Separation anxiety as 'In Treatment' ends

Well it's time to terminate with the first season of "In Treatment," and I, for one, am not ready. Tonight at 9:30, the show comes to a close as Gabriel Byrne's Dr. Paul Weston grapples once and for all with his attraction to his patient Laura (Melissa George). It has been particularly excruciating to say goodbye to Paul and his clients during these final weeks, because we've bonded with them so intimately. We've come to know Sophie, Laura, Alex, Paul, Jake, and Amy from the inside out, as if looking through a telescope onto their souls. Most dramas are built on action and foray into character and feeling, but "In Treatment" has been all emotion and introspection, all the time.

Maybe grieving fans feel the same tug this week that therapists feel as they finish up with their most vivid clients. Like therapists, we're letting go of something to which we've been committed, an exercise in ruthless honesty and liberating self-definition. We've been privy to the secret torments and the lifelong challenges of these characters, seen them rise up to conquer their demons or, in the case of Alex (Blair Underwood), succumb.

Nowhere was the beauty of watching a patient open up more profound than in the case of suicidal teenager Sophie, played with amazing honesty (and a flawless accent) by Australian actress Mia Wasikowska. You had to feel for Sophie as she fell apart and put herself back together with Paul's help. At a certain point in her treatment, we realized - as Paul did - that it was foolish to underestimate her. She only needed protecting by a trustworthy adult male to flourish. When Paul barred Sophie's absentee father from crashing her last session, it was one of the show's most heart-rending moments.

Sophie's final words to her mentor: "Farewell old fart." Perfect.