Dear Glen,
I would agree with you that one of the many unusual things about the show is its non-sensationalistic portrayal of Dr. Melfi. Sure, she’s got her own problems and counter-transferences to Tony–who wouldn’t? But she’s not a nut case working out her own psychopathology on her patients as you often see in Hollywood depictions of psychotherapists. Nor is she the idealized shrink you find in movies like The Prince of Tides or Ordinary People. She’s probably typical of thousands of therapists in suburban medical buildings across the country, who are in the trenches everyday, working hard to diminish their patients’ suffering.
I do, however, think she often tends to be heavy-handed in her interpretations. Her reference to the madeleine was particularly clumsy, as you observe, but it wasn’t that atypical for her. And when she lectures Tony about the literature on the treatment of panic disorders, she was too didactic as well. I believe you should talk to all patients in non-technical straightforward language, the psychotherapeutic sophisticates from Manhattan as well as the ordinary citizens like Tony from New Jersey. And Dr. Melfi regularly has trouble doing that.
Finally, if these “usually superb writers” blew it with the reference to the madeleine, they redeemed themselves with the hilarious last scene. In recent shows, Anthony Jr. has been suffering from the consequences of being Tony’s son. When he showed up at the appointed time for the traditional after-school brawl, the other kid wouldn’t fight because Anthony’s father was a Mafioso. Now in this episode, Anthony is on the football team, and the coach isn’t showing any favoritism. Indeed, he doesn’t even take Anthony off the bench until the very end of the game. Once on the field, however, where the family can’t be of much help, Anthony uses his own skill and determination to create a personal triumph by recovering a fumble. But then the perfect twist: When the coach rewards him for his initiative and physical prowess by naming him defensive captain of the team, Anthony promptly faints. I guess you could say that the pathologies of the fathers are visited on the sons.
