The rest of the episode serves as both a medical mystery, as House tries to prove that his Gulf War Syndrome is actually nothingswrongitosis and then to discover what the somethingswrongitosis actually is, and a mystery about the patient’s identity.
House can never do something the easy way if that would involve human interaction, so he doesn't actually asks the guy. Instead he gets his team to investigate whether he's been on TV, among other leads. "His problem could be neurological. Everyone knows TV rots your brain." In desperation, while the patient is deteriorating on the operating table, House asks the crucial question: "Have you ever appeared in any pornos?"
With all the toilet humor and the opening blow-em-up war scene, this House tilted toward the 12-year-old-boy demographic that consists not just of 12-year-old boys, but most men as well. In doing so, it found new and interesting ways to disgust squeamish me. Did I really need to see House catheterize himself? Just to be clear: I really, really didn’t.
The epiphany to both mysteries comes to House in yet another dream, and the episode has cleverly prepped us for surreality by playing with what's real and point of view, including in an effective scene where we cut from John's deaf perspective to the minions arguing loudly over his bedside. However, I have to admit I didn't follow the medical epiphany in the dream at all, so House’s instadiagnosis of the patient didn't hold together for me. Maybe I was just distracted by the Cuddy-related epiphany. Or by all the urine.
When House's nose begins to bleed, and the TV screen starts to resemble a funhouse mirror, and Cuddy seductively says "I'm always here," it's not much of a surprise when House wakes up in bed. Covered in urine, naturally, but with a satisfied smile on his face. Well sure. It's all crystal clear now.
After going through diagnoses including sleep apnea, an STD, several kinds of cancer, and uranium toxicity, and symptoms including loss of hearing and paralysis, the patient's pallor and blood loss – did he have blood loss? - and the news of his grandfather's nosebleeds and father's shin splints bring sleeping House to the conclusion of a disease I've never heard of and am not even going to begin to try to spell. (Though the FOX website kindly posts information like that, all that cutting and pasting would wear me out.) Somewhere in there was the dream image of House's self-catheterization being exposed by a leak in the collection bag, and inordinate amounts of urine spilling from his pant leg. Have I mentioned all the pee?
Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
I assure you that no man wanted to see that catheterization scene, either. Maybe even less than you did, actually.
2 - Mary K. Williams
Good write up Diane - hope you've dried out from all the pee. That was one wet episode.
3 - Ana
I usually find myself able to watch most of House's gross medical scenes, but I couldn't watch during the catheterization scene. Too much urine in this episode.