Robert Lachman, the CEO of Lachman Brothers, a mischievous take on Lehman Brothers, is in financial and legal crisis and placed under house arrest with an ankle bracelet to monitor and restrict his movements. He seeks help from his former employee Fiona Wallice to declare him as a patient suffering from some rare compulsive disorder that would acquit him from the legal charges against him. Fiona Wallice in turn gets a clandestine gift from an 'anonymous' caller which she readily and greedily accepts (and flaunts) while her sessions with Robert get more interesting. The third session ends with a 'turn the table' situation and Fiona gets an advantage over Robert. It is interesting here that during the sessions with Lachman himself, there is a small file on one side of the screen that says 'Lachman Brother Evidence'. Anyone who notices that will keep it in mind because that comes into use in the end.
Lachman is an unusual man, quoting Polanski (who himself has charges against him), reading Dali (see the book cover behind him) and descending from a generation that fought against the Cossacks or something like that. He is quite showy and holds a high opinion of himself, trying to get away from any trouble with his position, but with Lisa does he share some intimate thoughts, like his marital crisis and his legal troubles. And why shouldn't he, since Fiona is a web therapist? Rather a phony wall-of-ice therapist
But Fiona plays her cards well and gets away with the goodies in the end. The episode itself is better written than most of the first season parts because firstly, it focuses more on Fiona's life and secondly, we don't just rely on Fiona's reactions for humor. Fiona has begun giving advice although she still is her naughty, maleficent self and I like this Fiona more than that completely callous, insensitive lady who would only think evil about her clients. Lisa still has to improve on her speech because she still sounds like an old chugging train engine especially during extended dialogs. Steven Weber gives a good performance though he does sound mechanical when he burst out in the end.
The gags and the storyline, including the references to Lehman, history and Polanski are quite funny and so is the ankle bracelet and the secret gift situation (which may have something to do with blood diamonds but they don't bring that up). The second season is a great improvement over the first because of the special attention it gives to Fiona's life and the implications of her decisions to those known to her. I hope they bring in Kip on the video chat one day; that would be bonkers!
My Rating: 6.4 out of 10