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bironicThree things that make today worthwhile:
1. Brownies. Box brownies, with two eggs instead of three so they're chewy-fudgy. Mmm. I think I will share some with my classmates tomorrow.
2. I just broke up with someone (after one whole week, wow) and do not feel bad about it at all. Only relieved. That tells me it was the right decision. And I didn't even lose a TV-watching partner over it.
3. That was one of the slashiest episodes they've ever done. Maybe even slashier than whatever that episode was after the writer's strike where House and Amber argued over Wilson (although I'll have to rewatch both someday to be sure). House and that other doctor in the cafeteria in their exchange? Not only with the hilarious "Will you be my Wilson?" third-degree but with all those comments like "are you checking me out?" and "I'm not gay" and "we don't have to have sex"*? So nonchalant about the orientation, and no denials (weak argument, but still true). That was as close as we're going to get to a picture of how House and Wilson became friends. The PI's assertion that House wanted to see if Wilson was pining for him? An outsider noticing their connection, recognizing House's anguish that the relationship was broken off, and using romantic language to describe it. House being consistently heartbroken when the PI told him (and I am certain he was lying) that Wilson never talked about him? The look on his face—both their faces—when House tried to see him again, in his own messed-up, defensive way?The fact that House cited Wilson's hourly rate and threw money at him as if he were a prostitute and House had to pay for his time now that they weren't in a relationship anymore? Etc. etc.
(I don't know. Couples therapy would've done it for me last week, if they hadn't called it couples therapy. There's a lot to say for favoring subtext over innuendo. Though innuendo from third parties does have its value.)
* Now that the episode is over, I am guessing this is what the unusual "viewer discretion" warning about suggestive dialogue was referring to, which, what? Lower threshold for suggestive remarks when they're between men? Hi, FOX network. Please join us in the 21st century.
Okay, I've clearly lost the ability to perform analysis, but the point is, tonight's episode made me happy, seemed to last a while (in a good way), had a compelling opening (though I thought it was setting up an epidemic plotline, and the way they figured out what was going on could have been an episode in itself) and premise, and proved an exception to my rule that episode quality is directly related to the amount of Wilson screen-time.
Other things. Um. Hm. The fact that everyone kept saying "that doesn't make sense" was amusing and true and yet did not make up for the fact that nothing made sense. To give one of many examples: How does giving a patient a placebo prove or disprove anything?
Was also amused when House declared that no one was allowed to say anything they hadn't said before—and nobody could come up with anything. Meta comment on the series, much?
Liked that we got to see other hospital employees, and liked the characters; nurse swaggered too much, but redeemed herself with the "boy who cried wolf" remark, and the Wilson-replacement doc had great understated humor, if verging on being too perfect for what the writers needed in that scene/for House. PI was cool and snappy, but overdid the Wilson-replacement and House-psychoanalyzer angles (so typical for this show; ditto for that moment at the patient's bedside where she asked if House or his view of the world would be different if his leg hadn't been damaged).
Liked that House wanted the girl to see the world as a more beautiful place. One more tiny step in his evolution towards hope or whatever that Shore & Jacobs & everyone keep referring to in their DVD commentaries.
Also: Poor Foreman. We all saw it coming but him.
And can we just mention again -- House and Wilson's faces in that scene with the door between them. Wilson's eyes. House's eyes. They are clearly both hurting. This separation clearly will not hold. Wilson will cave; House may have to treat him better; Wilson may treat him differently.Although, uh, Wilson, if you want to move on, you should probably not be living in your dead girlfriend's apartment.
And finally: Breckin Meyer next week!
Wow, sorry. One day my posts will be thoughtful and well-phrased again. (If they ever were. Hm.) I will not tie myself up in knots about perceived declining quality. I will not tie myself up in knots about perceived declining quality.
1. Brownies. Box brownies, with two eggs instead of three so they're chewy-fudgy. Mmm. I think I will share some with my classmates tomorrow.
2. I just broke up with someone (after one whole week, wow) and do not feel bad about it at all. Only relieved. That tells me it was the right decision. And I didn't even lose a TV-watching partner over it.
3. That was one of the slashiest episodes they've ever done. Maybe even slashier than whatever that episode was after the writer's strike where House and Amber argued over Wilson (although I'll have to rewatch both someday to be sure). House and that other doctor in the cafeteria in their exchange? Not only with the hilarious "Will you be my Wilson?" third-degree but with all those comments like "are you checking me out?" and "I'm not gay" and "we don't have to have sex"*? So nonchalant about the orientation, and no denials (weak argument, but still true). That was as close as we're going to get to a picture of how House and Wilson became friends. The PI's assertion that House wanted to see if Wilson was pining for him? An outsider noticing their connection, recognizing House's anguish that the relationship was broken off, and using romantic language to describe it. House being consistently heartbroken when the PI told him (and I am certain he was lying) that Wilson never talked about him? The look on his face—both their faces—when House tried to see him again, in his own messed-up, defensive way?
(I don't know. Couples therapy would've done it for me last week, if they hadn't called it couples therapy. There's a lot to say for favoring subtext over innuendo. Though innuendo from third parties does have its value.)
* Now that the episode is over, I am guessing this is what the unusual "viewer discretion" warning about suggestive dialogue was referring to, which, what? Lower threshold for suggestive remarks when they're between men? Hi, FOX network. Please join us in the 21st century.
Okay, I've clearly lost the ability to perform analysis, but the point is, tonight's episode made me happy, seemed to last a while (in a good way), had a compelling opening (though I thought it was setting up an epidemic plotline, and the way they figured out what was going on could have been an episode in itself) and premise, and proved an exception to my rule that episode quality is directly related to the amount of Wilson screen-time.
Other things. Um. Hm. The fact that everyone kept saying "that doesn't make sense" was amusing and true and yet did not make up for the fact that nothing made sense. To give one of many examples: How does giving a patient a placebo prove or disprove anything?
Was also amused when House declared that no one was allowed to say anything they hadn't said before—and nobody could come up with anything. Meta comment on the series, much?
Liked that we got to see other hospital employees, and liked the characters; nurse swaggered too much, but redeemed herself with the "boy who cried wolf" remark, and the Wilson-replacement doc had great understated humor, if verging on being too perfect for what the writers needed in that scene/for House. PI was cool and snappy, but overdid the Wilson-replacement and House-psychoanalyzer angles (so typical for this show; ditto for that moment at the patient's bedside where she asked if House or his view of the world would be different if his leg hadn't been damaged).
Liked that House wanted the girl to see the world as a more beautiful place. One more tiny step in his evolution towards hope or whatever that Shore & Jacobs & everyone keep referring to in their DVD commentaries.
Also: Poor Foreman. We all saw it coming but him.
And can we just mention again -- House and Wilson's faces in that scene with the door between them. Wilson's eyes. House's eyes. They are clearly both hurting. This separation clearly will not hold. Wilson will cave; House may have to treat him better; Wilson may treat him differently.
And finally: Breckin Meyer next week!
Wow, sorry. One day my posts will be thoughtful and well-phrased again. (If they ever were. Hm.) I will not tie myself up in knots about perceived declining quality. I will not tie myself up in knots about perceived declining quality.
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:06 am (UTC)I even liked the Stalk-ee Lady, and the way she directly told PI that he was making her uncomfortable. Also liked POTW lying to the other patient's wife, although the parallel of that argument to House-Wilson in "Wilson's Heart" was a little overdone, I thought. ("You want to put me [House] in danger to keep your husband [Amber] gasping for breath just a little while longer!")
Also, the POTW parallel to Wilson - House: "You thought you were seeing the world clearly, but something in your brain was keeping you from seeing the real beauty." - was bleh. Since when has House been eager for his patients to have a sunnier outlook on life? And why can't the POTWs just be POTWs?
P.S. "I'm not gay" and "we don't have to have sex" -- Same thing House said in Daddy's Boy! "I didn't ask if you were gay, I asked if you had sex [with the other guy]." Distinction between overall identification and behavior... yes.
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:34 am (UTC)I will not tie myself up in knots about perceived declining quality.
Good for you. Fuck "quality." Your friends are interested in hearing what you thought of the episode. Period.
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:38 am (UTC)I was getting ready for my trip and completely spaced that it was Hughsday!
When I finally realized it, it was already 8:45 but I couldn't leave the food unattended on the stove.
I'll have to watch the ep later, online, I guess.
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:39 am (UTC)I like the earlier slot because it means I can come online without getting to bed too late (on days when there's time to come online, anyway). Something tells me it won't last, though. When Fringe finds its feet or gets cancelled, like what happened with Bones and that show with that guy from Office Space/"T.B. or not T.B." and American Idol and whatever else they've used House to raise ratings for.
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:43 am (UTC)Also, bodily fluids where they are not supposed to be.
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:45 am (UTC)Also: Box brownies are sooooo good. Much better than yucky boyfriends anyday.
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:47 am (UTC)Even when I'm thoroughly spoiled on content I like the emotional reassurance :)
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:50 am (UTC)Your third paragraph has made me thinky. I don't know if I can untangle everything it's bringing up in my head, but thank you. Stuff about whether House should encourage or appreciate appreciation in others so he can experience it vicariously, and whether he needs to pull out of his cynicism (and atheism, but that's a whole other can of worms) when it's so integral to who he is and not necessarily a flaw -- and whether these changes or lack of changes can be tracked consistently throughout the series. (As for why the PsOTW always have to mirror/contrast with/analyze House, I've long ago given up.)
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:52 am (UTC)Tell me more about why you don't like that Cameron is hanging out with Wilson. (Er, but it goes without saying that we are allergic to all-caps hate fests around here?)
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 03:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 03:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 03:06 am (UTC)YES. And House's face every time the PI poked at something he thought he was hiding about how important Wilson was to him. BOOOOYS! <3
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 03:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 03:21 am (UTC)$300 per hour is $624,000 per year (assuming a 2080 hr/yr position). Did I not say Wilson was making at least a half mil a year? Did I not? *gloats at ability to use salary.com*
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 04:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 04:54 am (UTC)3. Ooh, is that Amber's apartment? I wasn't quite sure whether it was or not. I didn't like the couples therapy thing at all, either. Too 'obvious'. Subtext is so much lovelier.
no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 05:06 am (UTC)*bats eyelashes at you*
Now that the episode is over, I am guessing this is what the unusual "viewer discretion" warning about suggestive dialogue was referring to, which, what? Lower threshold for suggestive remarks when they're between men? Hi, FOX network. Please join us in the 21st century.
Oh my god. That's completely what it was. I'd forgotten about the weirdo warning until you mentioned it. UGH.
That said. YES OH MY GOD YES. EPISODE!!! *twirls whoever wrote this one around the room*
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 05:08 am (UTC)I enjoyed it - though not to the point of flailing. I am happy about how they're approaching the estrangement. While it hurt to watch that doorway scene, I'm glad Wilson didn't fold, because that would cheapen his decision. He needs to change his mind on his own terms, not because House is stalking him. (And I wonder - was Lucas really stalking the attractive woman or was he showing House that it wasn't going to work with Wilson).
What I'm hoping House will realize is that he doesn't need Wilson to buy his lunch, or watch monster trucks, or be his conscience - as the PI pointed out, O'Shea could do all that, but he's still not right for House. He doesn't even need him for his epiphanies (and I always thought of House as being the non-linear thinker). He needs Wilson - though not for what he can do for him, but because we all need a friend who we just want to be around. No concrete reason needed. Now Wilson needs to come to the same conclusion.
That's what I was trying to get across in "The Essential Friend" - though I like Lucas as a catalyst better than rogue!Foreman.
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:02 pm (UTC)(I seem to be stalking your comments in other people's posts! How did that happen?)
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:05 pm (UTC)2. Double yay! Relief is good, especially of the didn't-lose-TV-buddy kind.
3. Triple yay for the whole show :-) HL rocks, and it's fun to have an episode people are excited about again, even if it doesn't contain a lot of H/W squee moments. (Well, I suppose it does, depending on what you tend to squee over.)
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 02:48 pm (UTC)See you for dinner :) :) :)
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 04:08 pm (UTC)Maybe not sunnier, but he's wanted patients to have more normal lives before. Eg, convincing Maddy to let Abigail have growth hormone in "Merry Little Christmas," or wanting the hemispherectomy for Patrick in "Half-Wit." One could argue a more normal life means a sunnier life.
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 04:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 04:24 pm (UTC)Also I have set aside some brownies for you, yay.
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 04:25 pm (UTC)I wonder if Breckin will be able to do much of anything if he's the POTW, though, other than seize and sweat and stuff.
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 11:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 11:52 pm (UTC)3. I'm not certain, but it looked like it at a glance, and it would help explain why Wilson feels such a strong need to get away even as he can't let Amber go. I also can't see why he would have moved from one apartment to another within Princeton-Plainsboro if he's planning (or at least was planning last week) to leave the area entirely.
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Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 11:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 24th, 2008 11:58 pm (UTC)That's a wonderful hope to have. I hope it comes true too. They're really setting this up for a change in the relationship, and I hope we aren't let down like we were after Tritter etc.
I enjoyed it - though not to the point of flailing.
Not sure if this was a general statement or a reference to what I said to elynittria up above, but in case it's the latter, just wanted to clarify that I meant I felt like my LJ has been scatterbrained lately, rather than that tonight's episode made me flail with joy. Like you, I liked it but wasn't dying of joy or anything.
:)
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Date: Sep. 25th, 2008 12:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 25th, 2008 03:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 25th, 2008 05:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 25th, 2008 11:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 26th, 2008 12:19 am (UTC)