C. Thomas Howell looks like crap. I find it hard to believe that Kim would move from Chase to Barry. Seems like such a drop in standards.

I think he's her therapist? The way he went off on Jack was very psycho-speak, like how he had heard about Jack so much and now he actually met the guy and just automatically spouted his garbage.

I wish Jack had slugged him.

Audrey told Jack that Landes was a clinical psychologist. I think there could be more than a few ethical issues implied. With Chase skipping out and believing both of her parents dead, Kim was certainly vulnerable. I think the casting of Howell, who is actually two weeks older than Kiefer certainly implies that he's really a replacement father figure............. with possible benefits. Somehow, I think Jack may want to reclaim the position - without those particular benefits of course.

Oh my god, the look Jack gave him after he spouted off. You could just hear Jack thinking "I'm gonna need a hacksaw."

Double word. Could it be a case of manorexia? C. Thomas Howell was in the movie The Outsiders with Matt Dillon, who is only 2 years older. How can Dallas look so good today and Pony Boy look so bad?

Apparently, IRL Howell almost died from a ruptured appendix in 2003. He apparently spent a month in the hospital, lost 45 pounds and had 3 feet of his intestine removed. His gaunt appearance is mentioned in reviews of a couple of roles he's played since then.

I'm not sure what happened to C. Thomas Howell, but he makes Lynn McGill's sister look chubby. This guy used to be so goodlooking and when he was on Summerland a while back, he looked like he was rotting a bit but still attractive. Now he looks well past his expiration date. I remember when "The Outsiders" came out and everybody said that he, more than anyone else, would be the next big thing. Well, he's doing better than Leif Garrett.

3 feet of his intestine! OMG. Rough stuff. The rapid weight loss has really exaggerated the aging process. I can totally relate to the whole father-figure stuff. After my Dad died I dated a couple guys twice my age until my Mom and friends pointed out the pattern to me.

Anybody else think he's involved with the First Lady's "mental issues" too?

Or an ax, axes are nice I hear.

I mean, he's dating (mabe?) Kim- doesn't that automatically constitute a loss of limb or a bullet wound?

Matt Dillon has aged as well as any actor I've ever seen.

But yeah, Pony ain't looking too great. Maybe the premature aging can be attributed to all of those times he was pushed around by Darry and Sodapop!

Honestly, that was the only time I really wanted Jack to go and kick some ass. And he would´ve if Kim hadn´t said "Don´t judge him. He was there when nobody else was." Also, that makes Hederson a big liar, too because he claimed he and his wife took care of her while thinking Jack had died.

Innyway, can someone just get rid of Berry? I already dislike the guy.

Um, I liked when Audrey(or Kief - don't remember) asked him to leave the room.
Barry: No it's okay, I can stay.

I just paused for a moment, knowing something was strange. It took me a few seconds to realize that is not what you in that situation.
Maybe he'll die. One can only hope.

The only reason to believe that Kim was dating him is that Audrey speculated that he was her boyfriend. Later, we find out that he's a psychiatrist and that Kim was probably a patient. It all makes sense: she had trouble coping with her father's death, hates CTU because of both parents dying there (a natural reaction) and asks him to go with her when the SecDef's daughter and assistant asks her to come in. It is all perfectly reasonable. And his behavior towards Jack, as bad as it is, is a likely response by a doctor looking out for an emotionally fragile patient.

only he was the one who reacted emotionally (and out of place). More like a boyfriend than a psychiatrist. I´m guessing he is both.

If that is the case, I am curious as to why they would be going to a conference together. Kim said they had to catch a plane. And, at the time of day they were leaving, i.e. after 6 pm, wherever they were going, they would have spent the night. Not to say they would spent the night 'together', but a strict doctor/patient relationship entailing traveling out of town to a conference together is certainly out of the ordinary.

A conference implies something work-related, so their relationship really is unclear at this point. Barry's snapping back at Jack was not one of an independent third party, but more of he has an interest in Kim. If they are involved as a doctor/patient, romantically AND career-wise, then this schmuck is yielding quite a bit of influence over her, and it is no surprise her emotional state is so frazzled. It is plausible that he is a HendersonMinion, given Henderson's apparent involvement with Kim over the last 18 months.

Good point, I forgot about that. Maybe they aren't doctor/patient after all. Maybe he's just a boyfriend who is overprotective and too controlling. To be honest, we don't really know. He could be a Henderson Minion but Henderson could have been lying about Kim. She must have known the circumstances for his leaving CTU and should not have been very trusting of him.

He is probably heading to a professional conference. These things normally last 3-4 days and are good place to get together with your grad school buddies and drink. My married friends bring their spouses to the Political Science conferences I attend when they are in fun places like Hawaii or San Diego. My boyfriend will probably go with me to Chicago this year since that is where his family is from. It is not surprising to me that Kim would go to a professional conference with Barry if they are dating.

I like this thought. It would have been easy for Henderson to "recommend" Barry as someone to talk to. The move from professional to personal relationship could have happened quickly because Kim has always been the needy type. Barry could have even said that she was fine and didn't need any more "professional" help, but that he's really come to care for her... yadda yadda yadda. Kim would buy it in a heartbeat.

Of course, that last part could have happened even without Henderson-led evil intentions. If Barry is a HendersonMinion, that means more of Kim in the show. I'm not sure I want that.

Good point ProfCrash. It very well could be a professional conference.

Regardless of what their relationship is, I think it's a safe bet that Kim will be around for awhile. She might even get kidnapped by terrorists again! Or perhaps they will find a need for another "analyst" with experience and she will be reinstated on a provisional basis. How many times has Jack, Tony, Spencer, et al been called back to CTU temporarily?

This is a good point, Henderson hasn't proven himself as a man of his word. And, I do like Kim and overall believe she is intelligent (she is Jack's Spawn!), so if she knew about Daddy's dealings w/ him in the past, I have confidence that she would have exercised caution.

At this point, all we have is speculation about the nature of their relationship as so little has been said about it. Such makes for good discussion though!

For a while tonight, Dr. Barry was starting to redeem himself. He disputed Jack's allegation that he was taking advantage of a young woman 20 years his junior, and that cooled off Jack for a second. Then he succeeded in breaking Chloe's fixation on the late Edgar's corpse and getting her to sit in front of her computer.

But just then there was just the quickest look of pride on Kim's face, like, "My hero--my Barry!" Was Dr. Barry really lying to himself when he told Jack he was behaving honorably with Jack's daughter, yet he couldn't see her puppylike attachment to him? Or he could use that attachment to a point, yet not cross a certain line with Kim, so he could rationalize to himself that he was innocent of professional misconduct?

Of course, there were a couple more points where Barry couldn't just shut up long enough not to get throttled by Jack and put down by a good one from Chloe. So, at that point he's running a little below neutral for my sympathies--suspicious still, but not as bad as last week.

Then when Lynn had succeeded in freeing up the system and the Sentox was finally vented out, there was a moment of celebration, which Jack was somewhat out of as he turned toward the glass to look at the dead bodies strewn about CTU. At that moment Kim went up to Barry and gave him a warm hug whose innocence was unclear. What was perfectly clear, however, was that when Barry reciprocated with a kiss to the side of her head--even though it was all hair--it was a boyfriend kiss, not a fatherly or doctorly kiss. Jack turned back around a bit as Audrey, I think, came up to him, but he was too late to see this kiss, though he was the slightest bit jarred to see the remnants of the hug.

Many of us would like to see Kim and Barry succeed in getting way out of town now, but there's too much that can go wrong for them not to be mixed up in it all.

"Let's just everybody breathe". Having a clinical psychologist in CTU is really annoying. More annoying than Kim. Perhaps they deserve each other. And apparently breathing isn't a good idea during a nerve gas attack. I hope we've seen the last of them. Though as pure speculation, I wonder if the car that went over the side of the road in the previews is Kim and Pony Boy?

henry8, we already know catastrophic car crashes can't destroy Kim. She's like the Terminator that way.

I like Ponyboy because he's such an incredible pot-stirrer. For a guy who's supposed to know the right thing to say, he has a knack for always saying the wrong damn thing. Of course, if he and Kim just, y'know, head out of town, making no stops, I wouldn't be sorry. I would only be unhappy if he left and Kim stayed, because he adds a nice layer of complication.

So now Barry hugged and kissed Kim! Maybe their relationship is more than I thought. When we found out that he was a clinical psychologist I assumed that it was all professional. It seems it's not so professional after all! That's not a proper psychologist/patient relationship!! Very unprofessional.

Kim should stay away from anyone connected to "The Outsiders" - remember Kevin "Brother of Dallas Winston" Dillon and the season 2 mountain lion incident? And now Ponyboy? If Ralph Macchio shows up with the rescuers...run, Girl. Runnnnnn.

Do we know for sure that he was her shrink, and not just a shrink? Sorry for the dumb question, I was kinda caught up in all the other drama this week.

I thought Kim said something about how Barry was there for her when nobody else was. Not sure if that means he was technically her therapist or not, but they do have some kind of relationship. He's a psychologist, so it would seem to me that when talking with her, he's going to be talking about her feelings etc. I do think that she was probably his patient first and then they hooked up.

I liked how Jack called out the fact that Barry was 20 years older than her. I still find him creepy.

ugh. I have never wanted to reach through a screen and hit someone more than when I did when I saw him. Maybe it's just 'cause I'm not a big fan of the actor... who knows.

But the best laugh i got out of last night was when chloe shot him down. hehe.

I actually wanted Jack to punch him and I also had a good laugh when Chloe had a go at him.

But to be fair I thought it was decend of him to thank Jack which was definately in order.

Can I just say that I HATE this character with the heat of a thousand nuns? If Barry is Kim's therapist, it is completely unethical for them to have any sort of romantic relationship for at least 2 years following termination of therapy - and even then, it is considered highly inappropriate (I just took my psychologist licensing exam - they hammer you about the inappropriate/dual relationship stuff). And the stuff about the breathing---! Sounds more New Age-y than psychological in terms of babbling. Ugh. This is why people think psychology is full of shit...

Yeah. They don't seem to like psychologists too much on this show.

It is quite possible that their relationship never was professional, in the sense that she saw him for therapy, and that he was just a boyfriend who was able to help her because of his profession. That said, I still think it questionable for him to be involved with her personally and semi-professionally.