Gabe decides that with his one bonus day of life — just like in Awakenings, his newly uncomatose state is temporary — he wants to hang with House and Wilson in Atlantic City. Well, to be more accurate, he wants a particular sandwich from a particular place in Atlantic City. And since he has no money or car, House offers Wilson's in exchange for the opportunity to quiz him about his family's medical history. So just like in Egan's "Failure to Communicate," we get House on a road trip. We also get a blatant and funny Ip Od product placement.
Gabe, however, adds a game to this quid pro quo exchange: for every question of House's, House has to answer a question of Gabe's. Why? Because Gabe is a power-hungry control freak, and "the only power I have left is the power to annoy you." Hey, that's House's power!
Gabe knows how to go for the jugular, asking only intrusive personal questions. And whatever ethical lapses House commits, he's oddly noble, so he holds up his end of the bargain. Yes, he loved someone. He met her when she shot him. At paintball. Lawyers versus doctors. Has he loved anyone else? Nope, won't go there.
Meanwhile, creepy cop Tritter (creepily effective guest star David Morse) quizzes House's team in brief scenes that offer some thematic similarities to the House discussions they transition from. Everything's conditional? Cut to Tritter asking Cameron how House has earned her loyalty. Gabe craves power? Tritter tells Chase "medicine attracts people who are attracted to power" and refuses to believe House asks for rather than demands Vicodin prescriptions from him. House is an ass? Foreman agrees House is an ass. Okay, that scene could have been placed anywhere. Tritter also says "everybody lies" to explain his interest in the case. That sounds familiar. Maybe Tritter and House aren't so unalike?
The plot motivation for Gabe and House's fun and revealing Q&A is to diagnose the declining Kyle. House first thinks he has found the answer in mercury poisoning, then when that fails to hold up, goes back to a genetic link, finally landing on something called ragged-red fibre. The medical details felt largely irrelevant though, with the character motivation so much more interesting.
Wilson gets in on the House interrogation, then answers his own question — why his prescription pad for the forgery? Why not Cameron's, or Chase's, or Foreman's?
Wilson: I associate with you through choice, and any relationship that involves choice, you have to see how far you can push before it breaks. ...And one day our friendship will break, and that'll just prove your theory that relationships are conditional and you don't need human connection, or deserve it, or whatever goes on in that rat maze of your brain.
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.