Dear Peggy, Glen, and Joel,
Wow! I agree that last night’s episode was the best of the season and one of the best of the series from our “shrink-rap” point of view. There hasn’t been that much play time between Tony and Jennifer since the very Episode 1, Season 1. The writers once again took Tony and Jennifer’s relationship right to the precipice of crossing a boundary of no return. If Jennifer toyed with the idea of seeking justice through the hands of the only man in her life who appears able to dish it out (her mobster patient), she was fortunately able to restrain herself, though just barely. The idea of actually losing her “Rottweiler,” however, was too much to bear, hence her emotional breakdown over Tony’s proposed transfer to another therapist. Though we as professionals must side with the law, after watching that excruciatingly realistic rape scene, it was hard not to be tempted by the delicious wish that Jennifer would in fact sic Tony on her “Employee of the Month” Rapist.
After all, she has is little evidence that conventional law and order will protect her. This takes me back to the first season when her lawyer friend got beaten up by the cops. Remember then, Glen, how I said she is taken with Tony because ironically she feels safest with him. Tony represents the kind of man who will not allow the law to get in the way of taking care of his family. Now that the cops botch the custody procedure and have to release the perp, and returned-hubby Richard helplessly and impotently has to blame Jennifer for putting herself in harm’s way so that he can restore his rule-bound universe, who else can Jennifer dream of taking “care of business” but her outlaw patient?
Tony is the only man yet in this entire series who has protected Jennifer. Just go back to Episode 13 of the first season in which he tells her to get out of town to save her own life until he “settles things and she can come back to work.” In fact tells her that he is sending a couple of guys over to protect her until she can get out of town. He is her Rottweiler all right. If this isn’t going to get the transference/countertransference juices flowing between them, nothing is.
Phil
