When Cameron, Chase, and Foreman worry she's out of control, Foreman points out, "Somebody's got to be Cuddy's Cuddy." That's Wilson apparently, though I was expecting House.
He's about as effective as House's Cuddy, inspiring her to get even more radical, pursuing a treatment that nearly kills Emma and the fetus/baby but also gets her close to the solution.
Though she's sent him on his vacation early, she goes to House for help with the next steps, and he obliges. The lure of the mystery, or the lure of the Cuddy? The next step is just as radical: surgery on the fetus.
I'm not one to get all gushy over fake TV babies, but when the tiny hand reached out of the womb and grasped for House's finger ... sniff. I mean, my heart's not made of stone. Neither, to everyone's surprise, is House's, as he takes several precious seconds to process the moment. "Sorry. Just realized I forgot to TiVo Alien," he says when he shakes off the awe of the moment.
Thankfully the moment isn't turned into a turning point where he realizes all life is precious and he's been so very wrong. Seconds later it's original-recipe House moving in to cut the umbilical cord and spell the death of the fetus/baby when Emma's heart rate plunges. Cuddy forces him to step away by refusing to stop shocking the patient, even if it means electrocuting House. She's probably wanted an excuse to do that for years.
While I love that this show is willing to risk a tragic conclusion now and then, like in "Forever," I'm grateful Cuddy didn't fail in the end. For one thing, we've seen that before, in "Humpty Dumpty" — where her medical skills were called into question — and even more devastatingly in "Finding Judas." Because of that, it's nice to see Cuddy win over House, even though the win is debatable.
And debate they do. When she congratulates him on trying to have a life and girlishly presents him with a ticket to Vancouver Island, since he had to cancel his vacation plans — or did he? — to help her with the case, she gets his "you got lucky" lecture that sounds like he's channeling Cuddy. I could side with either one of them, which means I would make a bad Cuddy's Cuddy. One the one hand, Cuddy was doing what the patient wanted, the patient should have autonomy over her body, and it's hard to argue with success. On the other hand, House is right that Cuddy wasn't doing the math.
House: In a case like this, you terminate, mom lives 10 times out of 10. You do what you did, mom and baby both die 9.9 times out of 10.
Article comments
1 - Kaonashi
I thought that the little "fetus" hand grabbing House's finger was downright adorable. House's reaction made me think of that line in the Grinch Who Stole Christmas:
In who-ville they say, that the grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day!
But then he made that "Alien" joke, which was pretty funny.
Poor Chase. He is so going to get his heart stomped on.
2 - Jewels
We were having small tornadoes ripping through North Texas and the show was cut out by an an almost hour long emergency weather report, so sadly missed the great baby moment. I knew I could count on you for a great recap. Thanks.
3 - blogreader
Here's the
real-life photo. The photo was taken in 1999.
4 - Diane Kristine
Thanks for that - though the article accompanying it is misleading. The surgeon has pointed out that of course the fetus was anesthetized, and the hand did not actually reach out and grab him.
5 - Amrita
You know at the beginning of this season i was all ready to hear that this show is slowly but surely felling down, crushed by its expectations. I've never been so happy to be so wrong.
6 - Maddoc
Loved the way he kept BSing about all the locations.I never,not for once,believed he was serious when mentioning all the possible spots.The kinda guy he is,if he were serious about actually going to some vaca spot,he would never have mentioned it in front of everybody.
And the fetus shot was too long.It seemed forced to me.Like they were trying to make a point or something.But on the whole,one of the funniest to date and definitely one of the best of the season!
7 - Michael Clancy
I am the photographer that took the original picture of Samuel reaching from the womb.
Samuel did reach from the womb on his own! Dr. Joseph Bruner will never admit the unborn child he was performing experimental surgery on simply came out from under the anesthesia too soon. But that is exactly what happened. Samuel did not immediately grab the doctor's finger but when Dr. Bruner touched his hand he responded and grabbed the doctor's finger.
Let me remind you of the way the USA Today reporter Robert Davis started his original story. "In a crowded operating room where outsiders have gathered to watch a rare medical event, surgery on a fetus still in his mother's womb, a stool falls with a loud bang, "Hush," said Joseph Bruner, the doctor leading the operation, "you'll wake the baby."
Blessings, Michael Clancy
8 - Ana
If anyone gets hurt, it will be Chase. Remember, we're dealing with Cameron 2.0 here, not the delicate Cameron from season one!