The Patient – Episode 4 “Company”: Recap & Review
Company
Alan can’t sleep in the fourth episode of The Patient. He inhales and exhales rapidly because he is afraid of what Sam will do to his new prisoner.
And yet, Alan is very calm when talking to Sam. Sam talks about the strength of the urge to kill the man (his name is Elias). But he won’t kill him until he talks to Alan, like he said he wouldn’t.
Sam wants Alan to help him. It is said that his plan to protect his mother did not work, but we have no evidence that he tried it. So Alan suggests they try to get him to forget how he feels. He tells her to go to work and carry on with her day as usual.
Sam leaves against his will, and Alan goes from humble therapist to scared and angry prisoner. Elias finally asks where he is in the other room. Alan tells him that this “madman” has them both under his thumb.
Candace stops them for a moment to apologize for Sam. She says he really wants to change and that his dad isn’t the reason he’s like this. “He’s always been…just Sam.”
Alan continues to talk with Elias, who is blindfolded and tied up, after he leaves. It doesn’t say who’s holding it, but it talks about the room it’s in. He tells Elias that his daughter would have noticed he was gone by now. Elias is also afraid that his parents will call the police.
Alan kills time talking about his family. About Beth, his wife who died a few months ago of cancer. And his son, Ezra, who became an Orthodox Jew. This made his relationship with Beth very difficult.
Sam is having a bad day at work and calls Alan to tell him about it. He can’t take it anymore. He says he will come back to finish what he started.
Alan tells her to stay at work and even go to a concert afterwards to clear her mind. Sam hangs up.
Elias begins to worry and asks Alan to tell his parents he loves them if he dies. Alan says yes to her request, barely keeping her together.
Sam comes home with a white noise machine, which he puts in Elias’ room so he can’t hear them talking. He keeps telling Alan that nothing is working and that going to work every day is a stupid idea.
Alan tries to put him at ease. Elias didn’t see the man’s face when he grabbed him, so he can always find a way to let him go.
Alan finally tells Sam to stop when Sam continues to walk up to the door that leads to Elias. He shouts out of the blue that Sam needs to go see his ex-wife. Maybe it will give him the emotional shock he needs to stop wanting to kill.
Sam just shakes her head. stop looking at Alan. Steps lead to the bathroom.
Alan asks him to turn off the noise machine in a calm voice when he goes out, which is a risky move. Sam walks towards Elias’ room again, but it’s unclear what he wants. He then unplugs the machine, leaves the house and gets into his car.
Elias cries in his room and Alan sings “Country Roads” in a soft voice to comfort him.
He finally says, “My name is Elias.” Elias Petraki.
“I am Alain. Strauss.
The Patient – Episode 4
Episode review
The writing and directing team of The Patient improves with each episode in how they use the psychological thriller’s unique, minimalist style to create great tension and drama.
Of course, the cast also deserves a lot of credit. Steve Carell is awesome. He’s very compelling as a calm, caring therapist, and then, in no time, he’s so compelling as a troubled prisoner who’s about to lose him.
The show continues to provide interesting insights into therapy, especially as it attempts to show what real therapists look like by showing different sides of Alan’s personality in different settings. Still, The Patient keeps his cards close to his chest in many ways.
Will Sam’s story be about how anyone can change? Or say that some of them are hopeless? We won’t know until we see what Sam does.
