Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) is back at Princeton-Plainsboro, but he's not exactly free.
Several transplants are at issue in last night’s House, M.D. episode, appropriately called “Transplant.” Of course there is the set of sick lungs sitting in an ICU box awaiting diagnosis and treatment before they can be transplanted into one of Wilson’s (Robert Sean Leonard) long-time patients. A recovering alcoholic, she had a double-mastectomy years earlier, and now has come down with emphysema.…
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments26 - Visitkarte
Hi Barbara
Like always, beautiful review. What surprised me is that you overlooked one of the greatest parallel stories here:
The (ex-) boyfriend of Wilson’s patient is a drunk, she used to share his addiction. Wilson is relieved that she quit the relationship, fearing a setback in addiction.
Wilson is scared of getting sucked in House’s vortex of addiction and madness, so he tries to get away from him, even trying to convince House and himself that “he doesn’t like House”. As if, Denial is not just a beautiful river.
House wouldn’t give up, he tries to save not just the lungs, but also his old friendship. So he pushed Wilson, again, to do all it takes to make his patient live. Wilson over thinks his problem and remembers how the ex-bf of his patient made her do another round of chemo, when she wanted to give up. He get’s over himself and calls her ex, and he can manage what Wilson couldn’t and his patient lives long enough to get the transplant.
After this aha-moment Wilson has no choice but to rethink his own position. There’s of course anger and hurt left in him, so he does what it takes for him to get over himself and forgive House: he punches him so hard, that House is on the floor and Wilson almost reinjures his healed right hand.
After that, he is ready to start again. He learned again, that he needs to take the good with the bad. House is both: destructive, reckless, jerk, but a positive force in the universe. And Wilson likes that.
27 - Visitkarte
23 - Linnet
You put it so beautifully, I have nothing to do but bow to your insight and reasoning. I agree 100%
28 - Nickel
Hey Doddle#20, there were bits and pieces of Cuddy during seasons 1-4 that I did like Cuddy, but overall she completely lost me with her scene coming out of the elevator in the Pilot. House says he is going "home", she replies with "too what". First she has as much to go home to as he does, yet oddly enough he never judges her on her crappy life. Second, if Cuddy had fought for her "patient" as House does Stacy and House would still be together. Cuddy had her hand in all House's losses. If you remember back to Need to Know, when Stacy asked Cuddy (why I don't know) how House was when she left, her answer was harsh. Then with the snide comment "YOU LEFT HIM FOR A REASON"...wow could that be because Stacy/Cuddy completely betrayed his trust and crippled him against his wishes and he felt, oh I don't know angry, hurt, in pain, betrayed and disrespected....possibly. I wonder how Cuddy would have felt if the tables were reversed. Have her wake up from her surgery in Bombshells to find half her leg muscle gone. Welcome to VICODIN HELL. The long painful, lingering death that Cuddy and Stacy condemned House to (vicodin will at some point trash his liver) I would not wish on anybody.
As for Cuddy being a good boss, huh lets see: Maternity she refused to make the decision that needed to be made, instead made House decide, (this only after admonishing him for being bored), Babies and Bathwater: telling House that she got rid of vogler because of House (in front of his juniors to boot) failing to mention the fact that she did not want to be NEXT on Voglers hit list. Also forgetting that House basically did everything (except labcoat) that Vogler wanted. Oops, the speech, which thankfully Cameron say for what it was. As for unprofessional behavior on Cuddy's part, I could go on forever. And before we start comparing rights and wrongs, here is the thing. House NEVER once judges Cuddy on her shortcomings (inability to open up...), he accepts her (and everyone else) for who they are. Cuddy judges House, belittles him for his shortcomings and doesn't have any problem letting anyone and everyone know about them.
I agree the writers should have improved her character, instead they turned her into this cold-calculating witch, who would rather control House than do pretty much anything else. ugh
29 - Joan
I certainly cannot say the episode was an awesome return to basics but it was a decent 'return' ep and Hugh was very good at showing House' discomfort over his return and attempts to find his zone again, with his chair, etc..I did feel emotional when Foreman gave him back his office, his name on the door again.
That said, I have to agree even more emphatically with Barbara that Wilson's getting over it with House was so quick and frankly contrived that while I smiled over the punch and immediate dinner invite, it was extremely disappointing. I do think the writers were intending Wilson to 'speak' for fans who were very upset over House's actions at the finale and if they think 'just punch me' and get it out of your system is all that is needed to get back to the way things were and happily move on, they are much mistaken. Wilson has plenty of reason to hold House's actions against him, it was not just affecting Cuddy. Clearly Wilson was unhappy enof with House to not visit him in jail for a year and do his 'we aren't friends' bit on seeing him again. Some of you don't think Wilson can feel that he is morally offended by how far House went and does not want to let him off the hook for an assault on someone who was a longtime friend of both of theirs?
For those of you who are dumping on Cuddy so much, I'm not going to waste time defending her now or even listing all the things she did and put herself out for House for, or even remind you of how many times House was a colossal selfish ass and did cruel things to her... but even if she made mistakes and hurt him (as they acknowledged in that beautiful scene in the hallway before he crashed her house) what House did was totally unacceptable -- there is no moral compass that can say it was ok for House to get her out of his system by crashing a car into her house!! Boyfriends assaulting ex-girlfriends and their stuff go to jail and its no joke. The writers certainly could have given him a catharsis without that travesty. After their hallway talk, frankly I thought they were just going to move on and the car came out of left field for me. House could have just taken off and booked that vacation. Please stop defending his actions here. And even beyond the crash at her house, the fact that that drove her away from Princeton and PPTH would absolutely be a source of guilt and remorse to the House we used to know; I agree Barbara he does not show his deepest emotions and I did not expect a lot of talking it out, but that he did not cast one glance at Cuddy's office or pause at that door he so often burst through to show us (like when Wilson said I don't like you) that he did feel regret and more, really made the ep fall flat to me. Just that momentary acknowledgment would have been a good start to liking House again.
30 - Barbara Barnett
visitkarte--I completely missed that one--of course (blushes). Thanks for pointing it out.
31 - HouseMDFan
@Joan - You ever had a friend you hadn't seen in years, and a few minutes after meeting them again, it's like you were never apart? THAT'S why this was so quick. House and Wilson just have this kind of dynamic. They both kind of knew from the get-go that Wilson would come around, it would have made no sense to drag it out. I'm not saying that Wilson wasn't affected by what happened to Cuddy, but it has been a year, and I don't think that his relationship with Cuddy would actually influence his decision about his relationship with House. I'm also not saying that Wilson condones what House did, but House has been in prison for a year for it, and if Wilson didn't drop him over the repeated forged prescriptions and over Amber, then he is not going to drop him over this. I'm also not saying that Wilson isn't unhappy with a lot of things House says and does, it was his argument in this very episode after all - but he realizes that's not the point. He'll take the bad with the good, because at the end of the day, House can make him better and can make him be himself and can make him laugh. These two BELONG, and they have a connection that can turn on its axis extremely fast.
I agree with you about the things that are dumped on Cuddy in a few comments here, it would be a waste of time pointing out the obvious.
32 - Visitkarte
@Joan 29
Boyfriends assaulting ex-girlfriends and their stuff go to jail and it’s no joke.
I agree. But so do you for doing surgery against patient's wishes. Only, Cuddy got away, with not as much as a slap on her wrist. Because House wouldn't do that to her. Of all characters on this show, somehow the "selfish jerk" is most of the times, the most generous guy. He is fast to forgive other's failures and values his own failures more than his virtues.
@Nickel 28
I loved your post. Not much to add. Only, what I already stated: Doing a surgery against patient's expressed wishes is an assault. In House's case, a crippling assault. You go to jail and lose your medical license forever for doing such a thing. If anything, he’d own her for that. It doesn't matter if she saved his life or not. We have no way to know. Patients have the right to refuse even life saving treatment without being suicidal. See Wilson's patient in "Transplant". It's the patient's call.
33 - DebbieJ
@Joan #29 and HouseMDFan #31 - as Hugh points out in the TV Guide interview of a few weeks ago: To the question: How's Wilson doing?, Hugh responds in part: House must win back the true love of his life - Wilson.
I just loved that he said that and I am by NO means a Hilson!
The reason I think they made up by the end of Episode 2 is because Wilson being mad at and keeping distance from House for a long period of time (4 or 5 episodes) was already done after the death of Amber and I think it would've been redundant. We know that Wilson was angry, with every right to be (by not visiting him even once). And regarding Cuddy, he may not be angry at House for chasing her out of Princeton because he, as her friend, may feel that it was the best thing for her to do for her and Rachel's own sake; to start anew somewhere.
Finally, I think that Wilson knows that House "is how God made him". He's accepted this, time and again. Doesn't mean he can't be angry at him for his actions.
One question. I know Wilson's right hand is the one that was injured and him wincing and shaking it after he punched House in the face (thank goodness he didn't choose House's other suggestion!) was to show us that he still occasionally can have physical pain from House's actions, but why would he throw a punch with his right hand if he is left handed?
34 - Visitkarte
@ 33 - DebbieJ
I guess Wilson chose his right hand, because if he hurt it, he'd still be able to write and 2nd it was kind of a "revenge of the hurt hand"
35 - DebbieJ
@Vistkarte #34 - Ah, okay. That makes sense to me :)
36 - 2Lightworker
@Nickel - #28 - You are something else!
"during seasons 1-4 that I did like Cuddy, but overall she completely lost me with her scene coming out of the elevator in the Pilot. House says he is going "home", she replies with "too what". First she has as much to go home to as he does, yet oddly enough he never judges her on her crappy life. Second, if Cuddy had fought for her "patient" as House does Stacy and House would still be together. Cuddy had her hand in all House's losses."
When I re-view my DVD's, this is the kind of thing I notice and feel pain, which I don't think I did the first time around. But I will say that all of this is the work of the writers, who put forth their view of human nature.
Since S 7, I am invested for the wind-down of an amazing character concept, but I distance myself so as not to feel as if this was a person or persons I know.
My sense of my response is that Hugh Laurie's charismatic and deep interpretation is beyond mesmerizing.
What a trip for a man in mid-life!
37 - ValentineBaby
Did anybody notice that Hugh's bald spot is not covered up as much in this episode? Did he lose his hair in prison? :o)
Loved Dr. Park. But had difficultly hearing her (she mumbles). I'll watch it again with captions.
This is, and always will be, my favorite show.
Barabara: I think your reviews and understanding of the character are great. I look forward to them every week.
38 - BrokenLeg
34 @ Visitkarte
Nice to hear of you again! But I respectfully disagree with your thought about why Wilson uses his right hand to punch House face. Throwing a punch on someone’s face I think is always an irrational act. And irrational acts, or non meditated acts are made from your inner self. And Wilson is a left handed man. Being myself today almost a perfect ambidextrous one, as a result of being “re-educated” as a right handed person when I was a left handed little child ( yes, many years ago these horrible things still happened in my country!!), today, when I do a really, really non meditated thing I tend to use my left hand, that is,in addition, my strongest one. So, if I ever have to punch someone (I hope not), I’m almost sure I’ll use my left hand, not my right hand!!
And as a doctor you are, one further question: This lungs in the lab are a real procedure? Can they “survive” hours “breathing”as was shown? As far as I know, in one transplant surgery, the actions done between donor and receiver are in a short sequence of time.
Can you enlighten me?
39 - Ladidah
I think the bald spot went with the vaguely hangdog subdued post prison image they were evoking.
40 - Action Kate
Valentine Baby: Oh good, it wasn't just me. I was really getting frustrated with not being able to understand Dr. Park! I'm not sure whether I like her yet; the jury is still out.
The parallel with the patient and her friend wasn't quite as obvious as some of last season's anvils, which is a bit refreshing, to be honest.
LOVED the punch. Loved it. Such a guy thing.
Wilson: *resigned glare*
House: *cautious look*
Wilson: POW
House: I deserved that. Feel better?
Wilson: Yes. You?
House: Yep.
Wilson: Good. Now we're friends again.
Did anyone else notice the truly horrible lighting in the middle half of the episode? From the time House came back to PPTH up until he was in the MRI, the shadows were wrong, the contrast was off, everything was badly lit. After Wilson denies him a second time, suddenly everything's properly lit again. It wasn't thematic -- it didn't happen with House's diagnosis; it was well before then. Was it just our broadcast?
41 - Merkof
@ All of you
Ouf! It is so satisfying to find again a positive atmosphere here.
Needless to say I loved both 20 Vicodin and Transplant.
Great article by Barbara even though I have a few disagreements. Most of you have dealt with them (Foreman, Wilson) so I shall avoid repetitions.
A few remarks:
1. Wilson must have been quite bored without House. Meeting him again and feeling his vitality was a major element for the quick reconciliation. After all they have through a lot worse together (Stacy, divorces, Amber, rehab).
2. House’s submissive reaction to Foreman seems to me only partly due to the threat of prison. Foreman states his case in such a rational way that House, who is still rebellious, seems convinced more than forced. Which finally made me realise why I never much like Cuddy, even though I wanted Huddy to happen. Cuddy laying down the hospital laws was too strident and dictatorial. (script, direction, acting? I shall not go further…)
I am actually beginning to think that Dean Foreman might be a success!
3. I think that House is not feeling extremely guilty; he has accepted his crime and went to prison voluntary to expiate for it.
I also think that his hurt must have been somewhat mitigated by his lashing out in such an extreme way. However I have the impression that he still feels resentment for the rejection and the blow to his self esteem, and a feeling of emotional failure, which is probably aggravated by the situation he finds himself now.
Dreaming of Cuddy does not come out as an expression of pain. It sounded disapproving and disagreeable.
“My boss dumped me” to Dr Park also shows resentment.
Of course that might be me reading what I want to, as I always felt that the H/C relationship was more based on need and familiarity than deep love as shown for Stacy.
42 - Barbara Barnett
Action Kate--didn't notice that lighting thing, but I was watching on my computer (I was victim to that overtime BB game). But that would make sense--House being off kilter, the lighting being off kilter, etc.
43 - bakerstreet blues
Couldn't help but chime in here. I have always found that my favorite people in the world are the non-judgmental ones. Having been categorized wrongly myself for most of my adult life I am continually appalled at those who jump to judge me. As for the House/Cuddy debacle I would feel much more compassion for Cuddy had she been more adult than House. While I understand her reasons for starting and stopping her relationship with House.....don't judge him for the same weaknesses that she has. I think back to Massage Therapy at how she was concerned about letting House into Rachel's life and what would happen if House then left it (or was thrown out). Well my answer to that question is this: What happened when she threw Lucas out of Rachel's life?
One of the characteristics of early season's Cameron that I just hated was that "better than thou attitude" (Sleeping Dogs Lie, I just wanted to throttle her for judging something that was clearly not her business and definitely not medical). Someone posted that somewhere along the line Cameron and Cuddy changed bodies and I completely agree. Trust, honesty, openness and communication all go hand in hand. You cannot expect someone else to be more honest with you than you are willing to be with them and so on. Back when Wilson was still House's friend in Out of the Chute, Wilson practically BEGGED Cuddy to talk to House, but she was just as closed as he was. Yet she had no problems judging him for the same weakness. 2 months later is really too late. (at least it would be for me). All I am saying is that as messed up as these 2 people are/were her inability to open up to House was just as apparent as his to her. Of course I never really believed that House was in love with Cuddy, he certainly never looked at her the way he always looked at Stacy. (his eyes were "soft" when he looked at Stacy). Back in The Itch, Wilson convinced House that Cuddy was perfect for him and since House always believes what Wilson tells him in matters of the heart, he trusted that. But I think these 2 really should both be on separate desert islands.
44 - Visitkarte
@Broken Leg 38
I know, I didn’t mean his head chose the hitting hand, but his memory. He must have done hours of painful ergo therapy & physio and imagined how he’d love to use it the way he did in the end. House have him explicitly his permission, he invited him to do it. So his “hand remembered”.
Maybe Wilson was also forced to use “his good hand” for years and got some ambidexterity. He is, after all, not so young. Boxers definitively use both fists, not equally, but they use them both.
I know why they wrote it that way. Wilson shaking his previously hurt hand was so adorcable. And a great reminder of why he did it (among other reasons, like, jumping from the balcony, forging prescriptions etc…)
I first thought: Lungs in a box? SciFi, maybe doable in theory. But actually, it has been made. Lungs are a pretty resilient organ, that’s why people get away with smoking so often for so long.
45 - DebbieJ
@Valentine Baby #37 - Yes, I had noticed. It must be liberating to HL to not have to spend so much time in Make Up with whatever they use (wig, spray, hair piece etc.) to cover it up. However, I do like the longer length of his hair altogether. I've seen in a clip of an upcoming episode (or perhaps an interview - I forget), that his hair is trimmed a bit shorter than in these first 2 episodes but it still looks better than in past seasons, IMO. Especially S6! And since we're talking about his appearance and looks, can I say how nice he fit into those jeans while trying to move his chair out of Pinto's office. Er, never mind. This isn't the proper place for that kind of observation! ;)
@Action Kate #40 - I agree. The subtle parallels ARE refreshing and are much more in tune with this series as opposed to the anvils of last season.
I noticed the lighting, too. Perhaps it had nothing to do with setting the tone of a scene, but maybe it's evidence of some more budget cutting :P
46 - Merkof
43 - bakerstreet blues
I am with you.
One thing only: House already suspected "it". Wilson just expressed in words the situation making it more real.
47 - Nickel
BTW, I almost hope that Wilson is addicted to Vicodin because of his hand injury. hahahahaha I LOVE IRONY.
48 - Earth Orbiter
@Visitkarte #32: Well said, except for one thing: in this country, its "battery." "Assault" is the threat (along with the means to actually carry it out). "Battery" is the actual contact or injury. And, yes, its jail time, permanent license revocation, etc...
49 - bakerstreet blues
So let's re-cap...House went to the nuthouse (because of a delusion involving Cuddy) and then prison. Wow, gotta love the determination. I was hoping that Cuddy would leave the hospital to be an astronaut or something. I was hoping that the writers would do something equally devastating to her character (like they did to Kutner for leaving the show with little or no notice) so she has no reason to ever come back.
50 - Joan
HouseMDFan 31 IA, I knew House and Wilson would be friends again, it just felt off to me for it to happen on day 1 if Wilson could hold onto his anger/dislike/whatever for a year while House was in prison, I don't see jumping to dinner so fast, that felt like the writers not wanting to drag it out over more eps than something organic.
Visitkarte 32 Your blame for Cuddy is misplaced in this case, she did nothing wrong here. The leg surgery is largely on Stacy, sorry. Stacy had a signed power of attorney to act on House's behalf when he could not act for himself and that is legally binding on Cuddy and the hospital. Cuddy came in late to House's case and took over, she did the long-shot treatment he told her he wanted even though it hurt and could kill him and she knew he did not want to cut off his leg but they did not discuss the middle ground surgery so she was not acting against his wishes. Stacy asked her about options and as a dr. she told her. Stacy authorized the compromise surgery and had power to do that. Stacy is the one who knew House would not want it. And then when the results were bad and House was hurting and mad she left him when she couldn't take it anymore....hate her?
Again for bakerstreet blues and others who seem very down on Cuddy, yes she did her share of 'wrong' stuff, but you are pointing to little insulting comments she made that were part of their interplay and seeming to forget how often House was a SOB. Non-judgmental? Yes, to some extent, he is not a moralist, certainly, has no problems with various odd patient behaviors, but you don't remember the many times he made jibes to Cuddy about being a bad boss,or 'fat' or single,lonely,no man, pushing 40,really? They did play games, sometimes hurt each other. Neither was a saint. But he gave as good as he got and I'd say he frankly got away with a lot more than she or Wilson did to him. Also, to me from the odd abrupt breakup that the writers thought was so clear and obvious for the rest of last season I thought they were writing Cuddy as colder/harsher than prior history would suggest and it made her more unsympathetic, tho House's extreme and nasty behavior was also very hard to swallow.
I love House, flaws and all, tho less tolerant re late last season's crazy behavior, but he has the writers and Hugh's amazing talent plus those baby blues that make us as the audience side with him and make allowances and excuse him far more than I think we would do if presented the situation differently or ie. in real life. The people defending his need to crash his car are an extreme example of this point of view.
51 - MaryDavis
Loved the Episode.
It always seemed that keeping Foreman, Chase and Cameron around (after season 3) damaged the show in some way since the core of the show in the beginning appeared to be House solving medical cases while teaching his "method". To compound that, their replacements didn't (other than Kutner occasionally) seem interested in learning anything from him. Watching the early seasons and seeing House's passion/frustration/pride in his dealings with his "students" just underscores what's been missing in the show these last years for me.
Transplant with it's introduction of House's relationship with Dr. Park certainly plants the seed to take the show back to it's roots.
I'm glad that a show that has to solve a medical mystery and include teaching moments in 45 minutes of screen time has decided to leave the soap opera moments of various "ships" in the dust.
52 - Celia
To MsHouseMD
THIS.
I like your thought processes.
53 - bigHousefan
I loved both these episodes!
I loved the comparison between the patient and Bobby, and Wilson and House. Wilson, like the patient, has a friend that in spite of his failings is ultimately good for him.
I, too, think Foreman very much respects House for his abilities and also cares about him. I really liked Foreman last season and see a continuing thread.
I loved House scouring the hospital in search of this stuff. The scene where he tries to retrieve his chair - adorable and ADORABLE!
I thought the lungs in a glass box reflected how House must have felt. Struggling to function outside of his comfortable surroundings open to everyone's stares.
I love how this season started and it's great to be back enjoying Barbara's in sight as well as everyone's comments!
54 - doddle
@Nickel
you're right, writers sucked with her character. Lisa Edelstein should have left in season 5. It's amazing how female characters in this show are not very well written.
Why don't we have an opening credits with the show this season?
And so now you're all happy that Foreman is the new dean? lol
I've read many negative posts here about him being the boss. It was all about wilson or sam (omfg) being the new dean.
55 - Visitkarte
48 - Earth Orbiter
Thank you for the clarification. My law English is flawed, obviously. I learn every day.
50 - Joan
I wanted to avoid this subject but I guess I can’t. It takes a bit long to explain the details. I’ll try to keep it as short as possible.
Cuddy was the attending, Stacy had no knowledge of Medicine and not much knowledge about medical law (that’s why she asked Cuddy if it was her call after House went down, and Cuddy said yes. She was wrong, and I think she knew that, or she should have known that. It’s her job to know.
A medical proxy has only than the right to make a decision if the person is not capable of making his own decisions or express their will. House, however, expressed his wish clearly and since he went down, his will stays, unless something drastically changed so his decision is not valid anymore. Nothing changed, Stacy just waited for him to go down and then went against his explicate wished, and Cuddy knew that. Cuddy is the attending, she has the responsibility. Stacy is his girlfriend, she has a conflict of interest (he’d rather not take the risk, wants to save his life, if needed, against his will), and, while she is a lawyer, she has not a medical grade and, what’s more important, she is not responsible for his treatment. She is not his attending, it’s Cuddy.
Cuddy wouldn’t last a single hearing under these conditions. She would be doomed, and she knew that. Besides, she should have stepped aside as soon as she noticed she wasn’t being objective (she clearly had a crush on him, she wasn’t objective). She proved in Family Medicine that she never got this chapter in Ethics quite right.
Stacy might have some moral guilt to carry, and not too little. But Cuddy had the legal and professional responsibility.
I never tried to play down House’s legal responsibility for crashing into Cuddy’s dining room. What he did was a crime, it wasn’t attempt to physically harm the people but it was reckless (after all, worst case scenario, the house could have crushed/caught fire) and highly traumatizing.
Please try to do the same and accept Cuddy’s legal responsibility for doing unlicensed surgery on his leg and condemning him to a lifelong pain and a life as cripple. Also accept that House might have been right, there was a chance for him to make a full or nearly full recovery. I don’t care how big this off chance was, fact is, this possibility was never given a chance. Because Cuddy went against the explicit patients wishes. Wishes of a highly skilled and best informed doctor, the same one she hired to save the patients nobody could save.
56 - Visitkarte
PS: Even if House's condition made drastically change to the worse, they could have always woken him up and ask him what to do under the new circumstances. They never had the right to use a medical proxy, unless he became incapable of waking up and making his own decisions.
57 - HouseMDFan
@Visitkarte - From a purely legal POV you might be right, I don't know. But what's important here is the context: This is House MD, a show that NEVER actually followed medical ethics or medical law to the letter. Everybody would have been fired or in jail in the first season. It was always much more about the personal and ethical conflicts themselves, raising questions and showing many different possible perspectives. The infarction was always presented as a grey issue, never black and white. I don't know why it's supposed to be that now, especially since the legality has not been mentioned on the show once.
Someone else said that if Cuddy had acted like House, he would never have lost his muscle or Stacy. IMO Stacy was quite right in "Honeymoon", if Cuddy had acted like House, he wouldn't even have a leg. This very episode under which we are taking this detour right now showed that he does not believe in "respecting" the patient's wishes, but doing what it takes.
58 - lobentti
:)) From all we´d seen before, IMO only the children House treated, Rachel (Cuddy´s kid) and Arlene really understood and loved House as he was! And sure, he said much more with his body and eyes than with words - words doesn´t mather, remember? So, let´s go on.
59 - lobentti
@ Nickel -
excelent point here, I see Cuddy the same way you do, from the very beginning, but mostly in 7th season :/
60 - Joan
HouseMDFan -- IA, you hit the nail on the head, yes, they don't really follow medical ethics or law on the show and everyone would probably be in trouble in real life! House frequently ignores patient's explicit wishes to do what he thinks is best for them, so true! But when he saves their lives, all is forgiven. And, (my main point) when its House, many fans don't have such a problem with that, but the same sort of thing is unforgiveable by womeone else.
Re Cuddy, Visitkarte, I appreciate your point of view, I think it is largely the show twisting the situation and how we are interpreting it (I think we are to assume House could not be woken up to 'ask' him or would die and his condition is deteriorating so they would have to act) and I don't interpret Cuddy as having a crush on him then or knowing better than Stacy what he would want. Legally, relatives with no medical knowledge and emotional 'conflicts' are frequently put in the position of making medical decisions in this country, so even tho drs may know best, family member/holder of poa or healthcare directive has the final say as a matter of law. But its so true that House only applies legal/medical realities when it suits the plot, so it is a moot argument. Remember when House refused to comply with the DNR for the musician -- we were all rooting for him were'nt we?
61 - Serena
@ Barbara
“I’m hopeful that the impact of “Moving On” won’t disappear too soon, and will frame at least the deep background of episodes to come as House navigates his newly altered reality”
It certainly would be more powerful, but I think the writers are just trying to turn an embarrassing page as soon as possible. That is why they resumed quickly the H/W friendship (disappointingly quickly, as you noticed) and avoided to go too deep into House’s emotions about Cuddy’s departure. However, his reaction to the mention of Cuddy is perfectly understandable. He can’t confront her, he can’t even hear anything about her. When he hears that she gave notice the very next day after the “incident”, he has the proof his action actually affected Cuddy’s life and doesn’t want to know more because it would be too difficult for him to deal with it. He’s simply trying to remove the mess of mixed feelings he still has for her.
62 - RobRow
I saw that episode and thought, wow, he really is unrepentant and he really hasn't changed. And then I thought, well I can live with that, and is empathy for the character beside the point? Like Lear or Falstaff, House has become something of an everyman character. He suffers but he isn't likeable. And the Shakespeare analogy is deliberate, because he's got that depth. I doubt David Shore imagined what the character would become when he pitched the idea for the show. If House was simply Sherlock Holmes in a (missing) medical coat I would have thought, disgusting clever-dick, and stopped watching a long time ago. I was more annoyed by Foreman as the Dean of Medicine. Really implausible considering all we know about his history. But again, I can live with it for the sake of show. It is convenient, but I wouldn't be surprised if he gave up the job and rejoined the team at some point. As for Wilson, I accept all you say Barbara, but....I'm glad House and Wilson's bromance is on again. It's been the most enduring relationship in the show, and one of its strengths. The episode Birthmarks from season 5 was much better in the reconciation stakes (possibly my all time favourite), but for now a punch will have to do. Finally the new character, doctor Park was great. Quirky, cute, and capable of standing up to House. Maybe she'll punch him next. I really enjoyed this episode, and despite differing on some points, this review.
63 - Queen
Barbara, It's interesting to read all the comments and your responses to them. I particularly notice that you have not responded to one single Cuddy hate remark. Of course you want this place to be positive and you don't want to deter people from commenting here but it can't be attractive to everyone when the irrational hate of one character starts to seep into the comments so frequently. I don't remember this ever being the case before and I wonder why it's that way now. I don't think people can come back when this hate is supported silently. The comments are mainly positive because it has been clear from the last episodes (this season and last) that only "real" fans can comfortably post here. The undercurrent of "judgment" is not gone. There is little rancor because most people with differing opinions don't post here now.
64 - Nickel
Doddle, I originally believed that Foreman would be a crappy DoM since his track record with authority pretty much sucked. Not to mention the fact that covering up a murder would/should keep him out of the running for the position, but since the Board of Directors did not know this little bit of information....oh wait why? House covered his ass. However David Shore just proved himself WRONG-people do change. Foreman came across as adult and honest with House... traits that we never really saw before. So maybe the fact that he has been in his position a year now without having to prove his worth to the only person he ever tried to (House), he has grown up. He was a little bit a jerk, but when push came to shove he did not utter the words that I will forever associate with the Foreman character YOU'RE WRONG HOUSE, OR HOUSE YOU'RE WRONG. No matter how RIGHT he was.
The truly endearing fact about House that I really appreciate is this: He did not sneakily perform sabotage to Cuddy's dining room, (as Wilson and Cuddy always did their secret deeds), he did not deny his deed (Foreman with Dibala), he did not look to get absolution in some other form (Chase), he did not plea to a lesser crime (13), he did not lie about it (Taub). He walked into court like a man and accepted his punishment. That goes a long way in my book. Not to mention that all these other chumps get to point a finger at House as if they never did anything wrong. I was hoping in a lame sort of way that House would remind Foreman that people in glass houses should not throw stones, but that is completely out of character for House to do.
65 - Visitkarte
@ 60 - Joan
You can't have it both ways. If you want to ignore law and basic ethics and law, than House should have walked in the hospital, unscathed, without doing time.
The show respects basic ethics and law. The main principle is, you can get away with almost everything if no one sues you.
House didn't sue Cuddy, House's DNR patient didn't sue him, Arlene withdrew her pursuit, because, basically, they were OK with what he did.
House never amputated even a single finger tip without the consent of his patient. He would never do that. If he did, till me an example. And don’t say he girl in Detox, he got the consent of the parents, the girl seemed fine with the decision, she didn’t know better. Remember the dancer? Hannah? Heck, he even asked Andy for consent.
He might try to browbeat his patients into consenting, he intubated the DNR patient against his alleged will, because it wasn’t really what the patient wanted. He didn’t want to suffocate slowly on the course of ALS, it doesn’t mean he wanted to die because of an anaphylactic shock. Again, he didn’t “hurt” him, no lasting damage was done, he simply made the treatment mistake undone. But he was ready to pay the price, and that's the difference.
I must stop now, this is getting OT.
66 - HouseMDFan
@Visitkarte - I'm guessing you are talking about Finding Judas, not Detox? (There wasn't a girl in Detox.) The dancer from "Under My Skin"? He didn't even know about the case anymore at that point. Hannah? He didn't browbeat her because he agreed with her, until he didn't, and apart from that, Hannah was completely special, and it's the whole point of her that House acts differently when it comes to his leg than he does with other things.
And of course the show doesn't just ignore ethics and law, but the main principle is by no means "you can get away with everything if no one sues you", the main principle is "let's examine this ethical and personal dilemma without letting the small letters of law hinder this examination".
@Queen - As you can see from my comment above, I'm not happy about the Cuddy hate either, but I thought it pointless to object in depth. Hate is irrational. (I actually think NO recurring character on this show deserves hate, because they are all understandable and interesting in their complexity, but that's me.) Disagreements are not unwelcome here though, I was the first one to emphatically disagree with Barbara after all. Disagreements that are nothing but hate against the main character or TPTB are rather pointless and poisoning, though.
67 - Michele1L
Solid first two episodes. Like Foreman as Dean of Medicine. Glad Wilson took House up on socking House in the face, rather than the other option House offered him (LOL).
No one mentioned the creepy older lady in orthopedics who was anxious to rat on House for trying to steal back his whiteboard. I thought she was quite funny.
All the talk about Cuddy ... I agree with most of the negative comments concerning her behavior. She sent House into a tailspin -- insisting she didn't want him to change and then dumping him because he couldn't. Ridiculous. While what he did was wildly over the top because his behavior had been escalating what he did wasn't shocking to me. I'm not condoning it, but I get it and think he should be done feeling guilty about it and Cuddy. Cuddy set all of it in motion by lying to herself and to him in the beginning. Having said that, I would not be suprised -- especially if this turns out to be the last season -- if Cuddy were to return for an episode.
On a more trivial note -- glad Hugh's hair is shorter in the next episode. Hate the longer hair, and glad they are not powdering,spraying, toupe-ing and whatever else they've been doing to cover his bald spot. (He's had that bald spot forever. Long before he started "House".) It was probably Hugh's suggestion that the makeup people finally let it alone. On his special "Let's Talk" on PBS he commented about how the people in Los Angeles are 'terrified of getting old'. Obviously, he has no problem with maturing. Good for you, Hugh!
68 - HouseMDFan
@Michele
Cuddy set all of it in motion by lying to herself and to him in the beginning.
See, I don't disagree that the results of Cuddy's actions were bad for House. But a) they were bad for herself just as well, and b) this makes it sound like she did that on purpose. She didn't, she loved House and she wanted to give that a chance, not seeing the "giant chasm" (House in Humpty Dumpty) that prevented that. This exact character trait has been GOOD for him at other times ("Words and Deeds" is an example).
I also want to add that House was already in a downward spiral at the end of season 6, Cuddy saved him from that at first and then admittedly reinforced it by leaving him. But the initial spiral wasn't all her doing.
69 - Earth Orbiter
@Joan #60: Not that we're ganging up on you; however, with what Visitkarte described, there is nothing left to interpretation. Cuddy The Doctor and Stacy The Lawyer-Cum-Health-Care-Proxy both knew what they were doing was not only wrong, but illegal. House DID state quite clearly what his wishes were with respect to his treatment. He gave his "informed consent." The medically-induced coma did not mitigate those wishes. Cuddy would've been screwed and there might even have been some professional repercussions for Stacy, too; I think someone could've made a pretty good "she should have known better" case against her. Both would have suffered legal consequences.
Of course, you could take it back even farther and ask: Why would a physician consult an ENDOCRINOLOGIST for acute leg pain, and why did it take 4 DAYS to diagnose a condition that should've taken less than 4 hours? A blood clot is not that much of a stretch as far as diagnosing; they're pretty common. I think Visitkarte will back me up on this one. On top of which, the blood clot in his leg could have very easily embolized and traveled to his brain, heart or lungs with much more catastrophic results. From a medical standpoint, the whole premise was ridiculous, which is ironic because this was one of the most popular episodes.
70 - Visitkarte
@ 60 - Joan
You can't have it both ways. If you want to ignore law and basic ethics and law, than House should have walked in the hospital, unscathed, without doing time.
The show respects basic ethics and law. The main principle is, you can get away with almost everything if no one sues you.
House didn't sue Cuddy, House's DNR patient didn't sue him, Arlene withdrew her pursuit, because, basically, they were OK with what he did.
House never amputated even a single finger tip without the consent of his patient. He would never do that. If he did, till me an example. And don’t say he girl in Detox, he got the consent of the parents, the girl seemed fine with the decision, she didn’t know better. Remember the dancer? Hannah? Heck, he even asked Andy for consent.
@ 64 - Nickel
I agree, again. House can do nasty things, but he is open and honest. Everybody lies, so does House, of course. But when it matters, he owns up, he accepts there is a price to be paid. Beautifully put.
@ all
I don't hate Cuddy, just because I despise some of her behaviors. I know she is just as screwed up, delusional (she wanted to believe she was able to accept House as he was, threw all caution in the wind and claimed she didn't want him to change... Except, she did. And she was disappointed.
House never promised her anything he couldn't give. He actually tried so hard, it was painful to watch. He refused to get attached long enough, and yet, he did, and he got hurt. She got hurt. And it ended in a mess.
What I wanted to show is, if House is a criminal, Cuddy is a criminal, too. House does bad things because he feels more than he can stand, and if goaded too much, he explodes. But he is very aware of his failures. Other figures on the show aren't. They are all so fast to assume everything is House's failure, they come out clean. God, what a cozy fantasy world they are occupying, when there is always a willing scapegoat to blame. What I wanted to show is, while House did a terrible thing and went to jail (he served 10 months in jail, has another 10 months left, 12 for crashing in Cuddy’s dining room, 8 for saving Lupus Guy), so he will live approximately 10 months with the ankle bracelet and all restrictions. 13 euthanized her brother, pleaded down, went away with 6 months. Chase killed a man, dictator, but it was a premeditated, and went away with nothing but a divorce. Cuddy crippled House against his will, she got away with not even one bad word from House. Wilson asked House to risk his life and his sanity to save Amber, and got the right to sulk and blame House after all.
I won’t go on and on anymore. I hope I made my point. This is my reason for rooting for House. You can love a person and still despise their deeds. Or the other was round.
71 - Visitkarte
Sorry, editing error, the post to Joan was copied in without me noticing it. My bad. I need to go to bed.
72 - Barbara Barnett
Queen,
People can disagree--and I don't agree with hate spewed at any character, but everyone takes away something different from the show. All of the characters have been victim to hate at one time or another by one part of the fandom or another. Whether or not I agree with people, they are entitled to their opinion.
I would say that the fault for the surgery lies with Stacy. She is the one who used the medical proxy to go around House. He never stopped loving her even after she did the deed. I do not think Cuddy is to blame for it. There have been so many comments on this thread (for which I'm eternally grateful), I've barely had a chance to respond to even a few.
What I objected to over last spring and summer was the personal attacks on fellow commenters.
I hated the way Cuddy treated House as their relationship nosedived. She knew his trepidation about the relationship, his terrible fear that she would eventually leave him. And she did. She even admitted to Wilson just how unfair she was being. It was her right to be unfair and cruel. I didn't like it. That, on the other hand, doesn't excuse House's behavior, although anyone who knows him would have known he'd go off the rails completely. (Wilson understood that and it's why he appealed to Cuddy in Out of the Chute--and why he was so worried about his state of mind).
I loved the House-Cuddy relationship. I'm sorry that Lisa Edelstein left, but that was her choice, and it was the right one for her. She's moved on and quickly became part of another show, which is great.
Visitkarte--You are quite right. House will browbeat and manipulate. Until he (and hence the patient) has complete information and a true answer if found. At that point, House never forces himself or his position. He gets consent, or he lets go. He's let go of patients (Forever, for example) because after it's all said and done, it's their life.
73 - Visitkarte
@ 72 - Barbara Barnett
Thanks.
I think we have a little misunderstanding. What you name about the illegal surgery on House is the ethical responsibility. This one goes to Stacy, of course. I would say, at least 80% of it.
But the legal responsibility is often something entirely different. Cuddy knew they were doing the surgery against the patient's explicit wishes, so Stacy’s guilt wouldn't let her off the hook. I talk about her duty as a doctor. In this one, she is the expert, not Stacy.
Thanks God this never became an issue. House never sued anybody and that's why it's a moot point. If he did, she would have been deep in the ...
But House is a doctor himself, and he would never sue his fellow colleague, as long as he could relate to their reasoning.
Let’s agree to disagree on this one. I wanted only to show where I came from. It’s my medical background in the first line making me a hard judge on disrespecting informed consent.
74 - HouseMDFan
Until he (and hence the patient) has complete information and a true answer if found.
That's actually a good point, you are right. (He disregards the fact that for the patient, there may be more important things than "complete information", but that's the point of the character of course.)
75 - Ladybelle Fiske
I am looking forward to more House but I was surprised that he didn't focus more on where Cuddy is and what she's up to. He's not the kind of person to not ask questions. That's the writer's need, the showrunner's need... isn't it?
He loved Cuddy-- why would he not carry a torch for her as for Stacy? I am a bit confused about that. But I'm glad people are pleased with the show and maybe it will help us get a Season 9. I'd do anything for more House. I'm a true addict.