Dear Peggy, Joel, and Phil,
First, Peggy, I think you are far too harsh on poor Elliot. Most therapists in that situation would be freaking out. He has managed to be a containing presence, consistently levelheaded, confrontational when he needs to be, and unflinching in helping Jennifer examine her countertransference. And Phil, I don’t think I agree with you that Jennifer sees something in Tony’s sociopathy that “makes sense.” I see it a little differently. I think we are all fascinated by the anti-social individual who can get away with something that we can’t. When D.B. Cooper robbed a bank, hijacked a plane, and bailed out over the state of Washington some years ago, he was a hero who had T-shirts made with his name and had a popular song written about him. We love films like The Sting, where handsome con men pull a fast one. The thin veneer of civilization, restraint, and control is stifling at times. Jennifer is dying to throw off those shackles of constraint and surrender to Tony. In my work on evaluating and treating therapists who have committed boundary violations, probably the most common scenario for a female therapist is to fall in love with a charming rogue with anti-social features with the hope of rescuing him while secretly enjoying the rebelliousness of his free spirit. I think her wish for vigilante justice in the last episode is just the latest version of this long-standing countertransference fascination with him.
Glen
