House: "Technically, vegetative state guy was woken by... yeah, caustic guy."
I'm a little annoyed with episode writer Doris Egan, who wrote the fantastic "Failure to Communicate" and "House vs. God" as well. I wasn't going to take notes while watching "Son of Coma Guy," since I prefer watching like a normal person, plus writing a review based on notes always makes it longer and harder to write, and I wanted to take the lazy route tonight. But this is one of those episodes where paragraphs of character revelation come at us in beautifully expressed — and, of course, delivered — dialogue. So I was forced to grab a pen and forgo some extra sleep again.
Anyway, that tangential whine was brought to you partly by this next exchange between Wilson and House. House explains the "simple" explanation for Gabe's indifference is that the father doesn't love his son, while Wilson says that just because House's father's feelings were conditional doesn't mean that's the most likely answer.
Wilson: We have an evolutionary incentive to sacrifice for our offspring, our tribe, our friends — keep them safe.And there it is, the characteristically rich dialogue has the doctors talking about the patients but also about themselves and each other. Wilson is no stranger to sacrifices keeping a friend safe. "Son of Coma Guy" picks up a thread we largely left in last season's "Daddy's Boy," when we discovered House feels he's a disappointment to his father. And when I wrote short reviews and was careful not to spoil any plot points. I got sleep then. But I have more fun now. Anyway, the key quotes from that episode, which describe House's daddy issues, as far as we know them, were:House: Except for all the people who don't. ...Everything is conditional. We just can't always anticipate the conditions.
House: My dad's just like you [Cameron]. Not the caring 'til your eyes pop out part, just the insane moral compass that won't let you lie to anybody about anything. It's a great quality for boy scouts and police witnesses. Crappy quality for a dad.What we don't know is the whys under all that explanation. House's issues obviously go deeper and earlier than his disability. And there's that puzzling reference to a lie, which could be explained by anything or nothing we know so far. "Son of Coma Guy" takes our understanding a step further, and the mystery of House's twisted and poignant psychology a step further, too.Later - Cameron to Wilson: So his dad tells the truth. He can't handle that?
Wilson: He hates being a disappointment.
Cameron: He's a doctor. World famous. How disappointed can they be?
Wilson: You know what I figure is worse than watching your son become crippled? Watching him be miserable.
Article comments
1 - DJRadiohead
Diane, I now consider reading your writeup as part of my weekly House experience. This one must have taken awhile. Very well done.
I have to admit: I did not pick up on the parallels between Tritter's questions and House's questions. Naturally, "everybody lies" rang a bell but the rest of it... that's pretty good.
This episode goes into my Top 5 of all time. John Larroquette is woefully underappreciated. He was fabulous.
2 - Jewels
Thanks for the detailed write-up - I missed "House" last night, but reading this makes up for that. It's one of my favorite shows and your commentaries help fill in the blanks.
3 - Diane Kristine
Thanks both ... I kinda feel bad for spoiling it for you, though, Jewels, even though you don't!
DJ, yeah, great episode, and John Larroquette was great. I have to admit, the connections between Gabe and House's questioning and Tritter's questioning weren't quite as obvious as I made them out to be - the most glaring one was the Chase power thing, which made me realize the Cameron one tied in, too, but it wasn't quite like they cut directly from one to another.
4 - Brandon Valentine
Ditto to DJ's comments!
Diane, your thorough recap and analysis on each show is greatly appreciated. House is my "can't miss" show of the week, and the same can be said about your article.
5 - Joan Hunt
Congratulations! This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States.
6 - Phillip Winn
Simply fantastic: both the episode and your recap. I can't see the end of the Tritter plotline yet, but I'm pretty sure it'll have something to do with the creepy similarities between Tritter and House. Tritter falls ill with some dread disease and only House can save him? That'd be too easy, even if House somehow *gave* him that disease.
Larroquette was amazing. And yet, I agree that killing yourself to donate your heart speaks louder than words.
7 - Bliffle
The janitor/doctor is, like House himself, an allusion to Philoctetes, the archer whose skills were required to take Troy, but whose stinking wound made him a social outcast. And Tritter is Jean ValJeans nemisis. It's good to see these literary allusions because they remind us of eternal themes in the human condition.
8 - Vikk Simmons
Watched the episode and read your post. Enjoyed both. Great writing.
9 - pdesr
Great column, great perceptions!
I admit waiting for this episode with more anticipation than most. I have always admired John Larroquette’s skills as an actor, and I was not disappointed. As has been mentioned, I too, wish he could have a re-occurring character, the chemistry was excellent, few people have the presence to compete with House in a scene.
As for Tritt, I believe his downfall may be as simple as someone showing him that he is no different than House. He views himself as a “good guy”, but he is just as big a bully and just as self-centered as House Iin wanting to get his own way.
10 - jim Littleton
I love your House commentaries!
Could you pick up why, if the ragged-red fibre disease was from Kyle's mother and her family, why did John Larroquette's character not see the can being thrown to him?
11 - Diane Kristine
Thanks! Jim, it wasn't that he didn't see it. It was a contrast to when he caught the car keys earlier, and a sign that his reflexes were slowing down, the L dopa was losing its effectiveness, and he was running out of awake time.