In Treatment (2008–2010): Season 2, Episode 24 - Walter: Week Five - full transcript
Paul concludes that Walter's recent actions make him a risk to himself.
Dr. Weston?
I'm Walter's daughter,
- Natalie.
- Very nice to meet you, Natalie.
- Thank you so much for coming.
- Of course, of course.
How is...
How is your father doing?
Physically he's okay.
My mother says to tell everyone
he has food poisoning.
That's... That's what she told me.
And you believed her?
Synchro: So., mpm
I'm not hungry.
I don't need any pills. Leave me alone.
It's Paul.
For Christ's sake.
What are you doing here?
You missed your session.
I called your home.
Connie told me that you'd...
You'd been admitted last night.
- And she asked you to check in on me?
- I'd have come anyway.
I was worried about having to cancel
my session last week, so...
Well, you can tell Connie you saw me
and I sent you home.
They're gonna be discharging me
tomorrow.
We'll have a session next week.
I'm not so sure
they're gonna discharge you, Walter.
What are you talking about?
You... You may not be ready
to go home.
Of course I am.
I had a little food poisoning.
I'm fine.
Food poisoning?
I'm glad to hear it.
Well, since you're fine,
and I'm here, maybe we can...
maybe we can talk.
- Will it help get me out of here?
- It could.
Well, then tell me
what you want to know.
First off,
are they treating you well here?
Yeah, it's...
It's a little showy for a hospital,
but the staff's good.
They're in and out all the time,
but no, I have no complaints.
So I'll bet you'll be glad
to get home.
I really miss my privacy,
knowing where my things are.
Actually, I spoke with Connie.
She told me that Natalie was leaving
to fly back to Rwanda.
You had an early dinner
with both of them, she told me.
Yeah, we ate in.
I don't go out.
People gawk.
And they both ate
the same meal as you did?
Right.
Chinese.
But they didn't get food poisoning.
So maybe I got a bug.
I also talked
to your attending physician.
- He said that you were lucky.
- Lucky?
That Natalie's flight was canceled.
I don't follow you.
She got a call from the airline
while your wife was driving her.
They turned around
before they even got to the airport.
So that's what happened.
Another half hour,
you wouldn't have made it.
I guess it wasn't my time.
Not now, please.
Do you want to tell me
what really happened?
What's to tell?
I kissed Natalie goodbye.
I caught a chill after she left
so I got back into bed.
When I woke up,
I was here.
Had you been spending
a lot of time in bed?
I don't have anywhere else to be,
do I?
And your daughter Natalie,
how long has she been in New York?
A week, 10 days.
I told you
Connie overreacted to my...
My forced retirement,
sent out an S.O.S.
sent out an S.O.S.
The boys came in first
from California.
And how was that?
Awkward as hell.
I didn't know how to talk to them,
they didn't know how to talk to me.
We watched basketball,
reruns.
My older one ate my food.
The younger one was upset
that there was no booze in the house,
so he went out
and got a bottle of single malt.
After that I never saw him
with an empty glass.
Then
Natalie came.
And the second she got in,
they beat it the hell out of there.
And she came all the way
from Rwanda.
Paul, I know where she was living.
Yes, but it's just that you'd said
before that you felt that she was...
done with you.
Yeah, well, Connie must have really laid
a guilt trip on her.
And how was it seeing her?
Uncomfortable.
She wanted to talk about what happened
over there, what happened here.
I told her I wasn't in the mood
for small talk,
she made me get out of bed
and shower, shave,
get dressed.
Made me go out on walks in the park.
She even took me to the zoo.
She used to love going there
when she was a little girl.
So your mood improved
when she was here.
Did you find it
upsetting when she had to leave?
Well, of course I was upset,
but I wanted her to go.
So whether or not
you really were feeling better,
you made sure
that they both thought you were.
I told you, I was better.
So you had your last meal with Natalie,
you kissed her goodbye,
they left and you finally had...
Your privacy.
What I had was the chills.
- And what did you take for the chills?
- Aspirin.
Antacid.
- What difference does it make?
- They pumped your stomach, Walter.
You were pretty far gone.
And it wasn't from antacids.
So what?
Probably what happened
was I drifted off, woke up,
reached out
for the wrong pills in my sleep.
- I don't believe you.
- What the fuck would you know?
Because it's my job to know.
And I am obligated to express
my concern to Dr. Wells
and the rest of the team here.
You don't have
to be concerned, Paul.
My family isn't going to sue you.
They're not like
that pilot's family.
What?
That's all you're worried about,
isn't it?
I should have vetted you sooner.
But someone on your school...
I'm on the board,
by the way, or was...
recommended you and, like I say,
I've been dropping my guard lately.
I think you can still pack
a pretty mean punch if you want to.
You seem like a smart fellow.
And I know you wouldn't know
anyone who could hurt me.
But still,
when the leaks started
to really hit the papers,
I told Marie to have HR run
a background check on you.
What did you think about it?
You mean aside from wondering
if you were in over your head with me?
I had other things going.
I didn't even look at it
until last week.
Last week...
- after I had to cancel.
- Probably around there.
Did you feel I let you down
by canceling?
No, actually I was relieved.
I didn't want to come in
and go through the motions.
- Is that what coming feels like?
- That's what everything feels like.
I wasn't upset.
But I was surprised.
You convinced me
that you were angry
about what had happened to me
and that you were on my side.
And when I missed a session?
Boy, you really have a high opinion
of yourself, don't you?
I can't help but notice
that's when you decided
to read the background check.
I had time on my hands.
And blood.
Just like you.
Is that
also what you thought
- when you read about the lawsuit?
- What difference does it make?
You keep saying "what difference
does it make", but I think it does.
With all due respect, Paul,
don't flatter yourself.
If you'd been there or not
it wouldn't have mattered one bit.
So you're saying
your mind was made up,
you would have done it anyway
one way or the other.
Done what?
I went to sleep.
I went to sleep.
What was it, a handful of pills?
A couple of shots
of your son's scotch?
It must have been everything
you could do...
What?
To hold on
until Natalie was gone.
What was she supposed to do,
take care of me for the rest of my life?
Both of them,
opening the blinds,
fluffing the fucking pillows,
making sure I'm dressed.
They were worrying themselves
sick about me.
And you didn't want that?
So I...
I forced myself to start eating again.
I stopped taking the pills.
I squirreled those away.
I pretended to sleep through the night
just so they'd...
finally leave me alone
for a few hours.
A few hours,
that's all you needed then?
I told Connie she couldn't let Natalie
take a car service to the airport.
You figured
she wouldn't just drop her off.
She'd wait at the airport
for a while.
So you would have enough time.
I wanted Natalie up in the air,
as far away from this as possible.
Connie was just supposed
to come home and find me asleep.
A millionaire's death.
You know what that means?
I think I heard my father
use that expression.
Yeah, mine too.
You go to bed one night
and you don't wake up.
Just close your eyes.
I took the pills,
chased them down,
took a few more.
I don't even remember
the girls coming back.
I must have vomited
all over the bed.
I just wanted it to be over,
that's all.
It's okay, Walter.
It's okay.
I can't even do that.
What do you mean?
Just leave it on the table.
Thank you.
Does everyone in the hospital know?
You have a very good team
of doctors.
They assessed the situation
the night that...
you came in.
Is it in the papers?
For how long?
I didn't leave a note.
I left the TV on,
left the lights on.
Nobody was supposed to know.
Just an old man...
asleep under the covers.
The doorman would have helped.
Short term,
Connie would have mourned, but...
she has a support system.
Long term, she'd be a helluva
lot better off
as my widow than my wife.
I'm sure she would not agree
with that, Walter.
She didn't sign on for this.
For what?
To have a disgraced basket case
as a husband.
Do you know what it's like for her?
She's been a C.E.O's wife
and now she has to sneak out
through the service entrance
of the building next door like...
Like you do.
It's not the same.
It's different for me.
- And why is that?
- Because she didn't do anything wrong.
And you did?
Everything that's happened to you,
you feel that you've deserved it?
Is that the way you think?
People died...
on my watch, Paul.
Let's not pretend otherwise.
And anyone who's worried about you
would be better off if you...
weren't around?
It's just... the objective truth.
You met my daughter?
She's got her whole life
ahead of her.
Now what? She's supposed
to just put it on hold and...
and worry about whether her old man
got out of bed that morning
or took a shave?
I've met Natalie.
And she's in a terrifying place
right now.
But as hard as it is for her
to worry about you,
I'm absolutely certain
that if you'd managed to kill yourself,
she would never
have forgiven herself.
The same way...
that you've never forgiven yourself.
- It's not the same.
- Isn't it?
You blamed yourself
for Tommy's death
even though
he was the one who jumped.
You blamed yourself for James
even though
he was hell-bent on destruction.
And you blamed yourself
for this crisis
even though you did everything possible
to avert it.
It wasn't enough, Paul.
Of course it wasn't.
I mean, how could it be?
You've had...
blood on your hands,
as you say, your whole life.
And it's shaped everything.
That's why this time when kids died,
it wasn't punishment enough to sacrifice
your life to your parents,
as you did.
This time you had to impose
the death penalty on yourself.
- I see what you're doing.
- And what am I doing?
Is this how you deal
with your guilt?
You tell yourself
that what you feel isn't real?
That...
you did the best you could?
It's always there.
I always wonder what else
I should have done,
what the limits truly are
of responsibility to another person.
And you can live with that?
- It doesn't affect you?
- Of course it does.
All I can really do is try to...
understand what happened and...
why I made the choices I made.
To... learn from the loss and to...
Well, it's different for you.
You're a young man.
You can recover from your mistake,
move to another state,
- start over.
- And you don't feel that you can?
It's too late for me.
We both know that.
Look at you...
One eye on the door,
wondering when you can get out of here
and cut your losses.
That's not what I was doing.
Natalie is outside.
What is she still doing here?
I told her to go home to her mother.
- She doesn't listen to me anymore.
- She's on watch, Walter.
She doesn't trust that somebody
is going to look in on you
every 15 minutes or so.
Every 15 minutes?
Is that what that is?
You're at risk.
- Did you tell her that?
- She told me.
So?
Tell her I'm fine.
"Tell her I'm fine."
"You're safe to fly."
- Whatever.
- I can't really do that, Walter.
I think you're gonna have to stay here
for a little longer.
But I'm fine.
I'm eating. I'm sleeping.
I just got a little dehydrated.
Just tell them you're my therapist
and that there's nothing wrong with me.
I can't do that.
In my opinion...
you need to be kept
under observation.
And you've made it clear that you don't
want your family standing guard duty.
Are you trying to have me committed?
What I'm saying is that I think
it would be a very good idea for you
to stay here for a few days.
- This hospital is one of the best.
- I'll call my lawyer.
He'll bounce you on your ass so fast
you won't know what hit you.
You want to sue me, Walter,
get in line. But it's not gonna
get you out of here any sooner.
How long?
Until it's safe for you to leave.
And if the doctors haven't released you
within two weeks,
then you have the right
to make your case before a judge.
A judge?
- Are you kidding me?
- I wish I were.
I don't want anything
to happen to you, Walter.
Too late.
Walter, it's not too late.
- There's a lot...
- Get out of here, will you?
- Are you sure...
- Just get out of here.
Can I go in to see him?
I'd give him a few minutes.
He's not coming home tomorrow,
is he?
It's up to the doctors, but...
I'm going to tell them
that he's still at risk to himself.
He doesn't agree, of course,
but...
- I can't take the chance.
- I know.
Thank you.
- Are you all right?
- Me?
I'm fine.
I'm just thinking about
what I'm going to tell my mother.
I'm sorry this is...
so much...
on you.
Actually I'm surprised
that she's not here tonight.
It's for the best.
She is not great in these situations
as you can imagine.
Why is that?
He didn't tell you.
She's been in rehab,
I don't know, three, four times.
Pills, booze.
She's gonna go to pieces.
I'm Walter's daughter,
- Natalie.
- Very nice to meet you, Natalie.
- Thank you so much for coming.
- Of course, of course.
How is...
How is your father doing?
Physically he's okay.
My mother says to tell everyone
he has food poisoning.
That's... That's what she told me.
And you believed her?
Synchro: So., mpm
I'm not hungry.
I don't need any pills. Leave me alone.
It's Paul.
For Christ's sake.
What are you doing here?
You missed your session.
I called your home.
Connie told me that you'd...
You'd been admitted last night.
- And she asked you to check in on me?
- I'd have come anyway.
I was worried about having to cancel
my session last week, so...
Well, you can tell Connie you saw me
and I sent you home.
They're gonna be discharging me
tomorrow.
We'll have a session next week.
I'm not so sure
they're gonna discharge you, Walter.
What are you talking about?
You... You may not be ready
to go home.
Of course I am.
I had a little food poisoning.
I'm fine.
Food poisoning?
I'm glad to hear it.
Well, since you're fine,
and I'm here, maybe we can...
maybe we can talk.
- Will it help get me out of here?
- It could.
Well, then tell me
what you want to know.
First off,
are they treating you well here?
Yeah, it's...
It's a little showy for a hospital,
but the staff's good.
They're in and out all the time,
but no, I have no complaints.
So I'll bet you'll be glad
to get home.
I really miss my privacy,
knowing where my things are.
Actually, I spoke with Connie.
She told me that Natalie was leaving
to fly back to Rwanda.
You had an early dinner
with both of them, she told me.
Yeah, we ate in.
I don't go out.
People gawk.
And they both ate
the same meal as you did?
Right.
Chinese.
But they didn't get food poisoning.
So maybe I got a bug.
I also talked
to your attending physician.
- He said that you were lucky.
- Lucky?
That Natalie's flight was canceled.
I don't follow you.
She got a call from the airline
while your wife was driving her.
They turned around
before they even got to the airport.
So that's what happened.
Another half hour,
you wouldn't have made it.
I guess it wasn't my time.
Not now, please.
Do you want to tell me
what really happened?
What's to tell?
I kissed Natalie goodbye.
I caught a chill after she left
so I got back into bed.
When I woke up,
I was here.
Had you been spending
a lot of time in bed?
I don't have anywhere else to be,
do I?
And your daughter Natalie,
how long has she been in New York?
A week, 10 days.
I told you
Connie overreacted to my...
My forced retirement,
sent out an S.O.S.
sent out an S.O.S.
The boys came in first
from California.
And how was that?
Awkward as hell.
I didn't know how to talk to them,
they didn't know how to talk to me.
We watched basketball,
reruns.
My older one ate my food.
The younger one was upset
that there was no booze in the house,
so he went out
and got a bottle of single malt.
After that I never saw him
with an empty glass.
Then
Natalie came.
And the second she got in,
they beat it the hell out of there.
And she came all the way
from Rwanda.
Paul, I know where she was living.
Yes, but it's just that you'd said
before that you felt that she was...
done with you.
Yeah, well, Connie must have really laid
a guilt trip on her.
And how was it seeing her?
Uncomfortable.
She wanted to talk about what happened
over there, what happened here.
I told her I wasn't in the mood
for small talk,
she made me get out of bed
and shower, shave,
get dressed.
Made me go out on walks in the park.
She even took me to the zoo.
She used to love going there
when she was a little girl.
So your mood improved
when she was here.
Did you find it
upsetting when she had to leave?
Well, of course I was upset,
but I wanted her to go.
So whether or not
you really were feeling better,
you made sure
that they both thought you were.
I told you, I was better.
So you had your last meal with Natalie,
you kissed her goodbye,
they left and you finally had...
Your privacy.
What I had was the chills.
- And what did you take for the chills?
- Aspirin.
Antacid.
- What difference does it make?
- They pumped your stomach, Walter.
You were pretty far gone.
And it wasn't from antacids.
So what?
Probably what happened
was I drifted off, woke up,
reached out
for the wrong pills in my sleep.
- I don't believe you.
- What the fuck would you know?
Because it's my job to know.
And I am obligated to express
my concern to Dr. Wells
and the rest of the team here.
You don't have
to be concerned, Paul.
My family isn't going to sue you.
They're not like
that pilot's family.
What?
That's all you're worried about,
isn't it?
I should have vetted you sooner.
But someone on your school...
I'm on the board,
by the way, or was...
recommended you and, like I say,
I've been dropping my guard lately.
I think you can still pack
a pretty mean punch if you want to.
You seem like a smart fellow.
And I know you wouldn't know
anyone who could hurt me.
But still,
when the leaks started
to really hit the papers,
I told Marie to have HR run
a background check on you.
What did you think about it?
You mean aside from wondering
if you were in over your head with me?
I had other things going.
I didn't even look at it
until last week.
Last week...
- after I had to cancel.
- Probably around there.
Did you feel I let you down
by canceling?
No, actually I was relieved.
I didn't want to come in
and go through the motions.
- Is that what coming feels like?
- That's what everything feels like.
I wasn't upset.
But I was surprised.
You convinced me
that you were angry
about what had happened to me
and that you were on my side.
And when I missed a session?
Boy, you really have a high opinion
of yourself, don't you?
I can't help but notice
that's when you decided
to read the background check.
I had time on my hands.
And blood.
Just like you.
Is that
also what you thought
- when you read about the lawsuit?
- What difference does it make?
You keep saying "what difference
does it make", but I think it does.
With all due respect, Paul,
don't flatter yourself.
If you'd been there or not
it wouldn't have mattered one bit.
So you're saying
your mind was made up,
you would have done it anyway
one way or the other.
Done what?
I went to sleep.
I went to sleep.
What was it, a handful of pills?
A couple of shots
of your son's scotch?
It must have been everything
you could do...
What?
To hold on
until Natalie was gone.
What was she supposed to do,
take care of me for the rest of my life?
Both of them,
opening the blinds,
fluffing the fucking pillows,
making sure I'm dressed.
They were worrying themselves
sick about me.
And you didn't want that?
So I...
I forced myself to start eating again.
I stopped taking the pills.
I squirreled those away.
I pretended to sleep through the night
just so they'd...
finally leave me alone
for a few hours.
A few hours,
that's all you needed then?
I told Connie she couldn't let Natalie
take a car service to the airport.
You figured
she wouldn't just drop her off.
She'd wait at the airport
for a while.
So you would have enough time.
I wanted Natalie up in the air,
as far away from this as possible.
Connie was just supposed
to come home and find me asleep.
A millionaire's death.
You know what that means?
I think I heard my father
use that expression.
Yeah, mine too.
You go to bed one night
and you don't wake up.
Just close your eyes.
I took the pills,
chased them down,
took a few more.
I don't even remember
the girls coming back.
I must have vomited
all over the bed.
I just wanted it to be over,
that's all.
It's okay, Walter.
It's okay.
I can't even do that.
What do you mean?
Just leave it on the table.
Thank you.
Does everyone in the hospital know?
You have a very good team
of doctors.
They assessed the situation
the night that...
you came in.
Is it in the papers?
For how long?
I didn't leave a note.
I left the TV on,
left the lights on.
Nobody was supposed to know.
Just an old man...
asleep under the covers.
The doorman would have helped.
Short term,
Connie would have mourned, but...
she has a support system.
Long term, she'd be a helluva
lot better off
as my widow than my wife.
I'm sure she would not agree
with that, Walter.
She didn't sign on for this.
For what?
To have a disgraced basket case
as a husband.
Do you know what it's like for her?
She's been a C.E.O's wife
and now she has to sneak out
through the service entrance
of the building next door like...
Like you do.
It's not the same.
It's different for me.
- And why is that?
- Because she didn't do anything wrong.
And you did?
Everything that's happened to you,
you feel that you've deserved it?
Is that the way you think?
People died...
on my watch, Paul.
Let's not pretend otherwise.
And anyone who's worried about you
would be better off if you...
weren't around?
It's just... the objective truth.
You met my daughter?
She's got her whole life
ahead of her.
Now what? She's supposed
to just put it on hold and...
and worry about whether her old man
got out of bed that morning
or took a shave?
I've met Natalie.
And she's in a terrifying place
right now.
But as hard as it is for her
to worry about you,
I'm absolutely certain
that if you'd managed to kill yourself,
she would never
have forgiven herself.
The same way...
that you've never forgiven yourself.
- It's not the same.
- Isn't it?
You blamed yourself
for Tommy's death
even though
he was the one who jumped.
You blamed yourself for James
even though
he was hell-bent on destruction.
And you blamed yourself
for this crisis
even though you did everything possible
to avert it.
It wasn't enough, Paul.
Of course it wasn't.
I mean, how could it be?
You've had...
blood on your hands,
as you say, your whole life.
And it's shaped everything.
That's why this time when kids died,
it wasn't punishment enough to sacrifice
your life to your parents,
as you did.
This time you had to impose
the death penalty on yourself.
- I see what you're doing.
- And what am I doing?
Is this how you deal
with your guilt?
You tell yourself
that what you feel isn't real?
That...
you did the best you could?
It's always there.
I always wonder what else
I should have done,
what the limits truly are
of responsibility to another person.
And you can live with that?
- It doesn't affect you?
- Of course it does.
All I can really do is try to...
understand what happened and...
why I made the choices I made.
To... learn from the loss and to...
Well, it's different for you.
You're a young man.
You can recover from your mistake,
move to another state,
- start over.
- And you don't feel that you can?
It's too late for me.
We both know that.
Look at you...
One eye on the door,
wondering when you can get out of here
and cut your losses.
That's not what I was doing.
Natalie is outside.
What is she still doing here?
I told her to go home to her mother.
- She doesn't listen to me anymore.
- She's on watch, Walter.
She doesn't trust that somebody
is going to look in on you
every 15 minutes or so.
Every 15 minutes?
Is that what that is?
You're at risk.
- Did you tell her that?
- She told me.
So?
Tell her I'm fine.
"Tell her I'm fine."
"You're safe to fly."
- Whatever.
- I can't really do that, Walter.
I think you're gonna have to stay here
for a little longer.
But I'm fine.
I'm eating. I'm sleeping.
I just got a little dehydrated.
Just tell them you're my therapist
and that there's nothing wrong with me.
I can't do that.
In my opinion...
you need to be kept
under observation.
And you've made it clear that you don't
want your family standing guard duty.
Are you trying to have me committed?
What I'm saying is that I think
it would be a very good idea for you
to stay here for a few days.
- This hospital is one of the best.
- I'll call my lawyer.
He'll bounce you on your ass so fast
you won't know what hit you.
You want to sue me, Walter,
get in line. But it's not gonna
get you out of here any sooner.
How long?
Until it's safe for you to leave.
And if the doctors haven't released you
within two weeks,
then you have the right
to make your case before a judge.
A judge?
- Are you kidding me?
- I wish I were.
I don't want anything
to happen to you, Walter.
Too late.
Walter, it's not too late.
- There's a lot...
- Get out of here, will you?
- Are you sure...
- Just get out of here.
Can I go in to see him?
I'd give him a few minutes.
He's not coming home tomorrow,
is he?
It's up to the doctors, but...
I'm going to tell them
that he's still at risk to himself.
He doesn't agree, of course,
but...
- I can't take the chance.
- I know.
Thank you.
- Are you all right?
- Me?
I'm fine.
I'm just thinking about
what I'm going to tell my mother.
I'm sorry this is...
so much...
on you.
Actually I'm surprised
that she's not here tonight.
It's for the best.
She is not great in these situations
as you can imagine.
Why is that?
He didn't tell you.
She's been in rehab,
I don't know, three, four times.
Pills, booze.
She's gonna go to pieces.