Amber cannot empathize with Quidd; he is almost the direct antithesis to all that Amber is. Winning is what matters to her above all else. In her eyes, Quidd is a loser throwing his life away. She doesn’t like him because he’s a drug addict and she cannot understand his “I don’t care” attitude. When House confronts Amber regarding her lack of compassion for Quidd, it becomes more of an investigation of why Amber is so afraid to lose. Anne Dudek did well with the scene, convincingly portraying Amber being upset with House for questioning the way she confronts life and passionately defending her “win at all costs” personality.
Thirteen is determined to see beyond Quidd’s addictions to come up with a diagnosis. She tells House that drugs are always a mask for some other problem, which make House smile and award her points. Taub could care less about Quidd, but is willing to treat him and even blackmail Chase into doing a necessary surgery, just to stay on the team. Kutner is also willing to look beyond Quidd’s addictions, speaking with his band members and learning that Quidd works with homeless children. He is not sure if this information is diagnostically important, but tells House anyway.
House is more curious about Quidd than anything else. Throughout the episode, we find House listening to Quidd’s music, which in his words, “does not have one redeeming note” in it. When House tells him that there are masses around his heart, Quidd is more concerned about the fact that House does not get what he is trying to do with his music than he is about the fact that he is dying.
House tells Quidd that in life there are three choices, “Be good, get good, or give up. You’ve gone for column D, why?” Quidd tells him that people either like his music or they don’t, but a few like to tell him what he’s screwing up or what he’s wasting. Quidd does not understand why these people want to interfere or even care. In this brief interaction I think that House develops a sense of empathy for Quidd. Like Quidd, House lives his life on his own terms and cannot understand why people interfere or even care.
Of course, the one person in House’s life who cares enough to interfere is Wilson. When Wilson tries to repay the $6000 that his patient will lose now that he is not dying, it sets off a confrontation between House and Wilson that epitomizes their relationship. Where Wilson tries to be responsible, House sees him as being foolish. House accuses Wilson of trying to fix everyone’s pain and make up for their mistakes; Wilson accuses House of trying to avoid pain. Wilson states that life happens and that scares House and like his patient, House does not want to face the fact that dying is easy, life is hard.
Article comments
1 - Susanne
Amen to that. I love reading your reviews. I was very happy to see the arc come to an end I feel that the writers have a habit of letting the arcs go on forever. It was fun to watch at first but it lost its spark. I'm not going to completly shake off the season even the writing was inconsistent and dissapointing but I'm hoping that it will come back stronger then ever. I want to see the complex medical mysteries, the old team and some clinic hours! I haven't entirely warmed up to the new team because they have some characteristics to the original team but I have to see them in full capcity before I make a judgement. I'm already disliking 13. The others I couldn't care less but I might change my mind. Is it just me or did the character of House seem to drop off a bit, he wasn't himself and the writing lacked it's cunning wit that is usually had often making very crude sexual remarks. I hope the strike is over soon, I'm hoping House will come back in a much stronger capacity.
Thanks for the review
2 - eva
I don't understand why he hired Kutner and Taub. Kutner hasn't done anything worth being hired, and Taub is a manipulator. I'm glad he fired the Bitch and Thirteen seems timid. I hope she will have more of a backbone. I am also hoping that it gets back to medical stories where House can show his brilliance in diagnostics instead of his clownishness.
3 - Die Hard
It sounds like Wilson has been given more screen time. That is good news as far as I am concerned. Because almost all the other main charactors are monolithic except Wilson (and may be Foreman to an extent). Wilson is susceptible to the people and the environment. He seems more real to me than anyone else. Thus he lacks the comical quality but keeps the series in the 'drama' genre as oppose to 'comedy'.
Anyway, it would be anther couple of years until we see season 4 on telly. May be I should purchase the DVD if and when it is available.
4 - Mary
This is a question, not really a comment. Since "House M.D." is going to be in re-runs until Jan. 29th, is there a reliable online source to which episodes are going to be re-run? I've looked at the Fox website, and did not have much luck there, but maybe I'm looking on the wrong page.
5 - Cindyc
Susanne -- thanks for reading my reviews! I agree that there have been changes in the way the character of House has been presented this season. There really has been an emphasis on his clownishness as eva pointed out. All characters should evolve with time of course. I am still interested in seeing how the changes will play out in the future.
Die Hard - I am happy to see more of Robert Sean Leonard as well. I'm an old Broadway fan, so I have to stick by the Tony winners! I think Wilson does have his funny moments and like House, he is portrayed as as real person full of complexities. I would love to see more of Wilson's story -- including some kind of follow-up to the story of his missing brother.
Mary -- there are websites available to see episodes of House, but in deference to the writer's guild, I urge you not to use the web as a source until the strike is settled. I have an unfortunate empathy for the writers who are not working during this holiday season. The DVDs are worth it, and if you missed an episode, there will be repeats on Fox and on the USA Network.