Monuments to Selfishness: 7X15
Mar. 8th, 2011 10:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
readingratNow that was - surprising. I admit I hadn't reckoned with that. I was depressed after that, but that is, to be honest, usually a sign of a good House episode. House isn't supposed to make us feel all fuzzy inside, it's meant to make us think. This episode certainly did so to me.
The Unifying Theme: Bombs Waiting to Explode
The POTW is a sympathetic young fellow: reasonably cute, misunderstood by his obtuse parents who see only what they want to see, bullied by his classmates - Taub and we feel for him. He's depressed, cuts himself, and hates his life. What a good thing that Taub cares! Turns out, though, that our misunderstood mini-Taub is a drug dealer and a disaster waiting to happen - presumably. Perhaps he's only a mixed-up kid who slipped up once and likes exploding stuff. Taub doesn't know, we don't know. His medical problem becomes secondary, to the point that when his condition worsens one is inclined to hope he'll die to spare everyone the bother of trying to figure out whether he'd blow the other kids in his school to oblivion if the team saved him. The solution is almost trivial - a staph infection - but then again, House's fellows have a history of killing people with staph infections, so I guess trivial becomes non-trivial when faced with a team that wears filters designed to keep the trivial out.
This week Taub gets to present himself from his better side (last week was Chase's turn). His dilemma lies in whether to inform the police of the threatening videos on the boy's computer. The other fellows are not enthusiastic since there's no conclusive evidence and whatever there is has been gleaned illegally. Taub finally makes the right call - he informs the police against the wishes of the parents. It's a tough decision, because it could affect the boy's entire career, but nevertheless it's the right one. It's the parents' job to protect their kid and to give him the benefit of the doubt, even if that should ultimately harm others, but that's not the job description that outsiders have. They have to consider the greater good, and in this case that's protecting all those other children who might die if this child's disturbing, though non-conclusive symptoms are ignored. Whether this bomb would ever have detonated is uncertain, but Taub has ensured that it will be defused.
Similarly Cuddy has a potential time bomb in her body: a kidney tumour that seems to have metastasised into her lungs. If the diagnosis is confirmed, it's a death sentence. In this case, however, a diagnosis is possible. The tumour is removed in surgery, examined and deemed to be benign - a dud. Or isn't it? When House tells Cuddy she's clear, I was convinced at first that he was lying to protect her.
The third bomb on the verge of detonating is House himself. He takes vicodin to be able to face a potentially dying Cuddy and be what she needs him to be at that moment. Cuddy realises he's a disaster waiting to happen; at every crisis she'll have to fear that he'll combust, so she takes steps to remove herself from his detonation radius. That, unfortunately but rather predictably, lights House's fuse and we have the doubtful pleasure of seeing eighteen months' worth of sobriety scatter into the atmosphere.
Creating Tension
This episode gets 10 out of 10 for its arc, the tension it creates, then seemingly dispels only to bring it back with a vengeance. There's House slowly disintegrating during differentials. He starts off all cool with a differential during his girlfriend's bladder examination, getting himself kicked out so as to be able to stay with his team. As Cuddy's prognosis becomes worse, so does House's attention span during differentials, culminating in his bodily absence during her operation. House neglects a patient, not out of choice, but because he's utterly losing it.
In a parallel development Cuddy's dreams become increasingly angsty. She starts off with a sitcom version of a future without her - now I know why I don't watch those - that has House and Wilson raising Rachel. It's light, and even Cuddy's implied death throws no shadow on the familial bliss portrayed there. First cracks appear in the fifties spoof, where Cuddy realises that the future she's envisioning will never take place, even if she should survive. The next dream clearly foreshadows her death - deserted at the last minute by House, and the fourth one - was just WOW! It had me completely weirded out, like those psycho thrillers that I never, Never, NEVER watch because I'd never be able to sleep again. By the end of that hallucination
my heart rate was up, my breathing shallow, and I was terrified. It is a wonderfully ambiguous dream, that one. Superficially it shows Cuddy being led into the next world by House; thus it seems to chime into the greater 'Cuddy fears her imminent death' theme. Later, when we know more, it acquires a different meaning. House has never been one to believe in life after death, heaven, etc. His Happy Place is drug-induced and what we see is Cuddy's subconscious telling her that House is fleeing there again.
The Selfishness Ranking
There are episodes that bring out the best in everyone. This one brought out the worst in practically everyone - how pathetic can a bunch of humans get that getting stoned so as to be able to bear the company of one's dying partner seems an act of self-sacrifice? Because that's how it came over to me compared to the other stunts pulled in this episode (a lovely one, btw - House episodes live off the feeling of moral indignation that they engender).
Who gets to benefit from the week's development?
First and foremost, Wilson. He has been lonely ever since Sam left, and has admitted to being bitter at House's happiness. With the House/Cuddy split-up he gets House back and he gets to show everyone that he's the only one who can cope with him. 'See, even Cuddy abandoned him, but I can handle House.' Not to mention that an abandoned House is a needy House. That may sound cynical, but House MD is a cynical show.
Secondly, House himself. House has been using Cuddy as therapy ersatz. In 'Baggage' he quit therapy because the process was too long and painful; in the following episode he got together with Cuddy and never went to therapy since. Now I can't imagine that the writers simply forgot about therapy - I'm pretty sure that thousands of former addicts all over the world who have systematically worked at their problems over the years are flooding David Shore and Co with emails to the effect that getting into a relationship is no alternative to dealing with one's issues the hard way, and would the writers please get House back into therapy. The longer the season continued without dealing with the matter the more uneasy I got - this was beyond a bit of political incorrectness, this was sheer, stupid, senseless lack of responsibility. Then, finally, the cracks showed in the last episode, 'Recession Proof'. House admits to relying utterly on Cuddy, to the point that even Cuddy is spooked. And in this episode Cuddy accuses House of not having his fear of pain under control - a clear signal that although House is ostensibly coping, the underlying cause of his addiction is by no means combatted. Cuddy leaving him means that she can no longer serve as a buffer to his misery, and his relapse means that he'll be dealing with his issues sooner rather than later.
Who doesn't get to benefit? Well, Cuddy. As her sister points out, she's been ranting about House these past ten years, to the extent that it isn't clear to her sister since when they've been dating. Relationships aren't Cuddy's strong point; add to that a pretty exclusive taste in men and it doesn't take a genius to see that she's going to be one lonely woman. (May I point out that House's taste is far less exclusive and that he hasn't been ranting about Cuddy half as long? Once he's ship-shape again he should not have a problem finding an alternative to Cuddy.) Perhaps Wilson will take pity on her and marry her; she certainly fulfills all the necessary neediness criteria.
The other main non-beneficiary is probably the audience. I thought till recently that a break-up would be beneficial for getting the show back under steam, but now I'm not so sure. When this season got under way, the medicine was neglected sorely in favour of the House/Cuddy story line, or so I thought. I have, however, been watching some of the House/Stacy episodes, and I noticed that intense as their interaction was, it was never at the cost of the medical mystery. Ergo, it is possible to write episodes full of angst, passion, and what-have-you without bulldozing over everything else. If the writers chose to do so this season, it isn't because they felt that the romance needed to supersede the medicine. No, I fear I was mistaking cause and effect. The Cause was a lack of decent medical cases. The effect was to fill up the episodes with lots of Huddy angst to fill the time. What other explanation can there be for massage therapists, babysitting and similar plot oddities? This is a problem that will not disappear miraculously with Cuddy's disappearance from House's life, so I very much fear that we are not done yet with needless angst and indifferent medicine.
The Unifying Theme: Bombs Waiting to Explode
The POTW is a sympathetic young fellow: reasonably cute, misunderstood by his obtuse parents who see only what they want to see, bullied by his classmates - Taub and we feel for him. He's depressed, cuts himself, and hates his life. What a good thing that Taub cares! Turns out, though, that our misunderstood mini-Taub is a drug dealer and a disaster waiting to happen - presumably. Perhaps he's only a mixed-up kid who slipped up once and likes exploding stuff. Taub doesn't know, we don't know. His medical problem becomes secondary, to the point that when his condition worsens one is inclined to hope he'll die to spare everyone the bother of trying to figure out whether he'd blow the other kids in his school to oblivion if the team saved him. The solution is almost trivial - a staph infection - but then again, House's fellows have a history of killing people with staph infections, so I guess trivial becomes non-trivial when faced with a team that wears filters designed to keep the trivial out.
This week Taub gets to present himself from his better side (last week was Chase's turn). His dilemma lies in whether to inform the police of the threatening videos on the boy's computer. The other fellows are not enthusiastic since there's no conclusive evidence and whatever there is has been gleaned illegally. Taub finally makes the right call - he informs the police against the wishes of the parents. It's a tough decision, because it could affect the boy's entire career, but nevertheless it's the right one. It's the parents' job to protect their kid and to give him the benefit of the doubt, even if that should ultimately harm others, but that's not the job description that outsiders have. They have to consider the greater good, and in this case that's protecting all those other children who might die if this child's disturbing, though non-conclusive symptoms are ignored. Whether this bomb would ever have detonated is uncertain, but Taub has ensured that it will be defused.
Similarly Cuddy has a potential time bomb in her body: a kidney tumour that seems to have metastasised into her lungs. If the diagnosis is confirmed, it's a death sentence. In this case, however, a diagnosis is possible. The tumour is removed in surgery, examined and deemed to be benign - a dud. Or isn't it? When House tells Cuddy she's clear, I was convinced at first that he was lying to protect her.
The third bomb on the verge of detonating is House himself. He takes vicodin to be able to face a potentially dying Cuddy and be what she needs him to be at that moment. Cuddy realises he's a disaster waiting to happen; at every crisis she'll have to fear that he'll combust, so she takes steps to remove herself from his detonation radius. That, unfortunately but rather predictably, lights House's fuse and we have the doubtful pleasure of seeing eighteen months' worth of sobriety scatter into the atmosphere.
Creating Tension
This episode gets 10 out of 10 for its arc, the tension it creates, then seemingly dispels only to bring it back with a vengeance. There's House slowly disintegrating during differentials. He starts off all cool with a differential during his girlfriend's bladder examination, getting himself kicked out so as to be able to stay with his team. As Cuddy's prognosis becomes worse, so does House's attention span during differentials, culminating in his bodily absence during her operation. House neglects a patient, not out of choice, but because he's utterly losing it.
In a parallel development Cuddy's dreams become increasingly angsty. She starts off with a sitcom version of a future without her - now I know why I don't watch those - that has House and Wilson raising Rachel. It's light, and even Cuddy's implied death throws no shadow on the familial bliss portrayed there. First cracks appear in the fifties spoof, where Cuddy realises that the future she's envisioning will never take place, even if she should survive. The next dream clearly foreshadows her death - deserted at the last minute by House, and the fourth one - was just WOW! It had me completely weirded out, like those psycho thrillers that I never, Never, NEVER watch because I'd never be able to sleep again. By the end of that hallucination
my heart rate was up, my breathing shallow, and I was terrified. It is a wonderfully ambiguous dream, that one. Superficially it shows Cuddy being led into the next world by House; thus it seems to chime into the greater 'Cuddy fears her imminent death' theme. Later, when we know more, it acquires a different meaning. House has never been one to believe in life after death, heaven, etc. His Happy Place is drug-induced and what we see is Cuddy's subconscious telling her that House is fleeing there again.
The Selfishness Ranking
There are episodes that bring out the best in everyone. This one brought out the worst in practically everyone - how pathetic can a bunch of humans get that getting stoned so as to be able to bear the company of one's dying partner seems an act of self-sacrifice? Because that's how it came over to me compared to the other stunts pulled in this episode (a lovely one, btw - House episodes live off the feeling of moral indignation that they engender).
- Rank 5 goes to Masters for wanting to pull House from Cuddy's side to diagnose the patient. She's just stupid, really, so she gets the lowest rank.
- Rank 4 is shared by Foreman and Chase for not wanting to report the boy to the police. They aren't worried about ruining his life, they're just bothered it might backfire because legally it isn't airtight. No, he probably won't get more than a rap on the knuckles, but sometimes an official rap will wake up parents and kids to the dangers of their doings.
- House makes a mere 3 in this week's selfishness ranking, but only because the contenders for ranks 2 and 1 beat him, not because his own efforts weren't valiant. He was a very strong contender for Rank 1 through most of the episode and only lost Rank 2 right at the end. Refusing to be with his girlfriend when she's probably dying - I didn't think anyone would be able to top that. Needing to get stoned in order to go to her and hold her hand - the mind boggles. If that seems normal to us (no, I wasn't really surprised) it's because we're used to House's habit of looking after his own emotional needs rather than others' by now, not because his conduct is excusable in any way. Getting stoned, BTW, does not count as selfish here. It's probably the only redeeming feature of his behaviour that he's willing to sacrifice something he worked for so hard, namely his sobriety, in order to be able to be there for Cuddy.
- Cuddy beat House to Rank 2 literally at the last moment. That her behaviour topped House's is a gut feeling that has little objective content to base it on. But sometimes gut reactions can be revealing: my reaction to her telling House that he's an addict who avoids pain was, 'But you knew that, woman!' Cuddy wanted Mr Bad Guy. She wasn't contented with Mr Nice Eastern Lube or with Mr Half-Bad Lucas Douglas. No, she wanted the Real Thing, but apparently only the Good Side of the Bad Guy. Unfortunately, there's a reason why mothers warn their kids about the bad guys - it's because the bad side really isn't that funny. Cuddy is right when she says that relationships are about accepting pain and that House avoids pain because he can't deal with it. (He promptly proves her right by deadening the pain of being abandoned by her with a couple of vicodin.) I absolutely agree that a guy who runs for the hills or gets stoned to the gills every time there's a family crisis sucks as a partner, because sooner or later the going will get rough again and Cuddy can't be expected to keep herself together, look after Rachel and babysit a relapsing House. But I would never, ever, ever have got into a relationship with someone like House. Either one is selfish like me and stays away from the badasses or one sucks it up. My second gut feeling said that one doesn't dump a guy who is on the verge of falling apart already. Maybe there's no good time for dumping a former addict, but this seemed a tad ruthless. My last point is a debatable one, but I think that House deserves the benefit of the doubt when he says he can do better. At that moment he's putty in Cuddy's hand; he's guilt-ridden and he really wants to be able to be there for her when she needs him, so if Cuddy had said, 'Therapy, now!' he'd probably have gone stat. Yet Cuddy won't take the risk. It's her belief that he can't do better against his that he can, and she chooses the safety of a life as a single over the hard work of dealing with an addicted partner. That is a selfish choice, even if it is a sensible one.
- This may surprise some, but my winner of the week, hands down, is Wilson. He accuses House of making it about himself when it's Cuddy who may well be dying. Good point, Wilson! Yet how exactly does Cuddy benefit if you decide not to interfere with House as a matter of principle just to show that you won't play his games? With one fell swoop Wilson manages to make Cuddy's death about himself and House. Wilson knows that leaving House to his own devices will lead to House probably not showing and possibly relapsing. House's side of the latter problem aside, neither outcome is one that will be pleasant for Cuddy, yet Wilson risks that simply to make a statement. Or maybe it isn't as simple as all that ... It's a bit like the time he makes the deal with Tritter and Cameron calls him on it. How can he be sure that his motives are pure when the deal is a windfall for him? Which brings me to my final analysis.
Who gets to benefit from the week's development?
First and foremost, Wilson. He has been lonely ever since Sam left, and has admitted to being bitter at House's happiness. With the House/Cuddy split-up he gets House back and he gets to show everyone that he's the only one who can cope with him. 'See, even Cuddy abandoned him, but I can handle House.' Not to mention that an abandoned House is a needy House. That may sound cynical, but House MD is a cynical show.
Secondly, House himself. House has been using Cuddy as therapy ersatz. In 'Baggage' he quit therapy because the process was too long and painful; in the following episode he got together with Cuddy and never went to therapy since. Now I can't imagine that the writers simply forgot about therapy - I'm pretty sure that thousands of former addicts all over the world who have systematically worked at their problems over the years are flooding David Shore and Co with emails to the effect that getting into a relationship is no alternative to dealing with one's issues the hard way, and would the writers please get House back into therapy. The longer the season continued without dealing with the matter the more uneasy I got - this was beyond a bit of political incorrectness, this was sheer, stupid, senseless lack of responsibility. Then, finally, the cracks showed in the last episode, 'Recession Proof'. House admits to relying utterly on Cuddy, to the point that even Cuddy is spooked. And in this episode Cuddy accuses House of not having his fear of pain under control - a clear signal that although House is ostensibly coping, the underlying cause of his addiction is by no means combatted. Cuddy leaving him means that she can no longer serve as a buffer to his misery, and his relapse means that he'll be dealing with his issues sooner rather than later.
Who doesn't get to benefit? Well, Cuddy. As her sister points out, she's been ranting about House these past ten years, to the extent that it isn't clear to her sister since when they've been dating. Relationships aren't Cuddy's strong point; add to that a pretty exclusive taste in men and it doesn't take a genius to see that she's going to be one lonely woman. (May I point out that House's taste is far less exclusive and that he hasn't been ranting about Cuddy half as long? Once he's ship-shape again he should not have a problem finding an alternative to Cuddy.) Perhaps Wilson will take pity on her and marry her; she certainly fulfills all the necessary neediness criteria.
The other main non-beneficiary is probably the audience. I thought till recently that a break-up would be beneficial for getting the show back under steam, but now I'm not so sure. When this season got under way, the medicine was neglected sorely in favour of the House/Cuddy story line, or so I thought. I have, however, been watching some of the House/Stacy episodes, and I noticed that intense as their interaction was, it was never at the cost of the medical mystery. Ergo, it is possible to write episodes full of angst, passion, and what-have-you without bulldozing over everything else. If the writers chose to do so this season, it isn't because they felt that the romance needed to supersede the medicine. No, I fear I was mistaking cause and effect. The Cause was a lack of decent medical cases. The effect was to fill up the episodes with lots of Huddy angst to fill the time. What other explanation can there be for massage therapists, babysitting and similar plot oddities? This is a problem that will not disappear miraculously with Cuddy's disappearance from House's life, so I very much fear that we are not done yet with needless angst and indifferent medicine.
What About Me?
Where does all this leave my poor inner Huddy? Well, it has been dumped back where it was lying at the end of the last season, and that wasn't a bad place. I was fine till then with no Huddy on-screen, and I'll be fine again. After all, it isn't as though the House/Cuddy relationship was in any way satisfying to watch. It was a roller coaster ride, and I happen to hate roller coasters. I'm quite happy to go back to reading huddy-centric fanfic to satisfy my desire for fluffy shallowness, and I'll take things on-screen as they come. Besides, I'm a good loser. Hey, all you Hilsons, enjoy yourselves while you can! I'm pretty sure that David Shore will be able to make you as miserable as the most miserable Huddy-shipper in no time at all. This is, after all, House MD: audience misery is part of the deal.
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no subject
Date: 2011-03-10 09:41 pm (UTC)Now the ending was devastating, but - it could have been a lot worse. Neither of them blamed the other. If anything they blamed themselves, Cuddy for not realising from the start that she wasn't up to the relationship, and House for not doing well enough. Most viewers didn't notice, but Cuddy does NOT blame House. She's disappointed that he seemingly can't change, but she doesn't blame him. She just says that she can't live with that and she actually apologises for that. That's tantamount to taking the blame herself and it is totally different from saying, 'You screwed this up.'
I don't believe they'll get together again. But since they aren't blaming each other there's a good chance that they can be friends, real friends, after this, who care for each other, know each other's faults and respect each other. Cuddy can deal with House and his addictive behaviour if she isn't dependent on his support, and House won't get stressed and run for the hills (or drugs) if he knows that demands on him are low.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-10 10:52 pm (UTC)Second, I was happy to see House happy in a relationship, with any partner he would choose, and I did not think he was bad into it. Now he is going to be miserable again, and I feel for him.
But mostly, I strongly disagree with David Shore recent comments, that House is a bad partner, a bad spouse, and is back to square one. ANd that relapses can be long. If this is really what he thinks, after 7 seasons, and no improvement, then I have been watching the wrong show. But that is my problem, not his.
And I loved our second installment. Very strong Cuddy and Wilson voices, and your interpretation makes perfect sense. Season 6 was a painful one, and it suddenly feels crystal clear.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-10 11:31 pm (UTC)And I loved our second installment.
Thank you.