The Patient on Hulu | What It All Meant

The Patient on Hulu show review

The Patient was similar to the book & movie Room in that it took place mostly in one room: the basement. And I’m sure there are others in this ‘genre’. Having one limited setting puts more pressure on the plot and characters: a good thing if done well…and it was!

It was a psychologically and even religiously driven show, despite the murderous aspects. I mean, Sam was going for therapy! That alone meant there was bound to be a lot to decipher. And to me that’s what takes a show from eh to really good: actual messages to analyze.

The Patient’s messages:

Morality

The Patient’s main exploration was one of morality. Here was a murderer who wanted to be better. He was trying so hard! But the urges kept overtaking him. Still, he cared about details like what would be easiest for the victims’ families and paying some respect to the dead via prayers like Kaddish. He was not a pure evil psychopath but someone extremely damaged and out of control. Could he be cured? This was a fascinating question that played out throughout the show.

Father/son relationships

The mini series also dug into Alan’s relationship to religion and his son, which were connected. How? His son had become an Orthodox Jew even though Alan and his wife didn’t raise him that way. It brought out a lot of tension throughout their life together. This was a higher, more nuanced father/son relationship than the one Sam and his father struggled with, but still had similar themes: why couldn’t either father accept their son?

Therapy

Then The Patient addressed questions about therapy itself. Would therapy be enough for Sam? Could Alan cure him? Is the cliche it gets worse before it gets better true? Is talk therapy enough? Can a therapist heal someone while he fears for his life? I loved how these questions were asked, and almost by Alan himself.

Religion

I found it so interesting how they connected Jewish themes into the show. Alan kept having Holocaust dreams and referring back to his rejection of Orthodox Judaism. The funny thing is psychology is a very Jewish profession. Sam even chose Alan as his therapist partially based on the fact that he was Jewish. More on religion below…

Wrap up to my thoughts *including major spoilers:*

I had no idea where The Patient was heading and the ending really surprised me. It gave the show so many more messages and concepts to wonder about. To expand, I had assumed Alan would be safe at the end of the day. There was no way Sam could hurt him…they had a relationship! But the end showed me that people’s true colors don’t change so easily when push comes to shove.

The finale further questioned therapy as a whole. Therapy is supposed to be the answer for everything but sometimes it’s not enough by a long shot. Here this guy wanted to change, so much so that he kidnapped his therapist! If that’s not commitment to the work I don’t know what is. But ultimately, we weren’t left with a clear answer…even with the big breakthrough with Sam’s father and then Alan’s ultimate realization for him.

Religion-wise

In the end religion tied in well. Most are willing to shed any preconceived notions and embrace religion fully and completely in their last days. I was glad to see how both his rejection of ‘extreme’ religion and his relationship with his son were addressed before he moved on.

Maybe being a sheep isn’t so bad after all

This was the insight my husband walked away with, and it makes so much sense. Whatever Alan tried or wanted to try to save himself physically failed. Fighting back with aggression just wasn’t who Alan was. His strength was in his intellect and his dedication to helping people heal. It wouldn’t make sense for him to actually be able to save himself. But that’s not to say he wasn’t successful overall. The show questioned therapy but didn’t give us a final answer. He very well may have helped Sam, from the fact that Sam took in what he said on some level as we see from the very end.

I really enjoyed The Patient on Hulu and highly recommend it, especially if you’re into psychologically driven narratives.

My rating: 8.5/10