In Treatment is a show about people with some pretty profound emotional issues, so it really means something when I say that this week absolutely everybody was a complete mess. We were about due for it anyway. At this point last season Paul's patients were doing everything in their power to ruin their own lives, while at the same time Kate was screwing off to Europe with her lover. This season everyone is somehow doing even worse. Naturally, this makes for some great TV.

The week starts off with Mia on a high from a wild weekend of not one, but two dangerous flings. The first was with a musician half her age and the second with an unscrupulous cop. It doesn't take Paul very long to deconstruct that little bit of neurosis, then move on to its implication concerning Mia's parents. It all rounds back to Mia's admission that she just wants someone in life to love her, simply. The difficult part about Mia's case is that she basically knows what the problem is, she just has a hard time figuring out how to solve it.

The opposite is true for April. The solutions to her problems are right in front of her, she just doesn't want to take the leap and deal with them. She shows up to Paul's office this week looking like hell, but then again untreated cancer will do that to a person. We got to see some of April's interactions with her brother, if only over the phone. They started rolling the snowball that finished out the episode as an exploding glacier. Somebody please get Allison Pill an Emmy. Bribe the panel if you have to, justice must be served.

Every moment I spend with Luke and/or Bess as a viewer, the more sympathetic I become to Oliver. Luke isn't present at all this week and Bess is just passing through, but she manages to be shrill enough for the entire episode. Using her soon-to-be-ex-husband's recent canoodling as a springboard, Bess has decided that now is the best time to go on a vacation with one of her friends. Paul rains on her joy by telling her that Oliver's miraculous overnight transformation is probably illusory. I'll give you all at home three guesses how well she took that bit of news. As for Oliver himself, the kid just keeps getting sadder each week. Now he's added aspiring anorexia to his repertoire of unhealthy behaviors. At least Paul gets him to eat a sandwich at the end of the episode.

I pretty much called it last week, though it seemed pretty obvious that it was on its way. Walter got canned and now he's a wreck because of it. Paul tries to steer him in the right direction, but Walt's not having it. He's locked up most of the day in his home because of the media frenzy and he's popping prescription meds like chewable vitamins. All of this alone time has even given Walter a chance to blame himself for his brother's death all those years ago. At least he's starting to shed some tears. That's progress, right?

As for Paul himself, everything just kinda goes to hell in a few days' time. He's deposed, which puts him knots. His brief fling with Tammy got predictably uncomfortable and his father is on his death bed. After a noticeably agitated session with Gina, Paul finally visits his old man. I swear, the sports page has never sounded so depressing.

Week Rating: 4.5/5- These crazy weeks are always the hardest to watch. It's bad enough that the patients are all falling apart, but with Paul's life on the fritz it's even harder to bring them around. The problem with all of this drama, great as it can be, is that it desperately needs some levity to keep it from being a slog. Everything was pretty good but I do wish I could have laughed more than once or twice. Another week like this and I'm gonna need therapy.