Season 5 is my favorite season
I started to feel like this season was different in episode one. Even better than previous seasons. I just finished the last episode and I feel like the strength of the season carried through to the very end.
A couple of reasons why I really loved this season:
Orna was incredibly effective. She was so grounded, even during huge outbursts. She just seemed exceptionally centered and had great, creative ideas throughout. I wondered if she had been consciously continuing to improve her skills and abilities. Orna crushed it.
I am SO happy with the couples they selected, because they didn't include anyone who was over-the-top abusive/manipulative/psychopathic. Every previous season seemed to have at least one person I could barely stand watching, because they were so far outside of normal behavior and showed little or no remorse. They also usually had no interest in actually doing therapy, whereas I felt like all eight individuals were genuinely trying to work things out and understand themselves and their partner this season.
I still liked some people more than others. I thought some were more sincere than others, etc. But I could find something to relate to or feel compassion for in every individual this season. Yay! I think this allowed Orna to do great work too - the hardest couples to watch in past seasons have often had an abusive/manipulative person completely deceiving an earnest person and then Orna is sort of forced to pretend like the abusive manipulator isn't doing what they're doing in order to keep them in therapy and it just feels so wrong.
A few quick thoughts on the couples (as always, I thank them for being on the show, it's incredibly vulnerable to do this, and I think it helps millions of people, but it can be hard for them - so thank you! I also hope none of them ever read this as I'm writing it for those of us who watch the show, not for them.):
- Nessa & Drea
I was pretty confused by Nessa at the start (what does she want? it's pretty vague), but my partner really believed that things would work out for them if Nessa was given some space. Their story had the most ups and downs of any couple - it was fascinating. At times I wondered if Nessa just didn't like Drea's personality or if it was really deeply ingrained nasty religious stuff that had affected her ability to enjoy the relationship. By the end I was rooting for them as individuals and as a couple.
- Jason & Marjorie
I had to laugh at my own initial reaction to each of them. I completely disagree with Jason's politics, but liked him right away as a person. I completely agreed with Marjorie's politics, but her constant poking and meanness were so off-putting. By the end I was rooting for both of them and kinda delighted that they had found each other and their love for each other and gotten better at genuinely listening to each other. Orna did some fabulous work here with the two of them. Even if they have to keep relearning the techniques. :)
- Shay & Clinton (Maeve)
I only moments ago read that Clinton now goes by the name Maeve. I am in no way trying to be disrespectful of that. I am going to refer to them by the name used on the show as that is how I knew them at the time I was watching. Sorry, doing my best with the new info.
I liked Clinton right away and was moved by him in the first few episodes. I found his emotional openness touching. It just felt so pure. Shay was tougher for me. I kept wanting her to be more vulnerable. This may sound a tad harsh, but I felt like she almost enjoyed being wronged, it gave her an opportunity to dramatically pull up the receipts. It was like she was performing in a courtroom drama and could shout "A-ha!" and then a judge could tell her she was right and she would finally have the vindication she wanted in life. I kept thinking her reactions are not just about Clinton and what is happening between them...there is hurt there from much earlier in her life.
But in the final episode (Orna doing amazing work here as well!), Shay finally opened up, was vulnerable and I genuinely felt for her. I think she has a chance to be in a good relationship in the not so distant future if she can be vulnerable like that and I'm hoping she does and is.
Clinton is pretty immature and he is unpredictable and he did deceive Shay. That is all true. I hope Clinton/Maeve is happy now and in a good relationship and that they continue to grow and mature. I'm glad they had each other for the time they did. That is real - it is meaningful. It isn't a failure that they're no longer together.
- Sienna & Chris
Whew. Where to start. I'm gonna write something bold and odd: Chris is the best cheater we've had on the show. By which I mean, he didn't lie about it. He acknowledged it. I think he is genuinely remorseful. And the story of his trauma was so intense and scary that I felt some understanding of just how messed up he is/was/is.
All that said, he still cheated on his wife for 2 years. He is completely and fully responsible for that and Sienna has every right to be angry. To be furious.
Can Chris be trusted going forward? I'm not sure. I was VERY skeptical of him in the first few episodes because his eyes were all over the place and he couldn't seem to even look at Sienna. It was like she didn't exist. He was so deeply down in the hole of his own stuff. But by the end he was able to make eye contact, he seemed aware of her presence, he spoke as if she existed and was in the room. So maybe. Maybe their relationship can work.
I really felt for Sienna. Her trauma was horrific. I started to understand why she had chosen some of the coping mechanisms she had (being upbeat and positive no matter what, putting almost a mask on for the world). I think she is going to have to continue to work on keeping in touch with her anger and any emotion that she normally might want to avoid (sadness, grief). When she veered back to sunny/happy everything is okay land, I worried for her. When she stood with her anger I thought she is going to make it and be better off.
Thank you to Orna, to the couples, and to the Producers - I didn't think Couples Therapy could get better - but it did!