This is a crux of House’s personality that has been previously explored. House is not afraid to die. He has taken enough risks to illustrate this – when Foreman was ill, House chanced getting the same disease by exposing himself to the same elements without a protective suit, he downed pain pills and alcohol last year when faced with jail time, he stuck a knife in a light socket after a patient told him it that his near death experience was an amazing high, and he’s taken a transfusion of possibly tainted blood, all to solve a puzzle. I am hoping that this theme of a possibly suicidal House is not taken further. It would be a shame to face each upcoming episode with that sense of dread, where we are all watching to see if House will finally go too far in risking his life.
There was a grain of truth in Wilson’s statement that House could not face. Instead of firing back with a cutting remark, House laughs it off, saying that it could not possibly be as poignant as it sounded. The argument was interrupted by Kutner giving House a status report on Quidd. Wilson admonishes House to stop playing games and do his job. House pointedly says no, before leaving to deal with the dying patient.
In the end, it was the insights of all of House’s team members that helped House reach the correct diagnosis. His underlying disease was not drug-related as Thirteen thought, but made worse by his drug use, which was Amber’s idea. Quidd’s years of addiction had made his immune system go haywire, and he contracted measles from working with the homeless kids.
Now it is time for the firing squad. House has his team members in the classroom, where he plays a record for some background mood music. The music is a soothing acoustic guitar piece that was recorded by Jimmy Quidd before he got into punk. (The song is, in fact, a composition by the multi-talented Hugh Laurie.) House tells Amber she was wrong about Quidd and that she needs to be able to lose in order to stay on the team. She’s fired. House also fires Thirteen, but tells her that if he had three spots to fill he would have kept her on.
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.