Review: Season 2 of In Therapy on Arte is the clarification we needed

“I still find it weird, to give money to someone you don’t know, just to talk to him. » This is how the young Robin sums up the profession of shrink, during his first meeting with Philippe Dayan. It is true that it may seem strange: talking for hours with a stranger, to hope to get better. Even more singular: to attend the analyzes of others, of anonymous people who have come to testify to their ills, session after session.

It is, however, the proposal ofIn therapy, whose first season resonated so strongly with our current pandemic, when it aired in early 2021. With more than 40 million views on the Arte.tv platform, the fiction had then become the most viewed series in history. chain. A surprise success, adapted from the Israeli success Be’Tipulcreated by Hagai Levi (The Affair) in 2005.

The old characters are still there

For its second season, broadcast this Thursday on Arte and already available in full on their site, In therapy continues its momentum with its simple and effective format: one episode, one character, a 25-minute session. In all, five protagonists follow one another on the sofa of Philippe Dayan, a recognized psychoanalyst whose private life fell apart in the first season, the day after the attacks of November 13.

For this long-awaited return, the series immerses us in a past so close and so far at the same time: the confinement of spring 2020. We then find our favorite therapist, always brilliantly embodied by Frédéric Pierrot (Ghosts), as he prepares to receive four new patients. Those of the first season have not disappeared. Evoked in the course of a discussion, glimpsed in the course of a memory or passing through the psychoanalyst’s new office, the characters who touched us a year ago are still there, in small touches. Subtle links with the past, which maintain our attachment to the series, despite its anthological format.

An exceptional cast

And the protagonists of these 35 new episodes manage to immediately capture our attention, without giving us time to regret the old ones. On Monday, there is first Inès, a brilliant lawyer wondering about her motherhood, her romantic relationships, and her loneliness. Eye Haidara (The sense of celebration) gives life to this independent and fighter woman, in whom one is immediately interested thanks to her outspokenness. On Tuesday, Robin takes his place in Dayan’s cabinet, interpreted by the revelation Aliocha Delmotte. Shy teenager and fan of superheroes, the young boy tries to cope with his parents’ divorce, as much as in the eyes of others.

Then comes Wednesday, inhabited by the magnetic presence of Suzanne Lindon (sixteen spring), as Lydia. The architecture student comes to share a terrible secret that has never been revealed before. This is the most successful character of the season, sublimated by the amazing and touching performance of the actress, whose laughter like tears are highly communicative. On Thursday, it is Alain who succeeds him, a business manager facing the suicide of one of his employees and the media storm that follows. Jacques Weber (Philharmonia) gives all its presence to this head-to-head but intriguing character, who reveals his personal flaws over the episodes.

Defuse problems by listening

Friday is dedicated to the personal life of Dayan, sued for a tragic event in the first season. He then consults Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a renowned psychoanalyst supposed to provide him with support before his trial. If this character is not necessarily the most interesting of these new episodes, his lighting still provides valuable information on the heart of the series: Philippe Dayan himself. This trial story, which could have been a simple gimmick, resonates, on the contrary, with the marvelous gallery of characters that populates In therapy.

All embodied by formidable actors, as moving as they are deeply human, these new patients are even more fascinating than their predecessors. Served by sensitive writing and great finesse, these unpublished stories address various themes, with greater depth. Abortion, suicide, harassment, family dramas… Each problem is always defused by listening and talking, with such empathy that it is difficult to remain insensitive to these poignant stories. And in the era of mini-series and short seasons of 10 small episodes, it must be admitted that this long-term narration, over 35 episodes, does a lot of good.

The covid, almost too absent?

In the background of these individual stories told on the sofa, a collective experience is woven: the presence of the Covid in our lives. Hydroalcoholic gel on all hands, masks in the waiting room… So many gestures that have become our daily life, which inhabit the series and place themselves in disturbing echo of our reality.

But the creation of Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache (Untouchables) ultimately gives little importance to this health and political context. The pandemic has only a relative influence on the destinies of our characters. And we would never have thought to say that, but the covid is almost finally too absent. Yet it would have been so captivating to dissect our minds to the test of this traumatic situation. We would have liked at least one of the characters to be able to talk in detail about their discomfort during confinement, and ours at the same time.

In therapythe first season of which is also available on Disney+, remains an excellent fresco that brilliantly tells the story of human relationships, illuminated by a sublime production by Emmanuelle Bercot (Heads up), Agnes Jaoui (The taste of Others) or Arnaud Desplechin (Three memories of my youth). And after seeing these introspective episodes, we obviously question ourselves. Like Philippe Dayan, we also begin to question the least of our words, to understand what is hidden there. A unique and unforgettable immersion, which shakes as much as it soothes. And therein lies the strength ofIn therapy : to be our worst enemy in phases of doubt, as much as our best ally in dark days.

Season 2 of In therapy will be broadcast every Thursday, at 8:55 p.m., on Arte. Both seasons are already available in full on Arte.tv.