Viktor.
Wake up, Viktor.
You were having a nightmare.
Didn't you read my book?
I said not to wake the person up.
Sharper than it looks.
I mean, a little.
Good.
And it's perfectly normal
to want to kill a patient that's leaving therapy prematurely.
CHARLIE: Your dream.
Auschwitz.
Viktor Frankl is lying there, having a nightmare.
Remember what he said not to do, in his book?
Reality is worse than a nightmare
when you're in Auschwitz-- don't wake him up.
I woke him up.
Maybe the dream is trying to say...
the human spirit can prevail.
You should keep working,
keep being a therapist, no matter what.
How's it saying that?
I don't know. That's in his book.
Or maybe it's telling me, don't die like a fucking sheep.
Sam!
: Sam!
I know it's early.
I'm sorry to wake you up, but there's some things
that we need to discuss.
We need to talk before you go to work.
Please sit.
I don't think that you should go to see a new therapist.
Sometimes it's true, a patient needs to try somebody else.
But sometimes it is a way of running away.
And I think that
is what is happening here.
And I think we're making real progress.
You are opening up more than you ever did before.
You are trying to contain your impulses,
even if we haven't found anything that works yet.
I know things are getting worse right now.
It's part of the process.
It's where the cliché comes from,
things get worse before they get better.
I've come to care about you, Sam,
as I always do with my patients.
You and I have developed a relationship.
No matter how strange the situation is,
that's the bottom line.
Therapists and patients develop genuine feelings.
I know there are feelings, but...
I told you, it's not working.
And I'm going to see Mr. Buchella next week.
That still gives us a week.
Let's see what we can accomplish, hmm?
At least send you off to him in the best shape we can.
I know what you're trying to do.
Of course, I'm a human being.
I don't want you to get another therapist
and then kill me.
Sam, you can leave this room at any time,
you are not chained to the floor,
but I have some things to say.
I am going to tell you about a man named Viktor Frankl.
He was a psychiatrist in Austria in the 1930s and '40s.
He survived the Nazi concentration camps,
and he wrote a book called Man's Search for Meaning.
And his main point is that
people need meaning in their lives,
probably more than anything else.
And I think that is a way for you to take your next step.
So, the deepest place that we can find meaning
is in relationships.
We all need friends and romance, people to be close to.
For everyone, that's what fills us up.
That's what makes life good to live.
And without it, anyone can go to dark places.
So, like Mary.
Yes, like Mary.
When I was with her, I didn't feel any different.
I understand, but you're changing now.
If you had a girlfriend now,
I bet it would be different.
For some reason, I'm just, I'm not...
I'm not great at meeting women.
How did you meet Mary?
We went to high school together.
We were, like, friends, kind of.
And then my mom went to her for physical therapy
when she broke her wrist,
and Mom gave her my number.
That's good.
Obviously, when she called, you handled it well.
Maybe you're better with women than you think.
What attracted you to Mary?
I, I-- can we not talk about Mary, please?
ALAN: Why?
She didn't want the marriage to end.
But she didn't know if I loved her.
Loved loved her.
Maybe I could get some meaning from Hara.
Our kid in Bangladesh.
Mary and me would lie in bed
sometimes and she would pretend that we were all together.
Us and Hara.
Mm-hmm, that sounds nice.
But then, other times, if she didn't understand
or agree with something that I was trying to say to her,
she would... get really upset.
She... did I tell you she complained all the time?
She wasn't...
Wasn't what?
I don't know.
Maybe she didn't have enough meaning in her life.
I wish I could meet her.
Why?
If I could see the two of you together,
I could help figure out
if this is the right direction for you to go in.
Therapists can figure out what two people go best together?
It's hard to predict what couples will work.
But sometimes we can make a pretty good guess
about what won't work.
Mm.
This is going to sound kind of strange.
But I wonder, is there a way that I could meet her?
I mean, not in person, but...
On the phone?
Yeah, maybe, or...
Maybe you could have her over
for lunch or dinner, upstairs.
You could leave the door open, talk loudly.
That's a terrible idea.
Yeah, yeah.
Or, you know,
my daughter, with her kids, had this nanny cam.
And she could see and hear everything
that they were doing in their room.
Maybe you could get one of those.
And I could watch
and hear you two interacting.
And then I could give you my professional opinion.
That feels like it would be...
not honest.
It's normally not healthy to spy on another person,
especially someone you are trying
to explore a trusting relationship with.
But these are extreme circumstances.
Hmm.
Mom?!
Can you come down here?
I'm inviting Mary over
for brunch.
What?
I'm inviting Mary over for brunch.
Dr. Strauss wants to meet her, he's gonna watch on a nanny cam.
I'm not sure I...
You want Mary to come over?
I was telling Sam he needs to develop more relationships
in order to expand the meaning
in his life.
I think that kind of meaning can start to help take the place
of his problematic obsessions.
But... Mary?
-Shouldn't it be someone new? -Maybe.
But my thinking is, he's already gotten very far
in his relationship with Mary.
-And at this point,
-he has a strong need to... -She's coming.
Tomorrow at 10:00.
Well...
I always liked Mary.
You already got Elias killed.
That wasn't totally your fault.
But if Sam chokes Mary to death?
That's a hundred percent on you.
What do you want me to do?
I'm not the Terminator.
I stab him with this bullshit half-knife,
what, is he just gonna lie down on the floor and bleed out?
I'll be lucky if I get one good jab in.
But with Mary upstairs, I can stab him,
scream, and she'll call the police.
Him going for this is a fucking miracle.
It's a gift from God.
Except you're assuming, when you stab him
with your foot cream tube and scream for help,
his mom won't just whomp Mary over the head with a frying pan.
Right, that's what I'm assuming.
A Hail Mary with Mary.
Can you hear me?
I can hear!
They didn't have these when my kids were babies.
-Dr. Strauss. -Mm.
You're not gonna...
You probably think
that I wouldn't hurt Mary because I care about her.
And that's true.
But if-if you did something stupid
and she found out that you were down here...
if you created a situation where I had no other choice, I...
Sam, my only goal
is for this brunch date to go well for you.
What are you serving?
Indian from Maruti.
Mmm, does Mary like Indian?
No, not that much.
I... you know, Sam, I would encourage you
to think about what she might like to eat.
You're the host,
and you want her to have a good time, right?
Yeah.
That's a good idea.
What do I say to her?
Well... you guys used to talk, right?
Yeah.
Would you be comfortable trying some role-play?
That's where you practice
a situation that you're going to be in.
I can play the part of Mary,
and we could just try to have a conversation.
Like a real, like a real conversation?
Yes.
Why don't you try saying, "How have you been?"
How have you been?
How, how have, how have you-- how have you been?
How have you been?
Pretty good, how about you?
Pretty good, pretty good.
Pretty good, I've been pretty, I've been pretty good.
I've been pretty good-- can I be Mary?
Uh... sure, yes.
Let's try that.
It's so good to see you again, Mary, how have you been?
Pretty good, how about you?
Um, I've been doing okay.
A lot going on at work.
How are things going at work for you?
Pretty good.
I don't want to do this.
Dr. Strauss.
If...
If Mary and I had a baby...
...would it be like me?
Nobody knows how their kids are going to turn out, Sam.
This is the, uh, Waldorf salad from Milo's.
Oh... I love that.
But you didn't have to get me something special.
You get gas when you eat Indian food.
Mm.
The salad's great.
Mm.
A Jew was sentenced to death.
A British guy says...
No, he's French.
French guy.
A French guy said to kill him with the guillotine.
He's-- he's sentenced to death, too.
That's the-- they're all-- so the British guy--
there's another British guy there, and...
The British guy... sentenced to death...
he wanted to be shot
in the head, he says,
"Uh, shoot me."
So they shoot him in the head.
And the Jewish guy-- they said, "How?"
They said, "How?"
And then the Jewish guy says, "Old age."
I'll be right back.
CANDACE: Some more tea?
MARY: Oh, no, I'm good, thank you.
CANDACE: I have all these kinds of tea.
A whole cabinet.
I don't even remember buying it all.
: It's going really bad.
I don't, I don't know what to say.
I think you should try asking her a question.
Either what's going on at work, or how's her family?
Okay.
CANDACE: How are your parents, Mary?
MARY: Normal, I guess.
Why is this so hard?
It just is. It's hard for everyone.
CANDACE: Your dad okay?
MARY: Yeah, he's doing okay.
He's not walking like he used to.
Mom thinks he needs cataract surgery.
At our age, it all goes wrong
one thing at a time, but I'm sure he'll be fine.
MARY: Yeah, that's what he says-- "It'll be fine."
But then we'll be, like, in the middle of dinner...
You're gonna get that girl killed.
CANDACE: It's easy to take it for granted.
MARY: I've been trying to exercise more.
CANDACE: Good for you.
I should get back up.
MARY: It's so boring.
You don't like the lox and bagels?
CANDACE: I wish.
One day.
I'd rather have Indian.
Okay. I might need more advice.
MARY: You know that pill that stops you from having a heart attack?
There are all these people
who just eat whatever they want, don't exercise,
and then they take these pills called statins.
CANDACE: Maybe that should be plan B.
-MARY: Probably.
Heart attacks-- they don't really scare me
too much, though.
Strokes, on the other hand.
I don't think it runs in the family,
but, well, who knows?
So, how have you been doing at work lately?
Good.
Um, do you remember Carolina?
-Mm. -She left about two months ago,
and they haven't replaced her, so I'm doing everything.
SAM: Are they going to replace her?
They haven't even listed the position yet.
You're gonna have to keep doing all of her work.
That's not fair.
Yeah, well, fair...
You're never going to believe this, but...
I kind of miss the La-Z-Boy.
It's very comfortable.
-Hmm. -Yeah.
I could, I could bring it back
-if you want. -Oh, no, that's okay.
-No? -No.
MARY: I have other good chairs, and the couch.
That chair was his father's.
My father beat me up a lot.
When I was a kid.
That's why I went into therapy.
MARY: Oh...
Sam.
MARY: So, my parents got a new cat.
The old one, well, he's not old...
Let me help you with that, and then I need to get home.
CANDACE: No, no, dear, just let me do it.
Help, Mary, I'm Sam's prisoner down here!
Call the police! Help!
SAM: So, uh, okay, let me walk you to your car.
Mary left.
She said
she thinks it's good for exes to have a friendly relationship.
And she thinks that we should do this once a year.
What are you feeling?
Mary's not going to get back together with me.
How does that make you feel?
Bad.
Sad.
That was a mistake, her coming here was...
Why did you have me do that?
ALAN: N-No, that's wrong.
It wasn't a mistake.
This is very important for you.
To find meaningful relationships.
It means taking risks and getting hurt.
Then taking another risk and getting hurt again.
Until you find relationships that work.
And that is exactly what life requires.
-I don't feel good. -Yes, that's part of it.
And that pain is telling you something.
You've been following it in the wrong direction.
But now that you're getting to know yourself better,
it will tell you where you need to go.
I promise.
It doesn't matter.
I'm going to see Mr. Buchella next week.
What are you going to tell him?
I'll tell him the same stuff I told you.
But hopefully it works with him.
ALAN: You know...
in therapy, Sam, you can't push people.
You have to let them come to their own insights
in their own time.
That being said, I would suggest and encourage you
to talk with Mr. Buchella specifically
about what your father did to you.
I told you all about my father.
It was the first thing that I told you.
-That is true. -Mm-hmm.
But you had trouble giving me details.
It was hard for you to tell me a really full story.
And for you to go forward with Mr. Buchella
or anyone, I think it is very important
that you try to access
those memories and those deeper feelings about him.
I don't have any trouble accessing my memories
or my feelings. I remember everything.
You, you think that I don't remember?
I think about it all the time, I think about...
every time he hit me, every time he looked at me,
the way he looked at me, the way he hated me.
What the f...
This, this-- Sam, what's happening right now,
how you're feeling...
When you get so angry that you hurt someone,
that's a version of what's happening in this exact moment.
And at the root of it is your father, as we've discussed.
It's not the people you hurt that you're mad at, it's him.
So you-you think that I kill people because of him?
Almost instead of him.
Oh.
I get it.
This is a guy named Edmund Kemper.
He is the one guy who I feel, he's the only one.
Just, just watch this.
KEMPER : It was springtime, it was April.
Uh, for two months I hadn't killed.
And I said it's not going to happen to any more girls.
It's got to stay between me and my mother.
That was one week before I murdered my mother.
I said, she's got to die, or girls like that are gonna die.
And that's when I decided I'm going to murder my mother.
In his case, he said publicly that it was his mother
that he was killing all along.
And when he killed his mother, that was the end.
It's a very deep psychological observation
from himself. It may be very accurate.
Got on the telephone and turned himself in.
He said it was time for the killing to stop.
I came out of her vagina, see?
I came out of my mother.
And in a rage I went right back in.
I cut off her head.
And, and I humiliated her corpse.
He fucked her skull.
It had to stop, it had to stop. Uh, once my mother was dead,
there was almost a cathartic process at that point.
-I got physically... -See?
Kemper said everyone he killed,
he was just killing his mother over and over again-- me, too.
It's the same for me, just with my father.
-I don't think that this... -You're the one who said
I kill people instead of him, so if I kill him, I'll be done.
I won't have to kill any other people.
-Sam. -And if there's one person, one person who
needs to get what he deserves, it's that piece of shit.
ALAN: Sam!
Sam, you cannot and must not kill your father.
This is good.
I feel like... I finally know what I have to do.
Sam, we, we should keep talking.
We need to keep talking, Sam.
I'm gonna kill my father,
cut his head off, and fuck his skull.
I'm just kidding, I'm not going to fuck his skull.