“Open and Shut,” the 19th episode in House, M.D.’s sixth season, is an examination of relationships within the context of the patient’s open marriage. She and her husband have an agreement that allows them to be with other sexual partners based upon the idea that the openness of their marriage will prevent the lies, secrets and misery other marriages. Like Taub’s (Peter Jacobson). Taub is a serial philanderer who struggles with keeping faithful to his wife Rachel. So the episode allows us to observe the two relationships juxtaposed. Is an open marriage the panacea to Taub’s marital issues? Is it really that simple? On House, as in real life, nothing is ever that simple.
And then we have the budding retreaded relationship between Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) and his first wife Samantha (Cynthia Watros). Tangling with an ex-spouse can be a minefield in any scenario, but when you add in House (as in Dr. Greg, played by the always interesting Hugh Laurie), “minefield” is almost too gentle a word to describe it.
House plays puppet master in all three relationships, trying to illuminate each in the harsh light of day, tease out what's real and what's hidden behind a smokescreen of lies and deceptions. But is he playing the cynic or the romantic? Is he trying to help, or is he only interested in inflicting misery on the players in these relationships?
House does not believe that truth hurts a relationship. Honesty, whatever its consequences cleans the slate and removes the subterfuge. As House dissects the patient’s relationship with her husband, Hadley realizes that House isn’t the disdainful cynic; he’s the disillusioned, pro-monogamy romantic.
House visits the patient, curious about how she and her husband justify their relationship, especially with a six-year old child. But she disarms him, relating how much better it is to live life openly, without the toxicity of secrets and lies that pollute other, less honest relationships. I wonder if her philosophy resonates with House, himself the product of an unfaithful mother. Was their household tension caused in part by the open secret that House could not have been John House’s son? Would young Greg’s life have been any less miserable?
Buying into the logic of this relationship, however--at least for the moment--House believes he has found “the unicorn,” as Taub puts it: a mythical and honest relationship where happiness is attainable and love maintained by an open sexual attitude towards marriage. But when Chase discovers that the husband, in fact has not been playing around on the side and only agrees to his wife’s infidelity because it makes her happy, House immediately suspects that all is not open and honest in this marriage. Chase calls him on the cynicism that immediately makes him jump from the husband’s assertion to “he must be compensating for his own misdeeds.” He allows it, therefore he must be perpetrating his own betrayal. House unicorn is now a “donkey with a plunger stuck to its face.”
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— go to most recent comments1 - marykir
I'm beginning to think they are paying Hugh by the hour :)
I *like* Taub as a foil for just about any of the other doctors - Peter Jacobson seems to make Olivia Wilde and Omar Epps in particular more entertaining. And I thought he and Jennifer Foley did a fine job portraying the Taubs' screwed up marriage. But this hour just dragged on and on and on for me. In many ways, it was just too true to real life to be entertaining.
I had the same problem with "5 to 9." I left the real world rat race behind; I don't want to watch a fictional version on TV. One of the joys of [H]ouse is House's nonstandard view of the world and way of responding to events around him. Whenever [H]ouse lets House fade into the background, that gets lost.
2 - janine
surprised you didn't mention the return of the whiteboard. THought you'd be excited about that as it was on your list of wishes for this season. The final scene with the milk was definately an indication of things to come in House's future. He looked so sad. I think the espresso machiene will come up again ater too. I have a feeling Racel will divore Taub.
3 - Housecall
Couldn't agree with this more and shared many of the same thoughts/ comments on a fan site. I love this part:
"Open and Shut” improves on a second viewing, but is (in my opinion) one of the weakest entries of season six. Taking the focus off House never helps an episode, and despite his pivotal role as puppet master playing behind the scenes, I found the episode disappointing, something very rare for me."
I'll mention the chalkboard. House wasn't writing on it and so it was anti-climactic.
Very.
Thank you for your review. I enjoyed reading it enormously:)
4 - just4paws17
BB, I just love reading your reviews, they are so great, and lend so much to the ep! I think it was starting to be a great ep, hence my tweet, but then it did go all over the place. I laughed at the timeline too, paying attention this week. I too think this season has been House lite. I do enjoy watching the others, but House is what drives the show! I thought from Lockdown and Knight Fall we would see the rest of the season with House in full force. I guess the final eps will tell us. Love following you on twitter! Really cool!
Jen
5 - Nora
Barbara, the timeline was a mistake - check out Doris Egan's tweets about that: http://twitter.com/Doris_Egan
Also, I have been thinking about the title of this episode "Open and Shut". Does anybody have a clever explanation for that?
I agree that there wasn't enough House in this one. Also, didn't he have pain issues last week? Where did that go? I liked your thought about House looking for answers and examining the relationships of others because he wants to be proven wrong. His romanticism and "all or nothing" attitude collide with his desire for the truth. Which sets him up for disappointment, but what else is new?
I did like Taub's wife a whole lot and I don't think she knows he's still cheating. I really hope not. And she should kick his "adulterous ass to the curb" as House put it last season. Brilliant acting, too.
Finally - loved watching Wilson being obsessive, fighting, making-up ... until he said "Don't tell House." Uhm, no. Could you please stop that Wilson? I know you don't want to encourage him to meddle, but could you at least acknowledge that he was right and helpful?
6 - Eve K
It worries me a bit when Barbara is disappointed. A rare thing. I didn't think this was such a bad episode. There were others far worse this season. But House looked so sad when he put the milk in the fridge door at the end. A weak protest that nobody cared about. His lonely limp down the hallway...I guess there is no end to his neediness.
7 - Patty
Yes, I prefer my episodes to be "House Heavy" not light.
Bur, I was so disappointed with Taub in this episode. I've always liked him, but he was just too big of a rat in this one. His wife is way too good for him and should dump him.
Chase was appalled by Taub's actions -- and that's what made he and Cameron such a good fit -- they are the characters on the show with the most traditional and loyal attitudes. Hope Cameron is around more next year.
8 - Orange450
Welcome back, Barbara. Thanks for another wonderful review. I have to admit that I enjoyed the episode like I enjoy almost all of them (talk about an undiscriminating enthusiast). Just watching my favorite cast of characters do their thing on that spectacular set (and amazing apartment) makes me happy.
Be that as it may, I especially appreciated a specific aspect of this slicing and dicing the nature of love and commitment - emotional as well as physical:
I was struck by one of Chase's lines - which I believe wasn't a throwaway: "I was jealous of House all those years, and he never touched her." (Or "and she never touched him" - I don't remember which it was.) To which 13 replied: "what about the emotional fondling?"
And then the patient's paramour came with flowers and sincere concern and they didn't want to see him. Sex was ok, but when the paramour feels emotion for the patient, that's an invasion.
Not all infidelity is physical. Someone in a committed relationship can form a deep emotional bond with someone on the outside, while never making the connection sexual. There are people who feel that emotional cheating is worse than the physical kind. I agree with your take that Rachel probably knows that Taub won't keep his promises, but she and he believe that his extracurricular activities are more about the physical, and his emotional bond with her is intact. Maybe it really is just his vasopressor receptors!
I couldn't help but appreciate the ironic symmetry - Taub being the one to state it up front - "someone always ends up unhappy", while we know that he'll inevitably hurt Rachel, in spite of her heartfelt, genuine, and beautifully portrayed efforts to accomodate his inclinations. And House being the one to scoff at the idea of monogamy in theory, yet this isn't the first time we've been exposed to his deeply-held distaste towards infidelity (of any kind!) in a committed relationship.
Is the attempt here just to explore a single tantalizing issue - or is this part of a larger theme? If so, I'm not sure what it is. By this time in S5, I think we all knew that House was heading for a crash. By contrast, this episode had a sort of "mid-season" feel. It could have taken place any time at all. I don't get a sense of what House is heading for.
Try not to sweat the timeline issues! At this point, I think the writers know how you feel, and they're just messin' with ya!
9 - Cyndi
I can't quite make up my mind about this season, but something is missing. I like that HOUSE is trying to be human, but still, something is amiss. Get rid of Cuddy's boytoy,
give Wilson a little more spine, let Chase be happy. Needs a little more kick. The hour used to fly by and now I find myself looking at the clock.
Please fix this wonderful show
10 - barbara barmett
Thanks all for your comments and nice words! Eve--it is rare for me to be disappointed by the show. So much so that I've been taken to task (and even accused of working for Fox or NBC!)
That last scene was very sad indeed.
Open and Shut. Describes something simple and obvious, like an open and shut case. What appears in the episode to be obvious and simple turned out to be anything but.
11 - barbara barmett
Ohhhh, the whiteboard! Barely worth a mention this week. Loved that Chase gets to Play with the markers (:)) But no House....
12 - savta
Nearly midnight in Jerusalem but had to get in some thoughts before turning in.
Thirteen's character seems to be developing a little more each week. She is portrayed as having a wisdom that we weren't shown before. She is given a lot of leeway in her pointed remarks to House and others. Her opinions are considered as they weren't in previous seasons. In not being attached to Foreman and without the focus of her illness, she is allowed some growth or as they like to say, the layers are peeled away and more of her character is revealed. I find her more interesting than I did last season when I just wanted her to disappear.
Taub is a great disappointment. I do hope Rachel tosses him out without mercy. His is not a sympathetic character and I find it hard to give anything he says any weight. He is whiney and longing for ???
The more we know about him, the less I like him.
I will willingly join Sara Hess' Jennifer Foley fan club for her great portrayal of Rachel Taub.
I liked the episode but each week I am looking for some hints of the point or direction this is all taking. I hope we get it soon.
13 - janine
Glad DE aknowledged the timeline mistake, she owes it to the fans. It was a disapointment House wasn't writing on the board but I feel its reappearance signals something, but I'm not sure what yet. I feel his apartment is next
14 - Flo
Thirteen is really very perceptive. Not that I didn't know that before but I think it is interesting that she's the one seeing House's romantic side.
in "Lockdown" she was the most Housian character and now she takes initiatives for the choice of the cases; She's the one talking about it first and saying it is interesting because of the open marriage which makes me think that she also found that interesting in a fun way and thus was the one to propose that one. House agreed, like she knew he would.
She becomes more and more like the master and seems to a very good place right now. Her street smarts, dry sense of humor, her light bluntness and perceptive side are finally coming up in a great way on the show (note that I always liked her for those character traits).
Of course, she is right. House is a romantic and he believes in monogamy. I agree with you Barbara that the fact that House's mother cheated is really important to him, even if he occasionally slept with married women himself. Especially that he is the product of this philandering.
I think the theme of the episode was interesting. Is there such a thing as a happy "open" marriage? And more importantly, can it last? All the discussions about Taub and his (quite incomprehensible) philandering side were interesting and Jennifer Foley was great.
I agree with Orange that the episode implied that all infidelity wasn't just physical. (BTW, Orange, Chase said "She never touched him" which is wrong cause she actually kissed House). You can love someone without touching him/her as much as you can sleep around with random chicks/guys and still love your wife/husband. The idea here is what really works? And what makes you happy?
However, I agree that it was a weak episode. Too many storylines, and not one really centered on House. We learned nothing more about him. Plus, for someone who claimed that if a couple can past beyond his shenanigans and the fights that they cost them, putting the milk in the fridge door once again is quite jerky.
Really an episode I could have done without.
15 - Pferd
Very interesting episode. I am a big fan of the themes shown in House especially the moral grey zones. As you mentioned nothing ever is that easy nothing only has one side.
In my opinion an open relationship can work if both want it the same. Most of the time there is one that prefers the open relationship and the other goes along to "please" the partner.
I think there is nothing like the perfect relationship. A good relationship is hard work... from BOTH partners.
Thanks for the great review!
16 - Debbie
Hi Barbara,
While I agree that the timeline was screwy and that this episode was "House- lite," (not to mention that House's epiphany really came out of nowhere), I felt that this episode did reinforce two major themes that have always been presented on this show:
"Everybody lies" and "people don't change." Taub and House definitely proved this to be true this week.
Thanks for the review. :D
17 - ripzu
Barbara, I loved your review and agree about being disappointed. My take was that there was an energy missing and the "soap" element played too big a role. I hope we're not headed in that direction.I was never a fan of soap operas. Is Hugh tiring of the role?
18 - Orange450
@Flo
Thanks for the clarification :) You're right about the kiss.
19 - Tayto
After last week's embarressing fiasco, I was very happy with this episode. Thirteen has always been tuned into House's way of thinking and she illustrated this fact well. He needs her just as he needs Wilson. The show has changed so much since we remember Cameron 'caring' for House in her own particular way...if she was still around, she wouldn't leave him in pain to sort out his own problems.
The actress who played the patient was familiar to those who watched Prison Break. She was well able to take on Hugh Laurie as a guest star...she must have been nervous.
Why isn't there any more clinic patients in the show any more? They were a great comic relief to the A and B stories and helped House to share his remarkable brand of 'truth' with his lucky patients!
Overall, this season started well and peaked around 5 to 9 and went down hill from there.
I don't believe I'm laughing as much as I have done with the show...which isn't a good sign.
Hugh Laurie is signed until Season 8 so we only have two more seasons remaining of this remarkable character. Hopefully, the writers are writing a better Season 7 - they owe it to themselves, the character, and most of all, the fans!
20 - Sarah H
Agree with everyone's comments about too little House in this one. This is also two weeks in a row of Thirteen's being the POTW's unsolicited counselor -- it almost feels like the writers are trying to make her the moral center of the team, a role that Cameron was stuck in with very inconsistent results.
Speaking of inconsistency, did anyone else think that the espresso maker scene between House and Cuddy made no sense? I so enjoy HL and LE together that it was lovely viewing, but would House honestly even slightly put his heart back on his sleeve to her after the events of this year? House is definitely a romantic and may be a masochist, but it felt like that scene was inserted solely to set up whatever is planned for the season's end. There was certainly no build up to it since 5 to 9.
I found O&S to be a fair episode, however, what's really bothersome to me is that it feels like the show is falling victim to stunt writing, for want of a better phrase. As with Season 5, the season started with a strong element (House & Wilson's fractured relationship in 5; House's post-Vicodin recovery in six), stirred in a little Huddy, and let things drift until the real drama was saved for the last few episodes (the last 5 episodes starting with Kutner's death in 5; sadly, we're down to only 3 episodes in 6). This year has seen even less House and the advent of the "focus on the side players" episodes; it has changed from a show that was 44 minutes of compelling story and a fascinating central character to one of good moments, moments that seem to be coming along with less frequency these days.
Not trying to be totally negative; just trying to sort out why the show seems to be running from the focus on House that made it the phenomenal success it has been.
Barbara, as always, thank you for your thoughtful reviews.
21 - Delia_Beatrice
Barbara, great review, thank you! (i repeat myself every week:)
The episode might not have been the most compelling in history, but it's always a treat to get a glimpse into House's romantic view of the world.
The result of an affair himself (Barbara, great observation about how much of the household tension and John House's abuse to Gregory were the consequences of the obvious mismatch between the son and the legal father - i'd say a lot!), House has a set of ideals that can be described as supreme. His addiction to science and truth is a good example of how a child who has suffered from the burried skeletons of his family becomes an adult who fears deception and lies more than anything. And yes, beyond the household tension and father abuse, House suffered also in the form of a permanent and severe identity crisis - his legal father's identity and legacy is a complete misfit for House and he still seeks for a symbolic justification of who he is and how he became who he is, by trying to know more about his biological father - and there, too, he was disappointed.
As Barbara said, on his deepest level, House has a desperate wish to be proven wrong in his cynical and pessimistic views of relationships. This is the deep, true motive of the endless trials he puts people through, testing them relentlessly in search of the ultimate true, unconditional love that he has never known. He does so, being ultimately aware of the fact that relationships are conditional, which is very clear in the qui-pro-quo explanation House has on the patient's open marriage (she gets something and the husband gets something in return, qui-pro-quo).
I think that the House-Cuddy scene with the espresso machine is House's personal version of relational truth doubled by qui-pro-quo. He gave her an expensive gift, but he wants something in return (Lucas out of her life and sex:). He was very open in his conversation with Cuddy, as he was during their conversation about Wilson in "Knight Fall", and i acknowledge the fact that it is a major step forward for him.
I don't think it made no sense. We were never made to believe that House's feelings for Cuddy ever changed, so it was a matter of time until he dealt with the pain of losing her and he went back in the game. After "5 to 9", there were the flirting scene in "Private Lives" and the open, emotional conversation about Wilson in "Knight Fall", and now he played his usual, unique and naughty seduction technique in this episode. By the way, i love seeing him like this - playful, funny, naughty, charming, chivalrous.
I also believe that the qui-pro-quo theory (essentialy a concept of the transitional analyses, based on the roles and exchanges inside relationships) applies well to House and Cuddy: he understood that she needed to have her thing with Lucas - just like in the patient's marriage, House had stepped out of the circle of trust and intimacy between them several times, hurting her and humiliating her, and Cuddy had to get karmic justice by having a relationship with Lucas. I consider this to be the reason why House has moved on from his anger and disappointment and pain - he understood her reasons and he still loves her, so he licked his wounds and now he's working at winning back his very special place in her life.
22 - janine
my comments before wer short because I was in a hurry, but hre's everything I was thinking
Despite the fact that I usually am not a fan of "House-lite" episodes (5 to 9 was by far my least favorite episode of the enite series) I actually really liked this episode. As Delia_Beatrice said, it was a nice glimpse into Houses romantic side. I also agree with her assessmet of the coffee maker although I also agree with Sarah H that the point of the espresso maker was also a set up for something to come later, perhaps in the finale. Sarah H- I kind of see what you are saying about the format of the seasons but I kind of always saw that in this show. Seasn two started with the Stacey arc and did not have any big drama involving the character of House until the finale. Season three had the healing arc and the tritter arc but then had a whole bunch of episodes that focused more on Chase/Cameron before their departure and its effect on House in the finale. I kind of feel that the story of Taub and his wife may lead to something in the finale just as the Chase and Cameon story in season three led to them both leaving.
Tayto-
I find it interesting that you find you have been laughing less at the show because I feel like the show has been focusing more on the comedy this season, especially since "The Down Low". In fact there have actually been some people complaining about too much comedy in the show this season, although I don't agree with them. Also, just because Hugh is only signed until season 8, doesn;t mean that the show will end then, although a part of me wants it to. I still love this show to death and even the episodes that are considered "so so" by House standards are far more entertaining than anything else on TV. That being siad, I would rather this show go out early with a bang and be missed than go out with a whimper and be forgotten (Even Hugh said so in a recent interview with Parade).
Barbara-
LOL that people accuse you of working for FOX. Your reviews really are great. So many critics (of any show, not just House) focus on the one or two things they don't like about a show (for instance the Cuddy/Lucas story of this season) and miss all of the great things that you are able to point out and more. Your rviews are the only ones I read and the people here (as I have said before) and some of the only civil ones left.
I am so excited for the next three episodes (especially the karaoke next week!) and how this season will end because House seasons are known to go out with a bang. I havea few predictions, but they are only based on what I have seen on the show, no spoilers.
Taub and his wife will break up or seperate
House will end up back in his apartment and will take vicoden again (only once not a complete relapse)
Cameron will return pregnant (although I think my thoughts on that are more shaped by intenet speculation after "Lockdown")
Something will happen with Thirteen, Olivia said here character will have something to deal with in the finale but I don't know what
I don't know why but I feel like Sam will some how end up working at PPTH or for House. (Just out of curiosity, has it been confirmed if she will be back? Some online say that she will but I don't think any evidence has been released to support that. The same goes for the Lucas character).
For those interested, there's an interiveiw with Katie Jacobs on EW under Ausello Blog Files. She talks about the finale and season seven, but very vaguely and no real spoilers.
23 - janine
also, just read DE's tweet. I like the first comment sugesting Sam changed the year buecause she didn't want to admit her age. The timeling doesn't really bother me because timelines on this show have never been consistent and don't really change the story. At least this episode and the last one were consistent with each other. Call it consistently inconsistent!
24 - Housecall
So many wonderful and thoughtful comments here. The simple truth for me is that the analysis here plays better for me than the show did last night.
The parts seem to be greater than the whole. Beautiful words and themes do not seem to be enough. Some of the scenes were juvenile I thought and some of the scenes laced were coffee flavored Huddy bones- meant to tease the appetite, but not satisfy it.
I am hopeful the last few episodes will be wonderful and have an unexplainable anticipation for the finale, which I hope is realized.
The oral sex line was so random and seemingly out of place- not only for the hour but the situation. It wasn't cute or meaningful.
Someting has to progress here. We've been on pause and back for some time now. Two steps forward, three back.
Let's keep going with the "okay" button:)
25 - Housecall
sorry- should have read:
Let's keep going with the "PLAY" button:)