In Treatment (2008–2010): Season 2, Episode 8 - Oliver: Week Two - full transcript

- So was that so hard?
- I think we're okay.

In Treatment, S02E08
Oliver: Week Two

- Are we gonna play another game?
- Would you like to?

I don't know.

You know, since we met the last time I've been
reading up on the rules of blackjack.

I don't wanna play right now.

Okay. That's fine.

Why'd you learn about blackjack?

Because I want to understand more about
the, uh, the things you like to do.

Why?

Because, uh... I think you're
a very interesting person.



- I'm not interesting.
- Well, I think you are.

You're really observant, you're perceptive,

you've got a great sense of humor
and you're obviously extremely smart.

- My teachers don't think I'm smart.
- Really?

They say things like that?

I don't want to talk about school.

So what would you like to talk about?

You don't have to talk
to me if you don't want to.

- I know that.
- I won't tell my parents.

You'll still get paid.

Well, I'm not gonna force you to talk to me...

but if you're having...

you know, if there's anything
you do want to talk about, this...

would be a good place to do it.



You know why I don't wanna talk about school?

- 'Cause all my teachers hate me.
- They hate you? Oh, that's terrible.

I can't see any reason why they would.

They're all mad because I fall asleep in class.

Does that happen a lot?

- Pretty much every day.
- Well, then you must be...

you must be very tired.

No, school is just boring.

You don't like any of your classes?

Not really.

They're, they're not about real things.

What do you, what do you mean by that?

Like, math is algebra...

it's not even numbers, it's letters.

It's all fake.

And what about, what about all the
other classes, hi-history, for example.

Doesn't that have to be real?

We don't have history.
It's called humanities,

and, right now, we're reading this
lame book called "Lord of the Flies."

Have you ever read it?

A long time ago.

In what way do you find it lame?

These kids crash on a deserted island
and start doing mean things.

And, and you don't find that realistic?

You don't need to crash
on an island for kids to be mean.

Hm-hmm, that's true.

Have you ever seen kids be mean like that?

- You wanna see something?
- Sure.

They just gave one of these
to everybody at school.

- What is this?
- It's a turtle.

It's a turtle. Okay.

Oh, he's beautiful.

Do you think he's okay in there?
Don't you wanna let him out for a bit?

- Well, is that okay?
- Sure, go ahead.

- Okay.
- On the floor.

Do you have a name for him?

No. I have to take him home
and take care of him.

If he dies -- I fail.

So why...

why do you think that would happen?

I'm gonna forget to feed him or

leave him behind, and he's gonna die.

Well, he looks really healthy to me.

It seems like you're doing a great job.

I'm glad you took him
out of that backpack, though.

It looks like it's a bit crowded in there.

Yeah, I have to take all my books home.

Really?

You've got a lot of homework?

No, it's just, sometimes, I'm at my dad's,

and I forget a book that I left at my mom's,

so my dad gets angry because
we have to go back to Brooklyn.

So it's best that I keep all my books with me.

So, since we last met, you've been
staying at your dad's apartment?

No.

So you still feel
the same way as you felt before,

that you're just not ready
to stay with your dad... just yet.

- Yeah.
- Well, I'm a little bit, uh...

I'm a little bit confused.
Last week you said that the reason that

you couldn't stay over
at your dad's was because

you couldn't fall asleep because of the noise.

Now you're with your mom and

you're still so tired you're falling asleep
in class. What's, what's... with that?

School's boring. I just told you that.

So...

So, do you have any trouble, uh...
is he okay there?

I guess.

Okay. So...

you, you never have any trouble
falling asleep at your mom's house?

It's just hard to fall asleep.

Then maybe the problem isn't just
the noise at your dad's apartment.

Maybe it's that you're having trouble
sleeping for other reasons.

Like what?

A lot of people can't get to sleep because
they're... really stressed out at nighttime.

They can't empty their minds.

Do you think that's true about you?

Maybe.

I'm sure that there's a lot going on
in your life that must be stressful.

You think?

Hmm?

Is there anybody you feel comfortable

talking with about... how, how you feel?

Like who? My parents?

That's one possibility, yeah.

Well, if I tell my mom,

she calls my dad, and then they argue.

And what, what kind of things
do they... argue about?

Everything.

Like today, they had a fight because

my mom says I'm not getting enough
sleep, and my dad says I'm not healthy.

And what does he mean by that, "not healthy"?

Fat.

Has your dad ever told you
that... he thinks you're fat?

I know he thinks I'm fat.

Everybody thinks I'm fat, because I'm fat.

So...

being fat... seems to be something
that really bothers you.

You think I'm fat?

What I'm concerned about is what you think.

And... I think it makes you upset,
just from the way you talk about it.

I don't talk about it.
It's all the kids at school that do.

And what, what do they say to you?

We're reading "Lord of the Flies",

and we have to write this essay on

the character that we think we're most like.

So everybody in the class starts laughing,

because they say, I should write
about the character named Piggy,

which is the fat character in the book.

So, that's what they call me now...

Piggy.

That's a pretty cruel thing to do.

Whatever. And last Saturday,
this girl Maya had a Bat Mitzvah,

and her dad got all this
chocolate for the party.

And this kid Eric texts
everybody and says,

"If you want chocolate, then you'd
better get there before Oliver does."

Sounds like a real prize, this Eric.

He's an asshole. I didn't even want
to go to the stupid party anyway.

Did you tell your mom that?

- No.
- Why not?

Because she would've called my dad,

and then they would have had a fight.

So you went to the party
even though you didn't want to?

Kind of.

My mom dropped me off,
and when I got there,

I knew everybody was upstairs in Maya's room,

so I snuck out the backdoor

and hid behind a bush.

You hid behind a bush for the whole party?

It was fine until everybody
came outside to play in the snow.

Did anybody see you out there?

Well, Eric came behind
the bush to take a leak.

And?

He pulled out his dick
and pissed all over my shoes.

What happened then?

And then he...

went back to hang out with the other
kids and they went back inside.

Sounds pretty awful.

Did you tell anybody about this?

No.

I know if it happened to me I'd find it...

pretty hard if I didn't have
anybody to talk to about it.

If I tell my mom, then she calls my dad,

then they fight.

And I don't want it to be my fault.

What don't you want to be your fault?

If they get a divorce.

Have your mom and dad talked

to you at all about, uh,
the divorce since last week?

There was this couple that
came out of your office earlier.

Were they married?

Did they, did they look married to you?

Do I have to guess? Why can't you tell me?

Well... I don't tell
my other patients about you...

and...

that means that I can't
tell you about other patients.

Why would happy people come here?

Sometimes people come to therapy,
and they talk about how they feel

and they leave... just feeling better.

Can you make my mom and dad happy?

What I can do, is,
I can make communication between...

your mom and your dad and you...

a little better.

But I can't make them happy.

Would it be okay if I invited
your mom and dad into the room?

Sure.

Okay.

Bess? Luke?

Oh, sweetie, come over here.

So you solved all the problems?
Are we good now?

Well, um...

One of the things that
we discussed was the, uh...

was the importance of, uh,
both of you working together,

to make sure that Oliver understands

what's going on here.

You got a pretty clear sense of
how well we all work together, didn't you?

Is there anything the two of you would...

like to discuss with Oliver about...

what's happening?

Well...

First of all, you, uh...
you probably know this already, but, uh,

just in case it isn't clear...

uh, your mom and I have decided
that it's best for all of us

if we don't live together anymore.

For good or for just now?

For good.

Bess. Is there anything you want to say?

Yeah. Your dad's right.

For good.

Oliver...

Do you have any questions about what your,
what your mom and dad have just said?

Why can't you guys just live together?

There are a lot of reasons for that.

For one thing, uh,

I'm sure you noticed how much we fight.

Because of me.

No, sweetie, you can't ever think
this is about you.

But you guys do fight about me, all the time.

It's not your fault.

Look, the truth is,
your mom and me, we just...

can't get along anymore.

That's why we have to get a divorce.

And we love you very much.

And we don't want to have you
see us go at it all the time.

So you are getting a divorce, because of me.

That's not the way to do it.
You're only confusing him more.

Well, at least I'm trying over here.

Oliver...

Do you, do you understand
what your dad is, is saying?

They're getting a divorce because...

I get too upset when they fight.

No, sweetie.

What we're trying to say is that...

your, your dad and I, we can't stay together.

Okay? But we love you.

We love you so much, and we're always
gonna love you, no matter what...

This is what always happens.

I don't wanna talk about this anymore.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Oliver, why don't you...
wait in the other room,

and, uh, maybe do some homework,

and we'll, we'll call you
in a few minutes, okay?

- Okay.
- Okay?

And you wonder why the kid
can't fall asleep at night.

Would you stop it?

At least I'm letting myself
feel sad about this.

- You don't think I'm sad?
- Well, you seem to be priding yourself

on how quickly you can just move on.

Pride?

Look, I hate that all this is happening,

but I don't think it's fair to our son
when you start crying in front of him.

Don't you think I'm right about that, Paul?

Well, what I can tell you is that
I think that your son's sleeplessness

and his overeating

is probably caused by the pressure
that you're all under.

That's what I've been trying
to explain to her for months now.

You know he believes
the divorce is all his fault...

and that's, that's entirely natural.

He also believes that
if he behaves in a...

particular way, it'll bring
you two back together again.

That's... also a natural fantasy.

But -- because things
are so tense between you,

at the moment, he feels that...

he can't talk to you about his problems.

For instance, there's a...

there's a boy at school
who's been picking on him.

And, uh...

Oliver feels that he can't
speak to you about this,

because he doesn't want to upset you.

But -- I can tell you that he feels...

completely helpless.

So, you're saying that maybe
we shouldn't get divorced.

No, that's...

I, I don't think that's what I...

what I meant.

But that's what you're thinking, isn't it?
I mean, how, how selfish and how cowardly

it is for us to just throw in the towel
and wreck our son's life over...

over small stuff.

- "Small stuff"?
- We're both stubborn. That's all.

Okay, we fight about stupid things,
like how, how late you could stay at work,

how my mother drives you crazy.

How my friends are a bad influence,
how I curse too much,

how everything I do
is a bad influence on our kid.

And so what?

I mean, really, so what?

We're supposed to be just perfectly
in love for the rest of our lives?

I can't believe we're having this conversation.

Maybe we're just going
through a rough patch here.

You know, what if we just stay the course?

Maybe we'll come out the other side of this.

Wouldn't that be better for Oliver?

I mean, isn't there a whole book about
how, how parents should stay together

no matter how unhappy they are

and ultimately it's better for the children?

That's a question I think
a lot of couples struggle with.

What I, what I care
about is, what's best for...

for the three of you.

As bad as it's been between us,

it hasn't been any better now
that we're broken up,

not for me anyway...

And especially not for Oliver.

I mean, we owe it to him

to stop and think about
what we're doing before we just...

move past the point of no return here.

I'm already past that point.

You like to say things like that,
but is that really true?

I mean, come on, are you really happy,

living all alone so far away from your family?

I'm seeing someone else.

Bess, Bess, why don't you
come back and sit down?

Oliver, pack up your stuff.
We have to go right now.

Bess, can you please...

No, I don't think there's
anything left to talk about.

I thought this was supposed
to be my night with him.

- No, he's not gonna go with you.
- So you get to make that decision?

Please, if you both sit down,
we can make the decision together.

Well, he's certainly not gonna go stay with him
if you're having women over at your apartment.

Does Oliver know about
your new little girlfriend?

I guess he does now.

I thought you were the one who wanted
to break things to him gently.

Would you tell him that it's too soon
for him to start seeing other women,

that it would be bad for Oliver?

Bess, I don't think we're ever gonna
figure out what's good or bad for Oliver

if, whenever either of you get upset,
you end the session.

So you're gonna skip your class again tonight?

No, I dropped my class.

And it's a good thing I did, because one of us
needs to be a responsible parent right now.

Now see? She's just using Oliver as an excuse.

She's never gonna get her degree,
she's never gonna move on,

and she's gonna keep saying all
because he needs her,

and that's complete bullshit.
The kid needs to be allowed to grow up.

So, honey, Oliver, this bag, it's a mess.

Say, how is he ever gonna grow up
if you keep treating him like a baby?

Isn't it my night to go with dad?

Not if you're not ready.

It's fine.

It's my night with dad
and I wanna stay with him.

- Do you think that's a good idea?
- Hey, it's our night.

He wants to be with me. What's the problem?

No, it's no problem.

That's why we're here.

You have a good time with your dad, okay?

I'll pick you up on Thursday after school.

See you next week, Paul.

Bye, mom.

Bess...

Why don't you walk us to the train?

You're gonna get a bad back,
carrying all this.

I can never figure out what I need.

Paul, so long.

Next time we'll stay for the whole session.

That would be nice.

Take care, Oliver. See you next week.

Can you give me a minute? Thank you.