House and Cuddy are finally together after six seasons. Will it work?
There is moment in the season two episode “Need to Know” crucial to understanding the inner workings of Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie). After pursuing Stacy (Sela Ward) for months, he has finally won her back from her husband Mark. She’s prepared to leave him and make her life with House. But House has second thoughts, not about his love for her, but about his own ability to be functional in a long-term serious relationship—which is the only sort of relationship House seems able to desire (beyond the basic necessity of hookers). …
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76 - Delia_Beatrice
@Greenhouse (#45), Sera G (#51), Rebecca (#57) and Simona (#61): thank you so, so, so, so, so, so, so much for your appreciation. I can obviously return the compliment. I loved your comments on this episode, as I generally do, and I think all of the comments, but yours and Flo’s and Orange 450’s especially, led me to a little something. Here it is:
I did this little experiment tonight: I re-watched the premiere (for the 6th time) and I focused exclusively on House. The interesting thing is, his facial expression has always bore a shadow of concern and tension. Yes, there are moments when he smiles or laughs or fixates Cuddy with intense tenderness, but his face and eyes don’t really express relaxation or happiness, but mainly concern.
I think the explanation lies in the first minute of the episode, after Cuddy leaves the room to get water, thus breaking away from their handhold, House is looking at and touching his own hand - in disbelief and awe.
I think disbelief is what marked him for the entire experience. He keeps her under lock and key in their little world, trying to make it last longer by sweeping her away to France immediately. But most of all, he fears that what he is experiencing is not real-real and will disappear as the bubble breaks.
The fear explodes as she approaches the front door. He expresses it openly and desperately. The one thing he overstresses is that she might only be there because she thinks he can change. His greatest fear is that his “one stupid moment with a dying girl and a pile of rubble” has convinced the emotional Cuddy (bath scene) to make an impulsive decision (bath scene), based entirely on her hope that he can change. Which, interestingly enough, he can - and has, a lot, during the past year. So?...
I think that what we got there was House in his emotional nakedness, fully in character. We know that House always presents himself in the worst possible light, always in the least flattering perspective, so that he can be sure that the love and loyalty he might get are completely true and that the people who do stick by him do so in full awareness of his flaws and the love he does receive is as unconditional as possible. In his sub- and unconscious search for healing of his inner wounds, House forces himself not to accept anything less than what he instinctively knows he needs: unconditional love that can validate his existence (as opposed to his self worth issues) and that can finally help him to give himself the permission to live and be happy.
It is the reason for which he pushed Stacy away in “Need to Know”: he knew she would only love him if he changed. The reason why he never really acted on his attraction to Cameron: during their date, he clearly spells out to her that her interest in him is motivated by her wanting to heal him. “Wanting to heal” means wanting to change, and that is something he just cannot accept.
So during “Now What”, he lived the bliss of all his dreams coming true and the nightmare of maybe his greatest fear: allowing himself to experience happiness that is not real (happened to him in the end of season 5, with devastating effects). He confronted Cuddy on it with desperation and imploration in his voice and eyes:
- He presented himself in the worst possible light (he is the man who had done and will do “horrible things” to her, an “insane choice for someone who has a child”)
- He spelled out to her that her only motivation might have been her hope that he can change - of which she got an inkling during the “stupid moment with the dying girl”, a moment of such incredible truth and intensity, that he now mocks and belittles on purpose.
- He claimed that he has not changed and cannot ever change - he is lying or just simply loathing himself, “valuing his failures more than his successes” (Nolan, in “Broken”), after an amazing year in which we all watched and applauded his efforts to change and the impressive progress he has made.
He throws all of it in her face and waits for the verdict.
And only after Cuddy, clearly in shock (because she hadn’t felt any of it, she had simply been a woman in love fully experiencing the joy of finally being with the love of her life), gives him the perfect answer, he can let go of the disbelief and fear. He can even utter the words now, the words that seal the deal and make him as open, vulnerable and committed as possible. Obviously, he had avoided anything that would have made the experience even more unbearably real than it already was. He was guarded, even in his most emotional moments. He didn’t tell her he loved her, he didn’t really consider the idea of going public. Cuddy was right - he wasn’t ready, but for other reasons than she thought. He wasn’t ready because he feared it wasn’t real, it wasn;t dependable, it wasn;t there to stay. So what was the point of making plans with long term impact and putting his heart out there even more than it implicitly was?...
His playfulness, his ease, his comfortable behavior, his joy - they were all just him playing along, allowing himself to feel the magic, but fighting hard to keep aware of the dangers. The ultimately true moment, in which we catch the image of what House is really feeling, deep down, is the “I love you” scene. He finally believes it, he can finally let himself go. And what we see is not ease or playfulness. His face is hard, immobile, concentrated, his eyes full of tears, the grip on her hand dramatic. When he finally allows himself to believe that it’s real, what he feels is that his life depends on it. Which is, of course, true.
77 - Delia_Beatrice
@Ruthinor (#74): your question is very interesting, i had spent a great deal of time considering it myself. Please forgive me, i will not answer it here, because there is too much to say...
I made a very, very, very detailed analyses on Cuddy in season 6 and her decision in "Help Me" in May and i had posted it as a comment to Barbara's interview with the finale's writers.
If you'd like to read it, it's here.
(comment #42). I hope you'll find it interesting, i really focused on the Cuddy issue at that time, because i was pissed at the viewers who were claiming that her actions and words in the final minutes of "Help Me" were "unexpected" and "forced". I fully, fully disagree, obviously.
78 - ruthinor
D_B, I did read it and I think we agree at least in part! You just don't suddenly change your life completely after only one night under a pile of rubble. That was only one factor. It's like WW1. The causes are always described as both immediate (killing the archduke) and underlying (all the factors that led to disputes between the countries involved). The events in Help Me were the immediate cause. But there were already several underlying causes at work.
79 - simona
@hwl40 #72
Do you know that I didn't remember the reference in Baggage???!!! so amazing... Probably my conscious side didn't remember it but certainly my unconscious did. For me this is further evidence that House speaks on many levels and that it needs to be understood during a long process of assimilation. Perhaps we all, House's addicted, need a digestive system similar to that of ruminants.... or we already have it and dont know yet :-)
@Delia_Beatrice #76
you're welcome :-)
"He throws all of it in her face and waits for the verdict" is so beautiful housian.
And he always knows when she is lying.
I think one of the scenes I most appreciated is near the final, while Cuddy is going away and she realizes that House is dismayed, frightened, tormented, doubting, puzzled and in need of reassurance. And she understand all this emotions with her heart. In a little scene the writers (and obviously HL and LE) have been able to make it clear, and very gently, that kind of deep emotional connection between these two human beings.
Perhaps that's why the promos, so focused on sex, have disturbed me. Because they didn't correspond to the profound truth of this episode. Sex has been just a "vehicle", a tool to further test the undeniable complementarity between them.
I think this season could be unforgettable...
80 - Delia_Beatrice
POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT (please forgive me, those of you who hate the very word) - it's only a very general question, no specifics, but still...:
@Barbara: will you be posting a preview to "Selfish"?
Based on the promos and sneak peaks, i had a disturbing feeling, that Cuddy's wonderful confidence and sweetness will fade under the burden of the personal/professional dichotomy.
Could you please give one tiny hint, as to whether we will still get to see the lovely, strong, understanding and generous woman in love we saw in "Now What"?
Thank you very much:)
81 - hwl40
Barbara, would you consider writing an article about the references in House and how they add to the story? For example, the Bergman that resonated with Simona even though she wasn't aware, Nolan's reference to House "skulking around like some manipulative Iago", the little piano piece that Lydia played in "Broken" entitled "Strange Lands and Foreign People" and written by the institutionalized Schumann, Room 12B from Sat Night Live, the Wilson comment "Godot would be faster" in a long ago episode when House and team were waiting for something, and many more that others caught and passed me by.
I don't think these references are random and, if we catch them, add to our understanding of what the writers are telling us, much like the Yiddish references which I loved once you explained them. I miss probably most of this stuff and would love to read how you think they play in. Anyway, just a thought.
82 - barbara barnett
Delia_B--I'm thinking about doing a preview of "Selfish," but a short one, on Sunday.
It's a super episode, back to basics--medical case, life and death decisions and all for everyone--but also very much how that all fits in with House and Cuddy.
83 - Michele1L
ruthinor#74 - In the episode "Humpty Dumpty", House told Cuddy, "you need for everything to be perfect, which means two things; one, you're a good boss, and two, you will never be happy". I think Cuddy's involvement with Lucas was an attempt to create a "perfect" environment for her daughter, Rachel -- a family unit. While Lucas was far from perfect and not always there when she arrived home at night, he did accept Cuddy's role as a mom, which we all know House's fought over this tooth-and-nail with her. Naturally, she could never be happy with Lucas while knowing she was in love with House, but she had to exhaust that possibility. I don't believe she ever truly bought into that relationship because I believe in her mind it has always been House for her. She never "changed" her mind in my view because her mind had already been made up. She was simply fighting it, just as Delia_Beatrice mentioned.
There were several episodes where it was clear to me she was contemplating resigning herself to the inevitable; the episode you mentioned about her telling Wilson to 'go for it' in his desire to pursue a relationship with his ex-wife -- I think Cuddy was regreting having not given House a shot -- even in the episode where he purchased the cappuccino machine for her, there was a look on her face after he left her office that made me optomistic. -- Then, of course, in "The Choice" when after refusing her dinner invite, for the first time House revealed candidly, while looking her in the eyes, (friends)"is the last thing I want us to be". The simple fact that she extended that dinner invitation to him at all suggested to me that she really wanted them to be more than friends. She had intimated that in the 2nd episode of season 6 after House had resigned from the hospital when she went to his condo and asked, with a lovely vulnerability, "what am I to you?" (Of course House, at that time, blew his opportunity to take their relationship to another level by simply saying, "you're not the reason I left" (the hospital). Their friendship never really stopped, which was evident in "5-9". And of course, Cuddy was so thrilled to announce she was going to marry Lucas and really looked like a woman in love. (NOT)
Due to my interpretations of these scenes here and there, when Cuddy finally admitted to loving him, my response was , "it's about time!" -- It hardly came out of left field for me.
84 - Delia_Beatrice
@Barbara: thank you for your response. I cannot wait for the preview, however short. The episode looks thrilling, and as David Shore already mentioned, apparently House and Cuddy don't get much tranquility to settle in this new situation. I am sure they can manage, though...
PS: it's just insane, how badly i wish them well... To know that they are extraordinary together and perfect for each other is one thing. To actually see it, like we have in "Now What", brings things to a whole different level - i can no longer imagine a universe in which they would be apart.
@Michele1L: yes, yes, yes and yes. So right you are!
I also think that Lucas represented the illusion of normality, that she thought she wanted, and she needed to get out of her system. Cuddy is a tormented character herself. She is as passionate about her job as House is, and just like him, she fails to find ultimate meaning and satisfaction in it, despite her exquisite results ("what you've accomplished makes you proud, but you are still miserable"). She is as true to herself and her beliefs as he is and she fights for what she thinks is right, just like he does. And she used to be as helpless in regard to her personal life as he was, lonely and incapable to find the answer to the "what's missing?" question.
She had exhausted the dating game, it did nothing for her. She thought that a child could fill the void, but it did not, even if she does love Rachel. And then she thought that playing along with the illusion of normality, trying for a somewhat conventional relationship with Lucas would bring her peace and fulfillment. Obviously, it did not.
I completely and totally agree to your chronology of the "season 6 hints". It's the same one i had in mind, when i tried to understand Cuddy's perspective in season 6.
I would also add the look on her face in the end of "Ignorance Is Bliss", after Lucas wonders whether House is all that bad after all. Also, her spontaneous, unguarded response to House in "Known Unknowns", when they start dancing - the joy of being with him is sparkling out of her, until she catches hold of herself. Later on, in "K.U.", her look of utter guilt and regret. And little things, like in "Ignorance", she is looking at the clock at Thanksgiving dinner, thinking about House and feeling bad. Or in "Teamwork", ranting to Lucas about how worried she was about House. Or in "Moving The Chains", as Lucas was giving one of his insufferable speeches about his doubts in regard to House, Cuddy shut him up with a kiss that was perfectly hypocritical and condescending.
And the little hint of the body language in her entire history with Lucas, which spoke of love and passion and desire and intimacy and chemistry and pleasure and joy and ease and comfort. (NOT) - ha ha ha, Michele:).
Which kinda brings me back to the glow on her face in "Now What"... I have never seen so much love pouring out of a woman's every pore... She was beautiful beyond beauty, lovely beyond words and i will just leave out the "natural" part, because i try hard to think of another on screen couple that shines like them, in that continuous flow of love and joy and chemistry, and i just can't.
85 - Greenhouse
@LizzieE (#70)
" I know I found the editing problematic and very choppy - maybe illustrating D. Shore's comment that they have not done an episode like this before. It almost seemed as if there was an episode checklist where scenes were rewritten and reshot to illustrate a certain point and then spliced together - they knew where they wanted to go but were unsure how to get there (too many cooks?)."
I agree. And maybe the answer is in the Fox site recap (http://www.fox.com/house/recaps/season-7/episode-1.htm#).
"It's Chase: the assistant has called the Department of Public Health to report the hospital's lack of a neurosurgeon. "When DPH shows up, they're going to shut down our E.R. This can't be fixed. It is what it is, House." House remains unconcerned. Cuddy's anxiety wins out, and she tells House that she's going to get changed and go to work. He can't persuade her to stay, but mysteriously a fuse has gone missing from her car. "Are you afraid this will end as soon as I walk out that door?," she asks. "Are you afraid everything will go wrong if you stay?," House asks. He hands over the fuse, and Cuddy says she'll stay."
Apparently, they rewrote several times the premiere and chopped off scenes. I imagine it must be very hard to stay in the 42 minutes time frame and you have to make sacrifices... (like the Harry Potter movies...)
@D_B (#30) : nice catch for the ring-finger in the bath!
@ruthinor (#74): I get the Bar Mitzah = 13 thing. But I don't get the "Ephraim" on the cake... Or maybe it's just a private joke (it's one of David Shore's Brother said Barbara)?
@ruthinor (#74) and Michele1L (#83) : I totally agree with you that Lucas's proposal was the real deal-breaker here. It was obvious she was uncomfortable during season 6 and all her conversations with Lucas were about House. I thought it was quite obvious she was pining for him. If she took the big leap with another person, then she would never know "if you[House] and I[Cuddy] can work".
"And of course, Cuddy was so thrilled to announce she was going to marry Lucas and really looked like a woman in love. (NOT)" => LOL and so true!
We've never seen Cuddy smile so much as in the episode (and in the previews for the next!)
@D_B (#84) : "i can no longer imagine a universe in which they would be apart."
I'm with you on that. They seem so comfortable with each other, they know each other so well...I do hope they don't break them up.
86 - Delia_Beatrice
@Greenhouse (#85):
- the editing issue was also obvious from the differences between the promos and actual episode. I don't mean the sex scenes - part of them were obviously too daring to air at 8 pm, so they were shot exclusively for the promos and, maybe (luckily:))), the DVD.
I mean that there are differences between other scenes, like the champagne scene and the cuddling scenes in bed, and there were promotional pictures released that were missing from the episode.
It's understandable. They worked hard to fit the essence of such a grand romance into about 20 minutes or so of the episode, so it makes sense they struggled with it.
However, i am not unsatisfied with the result. The slow pace of the episode is somehow distracting, as is the unusual format. And the difference of tone and nuance between the comic scenes with the team and the emotionally loaded, very sweet and intimate scenes with House and Cuddy can be felt as a disruption.
I still think they made great choices. The scenes they picked portrayed the essence of Huddy at its best: the deep communication and mutual knowledge, the tenderness and generosity, the gentle approach to a slightly scary new beginning, the joy of being together, the tension of House's doubts and disbelief, and the unimaginable chemistry that fills every scene with tons of magic.
- In regard to a Huddyless universe: glad to see we share that boat:) I am at a point right now, where i cannot imagine who would want or could see them apart. I know that there is a guerilla war between "House" fans over this, but after seeing them in the premiere, i cannot help but think: if love and chemistry of those insane proportions don't conquer the world, then there is something wrong with the world...
87 - Flo
I'd like to know, why House's phone rang after the champagne scene since it was on silence before (ie the breakfast scene). Doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe the answer is in one of the scenes that were cut.
Like Delia I'm not unsatisfied with the result. The episode was a good one IMO. 42 minutes heh!
88 - barbara barnett
Flo--House remarks to Cuddy aghast: why did you put my ringer back on? She actually unsilenced his phone.
I'm aware there were rewrites throughout the script, but the result was great. There have been rewrites in lots of the scripts (even 11th hour rewrites). Parts of DNR, for example, never appear in the final episode (sadly). Honeymoon's end was revamped, and that's only season one. What matters is what's on screen, and I think they really nailed it IMHO.
I've posted a preview to "Selfish" BTW. Check the BC front page for the link :)
89 - Delia_Beatrice
@Barbara: I jumped on the preview as soon as i saw it, earlier today:) Thank you very much, i am literally breathlessly waiting for it - actually, for every episode this season, apparently:)
I would give my right hand to see a full DVD collection of "House", when the show is over, that has every scene that was ever cut from the show in the "extras" department.
I remember that one of the early promos for the season 7 premiere had Wilson's voice on House's answering machine, saying: "where are you? You haven't answered my calls all weekend. I have come by your place and you seem to have redecorated your bathroom with a sledge hammer".
Also, there was an interview of Katie Jacobs, saying that House and Cuddy take off on a roadtrip for the premiere (that was supposedly called "Thunder Roadtrip"), that bares a secret significance for them.
It makes me wonder about the beach pics. I wonder if it was all a decoy (them going out there to film an imaginary scene, the fake promo with Wilson, fake interviews and fake spoilers) - GY tweeted that they were determined not to let the real script leak in any way, so they came up with a version designed to fool us.
But perhaps that was the initial plan (it would give an extra reason for Doris Egan to write the premiere, she is the ultimate roadtrip writer) and then it changed and they decided upon their intimate lockdown at House's place?...
Also, many people have said that the beach scene, the motorcycle trip, the scenes filmed outside the Redondo Beach Club will be a part of a later episode this season - and that indeed there was a decoy intended to keep fans away from the real script, but that storyline is not imaginary and it will air at a further time.
Confusing, huh?...
PS: my dear Barbara, have you heard anything about the air dates this season? I am very, very worried that a great season would be ruined, again, because of 8 weeks long breaks and a completely discontinued schedule...
90 - Jackie
October seems to be pretty much intact regarding the airing of the episodes. There are at least 3 consecutive October shows - on October 4th, 11th and 18th. The episode on the 4th has Amy Irving as the patient of the week and the one that airs on the 18th has Jennifer Grey. Not sure what will happen on the 25th - my guess is that there may not be an episode that week -because it's World Series time again and Fox has the WS (but not the league championship division series).
Barbara - your review of this episode was terrific as always. Thank you for your preview of "Selfish" as well.
The "Now What" episode had a lot of similar dialogue towards the end that waa reminiscent of House and Stacy in "Need to Know" - from the reasoning on his part that this relationship won't work, that he will revert to doing horrible things again (or as he said to Stacy, "It's House being House" and at some point that she would need more...something that he couldn't give her. When Cuddy said that, "He was the incredible man she's ever known" and followed that up by a will ever know - I saw a flashback to Stacy and House in "Honeymoon" - with her comment to him that, "You're the one. You always will be."
When Cuddy started to get up from the couch near the end, she took House's hand and he gripped it. He said his, "I love you," to her and the Joe Purdy "Good Days" song started to play. It is a moment and a melody that has stayed with me. I read the lyrics to the entire song and it was very apropos to this particular episode and what the future might hold.
I am so looking forward to this season. Hugh Laurie was on the Tavis Smiley program last night and he said that this was a direction that the show chose to go in regarding this relationship and they all know it is a gamble - some will like it, some won't but the show is more than a medical show. It has character development and in order to see this it was a necessary move.
91 - TVTherapy
Barbara,
I don't have too much more to add. I hope you took a look at my review as well. What really struck me about this whole episode was just how right the level of intimacy was. After I first watched it, I admit I was a little worried that some of the snap and crackle of House and Cuddy's relationship would be hung out to dry, but I have confidence in the writers to keep a good thing going.
What I do worry about is the ratings and I hope that the show can keep them up. Regardless of how happy I am with the direction of the show, putting House and Cuddy together is a divisive move and will leave some fans ignoring the new episodes and just watching reruns on Bravo and USA.
I think that the people that comment on your column are all fairly like-minded. We view the show in very similar ways and that's due to all of us being highly attuned to House's behavior and nuances from day one.
I couldn't believe another reviewer's opinion that said that House and Cuddy's romance came out of nowhere. I feel like some viewers just aren't like us. They catch a few reruns and think they've got a handle on the show. This is the price House pays for being a procedural. It's a trade off. It's great because a lot of people have grown to love it and jump on the bandwagon late in the game.
But I wonder if everyone realizes quite how smart the show is? I know everyone here does, but I wonder if all the people that review the show have actually stayed with it the whole time it has been on.
I'm excited about the direction and am really curious about how exactly House and Cuddy are going to be split up by the writers. Everyone involved in the show has alluded to their relationship's inevitable failure, but I just can't picture what the deal breaker would be.
I know House could attempt to self-sabotage a thousand different ways, but Cuddy knows how he is. I would think she's well prepared for most things he'd throw at her.
Anyway, just food for thought.
Loved everyone's comments. Especially about the doors. I would have written about that in my review if I had the word space. :)
-Lisa
92 - MamaShante
I am so pleased to have found this place. What an extraordinary place place to come to and discuss House.
What do you guys think about Cuddy taking the vidicon away without confronting House about it??
93 - MamaShante
Wow. Sorry for the multiple typos above. I Blame the iPhone.
94 - Delia_Beatrice
@TVTherapy: we obviously agree on most things (glad about that:), so i'll jump straight to the question you posted in the end. Why do you assume they will split up?
I don't. I have said this so many times, i honestly think that the inner coherence of the show and the psychological continuity of the characters demand that they stay together - through thick and thin, and with many bumps along the road, but nevertheless - they cannot live without one another.
In regard to the interviews that actors and producers give about the future of Huddy, i didn't expect anything else. Since Huddy is now the main theme of the show, they can't really be open about the ultimate evolution of it, can they?... It's like spoiling the final minute of the final episode of the series... They will keep beating around the bush, going with general lines about how screwed up House is and how the show is not about happiness... Which, by the way, we don't expect or wish - but it doesn't mean that it can't show the authentic, lucid and veridical evolution of the deep, beautiful connection between two screwed up, complicated characters.
Another reason to go with the "House is screwed up and Huddy is doomed" approach is not to piss off the Huddy-hating fandom even more. If everybody went on along the line of "they will be together forever", then the interest and passion of Huddy fans would maybe diminish (or not?:)))), and the hatred in the anti-Huddy faction would increase.
I really, generally don't believe what they say in "spoilerish" interviews. "House" has always been about keeping the mystery and the secrecy about major plot twists, so to say that they will break up for sure sounds really phony to begin with. It's too revealing to actually be telling the truth.
Also, the only one who has usually been pretty accurate and honest in his interviews is David Shore. Lisa, Hugh and Katie Jacobs have been lying through their teeth for the longest time. Just read and listen to the interviews Lisa and Katie gave before "Help Me" aired... They seem hilarious now, the way they were not just avoiding the answer, but just plainly lying.
So i wouldn't exactly count on things being as they sound from the interviews. And to really, really answer your question: i cannot imagine a deal breaker. Absolutely cannot imagine anything that would break them up, no matter how complicated things get and how hard it is for them to find some sort of peace and happiness.
95 - Delia_Beatrice
@TVTherapy:
PS: actually, there is a deal breaker that i can think of, but it makes me shiver and i really doubt they would go there.
If House is really damaged beyond the
possibility of any healing, if he really can't experience any real happiness, then he might be the one to demand the break up, as a final self-sacrificing act.
But that means that he would be heading for complete distruction. Mental illness, severe drug addiction or suicide... And apart from the fact that this would ruin MY life and make ME suicidal, i really doubt that TPTB created this amazing character for the sole purpose of crashing him completely in the end. It would be like killing off Harry Potter - really bad for business...
96 - Delia_Beatrice
@Jackie: thank you for the schedule info. That sounds really amazing, you made me very happy:) I really hope that this season we face breaks no longer than 2 weeks - longer than that, it is a huge challenge to keep people in tune with the continuity of the stories. Last year, i have "House"-watching friends (not lunatic fans like myself) who simply couldn't keep track of the schedule and they were missing the episodes, because they just assumed it wouldn't be on "this Monday either".
I also watched Sir Hugh's interview with Tavis Smiley. I enjoyed it greatly, he was as amazing as always. I particularly loved the approach he had on Huddy. It is EXACTLY what we all have been saying here for the longest time (do you guys reckon Sir Hugh reads Barbara's reviews and our comments?:))). Procedural show versus character drama is something that was never a dilemma for any of us, but we were all aware that some viewers simply don't go as deep as we like to, in understanding the show.
However, Hugh's approach was beautiful and very correct. Describing it as a "gamble" and defending the storyline like he did... He seemed very warm about it, they all obviously "lobe" Huddy.
97 - barbara barnett
So many comments to reply to. So sorry I've been scarce since Monday (I've been reading, but with little time to write comments). The holidays are nearly at an end (phew).
TVTherapy, I always enjoy your reviews, and this week's is no exception. I do think this is a pretty insightful, albeit likeminded, group who reads my column. No question. But I've been talking to a lot of casual viewers over the last couple of weeks as I've been around (my) town talking up the book (and the show). People really liked the premiere. A perfect example is a person I know--a good acquaintance (a man). He has been soured on the show for a couple of seasons and on my urging watched it. He phoned me the moment after he watched only to tell me how much he loved the episode--this was the character he really gelled with and where had he been fro the last year! Interesting. I've talked to men and women who watch the show for different reasons. And, uniformly, they loved the premiere and can't wait to see where it goes.
I see the H-C pairing with the potential of a Joyce Davenport-Frank Furillo pairing (from ye olde Hill Street Blues). Tangy, sexy, smart and contentious. It was never THE focus of the show, but an important thread. Back into the fabric of the series to give it tone and substance, but not necessarily to overtly change the texture or fabric. (I'm terrible at metaphors)
98 - Janine
@Jackie
If you look on Wikipedia they have a list of teh first 8 or so episodes with airdates and there only appears to be one skipped week in the first eight, most likely due to baseball. Of course this is subject to change, but at least as of yet there are no long breaks planned. Unfortunately though there are only 22 episodes again this season, but hopefully they will negotiate teh breaks better (unlike last year where it came back for two episodes then took another month long break) I would almost rather have one super long two month break than several two or three week breaks.
@TVTherapy
I understand your worry about teh ratings, but the season premier (although nay sayers like to emphizie that it is down 6 million from last seasons premier) actually has the same number of viewers as teh finale, so no viewers have been lost. Also for every person I know who hated the premier and decided to quit, I found a person who liked the idea and decided to start watching again. So even if the ratings don't go up they should remain consistant. Also, there are show with much lower ratings that stay on the air, and House is still the number one drama of the night.
99 - Janine
in regards to breaks, i just found this on House daily dose
According to Ausiello, from the beginning of Nov, to the end of January, we get ONLY ONE EPISODE #8! :(
That sucks, but at least its a long break insted of a bunch of short ones.
100 - Sera G
Hello, Barbara and all.
Delia-Beatrice, thank you, thank you. We are all predicting doom and gloom for House and Cuddy. I won't let my mind go there. I agree with Barbara, they have the potential to be Frank and Joyce; a couple whose love and fidelity were crucial underpinnings to the show, but not the focus of the show itself. At the end of the day, Frank and Joyce would provide comfort, playfulness and emotional support. I loved them as a couple and see the same for House and Cuddy.
I agree, if House and Cuddy broke up, it would be devastating. He has allowed himself to trust and give his heart again. He would not survive the loss. Also, I think it would demean the six years building to this point.
I don't want to know what is ahead, but I have faith that David Shore, Katie Jacobs and team will treat this with great care.
101 - TVTherapy
@Delia_Beatrice You're right! I based my assumption of their future breakup on two things: one being that anyone interviewed about the show spoke about its demise and two, that nearly every couple that has ever gotten together after a long period of unresolved sexual tension seems to inevitably be broken up by some reason or another.
So, if you're right, and they do stay together and the show works, I'm all for it. I think they make a smart, sexy couple.
I hope that they don't break up period, but especially for the second reason you spoke about. That would be a devastating end to a long journey, and one that would thoroughly depress me.
@Barbara I'm glad to hear that you read my review and enjoyed it. Of course the feeling is mutual, but I'm even happier to hear that the people that you're talking to enjoyed the opener. I'm even more curious what people will think about "Selfish."
@Janine That's comforting news. I hope it goes up even more. I wonder what's going to happen if/when Lone Star is canceled. What will go in that time slot?
102 - Greenhouse
After reading all your comments, I decided to watch "Need to Know" again.
It was really weird to see how exactly identic the two conversations are (the one with Stacy in Need to know, and the one with Cuddy at the end of Now what?). The same "I'm a jerk, I won't change." and the same response "I don't want you to change" from the two women.
Still, he decided to end it with Stacy, whereas he decided to give it a go with Cuddy. The only difference between the 2 is that Cuddy broke off the engagement before talking to House, and House has had therapy in the meantime, and the realisation that he wants to be happy.
I was wondering if the fact that Cuddy broke it off before going to him, unlike Stacy, influenced House.
Wilson says he broke it off with Stacy because he rather be miserable.
Will that be the deal breaker? He thinks happiness affects his intellect and he rather be smart than happy. (Just like the episode where he takes methadone.) As we haven't seen them in the workspace yet, it's hard to tell...
A week has gone by since the premiere and I've come back to my sense. I can see House ending the relationship in a few months because he can't work correctly which will bring us back to a season 1 House. But what would be the point?
103 - Delia_Beatrice
Aaaaaahhh... I was planning on answering all of your interesting thoughts, but the perspective of no "House" from November to January is too devastating for me... GOD! Noooooooo...
OK. Briefly, so that i can run into the bathroom and cry:
I am happy beyond words about the positive response to the premiere that Barbara and Janine talk about. It's exactly what i hoped would happen, and i am sure the ratings can increase after a few awesome episodes, that prove to people (who are willing to listen) that the show has gained immensely from taking the big Huddy step.
TVTherapy, SeraG and Greenhouse: i am happy to see we are on the same boat regarding Huddy staying together. I agree to everything you've expressed and i have immense confidence that the writers envision the whole show as House's personal journey, that they will not take stupid steps back (pointless, as Greenhouse put it) and that they do not have in mind ultimate and irreversible destruction for this beautiful man that 60 million people in the world have come to adore.
@Greenhouse: in short, i believe that are GRAND differences between Stacy and Cuddy, as well as season 2 versus season 6/7 House. Cuddy's level of commitment and unconditional love is far superior to anything Stacy proved to House at the point of their renewed relationship, and that had the magical power of allowing him to give himself, and Huddy, this chance. THE chance, to be correct.
104 - Jerome Wetzel
I stayed away from this article all week because I was caught up in reviewing series premieres and didn't get to House until last night, but what a fascinating look at a great episode! The depth and background you give really enhanced my enjoyment of the scenes, as you caught plenty of stuff I missed, or things that had happened previously that I had forgotten about. It is awesome you get so many comments.
And I am about 100 pages into your book. I had no idea the whole Sherlock Holmes connection, and now I feel like an idiot for my twitter interaction with you about the Holmes movie. You obviously know way more about the detective than I do. However, I can honestly say, I've liked this series for a long time, but your writing has led me to some connections I hadn't made, and I feel like I can enjoy it on a whole deeper level now. Thanks for your awesome work!
105 - Flo
@Barbara (#88) Yes I know that she apparently put his ringer back on as House says so but why did she do that? She accepted early on to stay at his apartment, she has no idea what's going on in the hospital so why unsilence his phone? I think maybe the answer to that is in some cut scenes.
Greenhouse (#102) The fact that Cuddy broke off her engagement with Lucas before talking to House about them is really significant. In a previous message here I wrote that, in a way, Cuddy dared to do what Stacy couldn't do.
It is really significant because, as much as the talk at the end of "Now What" is a parallel to the one in Stacy's office in "Need to Know", the talk between House and Cuddy at the end of "Help Me" was already a parallel to the talk between Stacy and House on the roof in "Need to Know" IMO. In this talk, House was surprised and disappointed Stacy didn't talk to Mark yet and I think it played a great role in his decision to let her stay with Mark.
She loved Mark too, had a good life with him and she wasn't really ready to let him go.
Wilson did say that House broke it off with Stacy because he'd rather be miserable but I don't think that is the reason he sent her away. That's not the reason House gave her and I think he was honest with her. Wilson was wrong and he made a rather stupid comment there, especially for someone who is House's best friend and therefore he's supposed to know him well.
House doesn't want to be miserable, he never did. He often tries to do something about his life to be less painful and less miserable (it's linked) as the ketamine treatment and the methadone one tend to prove it.
As for House and Cuddy, it could work as it could end in a disaster. For now I think it's fifty/fifty.
What's interesting here is that I think, right now, both Cuddy and House are as much afraid of its possible failure as they are afraid of its possible success.
Wait and see!
ps: Delia (#103) Is it confirmed about the hiatus? If this long break means less 3 weeks breaks as it was last year, then I'm actually okay with this.
106 - Delia_Beatrice
@Flo: i don't know about the hiatus, but i do know that all the air dates that have been issued so far are until November 8th. You are right, i feel the same way, one long break and then continuity is better than the whole season being discontinued like last year.
You are right about Stacy, that's what i meant by her low level of commitment. Cuddy is different in many, many ways. For starters, Cuddy has had a very special role of savior and nurturing mother in House's life, for years. He is used to her being the one person in the world who really understands and supports him (unlike Wilson, who gets him wrong so often, given his role as father, who guides more than he nurtures) - so his trust in her is higher to begin with, on a very deep level.
Then, there is the way Cuddy handled the Lucas relationship. Unlike Stacy, she did not spend this year flirting with House and going home to Lucas. House has a very deeply ingrained fear of duplicity and deception and Stacy did not meet his standards in this regard. Cuddy played the whole thing as fair as possible, staying true to her own standards of honesty and truthfulness. It is also significant that she broke up with Lucas before having an explanatory conversation with House. She stayed true to herself, true to the self-awareness she had so bravely reached.
You are also right about Wilson being very wrong about this. House does not want to be miserable, that is so true! And it is precisely why he gave up on Stacy: he knew that she can't help him heal, given the conditional nature of her love. Like i wrote above (and i am so weirdly quoting myself, because i don't have time to reformulate - i am sorry about this):
We know that House always presents himself in the worst possible light, always in the least flattering perspective, so that he can be sure that the love and loyalty he might get are completely true and that the people who do stick by him do so in full awareness of his flaws and the love he does receive is as unconditional as possible. In his sub- and unconscious search for healing of his inner wounds, House forces himself not to accept anything less than what he instinctively knows he needs: unconditional love that can validate his existence and that can finally help him to give himself the permission to live and be happy.
It is the reason for which he pushed Stacy away in “Need to Know”: he knew she would only love him if he changed. The reason why he never really acted on his attraction to Cameron: during their date, he clearly spells out to her that her interest in him is motivated by her wanting to heal him. “Wanting to heal” means wanting to change, and that is something he just cannot accept - because it would only lead him to misery and pain.
Hm... About them being afraid of the success and the failure equally... I would put this differently: i think that they are afraid of what it will take to make it succeed. I don't think that either of them has any doubts in regard to this being the ultimate, absolute choice for them. I am very happy that this relationship started after BOTH of them reached full awareness in regard to the depth, intensity and absolute nature of the love they feel for each other. They are both fully aware, they both know that this is the grandest chance they ever get at being with their ultimate match, in the ultimate relationship that can fulfill them and give meaning to their lives.
But they are scared - of it not succeeding, of course, since the stakes are so, so high. I don't think they are afraid it will work - i think they are afraid of all that it will take to make it work, afraid that maybe they won't be able to manage it, that perhaps the sacrifices and effort will sometimes be debilitating.
Which ultimately means they are afraid it won't work, because they will be incapable to do all it takes to make it work.
The looks on their faces in the end - i read them as follows:
The look on Cuddy's face: fear and compassion: fear of how difficult it will be to make House happy, compassion because he is so wounded and scared, after he gave her such a naked display of vulnerability and the full measure of his fears.
The look on House's face: fear and concern, that maybe he will never be able to feel happiness and abandon himself to it, thus hurting her too and ruining his chances of ever breaking the cycle of misery and loneliness.
107 - Michele1L
I agree with those of you who feel House and Cuddy would or should never break up. Seriously, what would they break up over? House would have to do something truly horrific at this point to make that scenario make any sense at all -- like deliberately mame or kill one of her family members. What hasn't he done already that would make anyone other than someone madly in love with him lower the gauntlet and say, "that's it!" Clearly, Cuddy is willing to be dragged through the mud and back by this man -- and House, my goodness, he was positively manic after discovering Cuddy's relationship with Lucas and then fell into quite a depression over it afterwards. It's possible, as you say, Delia_Beatrice, that he could self-sabotage (which he, in a small way, has already tried with Cuddy) but what would he do? Go back on vicodin or something worse just to make her run for the hills? Continue to sleep with hookers (Whoops! That one could possibly work!)LOL
Hugh Laurie, in a recent interview, said he didn't necessarily believe the relationship would have to fail, so ... we shall see.
108 - Flo
Delia (#106) Yes Stacy and Cuddy are different but Stacy was very important to House and perhaps, if he didn't have a long serious relationship with her, he wouldn't be able to attempt this relationship with Cuddy. Who knows?
I understand your point when you said Wilson and Cuddy are mommy and daddy somehow (they provide the sort of concern and care that parents do) but I wouldn't go that far. Otherwise the House and Cuddy thing and his friendship with Wilson would be far more creepy. LOL!!
I don't think House has a Oedipian thing going on. He doesn't really see Wilson and Cuddy as parental figures. I don't believe Wilson is wrong so often because he is supposed to be the "father" figure. It seems far too far-fetched for me, sorry.
First of all, a guiding father is not always wrong and can be more right than a mother figure;
Second of all, Wilson is not more of a guide than house is for Wilson.
Third of all, House protects Cuddy too.
So does that mean that House can be a mother or father figure for his two friends too also sometimes?
Even if House has mom and even more daddy issues, I feel like your reasoning is a bit flawed here. It seems too obvious to me.
Or maybe it is just me misunderstanding you.
It is entirely possible and if so, I'm sorry.
I still don't believe in unconditional love and I still don't believe that House believes in it either but I understand your point and agree with you.
You are right to say that House and Cuddy are afraid of what it might take from them to make their relationship work, but I also believe that they are afraid to actually succeed completely. For now it seems that they kind of need the challenge and the trouble to be comfortable, if you see what I mean. However, yes I totally agree with your statement.
Interesting take on the looks at the end of "Now What?" I agree.
ps: Sorry I seem to be very confused and confusing tonight.
109 - Oo
I found the part where he asked the Now what? quite sexy as he is peering at her with one eye.
110 - Eadon
Series seven, including the first episode, has been pretty weak. There are flashes of the old magic, but the house-cuddy plot is tedious and implausible.
111 - Eadon
As a matter of fact, the chemistry between House and Cuddy vanished. There is no spark there any more.
112 - Nickel
I completely see Cuddy as a VULTURE in this episode. She swooped down on House at his absolute lowest point in his life. Which makes perfect sense considering Cuddy could never control House if he was HEALTHY which is why she rebuffed him all through season 6. Healthy, House was not as attractive to her. ( gee a bit like Cameron). Women like Cuddy are so offensive to me that it embarrasses me to be female. Cuddy has always reminded me of the lion tamer who thinks that he/she is more powerful than the lion. What she never considers is that House has always allowed her control of him. My biggest question about this relationship is this.....HOW THE HELL CAN A MAN LOVE A WOMAN WHO HAS JUST SAID "SCREW YOU" AND THEN FOLLOWED IT UP WITH EVERY NASTY THING THAT SHE COULD THINK OF. UGH. Oh House I had such higher hopes for you.
113 - bakerstreet blues
Looking back at The Itch, Cuddy already knew how this would end. I LOVE CHILDREN.....SO FILLED WITH HOPE. Come on people, how can this possibly end? I'll tell you. Lets look at Esther (All In), after 12 years House could not let that go, he still had to cure her (closure). When Cuddy does break up with House it will absolutely cost him everything. Since we know what does happen, it surprises me that Cuddy refused to let House break up with her (while he was drunk Recession Proof), however it is perfectly fine for her to do it 4 days later. What a skank. Good riddence to Cuddy. Like watching a train wreck....ugh. again I LOVE CHILDREN...SO FILLED WITH HOPE.