House, MD season five picks up “eight weeks after the death Amber. Wilson is still mourning her death, and his relationship with his best friend House is shattered. Needing to make a change in his life and give himself time to recover emotionally, Wilson resigns from Princeton-Plainsboro.” So reads the summary from FOX about tomorrow night’s season premiere of House, MD. We know that Wilson is the anchor that keeps House from really going off the deep end in so very many ways. So how will House react to Wilson’s decision?
As Hugh Laurie told Entertainment Weekly, House is a very emotional character, but one who hides it the best he can. And according Laurie, the shutters come down. Rather than show Wilson how he feels, House will (big surprise here) push back. And push back hard. But we also know how Laurie’s masterful performance and unique ability to convey what’s really going on in House’s heart in between the lines of dialogue will tell us how House really feels. I think it’s going to be a very bumpy ride. And I can barely wait—less than 24 hours to go!
In interviews conducted by FOX and kindly provided to the media, House stars, including Laurie,
Lisa Edelstein and Jennifer Morrison shared their thoughts on the season premiere and upcoming season. Commenting on Amber’s death, Hugh Laurie explained “It’s a very grave event in House’s life when he has to acknowledge his, or determine whether or not he is responsible for the death of his best friend’s loved one.” Although many people might spend their lives agonizing about it, explained Laurie, but House is one of those people who can “as an effort of will,” convince himself that he was in “the wrong place at the wrong time: yes I was involved but I was not responsible.”
But one thing that is not up for interpretation is the fact that Wilson is resigning. Not just from Princeton Plainsboro Teaching hospital, but from House, himself. “Wilson comes to a bigger, broader realization that House is possibly just a destructive force in his life. House isn’t good for him, and as a result of that realization Wilson decides to up stakes and leave.”
Article comments
1 - Eve (the Netherlands)
Thank you again Barbara for sharing this interview with your faithful readers !! ;-)
I can't wait for season 5 to begin.
The show is going to be stable again with now a steady cast of 3 threesomes.
The core three, House-Wilson-Cuddy, the old team Cameron-Chase-Foreman and the new team Kutner-Hadley-Taub.
I love the prospect of all three groups interacting with eachother.
One comment puzzled me a bit.
I didn't get Hugh's comment about House and Cuddy having a brother&sister relationship at times.
I have never seen anything of the sort !
Would love to hear your thoughts on this.
2 - Sandra
Thank you, Barbara!
I'm so glad, that Hugh shares my point of view of House and Cuddy having a brother & sister-relationship (sometimes it even tends to be like a mother & rebel son-relationship), so I'll never get used to the idea of Huddy.
3 - Barbara Barnett
Hi, Eve and Sandra!
I think what HL said was that relationship was mercurial. It changes all the time, depending on the situation and their own needs. The brother and sister thing, I think, comes from the fact that they have been close, they watch out for each other (when it really is important, House does watch her back), and they spar like brother and sister. The movie The African Queen, like others of its genre were notable for that sort of brother/sister sparring, but as HL also said, there is the crackle of flirtation. No two people (who are unrelated) can spar like that without something else going on.
Actually in a season one episode, even Wilson asked House: "What is it between you two? You know there's a fine line between love and hate..." House of course denied it by saying that there was a great Wall of China between them with lots and lots of guards. :)
4 - Marjohn
Barbara ~ thanks once again for your guided insight. In mentioning the term of the fellowship, Hugh reminds us that it is a common practice for medical fellowships to run a three-year course.
While I know fans of medical dramas may not be well versed in the actual practice of medicine, I have been surprised by how few are familiar with the course of medical training to residency to sub-specialty training and fellowships. This knowledge may be less common than I thought, but the reaction of so many fans against the new team has been disappointing.
In my opinion, TPTB have done a satisfactory job of keeping CCF on as relevant cast members while keeping consistent with the practical truth of fellowships. Given the strike-shortened season, the writers have made the best of a decidedly roundabout Housian method of choosing the final candidates.
That Amber was among them and is now gone will be interesting to keep in mind in seeing how the new ducklings develop under House. In addition, two other spices added to the new crew stew...
(1) CCF had their three years under the House we all have come to know well. The newbies will be beginning their fellowship under the dark cloud of Amber's death and the House that emerges from that fallout. (2) What will 13's prognosis mean for the show and for the dynamic within the team?
I'd be interested to get your feedback, Barbara. And, as always, I look forward to your reaction to the season premiere on Wednesday.
5 - Barbara Barnett
Hi Marjohn,
thanks for your insights as well :)
House will be reacting to both his self-hatred vis a vis Amber's death, and to his internalized anguish about Wilson's leaving--and any grief of his own for the loss of amber. I don't think we really know what House actually thought of her except for that very brief unguarded moment when he revealed to Cuddy that he thought Amber did care about her patients (in Games). So House, I think, will be wilder in public, but that will exact a cost to him when he's in private. But who knows how much we'll see of House in private over the next several episodes. My guess is not much, but enough ;)
I will post up my review sometime tomorrow, after watching two or three times!