Standing in the doorway of their room, House wants Stacy to be clear about what’s going on. She explains that their relationship is like an addiction—Vindaloo curry. (No wonder they like each other—they both speak in metaphors.) And she misses the curry. House seems slightly astonished at this turn of events, but tossing the cane on the bed, he draws her gently towards him.
He doesn’t immediately go for her mouth, but gently nips at her upper lip and around her mouth (enough to drive a woman insane, to be sure!)—before actually kissing her on the lips. It’s a moment anticipated for months by House (and many viewers as well). I always loved that even as House answers the phone (reluctantly) and talks with his team, he stays physically connected with Stacy. She cuddles with him—and he keeps giving her those exquisite little kisses. (Did it get suddenly hot in here?)
“Half-Wit” (mid season three, 304 votes)—Stacy has now been gone a year, and House has been through the ringer. Now, as far as his team knows, House has brain cancer. He’s enrolled in a clinical study to treat depression in terminal patients, but the Scooby Gang wants another shot at diagnosing him—hoping things aren’t as dire as they appear to be.
House isn’t very cooperative of their efforts, but in turn, each of his fellows offers support. Cameron comes alone to House’s office on the pretense of requesting a recommendation letter. There has always been an attraction between House and Cameron, but something that House has never chosen to act upo
n, due to their unequal power relationship, partly the perceived age difference, and partly out of his own fears. He has confided in her, been playful with her—even regarding her sensually in “No Reason.”
But Cameron as Cameron leans up to embrace him, House looks wary and unsure, even looking around to make sure it’s a private moment. It’s the kiss anticipated by fans who wanted to see Cameron and House finally lock lips since season one. Getting into the kiss finally, House enjoys tasting Cameron’s mouth (and tongue) until he figures out her ulterior motive: to stick him with a needle and grab a sample of his blood to test. Although she initiates the kiss, as Cameron reminds him, he “kissed back” and House seems disappointed that it wasn’t for real (or was it?).
“Joy” (mid season five, 342 votes)— Although he might want to, and although the opportunity might have been there, House does not kiss Cuddy until the end of “Joy.” Their relationship is too significant for him to embrace her and too fraught with danger, but in this moment none of that matters. Triggered by a crisis point in their relationship, the situation removes House’s guards and filters and allows him to touch, where he ordinarily might back away or deflect.
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Steph
Thank you, Barbara, great to have your thoughts regarding all those wonderful kisses! Now I'm in the mood of watching them all over again.
As I'm currently writing a fic dealing with the more romantic streak of House, this certainly gave me something to think about as well.
2 - EnglishRoseLvr
Lovely Barbara! Just the kind of romantic breeze I needed right now. I would like your opinion on something we are debating on our forum. Do you think that House and Cuddy will move in together, or do you think they will wait? Knowing House's history on this (Stacy within 5 days, asking Cuddy the next day after his delusion), do you think it will repeat itself?
3 - andree
Wonderful and thoughtful analysis of House, the romantic. It's why we like him despite his attempts to be unlikable sometimes, blunt, ornery and even calloused. Still, his romantic nature and vulnerability is what makes us wince when even his best pal insults him sarcastically by telling House his 'normal' self is an ass. Loved your assessment as usual. Nice work and great insight. Thanks!
4 - madfashionista
Very thoughtful analysis, and probably why women find him so very sexy. He is sweetly passionate rather than aggressive, almost a woman's fantasy of what that first kiss would be like. And yet it is completely in character, since emotional vulnerability is something House avoids like the plague.
I too am writing a fic highlighting the romantic side of House, and it's been highly enjoyable. Because it feels right.
Now, if only he would kiss Wilson (in your dreams, babe). :)
5 - Olga Parera
Excellent article! I've always had the feeling that House is a big romantic but he keeps that side in the dark. In all the kisses we've seen with Cuddy, Lydia, Cameron and Stacy, you can clearly see that he's a very passionate man, not only in his job but also in personal relationship. I find the combination of romantic and passionate really sexy
6 - Housecall
Thank you, Barbara for a lovely little summer breeze of an article. Having recently placed the "Three Kisses" video on my site (done by a fan)those "kisses" were on my mind and I'm sure many others.
It's amazing to think that even a simple KISS is not something which hasn't been thought out by HL and LE. In fact I wonder if they hadn't thought about it (not practiced) these for quite some time.
The importance and impact of these various kisses cannot be understated. Fans waited a very long time for the Stacy and Cam kisses.
They waited for what seemed like an eternity for the last Huddy kiss- but it was worth it.
It was as if the first was out of some obligation and pent up emotion, the second an assertive delusion and then we finally get it "just right".
I loved this article so much. Thank you!
7 - barbara barnett
hey Housecall. Glad you liked it. I'll have to check out the "three kisses." I guess after the finale kissing is on everyone's mind :)
I'd started writing this sometime during the spring and never got around to finishing it until last night. I've been on overload lately.
Forgot to mention in the article, but I interviewed Jesse Spencer Friday. I'll have that interview up by midweek.
8 - blacktop
Lovely article, Barbara. I find it so interesting that in all of these kisses that you have analyzed House has been fully clothed, not just wearing a t-shirt, but armoured completely in his characteristic multiple layers.
The two real-life kisses with Cuddy have him sheathed in his iconic leather jacket, the ultimate depiction of House's impenetrable barrier against deep emotion or revelation. The jacket, like House's public persona, is dark, forboding, rigid, imposing and impregnable. In the hallucinated kiss in "Under my Skin" House rather violently works at taking off Cuddy's jacket and blouse, but even in his own imagination he stays fully clothed, protected and unknowable.
(The only time we have seen House in an erotic embrace without clothing was in bed and ready for round two with Stacy in "Need to Know." Of course, then he just reaches for her with a smile, no actually kissing required.)
I do think that the purpose of these kisses, like everything else in this carefully crafted show, is to explore another aspects of House's character, style, or psyche.
So the question for season 7 is whether House will truly reveal himself and thereby give himself to Cuddy, stripping away the symbolic as well as literal layers of clothing that have thus far blocked their contact and communication. A consummation devoutly to be wished, indeed.
Ah, September seems so very far away!
9 - barbara barnett
Blacktop--you're right. And something else I just noticed: the hand holding at the very end. How completely a mirror image to "I think we should kiss"/boob grab of Let Them Eat Cake. They simple hold grasp each others' hand. Other significant hand holding: end of Wilson's Heart--and also in his delusion when he's at his worst, she just says to him: here, hold my hand, as if that will make him safe and hurt less. Her hands touch his face at the end of Both Sides Now. Hands are important because they break past barriers when used gently and not agressively.
Season seven anyone? Seriously, I can use this break to finish what I must.
10 - Jacquelyn
Just one small comment for another very insightful analysis: I'm actually pretty surprised that House/Lydia didn't get any votes. A die-hard House/Cuddy fan, at the time "Broken" aired (the first episode of House that I watched on the television itself, having only become addicted over Summer '09), I really rejoiced for House in that episode. It felt like this huge step that he could become so emotionally vulnerable to someone he'd only met a short while ago, and to open himself up to Lydia. I really liked her, as brief as her appearance was.
Of course, I still voted for the end scene of "Help Me" - if after watch House for one season it moved me like it did, I can only imagine how it was for fans who have been watching for six years. My House/Cuddy analysis has been condensed into a matter of months, and I was still moved to tears at such hesitancy, tenderness, and just how romantic that kiss was. As well, Cuddy really *did* save House in this moment - but it's certainly not the first time, but how wonderful and life-affirming it must be to know that in your darkest moment, *someone* will be there for you. I think House will be able to come back to that moment for years to come.
@blacktop, September indeed does seem so very far away! What to do in the meantime other than rewatch all of these fabulous scenes. :)
11 - Orange450
There's an observation that Rhett Butler makes to Scarlett at the very end of my perennial favorite, Gone With the Wind: "I could have loved you as gently and as tenderly as ever a man loved a woman."
(Interestingly, Rhett and House share several characteristics. Both are highly intelligent and perceptive, manipulative and influential. Both are independent iconoclasts with abrasive exteriors but sensitive interiors. Both can be unexpectedly kind. Neither suffers fools gladly. Both are larger than life!)
Gently and tenderly - what perfect words with which to describe the kisses between House and Stacy, House and Lydia, and House and Cuddy in Help Me. And in each instance, it seems to me that House is revisiting an experience that he once held dear. He is tentative, almost thoughtful. It's as if he has to reaquaint himself with something he once knew very well, but no longer does. (Even though he's never kissed Lydia before, it seems to me that he's remembering what is feels like to be close to a woman.) He is kissing with his mind, not just his mouth - very attractive and appropriate in someone labelled "the thinking woman's sex symbol" :) And not forgetting to give credit where credit is due - what amazing acting skills!
Blacktop - in the "round two" scene, House kisses Stacy's shoulder just before the scene fades. As unprotected and open as we've ever seen him, to your point :)
12 - Delia_Beatrice
Barbara, this is an excellent, touching look at the romantic side of House. Which, just like you, I feel is of utmost importance and holds a huge potential. I am looking forward to seeing it being explored properly next season. House is, essentially, a romantic character by excellence: the tormented genius, the cynic with a good heart, the man who believes in absolute justice and responds with an absolute refusal to any sort of compromise, the man who is a slave to logic and reason, but who finds his greatest pleasure in the beauty of music, a man whose romantic commitment is absolute, whose fidelity to his beliefs is supreme, a man who can love a woman with incredible intensity.
I have said this before, I am positive that the lack of House-Cuddy interactions in season 6 is premeditated. Just like Lisa Edelstein’s very subtle acting, giving away only the tiniest clues in regard to Cuddy’s doubts and inner torment, the way House and Cuddy stayed apart this season was the expression of their attempt to redefine their personal relationship and of the pain they both felt in interacting with each other, while House was tormented by the apparent lost love and Cuddy was torn between her natural responses to House, driven by her organic, unstoppable love for him, and her determination to attempt to fulfill her illusion of a more “normal” romantic and family life. It was only natural that none of them was capable of regular interactions " to pretend that they can maintain a purely professional relationship, was too much of an unrealistic effort. To try to be just friends, House justly refused such a compromise (what a deep change that marks in him, compared to how he was eager to trick Stacy into cheating on her husband with him, by getting closer to her under the mask of friendship!), while for Cuddy, it would have been very hard to keep her feelings under control if she allowed herself to get very close to him again. And to fall back into their old intimacy, with the accompanying flirtation and delightful tension, while she was still with Lucas, would have been diminishing to the deep nature of their emotional connection.
I am also positive that, matching the delicacy and gratitude of his kiss, House will restrain himself from coming too strongly into Cuddy's life, in general. These two people have awarded themselves a very precious and superb gift. They will try to cherish it with utmost care and delicacy. They both underwent a difficult journey of self-awareness, of truth-facing, of risk taking, of pain, loss and acceptance. They both went through emotional experiences that shaped them to be more capable to make a real relationship work (and this was the role of Lydia and Lucas in their lives). And they were forced to take a long, hard look at themselves, their bare souls, and understand and accept and act upon the undeniable fact that their love for each other is a part of themselves that they cannot live without - they were both mutilated while cutting off their organic connection. This is something neither of them will be careless about. This is it for both of them, their one, grand chance at being complete. They are both fully aware of it - this is the number one element that makes me believe that this relationship has a big chance at working.
13 - Delia_Beatrice
@ Blacktop: amasing insightful comment! Always a pleasure to read your thoughts:)
@ Orange450: how lovely that you brought up Rhett Butler! Not only are there many, many similarities between him and House, but there are countless similarities between the Rhett-Scarlett relationship and the House-Cuddy one. The chemistry, the irreverent teasing, the irony, the bluntness, the truth naming, the denial, the intimacy, the incredible match in their ways of thinking. Rhett and Scarlett are essentially a couple who represent a match made in heaven for each other, just like House and Cuddy, but the difference is that they never manage to step out the narrow circle to which they are confined by their fears and emotional immaturity. They never give themselves a real chance, they never really express themselves in due time and they never meet on the same page, emotionally.
And this brings me to the fact that, for the romantic side of me, “Help Me” represents a great gift. It is a sort of symbolic payback for every time I really adored an onscreen couple whose story ended sadly. The magical couples of “Gone With The Wind”, “Out Of Africa”, “The English Patient”, “In The Mood For Love”, “L’Amant”, “The French Lieutenant’s Woman”, “The Great Gatsby”, “The End Of The Affair”, to name just a few of my favorites, by their own faults or by destiny’s cruel hand, never got to live a moment in which they celebrate their love the way House and Cuddy did and will. A moment of complete truth, a moment of full self-awareness and openness, a moment of shared celebration of each other in the light of the acknowledgement of their fundamental place in each other’s life. It is a beautiful thing, to see such a complicated and compelling love story being given such a perfect resolution.
14 - Katie
madfashionista, I agree about Wilson. Now that would be something that would actually make sense.
My favorite kiss is definitely the House/Stacy one :)
15 - Larissa
I really liked the way how you describe the scenes. We can see that House does care about love. He is not that miserable old man who hates everyone like a lot of people see him. Amazing Article! I can't wait for Season 7 too! Thanks :)
16 - barbara barnett
Thanks Larissa. It's always fun to peek beneath that curmudgeonly surface, isn't it?
17 - sdemar
Great analysis, Barbara. What I loved about the kiss in "Help Me" was that it wasn't only House that was so gentle with the kiss but it was Cuddy, too. And I loved how Cuddy seemed to almost snuggle up to him when he kissed her the second time. I wonder how much thought HL & LE put into this? Something tells me while they were secretly holding onto the final scene, they were secretly discussing how they would play it. House and Cuddy realized how special that moment was, two vulnerable people, open & emotionally naked. It seemed they were gently holding onto that moment as something so special and didn't want to fracture it in any way. Sigh.
18 - barbara barnett
Sdemar: Sigh is right. It was a beautifully acted moment--and whether it was spontaneous or highly thought out, it was quite perfect :)
19 - DebbieJ.
This article and comments have left me a puddle of goo! LOL
Barbara, thank you for your [cough] selfless [cough] analysis. I'm sure this was such a hardship ;) Seriously, though, I can only imagine the joy you had in gathering this all together. You've done an amazing job and I thank you.
@Orange #11: "He is kissing with his mind, not just his mouth"
I've just about came undone reading this line. It is so true and what makes him so damn sexually attractive.
Will read the remaining comments tomorrow once I've recovered. ;)
20 - Orange450
@Delia_Beatrice Yet another significant similarity between Rhett Butler and House: both suffered emotional and physical rejection by authoritarian fathers! Hmmm. Coincidence? I'm beginning to wonder :)
But while the similarities between the 2 male characters are evident, I've been enjoying some pleasant analysis as I try to articulate the profound differences between the 2 ladies. (Well, Rhett tells Scarlett to her face that she's no lady, but that's mere quibbling!)
Perhaps they can be best summed up by another quote from GWTW, describing Scarlett: "to the end of her days she would never be able to understand a complexity." Scarlett doesn't have the gift of nuance. She sees the world in black-and-white. She has no self-awareness, no ability to understand her own motivations - and in this she is as unlike Cuddy as she can be!
Which is why the Rhett/Scarlett and House/Cuddy relationships indeed share some of the attributes that you describe, but only on the surface. Because Scarlett is plagued by more than emotional immaturity. She is also psychologically and intellectually immature.
A sad result, perhaps, of being forced into the common mold which young women of her time and place were expected to fit, regardless of their individual talents, abilities and proclivities. Unlike Cuddy - and other women of her generation - who happily are free to try and become "the first female and second youngest Dean of Medicine ever.. " if that's the direction in which they want to go.
21 - barbara barnett
DebbieJ--it's always fun reliving these moments in House history! Thanks.
I agree with you about Orange's kissing with his mind comment. Yup.
22 - Sera G.
Dear Barbara,
Thank you for another beautifully articulated article on KISSES! I loved it.
I agree, it is through his kisses that House allows his inner man to emerge.
Although I went along for the Cameron ride while it was going on, I found his kiss with her awkward. Perhaps it was me feeling awkward; as I really thought after Stacy she seemed so young, naive and wrong for him.
I am spending the summer rewatching (for the 4th time!) from Pilot forward. I will keep your observations in mind.
I wrote, perhaps clumsily, on an earlier post that I thought the shot of the intertwined hands at the end of S6 to be a powerful and significant symbol. They did not end with House/Cuddy kissing, or embracing or walking out of the bathroom. Those intertwined hands are as you say
a sign of their solidarity.
I am in no hurry for the summer to pass, but I can not wait to see what happens.
Writers, please be kind! I can take trouble, I can take adjustment, but be fair!
Looking forward to the Jesse interview.
Again, Barbara, you are great!
23 - Beckston
I loved the article Barbara, and enjoyed everyone's comments. House as a romantic is presented so subtly and seen so rarely that I don't think the casual viewer even believes it. We know otherwise.
I sometimes wonder if House's gentle kisses betray is own lack of self worth, as if he can't believe that someone could actually love him. The kiss with Cameron was the only "real" kiss which was not tentative. He knew that Cameron thought she loved him. It was for all the wrong reasons and it was not reciprocated. He was kissing her only with his mouth and not with his mind (nice observation Orange). It was a good kiss, but totally lacking in emotion.
Thank you so much for this article Barbara. I hope you have some other article ideas to help us through the summer hiatus.
24 - TVTherapy
Kissing with his mind. And who said he was the thinking woman's sex symbol? It all makes sense now...
Barbara, I loved this article. And it wasn't just summer fluff. It was a nice look at how everything in this show of ours is purposeful. Also hadn't thought of the hands until you just wrote about it in the comments. Hearkens back to the ass grab defense in "Half-Wit" too.
There's no doubt House's kissing was discussed and each kiss I've studied too. He's a tease! And I think part of it is for his partner to torture them and part of it is self-preservation. He can't be all the way in unless he's sure of the person on the other end, and that's one of the reasons he kisses so gently and tentatively.
What I loved about the kiss in "Help Me," (at least one of many things) is that he opened his eyes first after the first kiss between them. LE and HL are amazing actors. If you pay special attention to their eyes, which we get nice close-ups of, they change drastically from the first moment where she walks in, to the kissing.
I love how you can tell she's smiling with her eyes (yes, I sound like Tyra Banks) and I love House's look to her when they pull away from each other. He's watching, waiting for her reaction. He wants to watch her enjoy this.
I've read that LE says it wouldn't be the show if it ended with the two of them together happily, but what if that is the path he's on? I know he's a tragic hero, but I can't help but think that this journey of one man isn't just about him anymore.
I may have way too much time on my hands once this show goes off the air (eek, I can't even mention it without cringing.)
Anyone on twitter? Follow me on @TVTherapy. And let me know who you are so I can follow you!
Us House scholars need to stick together.
25 - artificialintelligence
Nice bit of summer reading during the long, agonizing wait for September. It's interesting to examine all of his kisses and I've done so myself recently. I think my least favorite kiss was with Lydia. And it was very hard, more than I realized it would be, to pick which House and Cuddy kiss I liked the best. I was thinking after I had watched all of them about how unique each kiss House and Cuddy had was. And I think that part of it must be the writing and the other great acting on Hugh and Lisa's part. I understand that Hugh is very meticulous about everything he does in a script-so of course he would be in this too. I'm really glad of this. I've noticed that on other shows that I watch the kissing isn't half as good as they manage to make it. I really think that Huddy puts any other show's couples to shame in the kissing department. Kind of makes me proud to be a fan of a show that is so careful to get even this detail right.