There was a lot going in this episode. There were the usual snappy one-liners, the same old inappropriate shots of Cuddy’s cleavage and tight skirts, and over-the-top moments of House’s clownish behavior, including a take-off on Survivor, complete with bandana and Bunsen burner torches. The episode had a little bit of everything: comedy, intrigue, drama, and pathos, along with forced scenes designed to keep all the shippers happy and the fan fics flying. We see that Cameron and Chase are still together, and we also learn that Foreman has failed at Mercy Hospital by working outside of the rules and acting like House. Even with so much to process, “97 Seconds”, as a whole, was not one of my favorites.
House challenges the new doctors by dividing them into two teams – men against women – to see who can diagnose the patient of the week — a wheelchair-bound man named Thomas who passed out while being led across a street by his canine aid. Amber does not like that idea, thinking that her chances of being on the winning team would be better if she were with the group of men. However, the men don’t want her because she is, as House called her in the classroom, a cutthroat bitch. Amber is seen throughout the rest of the episode manipulating everyone into helping her solve the case. As unpleasant as she is, I like the strong development of her character. She stays true to form while she finagles her way onto the men’s team, literally wriggles her way out of the time-out room that House assigns her team to after blowing their first opportunity at the diagnosis, and uses psychology to manipulate both Cameron and Chase into helping her.
Despite all of Amber’s machinations, it is the women’s team that begins Thomas’s treatment, while the men waste time discussing which tests to administer. Thirteen, which is her candidate number, guesses that in addition to the spinal muscular atrophy that has him in the wheelchair, Thomas has Strongyloides worms, which he got from lying on the sand during a recent trip to Thailand. House is intrigued by Thirteen’s diagnostic skill and the fact that he has learned nothing about her. Despite House’s queries, she does not reveal anything about her personal history. She won’t even tell House her real name. This is one way to get to him; we all know how much House loves to solve puzzles. The dialogue between the two of them is sharp and provocative. I am as intrigued as House to find out more about her and to see how their working relationship develops.
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