Arlene’s attempt to make herself their common enemy is actually something House does in Season 6 (“Moving the Chains”). Then, it worked, bringing together Foreman and his brother Marcus, unified against House. Arlene is not so lucky.
This episode is really about protecting yourself against unrealistic expectations, no matter how realistic they seem—fatalism as a coping mechanism. “You lost your mother, euthanized your brother, your life expectancy is that of a pretty good sitcom. If you can convince yourself that you’d be miserable even with out all that, then maybe you don’t have to hate the universe,” House says to 13 for dealing you a very bad hand. It is the way she survives, House observes. "Vanquish all hope ye who enter," and life is livable. She tries to live a life as a fatalist, but fundamentally she’s not no matter how much she tries.
Thirteen notes House’s track record with love, with drugs and with pain, wondering about his story. He tries to play the fatalist’s game—be a true cynic, but in the end he can’t succeed because his fundamental humanity won’t allow him to completely give up on hope.
In a lottery you risk money over and over, expecting you won’t win, but hoping you will. Lottery winnings don’t come with coping mechanisms to deal with the unexpected (or expected) disappointments that come along with newfound riches. In a lottery, you only risk your money, a dollar or two at a time. As 13 points out, Cyrus’ lottery experience is a metaphor for living a hopeful life. “Lotteries suck,” she says. You keep risking; you keep hoping, knowing there’s very little chance to win. And when it’s not a dollar, but your heart, it’s just not worth it to play the game.
The end of the episode destroys House’s slim hopes for reconciliation with Cuddy. (I do think that when he realizes Arlene’s ploy, House momentarily hopes she’s right and succeeds.) But Arlene’s little plan does nothing to convince Cuddy that she was wrong to break off the relationship. With House standing there, she explains bluntly to her mother that they will not be reconciling. By the time she turns to House, he is gone. Whatever balm she might have applied, and whatever opportunity to get closure (at least at that moment) vanishes when House does.
Would House likely have been better off in the long run had Cuddy just left him alone and not gotten involved with him—not gotten his hopes soaring and tasting a moment (or a few months) of happiness? Oddly (or perhaps not so oddly), this reminds me of Season 6’s premiere “Broken.” It’s an oblique connection, but it just occurred to me writing this commentary, so indulge me a moment.
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Lauren
The conversation between House and Thirteen at the end of the episode, made me think back to their end scene in "You don't want to know" in season 4.........there was talk of hope AND the lottery in that scene too. The big difference being, in the season 4 scene, both characters still had hope, and in "Changes", they didn't...at least not for themselves. What's interesting, is that between those two scenes, it is very clear that neither of them has 'changed'...they still have the same way of seeing the world--for example, 13 still believes that hope allows you to be happy, and that it shouldn't be taken away from you (hence her helping Cyrus find his love)...the difference is, she is no longer that hopeful person. For her, it would be too painful to be that person. I love the dynamic between these two (although I always feel that I should qualify that by saying that I do not see them ever being romantically connected). Despite the fact that they almost seem to be in part, enabling each other's hopelessness, I think they genuinely like each other, and on occasion, contribute to each other's fleeting happiness.
2 - Julia
"“Changes” leaves House in a place we’ve never really seen him: without hope. He was close mid season three, facing drug fraud charges and possible prison. But this hopelessness seems different"centered not on his professional life or his disability, or even his drug use. At this point in the story, House is for the first time hopeless. "
This, exactly. I liked this episode, but it was really depressing. I wonder what will happen next.
3 - RedTulip_Ana
I did not realize that there was already a new review! Barbara, thank you very much. Moving here the comment I just made ??in the previous post:
Well ... last night was the first assault! My impression? Good and bad. BITTERSWEET.
Our thoughts were true. Arlene wanted to reconcile House and Cuddy. It did not work. I don´t understand the attitude of Cuddy and her irrevocable decision to never back with House. On the other hand, yesterday I had moments when I hated profoundly House.
Brief analysis:
- As much as we like the chemistry between House and Cuddy will not return. I did not like at all, to see the "game" between them: I forgive you hours of clinic, I ask your underwear ... It's not funny. It is no longer fun. Does not work anymore. Sad.
- First I hated House, and I loved Cuddy. Then I loved House, and I hated Cuddy. At the end I came to hate (without malice) DS by these feelings.
- Wilson was good. My first impression was that he was fantastic. I loved Wilson for a moment.
- Arlene, as always, fantastic.
- Cuddy ... what happens with Cuddy? "I had every right to break up with you. " Not a bit of regret. I still think that his reasons are not valid (my opinion).
- House was a jerk at first. An asshole lover. Once again proved to be the smartest in the class.
- The Vicodin ... The Vicodin? Seriously? Wilson agrees with Vicodin? Cuddy agrees with the Vicodin? The last time the House was on Vicodin, he lost his medical license. On Now what? Wilson analyzed his pupils and entered through a window to verify that he was not on the vicodin! I do not believe it, sorry. By the way, those boxes of Vicodin, are not like before! (am I right?)
- 13 is a bad influence on House (my opinion). She's not a double ... is worst.
- The patient. I could clearly see House in the place of Cyrus.
@Barbara. Actually, there is no hope for House after this episode? As much as I'm negative, I always hoped a step back in the absurd decision to Cuddy....
4 - Suzy
Never commented before but have been reading your articles now for a couple of weeks/months. Sadly that spoils me since I'm only on season 6 (From Sweden) But I love your thoughts and how you get into these characters.
To me your thoughts ring true and is basically how I feel about House. Love House as a character and no matter what a jerk he can be I feel for him. That has never changed for me despite the the sometimes uneven road the show has taken. Still love it and hoping desperately for a season 8.
5 - Eloise
LOved this episode but something felt lost to me could not think what but now I think i understand in that House I think really is lost and that's the overall feeling from him.Thanks for your insight on this cause I think thats what made me realise this I do not share those who ready to cut and run. I am still excited for the last few episodes but will have a large box of tissues available.
6 - smk46
barbara,
your analysis read better than the episode played. the show's writing leaves too many blanks that, despite the fine acting, feel like gaping holes. mostly, it's the lack of real conversation between cuddy and house about their breakup. this is just unbelievable given the emotional weight that situation carries. i think that you have done an excellent job interpreting the theme the writers wanted the story to carry, but didn't manage to infuse into the dialogue and action. and the patient of the week was not interesting as a medical case. he seemed to be there to shadow the plot line of house with thirteen providing commentary. someone on another page said : acting, good; writing, poor. i have to agree. your writing, however, barbara, is just fine.
7 - RedTulip_Ana
"For House, Cuddy is a fantasy"a dream come true. The lottery won. He’s wanted this relationship with her since college. So it’s a far different scenario."
But Barbara, and she? and Cuddy? I really think that in an unnatural way the writers have searched to ruin this relationship. And of course, this road of no hope for House. But I think that this destruction is completely artificial. The relationship has been building for years not as a fantasy but as a reality. And not just by House, but also by Cuddy.
Even if I see a clear parallel between House and Cyrus, the stories are different (to our eyes). The House and Cuddy relationship is not like buying a lottery ticket.
8 - barbara barnett
RedTulip_Ana:
I actually was thinking about Cuddy, and the same applies to her in a way. She, like House is a victim of excessive expectations. She wants House; she loves House--still. But she also thought when they got together that what she dislikes about him wouldn't matter-or that she could ignore it – or that House would somehow change like The Beast, the Toad and other such fairy tale characters.
So it's just as sad for her, but her coping mechanisms are different. She's not self-destructive in a physical way and she can better handle it. She doesn't need to be a fatalist, which is why she can still be idealistic, something House thinks he can't afford.
9 - ruthinor
I don't know why, but I found this episode totally lacking in spark. The theme seemed to be "we are who we are". In the end, Foreman is stressed, Chase is sleeping with someone, but not really happy about it. Wilson is House's helpmate and whipping boy...but to me, Wilson just seemed unengaged throughout (RSL thinking of Broadway?) and actually boring. He's letting House take vicodin in his name and is not even upset about it? And worst of all, Cuddy. I don't know what they did to her character, but she's become like a walking zombie. She needs anti-depressants more than House does. I never bought the whole break-up scenario. Cuddy is not someone who just gives up w/o a fight when there is so much at stake. At least that's not the Cuddy we saw throughout the series, until this year. This year Cuddy suddenly shies away from confronting both her mother and House. You don't get to be a woman in power w/o balls. They've castrated her!
13 has a right to be hopeless. She really has had a crappy life and her future looks even worse. Compared to her, House just looks like a whiner. When he says "there are two of me", it makes me cringe. I want to shake him and tell him to quit being such a jerk.
10 - 2 lightworker
Barbara, thank you for your careful and thoughtful review, and for your disciplined work to post so soon. I agree with the view of #7 RedTulip_Ana, that there is something artificial about the way the whole relationship has played out. Remembering the poignant moments of House with Stacy, Cameron, Kate, and Lydia (sorry if I'm missing anyone) in various degrees of closeness, after "Unwritten," the House and Cuddy relationship has felt to me like a SNL parody.
Even with that perception, I enjoyed subsequent episodes until "Bombshells," which left me in shock even though Cuddy's responses had become wooden, and I am aware that there were viewers who were relieved by the termination of the coupling.
From my viewer's chair, the gradual distancing of Cuddy after she had initiated the relationship, particularly given House and Cuddy's long history , seems like a plot device, with little of the raw emotional exchanges I saw in the Stacy arc, except for House's heartrending reaction to Cuddy's rejection at the end of "Bombshells." Even that seemed to be dependent on the acting chops of HL and LE rather than coherent character development.
Ever since my initial viewing of the series, when I was drawn to the iconoclastic scripts and characterization of House, I was fascinated by the lack of sentimentality intersecting the presence of deep feeling at House's center. But now, all that seems like a dream, and although I will stay the course to the end of the season, I cannot totally shake my shock at the way this was handled.
Hugh Laurie is right, it is not the story itself, and other choices for a serious relationship have been favored by viewers. But HOW it is handled affects an invested viewer, and I am sorry to say that the interviews by the creator, writers, and directors that have elements of mockery to fan reactions, do not enhance my confidence in their good will for those of us who support the show and provide a fan base for their success. A different tone, with a mix of critical thinking and modesty, would lead me to have some trust in their judgement.
Thank you, Barbara, for providing a means for fans to respond in our many different ways of "seeing." Given the nuances of House's past relationships, this feels to me like a descent into the valley of death.
But even if "hope is for sissies," I am an unrepentent hopeful viewer that there may be a resolution that offers more humanity, redemption, and possibilities for House's future journey until the series'conclusion.
11 - Tea
Though I enjoyed parts of it, I did find it a somewhat lacklustre episode. Or perhaps it's just the overflowing amount of hopelessness permeating from the various characters? And what was with the repeated "It's like there's two of me" line? Though I haven't really considered it might be true, it gives some slight credence to the coma/hallucination/can't-remember-the-specifics-bah theory floating around?
I really enjoy your insight on the episodes, as well as the opinions offered by the readers. I truly appreciate the effort you put into these reviews, thank you. :]
12 - barbara barnett
2lightworker--
I have an old friend from the X-Files fandom (a fanfic writer) who would, like Joan in Romancing the Stone call herself a "hopeful" romantic. She'd sign every email with it, and footnote every story and post likewise :)
13 - Heather
Barbara, maybe I missed it, but in your reviews, you explain very well what you think the writers might be doing, how it advances House as a character, etc., but I don't often see your reaction.
Sometimes you do it, but I don't think it's a consistent thing, and I think it would be great to see an emotional reaction in each review telling us if you loved it, hated it, or somewhere in between.
14 - Heather
Not much time here to write much, but just one point I wanted to express. I think it's very frustrating to have Cuddy be such a 1 dimensional character. Why does House get no more chances? Why is the relationship absolutely OVER?
There's very little exposition here, which makes Cuddy look like an unforgiving, heartless, you-know-what.
15 - 2 lightworker
12-Barbara Barnett
I love that story about your X-Files fan fic friend, "the hopeful romantic." I told an on-line [H] friend that in my "recovery" from "Bombshells," I have been watching Netflix DVD's of old Masterpiece classics that I missed - they can never provide the fascination that the charismatic interpretation HL has given to the iconic House - but they ARE a comfort for this "hopeful romantic." :-)
14-Heather
I admire the objectivity Barbara seeks to bring to her reviews, which now and then do reflect her personal response, but what I want to say is that I totally feel what you have written, about Cuddy's becoming so one dimensional, that there is no forgiveness for House after he tried hard, that there seems to me to be a cynical view of House, and the harshness of the statements that the relationship is totally done. But as you can read what Barbara has said, I am indeed a "hopeful romantic" emotionally, even though I can step back with some detachment. So I live with what I would like to think is an open-eyed hope. :-) I hope the finale warrants some of that.
16 - 08joanna
The main thing I found interesting about this episode was House's current relationship with Thirteen. There's nothing at all romantic about it, but it seems as if, after the brutal honesty of their road trip, they understand each other in a new way. She seems to be the only one who really sees what's going on with him. I think they have the capacity to be soul-mates to each other, and maybe help each other to find something positive in the bleak realities they both face.
As for Cuddy, this episode turned her into an even more pathetic, clueless creature than she's sometimes been in the past. She expects House, who she dumped in a very cruel way, to help her in dealing with her mother? And then House, rather than her, is the one to realize that her mother is attempting to get them back together by creating a common enemy? Not only is she hurtful, she's dense, and House is truly better off without her.
17 - Lanne
huddy, huddy, huddy....all about huddy...soap endless,ruining the show I loved.
18 - Jane E
I felt last nights epsiode had some very good story behind it, but yet the Arlene scenairo did leave me disappointed. You could tell that Arlene like House and I felt she would try to get them back together. However, I did not feel that was written correctly. I believe Arlene would be able to get this couple to talk and communicate their feelings. I think the loyal viewers are still owed an explanation over the breakup and we still have not got this.
As for House's character, back to drugs. That was season 3. Since I work for physicians, I cannot see how Cuddy did not ask him to stay with Dr Nolan all along. I don't find these final episodes as good as Season 6, but we shall see.
I think Wilson was the highlight of the night. If only he could be there couples counselor!
19 - Maria
I'm so so tired of the hopelessness, the misery, the pain, the loss, the depression... What circle of hell does David Shore live in?
I'm wondering if the seemingly endless cycle of "no one every changes so House will always be miserable" is why ratings have dropped to their lowest numbers ever during the last several weeks.
I get the message; I'm just not sure I want to watch it anymore.
20 - Joan
Barbara, I totally agree with your view of House as being 'all in' especially when it comes to love, but (tries) to hide his feelings under the brashness, etc. so he is not going to just get over Cuddy quickly and yet, in Changes, we still see that they are avoiding any real issues of the breakup and going with the bottom line that House sees reconciliation as hopeless. Why?
I agree that getting Cuddy was in his mind House's 'lottery' win. I think they both did 'try' to make the relationship work but I disagree that tried their hardest, I think both made some little changes but nothing fundamental and yet it was working surprisingly well (we viewers thought) given all the issues that were to be expected. Then we got the infuriating abrupt breakup where Cuddy decides immediately after surgery that his one drug slip-up means she actually can't deal with him as he is/he has not changed enof for the relationship to work. Cuddy made the decision very abruptly at a vulnerable time. She is sticking to it now tho she regrets it but she has never said or done anything to indicate the door was barred to ever trying again.
What I found most striking is House's reaction --- its like he has been trying to make sure that the breakup is irrevocable and Cuddy will never let him back in; it is not life or 'fate' making it irrevocable -- it is his words and actions (OK, TPTB and the WRITERS!) that have done nothing but push Cuddy further away and are effectively standing in the way of a reconciliation. Since the breakup House has gone on his crazy hotel debauch with the hookers, pulled ridic stunts like the balcony jump and getting a monster truck to drive around in, gone from one slip to taking vicodin openly and been nasty and cruel to Cuddy, shoving it all in her face, above all this quickie marriage to green card girl (who was not mentioned once in Changes I notice)(I don't even understand WHY the writers put this in if they are completely going to ignore it -- it was just a stunt to beat Cuddy up with?? UGH. Sorry) Even worse in a way, since the breakup as someone else noted they have not had one real conversation with any hint of dealing with the issues that either brought them together or drove them apart. Not even a yelling match which might be a precursor to actual honesty. House has been mean and bitter and even when he is being honest, like when he said 'you broke my heart' it was just to poke at Cuddy! We viewers understand they love and miss each other and are miserable but they are not dealing with that at all. Where is the House who would fight for what he wants? Or scheme, manipulate, woo, demand, take action??
Despite TPTB tiresome refrain that no one changes, we all saw House make changes -- he can act/react differently (thank you Nolan), he can get off the drugs, do rehab, get outside his comfort zone and do what he needs to to be with Cuddy (babysitting Rachel, dinner w/mom, attending social events w/Cuddy)etc., but I don't think he gave his ALL to make the relationship work; I think he compromised or gave in where he saw he had to but his comfort zone behaviors stayed much the same. Why not try to show Cuddy by his actions that he can be the man she needs (not the perhaps unrealistic image she still has in her head of the man she wants)?? Go back to rehab, do therapy w/Nolan or someone, etc. Since they still have not had a decent conversation in Changes I was not at all surprised Cuddy told her mom they were not getting back together over her common enemy scheme. I think she rightly needs something more than that. Why not pull one of those Housian moments and give her the big baby blues and actually be honest, show her he can change enof to make a relationship work if she'd work at it too... Bottom line -- if House is 'hopeless' now it is his own fault and his negative thinking at play (WRITERS!). He isn't 13, he has options she never will. He can man up and start making some real changes and win Cuddy back. It is only hopeless if he chooses to see it that way (or writers write it that way I should say, which may be closer to the truth).
21 - Sneaky Microbe
I can't help but feel like something is just very wrong now. Each episode leaves me with a "bad taste" in my brain. I was irritated by the blatant "snark" between House and Cuddy that was thrown at us, like the writers are trying to get back what they once had. Sorry, but I'm afraid that ain't gonna happen.
There was some kind of lightheartedness to this episode, which worries me about what's to come. I also found myself asking "Huh??" after some of the dialogue, especially with Arlene. Found it confusing, not making sense. As always, thanks to Barbara for providing your insight. My "insight light" is quickly fading.
22 - Jacksam4eva
Great review Barbara, one of my favorites. I haven't been commenting for a while because I've been depressed by all the criticism that the show received (I really identified myself to that article that you wrote a while ago wondering why so many great long time viewers had started hating the show). However, overall, I liked the episode, even though I did like the two previous ones better. However, I do have a few quick points to make :
- Wilson's character: Someone said in the comments that Wilson has been less and less present this season, probably due to RSL's broadway ambitions. More than that, I just wish the writers would find out how important they want Wilson to be in the show. For the last few years, he's been on and off, at some point being the most important people on the show (season 6) to having little to no screen time at all this season for example. If I were to look deaper into it, I'd say that TPTB want to show the fluctuations we usually experience in friendship (sometimes you want to escape your friends and yet you tend to always come back to them in a crisi eventually) but I know this is TV and Wilson's current absence is probably just due to RSL other projects. Anyway, I currently do miss Wilson a lot, and it makes me even more sad because I really believe that RSL won't be back next season. House and Wilson are (and have always been) to me, the best friendship on TV and I'm really scared of having to let them go.
- I thought it was interesting that the harshest words House told Cuddy in this episode were said in front of an audience (be his team, Wilson, or anyone else). At first, when he started to say things like in the "relationship with no sex and in which I still have to deal with your mother" and the "I want your underwear" conversations, I thought he wanted to openly hurt her, especially since both times they weren't alone. However, I think this is deeper. I think more than to hurt her he was trying to get some kind of reaction out of her, to see if they could at least have their old banter back. I think he loves her, knows that they haven't had a proper conversation ever since she broke it off and was trying, naively, to see if things could get back to normal. The problem is that when he tried, Cuddy never reacted like she would have. That's why, like someone mentionned it earlier, it wasn't "funny". He asks for her underwear, she says "okay", doesn't fight him. Same thing when tells her in his office that he's not going to the meeting, she drops the matter, doesn't push it, just acts disappointed and says "fine do whatever you want". Even though we learn later that that was her goal all along, I think that confuses House, and makes him realize that no matter how much he tries to go against it, their relationship has changed forever. She's changed her behaviour around him, she avoids confrontation, maybe because of her guilt, maybe because of something else. Just like Wilson said, "he needs you in his life" and he's trying to get her back but she doesn't care or at least want to.
- Arlene's behaving like a kid whose parents are divorcing and I didn't like that at all. This would actually be the only criticism I'd have to make about this episode. They had built her character as a strong, opinionated woman and she decides to become House and Cuddy's common ennemy to get them back together. The fact that Cuddy had to hug her in the end bothered me. It's like a kid watching his parents divorcing and saying "I promise I'll be better and will eat all my vegetables". It's not his fault that his parents are splitting up and yet he tries to do something childish and naive to get them back. Wasn't it obvious that the problem was much deeper than just a usual fight that could be solved by a common ennemy?
- I love the relationship House is building with Thirteen, it feels like she's closer to him than any fellow has ever been. I love Thirteen, I love her character and I love that House is trying all he can to prevent her from becoming like him. She doesn't mind about being hopeless but he doesn't want her to be, tells her she's another "him" trying to point out that even though he understands her reaction, he doesn't wish anyone to feel the way he does. He's being great with her, doing the right thing, and I really like that.
@Lanne #17 : Thank you for that wonderful insight.
23 - The Other Barnett
Barb,
I liked how you weaved the show's plot into the real story...House' happiness and love. Your reference back to 'Help Me' reminded me of how I felt when I first saw that damn kiss at the end of last season. As the screen faded to black, I actually looked at my wife, and exclaimed, "What the hell are they doing to him?"
I think it may have been better for House to see Cuddy marry Lucas. Maybe he'd still be on vicodin now, but he would not have been as emotionally raped as he was by this relationship with Cuddy...and definitely would not have been as destructive in his behavior (as the previews seem to suggest - things may be getting ramped up again). While you do not blame Cuddy, I do. Cuddy entered into a relationship with House with her heart leading and no real regard for House' nature. My wife says this is a very feminine quality, to love a a man so much that you want him perfected, and yet also want him to instinctively know what he needs to change so that the woman does not want to feel like the dictator. If this was the case with Cuddy, she should have known House well enough to put aside her sensitivities and start the renovation, if she desired it. It was this lack of communication on her part that made the first half of the season painful at times to watch and that led House to this point emotionally......lost, but still not hopeless, I think.
What we saw with House at the end of the episode with 13 was not a hopeless man, Barb. I think we saw a man who is experiencing a clueless psychic pain over the notion that there is nothing he could do right (in his eyes) to make the relationship work for Cuddy. Hopeless implies knowing what would work and seeing no chance to achieve it. Lost....that is the term.....
I needed a half-day to get some perspective on the episode's theme....change. We are who we are...but as House referenced, we know not what we may become. Sure, Foreman may be easily irritated and angered (lovely subplot, by the way), Chase may be unable to turn away the skirts, 13 is peaved about dying alone, etc. But, I like to think (and hope the writers are considering this despite Shore's dreary outlook on life) that each of these people (along with Cuddy, Wilson and Taub) can re-focus. We have seen House re-focus to some extent dozens of times. If House can, why not the others. Is it that House's nature has poisoned the whole environment of PPH (thus the escape of Masters), even though he continues to try to evolve?
Would it not be a wonderful thing, Barb, to see Dr. Nolan come in and do an across the board review of the diagnostics unit? I'm not saying some staff retreat here...I'm talking about the same kind of review of the staff that the military used to do of high-performing bomber units in WW II. The whole unit (from the commander down to the mechanics) would go through interviews and file reviews to determine at what level is the breaking point. It would make for good television and allow for the writers to focus on character development and not as much on the story - where they sometimes just stumble horribly.
24 - Jessica aka JLCH
There were some depressing undertones to this episode. It was kind of sad. I saw a lot of parallels between House and the POTW. Both constantly searching for what makes them happy, what completes them, yet really it's right under their nose. When the POTW was reminded at the beginning that he keeps digging in the past to find happiness, meanwhile there's a whole world out there that can give him pleasure. Same thing applies to House, he's so miserable mostly having to do with this past, he can't let go and misses out on what's right under his nose, mostly a life with the one woman he loves more than anyone or anything.
I don't think House has lost all hope, at least not yet. He's hurting, as his Cuddy but even though he told Arlene he and Cuddy weren't getting back together, I don't think he believes it, not really. I do think he and Cuddy are scared to death of having "the conversation" about where to go from here because they still love each other and I don't think they really want to let go. They think they can but they can't. Facing each other would mean one of two things can happen: either they split permanently and accept it (which neither can do, not in their hearts) or they get back together and make it work (which scares them because they know how it feels to break up). So as long as they don't have to deal with it, everything is ok the way it is, even if it sucks. I do think what Wilson told House about keeping the negative banter alive because without it there would be nothing between he and Cuddy at all, was right on. He doesn't just love her and need her in a romantic way, he needs her in his life period.
Seems to me a door is being left open for them. House doesn't deny to Wilson that he still loves Cuddy though he deflects by saying that he's happier without her and better off alone which we all know is a lie. Cuddy's mother pretty much told House and Cuddy what everyone else already knows--nobody else can put up with them, which is true. I mean let's face it, TPTB have created two very dysfunctional characters. And for these two what they had together was still a thousand times better than what they have now apart. They're never going to find what they had together with anyone else. Cuddy doesn't deny in coma guy's room that she still cares about House when pointed out by Wilson. And Cuddy tells her mom in so many words it would take more than a "common enemy" to get her and House together. Add to that Arlene telling her daughter she is an idiot with impossible standards and the fact that when Cuddy turned around after hugging her mother, hoping that what just transpired may give some closure to her and House, he was gone, meaning there is no closure, things aren't finished yet. I don't think things can ever really be finished between them.
I enjoyed a few good lines between them, I loved the interaction between House-Cuddy-Wilson-Arlene. But...something is missing between House and Cuddy and that's the fun, sexy, flirtatious, witty banter they used to share. Now, it's just bitter. This isn't the same House and Cuddy I remember from prior seasons. Heck it's not even who I remember early on this season. The banter between House and Cuddy has lost its edge and that sucks. One of the great things about these two is how they need each other. Cuddy needs House to push her and challenge her to be not just a great administrator but a great doctor. He makes her better and makes her stronger and tougher which a woman like Cuddy needs to be. In turn, Cuddy gives House boundaries, she's been able to take his crap and push back, restrain him, reign him in. They used to be SO GOOD AT THIS and they both knew it. Now? It's gone. In order for the series to survive another season they need to get this back. We can't go through another season of bitterness and tension, not like this, no way.
The episode was about changes but I didn't see much in regards to change, in fact what I saw was very much of the same. In the end, Foreman and Chase didn't change, Thirteen has resigned herself to a life of misery while awaiting her impending death, House is still miserable, as is Cuddy, and Arlene is still shifty as hell. The POTW was able to move on with his life when the great love of his life returned at the end. Is that change? Well, instead of finding someone new, he was adamant about a relationship with the old flame, which was rekindled. Maybe it wasn't really change at all.
Change is hard. We are who we are, just like Thirteen told House. But that doesn't mean a person can't be happy. House is who he is because of the experiences he's had in his life, but it doesn't mean he has to be miserable. Cuddy clearly made him happy--at least the House version of happy. And while Cuddy can't change either, or it so appears, House made her happy, at least however she defines it. Change is different for everyone. The changes these two have to make in order to be together are alleged to be BIG changes, but is this really the case? Do these two have to make monumental changes in their lives to just enjoy what they give each other? I know Cuddy had told House early on she didn't want him to change, but maybe she wanted him to want to change once he realized how happy he was with her. It's not that he didn't want to change, he was afraid. He could have really used her by his side to help him through that. And Cuddy, well she is afraid to let her guard down and just be in love, let someone else take control for awhile, making her also afraid. But she could have let House be there for her to help her get through that. It doesn't have to be painful, not at all. But these two are so screwed up they can't see it.
It will never be over for House and Cuddy, unless one of them dies. We can thank TPTB for that and I think that's a good thing. TPTB have given us many years of wonderful House and Cuddy that we have come to love them. We love their more than 20 year history and all they have shared during that time. We think about people in our own lives who we known that long and wonder what life would be like without them. That history between House and Cuddy is the basis for a deep emotional attachment that can't be broken, not even by all they have been through recently.
As to the next episode, I don't know what to think about the 7x21 promo because that looks like Meth or Heroin (not having seen either maybe someone can clear that up?) and if this isn't a case of a misleading promo that has nothing to do with House taking street drugs and if it has nothing to do with him once again using himself as a guinea pig in an effort to diagnose the POTW, then I'm going to be angry. Why? Isn't it enough that TPTB threw House back on Vicodin because it's easy to write since we've been through it before, but throwing him on street drugs? Now they can argue that House is so depressed, so miserable and sad that he has lost all hope and doesn't want to live anymore....then this might as well be the end for House. Wasn't hitting rock bottom after losing two colleagues and his father, plus the DBS which caused a brain injury in trying to save Amber, in addition to an overload of the no longer effective Vicoding, all of which sent him to Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital enough?
Good grief. At what point does House get a break?
If TPTB are trying to show us that people can hit rock bottom, hey we get that. If they want to show us that people have a real hard time changing, we get that too. We also get that our experiences make us who we are and that some things, like genetic makeup, make it hard to change. Yes, we are ALL dysfunctional, so we can relate to House. The thing is that this isn't what we want. Oh we don't mind House facing challenges and being a misanthropic, sarcastic, rude pain in the ass but seriously he deserves better than this as do his partners in crime Cuddy and Wilson, who are in my opinion highly underutilized. And not only do our favorite characters deserve BETTER than this but so do the magnificent actors who portray them, and the people who work behind the scenes to make this show great, and ultimately the loyal fans who keep coming back for more week after week despite the lack of continuity in characters and sometimes lack of a compelling storyline. The [H]ouse we know and love, which is still one of the most watched television programs in the world, should be nothing short of brilliant every single week.
Once again though kudos to Hugh, Lisa and Bob for giving us more fine performances!
One more thing...
I am hoping like hell that TPTB are fooling us and plan to give us a spectacular finale which explains everything we've seen these past couple of months, does us proud and proves us wrong in our assumptions!
25 - Reality Check
Once a Huddy Fangirl.... Sheesh!
Why would House want to be with a nagging, demanding, emasculating bitch who keeps his balls locked away in her Hope Chest?
Likewise, why would Cuddy want to be with a man who is self-involved, self-centered, disrespectful and weak?
You can't tell me you like what these two people have evolved into, or the train wreck this show has become these past 2 years.
The PTB do NOT know how to write relationships and they most certainly do NOT know how to write for women, especially the women (Hess, et. al.).
Jessica, you make an excellent point: kill off one of them and MOVE ON!