The third, and possibly final, season of In Treatment ends on a somber and ambiguous note. Leaving Adele's office, Paul steps outside, looks around, and then walks through a sea of people, unsure of how to proceed. Does he continue his practice, even with his recent failures? While Paul usually gets a win here and there with his patients, Paul really hasn't succeeded this season. Sunil was tricking him from the beginning, Jesse remains incredibly rude and obnoxious--so I guess Frances is the only patient who's helped in the slightest.
Frances
With Patricia dying, Frances has the hard choice of deciding what to do with the respirator. Again, she's boxed in the corner with Izzy sure to make a big deal after the decision is made. Nonetheless, Paul tries to make her feel like she is good enough for Patricia and that she can make the right decision. At the end of the episode, we don't know what Frances will do, but at least she's not outright resentful of Paul.
Sunil
So Sunil is just a normal person who used Paul to get deported? He doesn't have serious mental issues? In one respect, it's kind of cool that Sunil turned out to be a mastermind, guiding everyone's actions so he could go back to India. In another respect, it's made the previous six episodes rather pointless in terms of what we learned about Sunil since we don't know what is or isn't the truth. The end result is that the only thing we can take away from Sunil's sessions is how Paul reacts. To me, that's not enough.
Jesse
To say that Paul didn't help Jesse would be untrue. Without therapy, Roberto probably wouldn't have reached out to Jesse as he is now. But to say that Jesse has truly changed is stretching it. At the beginning of the sessions, Jesse was out of control and by the end of the sessions, he's still the cursing kid with no manners or respect for Paul. He regularly insults people, and now, following his father's lead, blames his problems on his mother, which only spells further disaster.
Adele
Paul's sessions with Adele have revealed him to be an overall trainwreck. He substitutes people to avoid real issues, crosses professional boundaries, and after realizing that his patients, like Sunil, may have all been lying to been, contemplates not doing therapy anymore. Adele, true to form, doesn't show her hand, asking questions here and there, but never gets forceful. Once again, Paul tells her that he thinks she should be with him, but that won't happen. And there's nothing Paul can do but walk away. Three seasons of Paul treating patients, and there he stands, largely a failure.
Score: 8.9/10
