I think I've never thanked you enough for your interpretation of Cuddy's behavior in Season 7, especially the idea that all the sex withdrawing was more or less an inside joke between her and House, a way of finding the limits of their new relationship. I can't say I approve in the slightest - it's a ridiculous way of conducting a relationship - but it struck me early on in the proceedings that it never seemed to bother House the way it would have bothered me. They both treated such situations the way my kids and I deal with my attempts at responsible child rearing, like when I try to insist on manners. When I insist that my youngest child say 'please' before I give her something, she may hold out for some time, but sooner or later she caves and says 'please'. I know that she doesn't mean the 'please', but I cherish the hope that at some point in the far future she'll say it automatically, thus allowing her to move in society without upsetting others unduly. She knows it's a ridiculous but necessary concession to me, so she does it. Neither of us considers her initial refusal a strain on our relationship or her concession as a sign that she fears to lose my love - it's opportunism at its purest and simplest. That's how House and Cuddy's interactions struck me: neither of them seemed to fear that this made any difference in their relationship as such - the question of whether either loved the other or whether they were splitting up never came up. The only time when splitting up is brought up as a possibility is during 'Recession Proof', after House loses his patient and blames it on Cuddy.
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Date: 2012-06-07 11:16 pm (UTC)I can't say I approve in the slightest - it's a ridiculous way of conducting a relationship - but it struck me early on in the proceedings that it never seemed to bother House the way it would have bothered me. They both treated such situations the way my kids and I deal with my attempts at responsible child rearing, like when I try to insist on manners. When I insist that my youngest child say 'please' before I give her something, she may hold out for some time, but sooner or later she caves and says 'please'. I know that she doesn't mean the 'please', but I cherish the hope that at some point in the far future she'll say it automatically, thus allowing her to move in society without upsetting others unduly. She knows it's a ridiculous but necessary concession to me, so she does it. Neither of us considers her initial refusal a strain on our relationship or her concession as a sign that she fears to lose my love - it's opportunism at its purest and simplest. That's how House and Cuddy's interactions struck me: neither of them seemed to fear that this made any difference in their relationship as such - the question of whether either loved the other or whether they were splitting up never came up. The only time when splitting up is brought up as a possibility is during 'Recession Proof', after House loses his patient and blames it on Cuddy.