In Treatment (2008–2010): Season 2, Episode 33 - Oliver: Week Seven - full transcript

Bess and Luke find closure after a tough week; Paul tries to allay Oliver's fears.

Hi.

Would you like to come in?

Listen, Oliver, this is the last chance
you're gonna have to talk to Paul

before we move away.

Don't you at least wanna say goodbye to him?

Oliver, your mom and I are gonna
be in my office, talking.

So, if you feel like it, just...

come in and join us anytime you want, okay?

Whatever.

In Treatment, S02E33
Oliver: Week Seven

I know you hate me.



Why would you say that, Bess?

I'm doing everything you told me not to do.

So you have...

You have decided to leave?

First thing Saturday morning,

packing up the U-Haul

and driving upstate.

Can I ask you how Oliver is taking all this?

Very badly. Thanks for asking.

He's barely spoken to me all week.

And when he does, well, he...

he's finding more and more
colorful ways of telling me to fuck off.

If you've accomplished nothing else here,

you've certainly helped him
get in touch with his anger.



Do you feel that I have disappointed you?

It's embarrassing to admit this now, but...

when he first started coming here
I was sure you'd be on my side.

Were you?

You're so smart and reasonable,

I thought for sure you'd be able
to get through to Oliver

and maybe even knock some sense into Luke.

You had high hopes for me.

Then that night when I came
to pick up Oliver's turtle...

it was so clear to me
that you live here all alone.

And something about...
you know, the empty place, it just...

seemed familiar to me, and I thought...

I thought when I told you about
my new job, you'd be more sympathetic.

It's not that I'm not sympathetic to you,

but my job is to advocate for Oliver.

So if I feel that you're not acting in
his best interest, I have to tell you.

Believe me, I know that
where Oliver's concerned,

I'm making a bad situation even worse.

But I can't wake up in that house anymore.

And all I'm saying is that Oliver needs
familiar things around him now.

And if he doesn't get those things,
there may very well be consequences.

You know that announcement
they make on planes

about oxygen masks?

You know how you should
secure your own mask first

before you help your child with his?

I feel like that's what I'm doing now.

If you want my advice, I'd say that you
should adjust your mask immediately,

because your son really needs your help.

The way you're talking, it makes me
wonder if I've spent Oliver's whole life

finding different ways
to be selfish with him.

- What do you mean?
- Well, I mean...

I had Oliver in the first place
partly because...

I was graduating.
I didn't know what else to do.

And then I spent the next 12 years
entirely devoted to him,

which helped me forget that I was...

pathologically incapable
of finishing my degree

and that my husband and I weren't
really getting along anymore.

And now here I am, violently uprooting him,

all because I need a change of scene.

I think it's one of the hardest things
about being a parent:

trying to... weigh your own needs
against those of your kid.

It's a constant balancing act.

Oliver told me, last week on the playground,

he asked if he could come and live with you.

And when I said, "Why?", he said because

he's happier with you
than he is with me or Luke.

Is that right?

Well, that's what he said.

- It's probably the truth.
- I don't think it's the whole truth.

What he really needs now
is a home where he can feel safe.

You need to build that for him.

That's what you've got to remember.

He also said he was very angry

that you wouldn't take him in
when he asked you to.

Well, I think he's got every right to be.

I think you were his best friend.

And I'm taking him away from you.

I don't think he's ever gonna
forgive me for that.

I don't think he should.

Come in.

Oh, Luke. I wasn't expecting you.

I was in the neighborhood.

Why don't you join us?

I've been at our old apartment all afternoon,

packing things up to put in storage.

And suddenly I just...

felt the need to talk to somebody.

And then I remembered
it was Wednesday at 4:00,

so I figured I'd already
paid for the hour, so...

When you were knocking
we thought it was Oliver

and that he was finally ready to talk.

No such luck.

He's sitting there like he's getting
ready to strangle somebody.

At least he hasn't run away again.

Small blessings, right?

I'm taking the next couple
of days off to be with him

before he and Bess move away.

But since he's not speaking to me,

I don't know what kind
of activities we're gonna do.

I guess we could play
a lot of charades, you know.

You said you wanted to talk about something.

What is it?

I don't know, just this...

memory I was having of the three of us

moving into that place
when Oliver was a baby.

I don't know... how we thought we could
afford a whole brownstone floor.

We were living so far beyond our means.

And the place was a complete wreck.

The plaster was crumbling.

The walls were just buckling.

There were exposed
wires everywhere you looked.

We were so deluded, we thought
we could actually fix it up ourselves.

There was this pipe
in the bathroom that...

kept spurting little drops
of hot water into the air.

I never could fix it, so we had
to keep the window open all the time

- 'cause it was like a sauna in there.
- Except it was the dead of winter.

And so, one morning,
I was brushing my teeth, and...

the warm air from the water pipe
met the cold air from the window

and it started raining on me inside.

The two of you have...

an ease with each other
that I've never seen before.

Why do you think that is?

'Cause it's over?

You knew it a long time before I did.

And then even when
it was really clear to me, I was just

too stubborn to let go.

I was pretty stubborn myself.

I was trying to...

get you to be somebody you weren't...

in a marriage I didn't want.

We were just... children... playing house.

If we didn't have Oliver --

All this time and effort,
and that's all we are.

Just... two people who
should have never gotten married.

Look, I'm sure that your understanding
of what you are to each other

will continue to evolve and change.

But now that you've reached this point,

perhaps we can stop blaming
each other for all the ways

that you've failed your son.

And maybe you can finally
work together to be his parents.

Because even if you feel that you've
always been wrong for each other,

he is the one thing,

the one extraordinary thing
that you have built together.

I'd better get back to the apartment
'cause I have a lot of packing to do.

You want me to come over later,
help you pack up?

Actually, I thought, maybe
you'd like to take Oliver tonight.

I thought I wasn't supposed
to get him until tomorrow.

It just occurred to me that maybe you'd
like to spend some more time with him

before we leave.

Okay.

Okay, I'm going to see
if I can get Oliver to come in and talk.

Bess, I just want to say

that I've been harsh at times,

but I really admire your courage.

Thank you.

So...

Now I get the next two and a half days
to make up for the past 12 years.

Are you worried about what's gonna
happen once Oliver moves away?

Bess will be trying to take care of Oliver
while she's starting a new job.

I'll be driving up there
and back twice every weekend.

Oliver will probably be
more miserable than he is now.

It'll be a disaster.

Are you absolutely sure
there's nothing else that you can do?

I've gone over it a million times in my head,
and I just don't know what else to do.

What, you think I'm excited
about being a divorced dad,

only seeing my kid on the weekend?

It's not the way I wanted it.

Do you feel like...

you've failed Oliver?

Of course I do.

I know what it felt like
to have my father erase me.

It's the main reason why
I stayed married all these years,

trying to avoid what's happening right now.

It's not too late to undo all this, you know.

Yes, it is.

I've already lost him.

That's become clear
over the past couple of months.

Oh, yeah, he'll...

let me buy him some sneakers
or take him to see the Knicks,

but he won't come to me when he has problems.

Look, he may be pulling away
from you now because he's angry,

but he still needs you very much.

I never really learned
how to take care of him.

I always passed him off to Bess.

Truth is,

I probably never wanted to be
a father in the first place.

- Do you love your son?
- Yes.

Of course.

But look what I did last week.

I mean, Bess says she's moving away,

and I didn't lift a finger
to fight for Oliver.

I practically forced her to take him.

Because I didn't know how to handle him.

I understand there's a lot of things
that you wish you'd done differently,

but that's in the past.

The only thing that really matters now

is the kind of father
you're going to be to Oliver

from here on out.

Right, so what do we have
to look forward to?

I'll see him less and less, right?

I'll become the man who writes the checks.

Look, it doesn't have to be that bleak.

You have a lot of control over
how big a part you play in his life.

Because the truth is,
your relationship with Oliver,

it's never going to be over.

He'll always want you to be his father.

So, you can't ever give up on him

or yourself.

All right. I understand.

So, do you have any tips to give me,

any words of wisdom before you punch out?

Nothing that you really want to hear.

The truth is, Luke, there's a good chance
things are gonna get worse for Oliver

and for you.

For a long time,
he is going to be very angry at you.

And you're gonna have to keep
loving him, no matter what.

You're gonna have to let him have his anger.

And you're gonna have to take it,
just let him be who he is.

- So just take it?
- And keep showing up.

- All right, I think I can do that.
- And take it step by step.

Right now you've got
two and a half days with him,

all to yourself.

Take advantage of that.

All right.

You know, before we go,
I think you and Oliver should talk.

Yeah. Let's try.

Hey, Oliver.

It's almost time to head out.

Do you want to go into the office
and say goodbye to Paul?

I understand why you might be
mad with everything,

but you know none of it is Paul's fault.

And I know you like him a lot.

And he really cares about you, too.

Maybe you're feeling
too angry to talk right now,

but someday,

I bet you won't be so angry anymore.

And you'll miss him.

And you'll be glad you had
the opportunity to see him today.

So, what do you say?

Okay.

All right.

Thank you, Luke.

How are you?

You didn't help me at all.

Look...

I'm sorry I let you down.

Everything got worse.

I wish I could solve
all your problems, Oliver,

but I just... I can't.

But one thing I can do is talk with you,

about everything that's going on.

So what?

Well, for one thing, maybe

it will help you feel less alone.

I am alone.

And I'm not gonna get to see you anymore.

I know.

And that's why I'm really glad
that we had this chance

just to talk.

Why don't you tell me about your week?
Let's begin there.

Today was my last day at school.

And how did that go?

They had a going-away party for me.

My teacher made brownies.

Eric wasn't there, so that was good.

Why wasn't Eric there?

He was in the hospital.

What's Eric doing in the hospital?

He was lighting some M-80s

and they exploded and blew his pinkie off.

That's pretty awful for Eric,
don't you think?

Why do you think he picked on you so much?

Do you think it might have been because
he had so many problems of his own, you know?

Maybe.

So how is Maya doing?

She got me a going-away gift.

Cool. What did she get?

That's sweet.

You're gonna miss her, right?

I'll miss my house.

Your dad told me that he came over today
to help you pack.

How was that?

Weird.

Like he was living with us again,
except he wasn't.

He and my mom both started to cry a little.

Both of them?

So what was that like?

I hated it.

You know, once when I was
about your age, I saw my dad cry.

He was having a big fight with my mom.

They were yelling at each other.

I just wanted them to stop.

I guess I wanted them to be...

to be just happy.

And it made me so pissed

when I found out that...

that they weren't.

So, what did you do?

Well, I stayed pissed at them
for a long time.

And then I realized that...

even though my mom and dad got upset

and they made big mistakes sometimes,

they still loved me.

What am I supposed to do?

Okay...

If you're not getting something
that you need, tell them.

If you don't understand why
something is happening, say:

"Can you please explain this to me?"

And if things get really
upsetting and confusing,

call me.

That way we can work together
to try and solve the problem.

Does your son live far away?

Hm-hmm.

I go visit him on weekends.

This Saturday I'm taking him to the air
and space museum in Washington, D.C.

He likes to look at the rockets
and the satellites especially.

Do you miss him?

Yeah. All the time.

But, see,

I'm with him whenever...

whenever I can be.

And... I'm always thinking about him.

I mean, we talk on the phone every day.

So I get to hear what he has to say

and I get to tell him
what's going on with me.

That reminds me... I've got to make a call.

Can you give me a sec?

- Hello.
- Hey, Oliver.

It's Paul in Brooklyn.

I just thought I'd check in and see how...

how things were going, upstate.

This is dumb.

So, how are you?

When did you move in?

Last week.

And how has it been going so far?

Okay, I guess.

Where's your house?

In the middle of nowhere.

Do you like your room?

Not really.

In Brooklyn, my room is painted blue.

What if you and your mom
go to the hardware store

and buy some blue paint?

That way your room...

your room can look the same
as it did in Brooklyn.

I guess.

How are you and your mom
getting on these days?

She's really busy.

She's teaching a lot,
so I don't get to see her very much.

But you have dinner together
every night, yeah?

- Yeah.
- And then you tell her...

You tell her all about your day.

Yeah.

Has your dad come up to visit you?

Not yet, but...

This weekend he's coming to get me
and we're going to the city.

Cool.

But I'm not sure what we're gonna do there.

When you talk to him,

maybe you could just make a list
of the things that you want to do.

Maybe, I don't know,
go to a basketball game,

maybe even go back to that restaurant
where you had the paella.

That'd be fun.

So how are things going at school?

All the kids are strange.

I bet there's...

one or two kids that you kind of like.

It's gonna take a while, Oliver.

Everything's gonna be
new and strange for a bit.

But I think you're gonna do okay.

I think things are gonna work out
and you're just going to be fine.

- I have to go now.
- Oh, it's dinner time?

Yeah. I'll call you next week.

Goodbye, Oliver.

I should go now.

Well, we still have a little bit of time.

Is there anything else that you...

that you want to talk about?

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