Am I the only one who friggin hates Laura?
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pubbly — 15 years ago(September 01, 2010 09:18 PM)
by tooncesaaa
They were attracted to each other because each represented issues the other was working on.
Nicely put tooncesaaa. I agree.
by machman3000
Did anyone else think She could have BPD? She seemed to fit the criteria.
by Zinnober
You mean Borderline Personality Disorder or Bi-Polar? Because if it's the former then yeah absolutely. Chick is toootally a borderline personality.
While he was in Treatment with Gina, and asked to describe Laura, didn't Paul say Laura was HPD (Histrionic Personality Disorder)?
Perhaps she's also Co- Morbid (meaning she may have more than just one Personality Disorder)?
Links discussing Comorbidity say this:
NPD has high overlap with other disorders (HPD/BPD) rates often exceed 50%
Most patients (80%) meeting criteria for NPD also meet criteria for BPD.
Axis II
Disorder Percentage
of Co-Occurrence
Histrionic Personality Disorder 53%
Borderline Personality Disorder 47%
In other words, 53% of HPD's are also NPD (Comorbid)?
And 47% of BPD's are also NPD (Comorbid)?
Since Alex also seems to fit into the criteria for being NPD, that makes the situation that much more interesting.
It's as if these three characters "Mirror" or "Reflect" back to each other symptoms of having the same kind of a "psychic Virus" that the "Jung at Heart" therapist mentions at her link?
If all three of these characters (Laura/Alex/Paul) are NPD's - are characters who 'Infect" one another with their "Virus" - their "Psychic Illness"- or with symtoms of their Personality Disorders - should we be surprised at the unfortunate kind of "consequences" that follow from their interacting with one another?
by ChuckyCheesePlease
Sophie > Laura
Interesting idea ChuckyCheese. Great insight. I think you might be right.
Didn't Sophie also come to Paul's office wearing a pair of "Attention Seeking" "High Heel Shoes?" Wasn't she also "Acting Out" sexually at that time (the same way as we've seen Paul and Laura (and Mia) doing on the show)?
Since "dressing provacatively" is a symptom of having HPD - showing us Mia's High Heel Shoes - and Paul's wife Kate saying Laura - who wore High Heels at 10 am - reminded her of Tammy Kent - perhaps the writers/directors show Paul looking at Mia's High Heeled shoes to show us a connection between these 3 women - or to Mia's also being a HPD like Laura?
Perhaps Sophie's wearing those other provacative looking "High Heel" Shoes was suppose to "Mirror" or illustrate the "connection" between Sophie's behavior with that of Laura/Mia/Tammy?
Didn't Sophie also have sex with some other Gymnast she'd just met at a party (same way as Mia has sex with two strangers she meets in a bar - and Laura had sex with Alex - and in the "Bathroom Stall" with the other stranger she meets in a bar)?
So Laura has a Disorder - "Acts Out" sexually' - isn't able to be "In Love" or have a realationship - due to the "psychic damage" at age 15 - with older man named David.
Gina also says Mia isn't capabable of having a relationship - or of being "In Love" - due to "Patterns" of behavior she keeps repeating (patterns involving damage done by Mia's realationship with her father)?
Therefore, if Sophie (who has a sexual encounter with an older man like Laura) hadn't been "In Treatment," perhaps by the time Sophie was the same age as Laura (or Mia), Sophie would also be "Infected" with the same kind of a "Psychic Virus?"
By the time Sophie was in her 20's - perhaps Sophie would also be
HPD/BPD/NPD - or a person who isn't really capable of being "In Love" - or of having a healthy romantic relationship with anyone?
According to the symptoms described for HPD, one can also understand the reason why Kate didn't seem to like or approve of Laura's behavior:
Histrionics sexualize every situation. They constantly act flirtatious, provocative, and seductive, even when such behavior is not warranted
by circumstances or, worse still, is proscribed and highly inappropriate (for instance in professional and occupational settings).
Such conduct is often ill-received. People usually find this unabashed directness and undisguised hunger for approval annoying, or outright repulsive. Consequently, histrionics are sometimes subject to social censure and ostracism.
The histrionic leverages this libidinous excess and overt emotionality to gain the attention she craves. But the
histrionics' intensity and unpredictability are exhausting. The histrionic's nearest and dearest are often embarrassed by her unbridled display of emotions:
hugging casual acquaintances, uncontrollable sobbing in public, or having temper tantrums.
The histrionic's behavior is so off-color that
she is typically accused of being
a fake.
"As the histrionic depletes one source of narcissistic supply after another, she glides from one relationship to the next, experiencing a range of shallow feelings and commitments in the process. This shallowness is reflected in the histrionic's speech which is impressionistic, disjointed, and generalized. Concerned only with the
- or with symtoms of their Personality Disorders - should we be surprised at the unfortunate kind of "consequences" that follow from their interacting with one another?
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Innuendo- — 15 years ago(July 23, 2010 05:46 AM)
I liked her a lot. The story around her was far more engaging for me than all the other characters except Sophie. Obviously she is gorgeous but also a very interesting woman.
I am only half-way through season 2 but so far it is nowhere near as good as the people involved in season 1. -
LinnenLove87 — 15 years ago(August 06, 2010 01:15 PM)
I love (love looooved) her character! She was my favourite 'patient' from season. one. The tension they had made me sit on the edge of my seat and look forward to the following week/episode.
But I guess we all have our favourites.
I don't agree she was immature, though. Maybe a bit dramatic but that was due to the fact she wanted something she couldn't have (and wasn't used to that) Again: I loved Laura - and especially loved Laura + Paul.
I carry your heart; I carry it in my heart. -
colwood — 15 years ago(October 03, 2010 07:37 PM)
I thought, like many men, she was a very beautiful woman. But as a character on this show, I never really cared for her or looked forward to her episodes. If anything, I'm surprised so many seem to like her. But to each their own.
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Zinnober — 15 years ago(October 04, 2010 03:23 PM)
I agree completely. Her story with Paul has been romanticized by so many people on these boards - something that continues to baffle me. These two people weren't really in love - they were each acting out of their own mutual pathologies.
Personally, I found Laura to be rather boring. The ideas behind their relationship were interesting, I suppose. The question one could ask on the nature of love - is it merely a reaction to one's past and present identity, or is it something else - a reaction that occurs between two people. But these were questions I personally had to pull from their sessions. In each episode, I found Laura's behavior to be overly dramatic (the character, not the actress who I think did a really spectacular job), cloying, difficult and immature.
Her psychology was so transparent and it frustrated me that Paul, who is clearly an intelligent man, was so blinded to it. Though, I suppose, considering that we're always blind to our own behavior, that made a lot of sense.
She just bothered me. Her histrionic behavior - her entitled attitude - her clumsy, immature sexuality. She's a little girl in a woman's body.
http://eugenicsbeginswithyou.wordpress.com/ -
pubbly — 15 years ago(October 05, 2010 08:00 AM)
The question one could ask on the nature of love -
Didn't the philosopher's also ask the same question? Did they ever come up with a satisfactory answer?
I found Laura's behavior to be overly dramatic (the character, not the actress who I think did a really spectacular job), cloying, difficult and immature.
Her psychology was so transparent and it frustrated me that Paul, who is clearly an intelligent man, was so blinded to it. Though, I suppose, considering that we're always blind to our own behavior, that made a lot of sense.
She just bothered me. Her histrionic behavior - her entitled attitude - her clumsy, immature sexuality. She's a little girl in a woman's body.
Bravo Zinnober!
I agree!
Very well put.
Gina to Paul: You begin by questioning your value as a therapist - you end by questioning mine. -
a-ndiaye-1 — 15 years ago(October 06, 2010 06:42 AM)
you're not. I'm in the middle of season 2 and can't help hating her and Alex still, particularly whenever the lawsuit comes up.
these two were made for each other.
they are demanding, spoilt and seriously need more than a therapist to deal with their issues.
I know I am talking about Alex as if he didn't die, but doesn't it feel like he is still alive and on a mission to ruin Paul's life. and Laura, she just won't go away! -
pubbly — 15 years ago(October 06, 2010 08:40 AM)
Laura and Alex were "like each other," in the sense that they were both self centered and Narcisssistic (NPD is also often a part of one being HPD).
But they weren't "made for each other," because what a "Self centered Narcissistic" type needs is someone to "worship" and "adore" them (like the Gay Doc did Alex and like Andrew did Laura).
That's also why the relationship between Alex and Laura didn't work out - due to the way they both needed someone else to pamper them (like Kate did Paul and like the wife of Alex did him).
That's also why a relationship between Laura and Paul wouldn't work out - due to the way Paul is also the type who needs someone to be his nurse maid for him (or someone to fix the toliet, make his dinner, and clean the blood off the couch for him like his wife Kate did).
"Pampered Princess" Laura isn't the type who would ever be happy doing things like this for Paul. Alex also complains about the "instant rice" that she used to make dinner for him for seducing him?
Alex, Laura, and Paul all need the type of a person who is willing to wait on them hand and foot.
Alex complains about Laura's cooking and Paul not having a nice enough coffee machine. Paul complains about Gina not having any soap in her bathroom and there being no groceries in the fridge when Kate went to Rome.
Since the 3 of them are so much alike, as a couple they could never be in a long term relationship together.
Gina to Paul: You begin by questioning your value as a therapist - you end by questioning mine. -
Pythe — 14 years ago(January 28, 2012 07:45 PM)
I'm only halfway through season one so my opinion isn't fully formed yet.
I wouldn't say Laura is a likable characternor do I think she was meant to be. As others have pointed out on this thread, her neuroses and disorders were a very effective tool for the writers to highlight Paul's own foibles. I think in certain moments she can be charming and very attractive, but most of the time she is indeed manipulative and entitled. She is a sympathetic (in my opinion anyway) portrait of women who have these same issuesit's easy to judge people and cast aspersions on them for their behavior, but it's important to understand that there is a real human being there who is dealing with what can be a suffocating illness. She needs help and Paul doesn't seem to be capable of giving it to her, since he's going through his own crises in Season 1.
The idea that anyone could watch their episodes and think Paul and Laura could actually get together in a healthy relationship is quite alarming, and speaks volumes about what some people think love ought to be.
"People either loved us or they hated usor they thought we were okay."