I was in a pretty good mood today. The sun is shining, the mountains are showing off their snow-tipped peaks, birds are singing ... well, maybe I can't hear any birds, but the rest is true.
And then I watched House.
Usually, the show makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I'm not quite sure why. It's not because there's much warmness and fuzziness to the show itself. It's not only because it's nice to have proof that intelligent entertainment can get great ratings. There's just something beautiful about House's misanthropy. Something that makes me feel almost philanthropic. It's like I'm a nice Dorian Gray, and House is my picture in the attic, getting meaner instead of older. Or something.
But "Forever" was a downer of an episode for many reasons. The primary reason is that a baby dies. There's also the fact that the mom, Kara, killed him, because she was crazy as a result of undiagnosed celiac disease, which caused pellagra, a nutritional deficiency. Only they finally diagnosed and treated her, so she regains her sanity, and the full realization of what she did crushes her spirit and makes her decide not to get treatment for the stomach cancer they also detect. Oh, and her husband blames her, but also himself, because House berates him in a moment that seems heartless on the surface, but is actually hugely compassionate — just not towards the husband. As House points out, he abandoned Kara to her psychosis and left her alone with the baby rather than have to deal with her agony ("you slept while she went nuts").
Yeah, it was an uplifting hour of television.
Which isn't to say I want it to be all happy endings and sunshine. Though House the doctor never fails to solve the mystery, House the show occasionally will kill a patient. It makes for better television; the peril of every medical mystery is more real with the knowledge that the patient might not pull through. But when you go from almost-drowned baby, to baby's okay, to mother smothers baby, to House saves baby, to baby's not doing very well after all, to baby dies ... well, it's hard not to feel manipulated, because there's more emotional weight attached to its very babyness.
Still, it's far braver of the show not to attempt an "everything's going to be okay in time" ending after showing the mother's heartbreak at learning what she'd done, and the father's rage and guilt and half-hearted attempt to forgive. In the time elapsed, it would have been jarring for it to end on a hopeful note after such a momentous death.
Article comments
1 - Bliffle
House is a chess player, keeping a step ahead of the other players, not allowing himself hopeful moves predicated on the opponent making a subsequent mistake.
2 - Jennifer
Always enjoy your articles although disagreed with your comments about this episode. It was sad the baby died, but I thought the episode was excellent. When House was rescusitating the baby, I believe what he said was "Crash cart...Epi (short for epinephrine to jump start the heart)"
3 - Diane Kristine
Ah, I thought it was unlikely, but I swear I heard Debbie. Oh well, I think he knows Evil Nurse Brenda's name (wait ... that's her name, right? Maybe *I* don't know her name.)
I didn't dislike the episode, but it wasn't one of the stronger ones for me - too much tell, not enough show. And while I keep trying to remember my faith in the writers, I dread a "uddy desperate for a baby" storyline.
4 - Joan Hunt
Congrats! This article has been placed on Advance.net
5 - Erin
Great review. Though how could you not sympathise with Chase? Him praying over the baby was such a moving scene, the boy is gorgeous!
6 - Diane Kristine
Oh, I sympathized with him over the baby thing, just not the not-rich thing. And he's not my type, so the gorgeous thing doesn't win him any points with me.
7 - Jane
I think this episode shows House isn't as much of an egomaniac as we think. He NEEDS Foreman to be able to stand up to him in order for the job to be done right. He doesn't want a subordinate who always agrees with him, and his actions are directed to that end. Foreman misreads this as being "addicted to conflict".