking physical action. Brooke didn’t seem at all cooperative when she showed up in the middle of the night and forced her to get back, but again Rita reminded me that this was something that she had specifically asked for, presumably knowing that Rita would be the only one able to convince her to get up and just do it. Their conversation took a predictable turn as they discussed the idea of Brooke having a baby and Adam’s reaction to it, and I’m not sure that they’re really making any progress on being on the same page about that, both Brooke and Adam as a couple and Brooke and Rita as friends trying to be supportive of each other’s life choices. That the scene always transitions to Brooke drinking freely with Adam is an indicator that she firmly believes she has her drinking problem under control and isn’t about to be told by anyone that she needs to take a serious look at her problematic tendencies.