01x03 - Issues

[bunniefuu]

(DOOR OPENS)

(FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

(CHAINS JINGLING)

Hello.

I'm Alan Strauss.

Dr. Strauss.

- Y... you're... ?
- Candace.

Sorry.

I'm Sam's mother.

Oh.

Is this... your house?

Sam moved back in with me
when he split up with Mary.

- Ah, I see.
- Did he...

You know about Mary, don't you?

I'm sorry, I can't really discuss that.

Of course. Yes.

So, you know who I am?

Of course I do.

I loved your book.

When his father left,

I started reading all these books.

You know, self-help.

The Cactus and the Mirage
was one of my favorites.

I had Sam read it, too, but
it didn't really help him,

so I...

told him he should try real therapy.

This isn't trying real therapy.

Of course.

I know how terrible this is.

- Believe me, I know.
- (CHAINS JINGLING)

Unlock me.

I don't have a key.

(SIGHS) Well...

call the police. Then we can help Sam.

CANDACE: Please understand.

I don't support him in this at all.

I'm not... like him.

But I can't turn in my own son.

You're his mother. Can't
you tell him to stop this?

He's trying to stop.
I know it's... it's...

Candace, please.

I have kids. A son and a daughter.

They need me, just like he needs you.

I know this isn't right.

But you have to help him.

He's my baby.

♪

(TRUCK APPROACHING)

(TRUCK DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)

(FOOTSTEPS CRUNCHING IN GRAVEL)

You ever had pho?

- Yes.
- Not like this, you haven't.

(SAM EXHALES)

(DOOR OPENS)

(LIQUID POURING)

(WATER RUNS, STOPS)

I'm gonna get bowls.

Sam, hold on a second.

When you were gone,

I heard someone moving around upstairs,

and I called up to them

and asked them to come down.

Did they come down?

- So you met my mother.
- Yes.

I was a little surprised.
Y-You said she was dead.

Yeah, my parents aren't dead.

I-I lied about that, too.

Sorry.

One of the reasons that I didn't want

to go into therapy

was because I know it's all

"mothers, mothers, mothers."
My mother is not my problem.

Let me get the bowls.

(FOOTSTEPS ASCENDING STAIRS)

(EXHALES SHAKILY)

I'm going to

need you to take off this chain.

There's no way to do
this work effectively

with the therapist tied up.

The chain's on your
leg, not on your mouth.

Sam, I present no
physical thr*at to you.

You're young and strong,

and I-I... I sit in a chair all day.

What do you imagine would
happen if I att*cked you?

(SIGHS)

I... I pictured this with
you chained to the floor.

I understand, and I am asking you

to adjust that

so I can help you more effectively.

Sam, there is no way
that this is going to work

unless you take off this chain.

She usually doesn't come down here.

- (GRUNTING)
- (GURGLING)

(SIGHS)

Before, when we were in my office...

you told me that your
mother took care of you

when your father was being violent.

"Mothers, mothers, mothers."

It's just one part of things,
Sam, but we can't ignore it.

Your mother told me that he left.

Can you tell me about that?

He left us.

How old were you?

Fourteen.

And what do you remember about that?

He left us.

So, he didn't hit me anymore.

Did you see him after that?

This is the house you grew up in?

(CLEARS THROAT) Yup.

Do you have memories, um, like...

Did he hurt you in this room?

If I was in this room...

- (BOWL THUDS)
- it was in this room.

And you'd be here and...

And he'd say something

that I was supposed to
do, and if I didn't do it

within one second...

I didn't know what he meant
sometimes. I... He was...

(SCOFFS) I needed time to think,

but...

Like, one time,

he got a whole load of grout

for the kitchen and the bathroom, and...

he got a deal, right,

so he ordered a ton of it,
and it came in these boxes.

And he was yelling at
me, "Break 'em down."

Screaming. "Break 'em down."

I didn't know what he meant

because I'd never heard that before

'cause he... he wasn't
pointing at the boxes.

(INHALES SHARPLY, EXHALES)

Then he just, he just went at me,

like he did.

You said your mom got it, too.

She's a good mother.

She made me sandwiches every day.

She did the laundry.

It's a terrible situation
for a mother and a son.

♪

(ALAN BREATHING DEEPLY)

RABBI: Everyone,
please. Everyone, please.

- (OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
- RABBI: People!

People. People!

I have something to say.

People, people. I have something to say.

- (CHATTER QUIETS)
- RABBI: I understand that

the mother of the chatan has some

words she'd like to share

with the new couple.

(MURMURING)

We don't have women sing.

Rabbi, it's my son's wedding.

BETH: Hi. I'm Ezra's mom.

- (OVERLAPPING CHATTER)
- Where are you going?

BETH: I'm also the
cantor at Temple Sinai.

(MURMURING CONTINUES)

(BETH CLEARS THROAT)

(STRUMS GUITAR)

(SIGHS)

(THUNDER RUMBLES)

Talk to me, Sam.

I know you're struggling
with your feelings

about the manager at the restaurant.

Is there anything else
you can tell me about it?

(THUNDER RUMBLING)

Uh...

You should help me.

Hmm...

I have a thought for us.

- Mm-hmm.
- You know,

your mother is an impressive woman,

and she would clearly do anything

to help you feel better,

help you live the life
that you want to live,

and I think that she can help us now.

We are all part of family systems.

You, me, everyone.

Changes to those systems

can have a profound effect on us,

even at your age.

And I was thinking

that it might be beneficial

if we were to do some
family therapy work

with you and your mother.

Mm.

She's been through enough.

She doesn't need to be dragged
into what we're doing here.

I think that's kind of you,

and I can see why you'd
want to protect her.

But I don't think you need

to worry about her
feeling dragged into this.

I think she might find it helpful, too.

Sam.

You don't have to take
this next step alone.

There is someone who
wants to be there with you.

She doesn't want you struggling
with this by yourself.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

He was always a very physical man,

and it was always a very
intense relationship.

- I think Sam and I...
- SAM: He was an assh*le.

It's pretty simple.

He was a terrible
father, and Sam and I...

Worse than terrible.

Let's try to slow down a little bit.

In this space, let everybody
finish what they're saying.

When we go more slowly,

usually, everyone thinks
a little more clearly,

and sometimes, when we wait,

people don't say what we
think they are going to.

Sam and I took refuge in each other.

I learned that from
one of the books I read.

Not yours.

Hmm.

That it was a refuge.

You were in this together.

Mm-hmm.

ALAN: You still are.

You are bonded to each other.

It's very moving.

- Sam.
- Yup.

You love your mother,

and I think that can
give us a way to help you.

I want you to think in a new way of how

you can protect your mother.

As you struggle with this impulse

to become violent,

I want you to protect your mother

by not acting on that impulse.

So that she can be free
from this source of pain.

So...

you think to yourself,

"I will not do this,

so that I can protect my mother."

(SNIFFLES)

(ALAN CLEARS THROAT)

Will you do that for me, Sam?

(TRUCK APPROACHING)

(SIGHS) Okay.

(CHAINS JINGLING)

(TRUCK DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)

- (METALLIC CREAK)
- (FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING)

(DOOR SLIDES CLOSED)

(SAM SIGHS)

SAM: Pastitsio.

That guy at the...

this restaurant where
I did the inspection.

I went back there tonight.

Mmm.

I figured I'd be okay,

maybe,

you know, with you here.

I was just looking at him.

How did that feel?

I got my food.

There he was.

Mm, I sat in my car across the street,

and I did the whole thing

in my head, every second.

You said with me here.

Was this a test for yourself?

Yeah, I guess so.

Seems like you did well.

I-I want to show him...

I-I want to teach him how to behave

to other people in the world. I...

I still want to do it.

(MUTTERS): Okay.

Mmm. Mmm.

Thanks.

Was it like that with
the other ones who you...

Did they do something

that made you want to
teach them a lesson?

Yes.

They were all... I...

Every one of them deserved it.

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

♪

(CREAKING OVERHEAD)

Candace?

(FOOTSTEPS)

Candace, we need to talk.

♪

(GUITAR PLAYING)

(BETH SINGING IN HEBREW)

(OTHERS MURMURING)

(CONTINUES SINGING IN HEBREW)

(BETH CONTINUES SINGING IN HEBREW)

(CONTINUES SINGING IN HEBREW)

♪

(BETH CONTINUES SINGING IN HEBREW)

(BETH CONTINUES SINGING IN HEBREW)

(SONG ENDS)

(SIGHS)

(TRUCK APPROACHING)

(TRUCK DOOR OPENS, CLOSES)

(THUDDING OVERHEAD)

(GRUNTING)

- (GASPS)
- (CHAINS JINGLING)

(GRUNTING)

MAN: No. No. No. No.

Stop. (WHIMPERING)

(DUCT TAPE STRETCHING, RIPPING)

(KEYS JINGLE)

(DOOR OPENS, SLAMS CLOSED)

♪