The Patient

Clever concept; interesting characters; well acted and the story moves in a very steady (if often plodding) pace.

Unfortunately it ultimately takes you nowhere and when it ends it leaves you in that empty space. The series is not unlike a train ride to a vacant lot. All the promise that travel brings and a terminus of less than no interest.

What may have been intended as clever or to give a sense of openness to speculate on the "what next" it reflect on lessons learned, or not learned; really just ends in unsatisfactory creative conceit. Too bad really as it could have been quite memorable. Oh well.

I saw all the low star ratings, and was confused why this brilliant, thought provoking, cerebral, well-acted, well-executed, thrilling psychodrama was receiving such low ratings. The reason is rather ridiculous.

If your main problem with this show is with the length of episodes and/or the fact that you can't watch the entire thing at once, then you don't have a problem with the show, you have a problem with Hulu or FX's distribution of it. How about we review the actual content of the show, and not act like anything that requires even the most minimal amount of patience is unacceptable.

I personally like the distribution and length of episodes You know that hour after dinner and after work when it's real easy to fall asleep even during snows you like? This is a show that keeps me wide awake every week and I really look forward to it.

The patient is about a killer who wants to get rid of his urges, by kidnapping a therapist and locking him in his basement, for private therapy. Which results in a unique relationship.

Not only is Gleeson incredibly convincing as a troubled serial killer, but his chemistry with Carrell as his therapist is palpable. The story itself is not particularly impressive, new or surprising, but the character building and the continuous tension keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Some people may complain about the ending, but I respectfully disagree. The fact that the ending is not cliche, and very un-Hollywood is enough for me to enjoy it more than the current average series.

The Patient offers an intriguing plot line. We follow the protagonist (Steve Carell), a therapist, who has been kidnapped by one of his patients with the intent of truly opening up about his thoughts, struggles, and feelings to someone like he has never before. However, we see glimpses into the protagonist's past that reveal potential character flaws, and events that he has seemingly not dealt with himself. It makes you wonder moving forward who is the true Patient, the patient or the therapist.

From a TV perspective, I believe this could've been a two part mini series, 1.5 hour for each episode or something like that. There are so many shows as of late that they are going back to the old format of 23 minutes. Ultimately, it leaves the viewer unsatisfied by not being able to immerse themselves in the story. This short format is a quick way to maximize the ad revenue. I just hope that the writers have an end in mind, I believe that this will make or break this show. With what has been seen so far, this is not meant to be a show lasting longer than a season.

I encourage a watch now if you can spare the time, or if not wait until all episodes are released.

As a therapist I came across this quite by accident although I loved The Americans. This is a time where I am myself feeling as if I am tied in a basement somewhere by my patients, metaphorically of course, but psychologically identical. So, Steve Carrell's performance was perfect, portraying the struggle to both remain present for the patient, no matter how disturbed or disturbing, while negotiating the conflicts within oneself and basically dying to get away. Given this premise, I found the show riveting but only a seven because the other characters seemed one dimensional to me. The serial killer was not as interesting as Dexter, his inner struggles not so apparent, his desire to stop killing made little sense. Give it a binge watch and see what you think and next time you go to a therapist, if you do, have a little mercy on us.