The Shrink Next Door
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Ike gets a call from someone telling him that his father has died.
Ike is a master at repressing feelings.
Its a reverseWhat About Bob.
Oddly enough,What About Bobcame out in 1991, right around this exact time in history.
Its ostensibly a comedy, but I know thatWhat About Bobis a literal horror show to all therapists.
But Marty is predictably delighted when Ike starts to make gestures toward staying for a while.
At first, if you set aside the whole Ike-is-Martys-therapist thing, the situation seems like a good time.
Bonnie and Ike lounge by the pool while their daughters have a ball splashing around with Marty.
Unfortunately, the weekend takes a turn when Bonnie mentions how nice and generous Marty is.
Ike literally cannot admit when someone else is extending kindness to him.
Bonnie seems to know this, but she also gently pushes back against her husbands protests.
Ike is a shape-shifting force of nature, and Bonnie is the one who knows him the best.
Wilson lends Bonnie a subdued but curious demeanor.
When Ike and Marty get back to the city, Ike immediately starts in on the Hampton home.
Yet Marty is happy with what he has, and he amiably rejects the idea.
But then Ike changes.
He becomes sullen and withdrawn.
The show also wants to illustrate that the relationship between Ike and Marty is marked by good times.
Too bad Ike has to go and be Ike.
It honestly doesnt matter what hes saying here.
Its that psychological warfare all over again; its all an act to get Marty to fall in line.
Marty begs Ike to stay, and he does because thats what he wanted all along.
In fact, he takes a sabbatical so that he can fully devote himself to his new house.
Ike is seeking catharsis from his grief in exactly all the wrong ways.
But he draws the line at the tree.
An absolutely gorgeous cherry tree stands in the backyard of the house.
And for some vague reason, Ike wants it gone.
The tree is totally stunning.
Its the Laura Linney of trees.
As Marty strongly protests the removal of the tree, Ike gets outright hostile and borderline terrifying.
And then, feeling lost and trapped, Marty chops down the tree.
Its a devastating moment.
Here, the episode jumps several months to the one-year anniversary of Ikes fathers death.
This anniversary happens to coincide with Marty finally closing on the second house in the Hamptons.
Coming from Ike, it sounds more like a threat than a good time.
And Marty looks worried.
Without context, this moment may have been a bit confusing.
Pearl is Ikes stepsister.
In fact, she is the youngest Holocaust survivor in history (!).
He probably had a crap therapist if he did, because the man has a venomous lack of self-insight.
If Marty wasnt gettingsomethingout of his relationship with Ike, he wouldnt have continued to engage in the relationship.
Apparently Ike has zero clue how much trees are worth.
Gorgeous, well-kept, mature trees like Martys cherry tree are worth a lot.A lot.
Check out the gloriousr/treelawsubreddit if you dont believe me.
We briefly see Ike and Marty working on Ikes novel.
Ike is dictating, so we can hear every word of his hacky, icky prose.
Ike is terrible at writing women.
In fact, Ill invoke another subreddit,r/menwritingwomen, and say that Ike belongs there.
Not all men, but definitely Ike Herschkopf.
