Rant: So, need I worry ...

[readingrat]

... about Dominika?

Oh, no, no - I'm not worried about House screwing her, thus violating the vows of chastity and purity that bind him to Cuddy forever and ever. Cuddy haters would say that with his little detour into house renovation (no pun intended; I'm not a green card aspirant) he and Cuddy are quits and there's been closure. I'd put it a bit differently, but it amounts to the same thing: House can screw whom he likes, for all I care.

As long as it isn't a character that I'm invested in. Because even though the Amazing House With His Magical Swivelling Eye can see through walls when driving a car up the curb at 40 mph, he may discover the next time that he repeats that stunt that he can't brake in time if someone is actually inside a room that he's demolishing, and I'm not in the mood for DS and Co smirking triumphantly and saying, "People don't change and isn't this a wonderful series finale? This is what real guys do."

I've learnt more about 'real guys' this season than in all my years with my partner.

1. Wilson and House:
Real guys solve disputes and the like with their fists. Why speak about things like endangering the other's life or nearly killing a mutual friend when a gentle healing touch on the chin says more than a thousand words?
2. Adams and House:
Demolishing real estate is a probate remedy for problems with one's xy ex-partner (substitute 'selfish', 'cheating', 'bitchy', or what you please for 'xy').
3. House to Park: "Maybe it's time to recognize [violence is] not a character flaw. Maybe it's your character."
So, six years after 'Acceptance', when House didn't accept a tumour as an exculpating factor for violence, having a 'violent' character - whatever that may be - is considered reason and excuse enough for physical violence.
4. POTW of  'Man of the House': Only men unfortunate enough to have been kneed in the groin can control their baser urges. 'Normal', healthy men can't be blamed for their aggressive behaviour - it's all testosterone, without which they'd be perfectly peaceful and caring individuals - who can't fulfill their partners' sexual needs. And we wouldn't want that, would we?

If House gets involved with Dominika - I thought I sensed a hint of wistfulness in House's eyes at the idea of Dominika loving him - is she in danger? And if so, would that bother me? The answer to the second question is, not yet, but Dominika is a character whom I think I could like. She's a lot less irritating than Adams, she's clever, manipulative and funny.

As for the first question: of course she isn't in danger! She'd never order House around, belittle his pain issues, worry about his addiction, be 'all nag and no shag', or set him off by cheating on him like she did on two of her previous three spouses ... oops, got mixed up over there.

What with all the hoyay subtext this season, I'm a bit worried about Wilson. There are, after all, still a lot of episodes to go this season, more than after Bombshells last season, which means that there's plenty of time to set up something nasty. And I'd really hate to see this thing that House and Wilson have go up in the flames of a Shore-written finale.

If House puts anyone in the morgue, let it be Thirteen. That way, I can con myself into believing that it wasn't an act of pure undiluted hatred, but his way of fulfilling his euthanasia pledge. As for me, I'll risk a few more episodes and then I'll put myself into hiatus again until I'm sure that Wilson doesn't leave the show in a body bag.

Comments

[stenveny.livejournal.com]

I'd think that having driven a car through a house is a pretty good sign that a person is not a suitable partner for anyone. If the whole of season 7 doesn't (pardon the pun) drive home the point that House and the people who care about him are all better off when he's not trying to Be In A Relationship, I'm not sure what would.

Wilson is still enabling House (talking Foreman out of sending him back to prison in "Dead and Buried" and giving him coaching and legal advice in "Man of the House") but he is, I think, drawing slightly better boundaries this season. House is still self-destructive and boundary-pushing, but he has both companionship and privacy (restricted by the Dominika situation), he has satisfying work. They both seem content. Why fix it if it ain't broke.