House 3x?: I don’t even know what this episode was called. Bad fan. Bad.

[bironic]

RSL: I don’t have very many lines, so I will ham it up with my left eyebrow and sardonic delivery. And wear my super-sexy sweatervest.
HL: You’re only dressing up because you’re worried I’ll stop paying attention to you now that I’ve won all these awards for my brilliant acting talent.
RSL: ...
HL: You do look hot in it, though.

Hey, has anyone ever done an MST of an episode as a review? Like with House and Wilson providing commentary? That could be fun.

Ambivalent about tonight’s ep, in the same way I was ambivalent about “Words and Deeds”--not bad, not top-tier. The different format was way beyond due, so that was very nice, with everyone able to take their time and talk without a diagnostic clock ticking, and no last-minute miracle diagnosis to serve as a conclusion. It shared “Son of Coma Guy”’s focus on conversation and character revelation, only here I had a harder time telling what was profound and what made absolutely no sense. Also, the secondary plot with Cameron and Terminal Lung Cancer Man failed to register emotionally. At all. Felt like a rehash of the time she argued what TLCM was arguing--that if a person dies s/he should be remembered, that someone should care--about the young woman who also had terminal cancer. Eh. I think this would have worked better as a season premiere than a post-Tritter episode, what with the theme of meaning and rationality and House’s somewhat reluctant decision to try to connect with someone. The lovely river setting would have been appropriate then as well.

Not surprised, but still disappointed that after everything they just went through, Wilson and House seem to be back to normal, or what serves as normal for both of them. House may have told him that nothing changed, and so far it seems to be true, but something must have. Something must have.

The funny: The opening, with “Perjurer”/“Felon” and the three latex gloves and the crazy man running around clutching his head (decoy PotW!), and the false-hiccups patient trying to get House to feel him up, and Wilson saying “I don’t want to be you” in the role-playing scenario. And the part where House told Wilson the park was the last place Cuddy would look for him and my sister said, “But Wilson found youuuu!”

The unfunny: The abuse by his father. It certainly sounded as if House had never told anyone until now. In one sense, it’s going to make those moments in “Daddy’s Boy” and “Son of Coma Guy” and whenever else House mentioned his father more poignant and disturbing. In another sense, it’s disappointing to learn about, because it takes the subtlety and ambiguity out of his troubled relationship with his father; his complex no longer arises solely from a clash of personalities and a desire to be right than with lingering fear and animosity for physical abuse. Hm. I won’t say it explains a lot--definitely won’t say “it explains everything,” because we know what that means on the show. We were doing fine analyzing House with all the given information, and this... doesn’t feel like a missing puzzle piece.

Moving on.

Monogrammed handkerchief with blood spot from successfully bribed clinic patient: David Shore’s? (It had “D.S.” stitched on it.)

Foosball makes a comeback! As did a number of echoes from “Damned If You Do”: Cuddy entering a scene with House and Wilson relaxing together and telling him, “You did good”; girl’s/House’s “I don’t want to talk about it”/ “Neither do I”; and talk about whether everything happens to you because it’s God’s will. Very little Chase, again, in an episode where it would have been appropriate for him to be around.

ETA 11 p.m.: You know what was interesting? That when Wilson was trying to convince House to tell the girl the truth, the first (and only) example he gives of House's trauma was the shooting. Not the leg.

ETA Wed.: You know what else I liked? House eliciting three equally plausible explanations from Foreman, Chase and Cameron that "explain everything" and then declaring his own diagnosis. Not only does it feature teacher!House and demonstrate that each of the fellows has learned enough to produce a complicated and obscure diagnosis (albeit with a bit of extra coaxing for Cameron), it also harks back to his conversation with Cuddy in... "Damned If You Do"? that their current diagnosis explains everything, and if it turns out to be wrong, they'll find another one that explains everything. That's one of the great things about his job, about medicine and about the show; just because there's a clear answer at first doesn't mean it's the right clear answer, and with trial and dramatic error they (almost) always (eventually) reach the correct conclusion.

And... I think that’s all for now, folks. Apologies in advance for the expected delay in comment replies and review-reading. To contradict the great philosopher Jagger, time is not on my side.

Comments

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Re. Wilson finding House in the park: In someone's brilliant MST (ok, it was mine, and it wasn't that funny) House tells Cuddy that Wilson has had a tracking chip implanted in House's ass cheek. That was my first thought when Wilson unerringly made his way to House!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Ha. I'm imagining the stapler gun-type injection it would have taken to get that chip in nice and deep. And what Wilson might have done to kiss it better.

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was a bit of a disappointment as the first post-Tritter ep, but at least it had lots of thematic stuff to chew on. And House and Wilson talking to each other again (and playing foosball!).

I wasn't thrilled with the abuse revelation, either. Much too simplistic an explanation, IMHO. I predict waves of bad fanfic focusing on Abused!House.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

God, it hurts just to think about it.

[jdr1184.livejournal.com]

Now will get House is cutter cause daddy beat him fics. [shudders]

[purridot.livejournal.com]

I liked the different format too! Sometimes I rolled my eyes at the dialogue, but other times I was admiring.

Wilson looked especially cute tonight, I must say! We got three nice H/W scenes; I am so very, very grateful.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

The dialogue was very uneven: sometimes riveting, sometimes ludicrous, sometimes baffling. As you know, I thought Wilson looked fantastic, first in the sunlight and then in the foosball scene, but his scenes didn't overall thrill me; his lines and his delivery are getting predictable, the latter of which is, I think, more indicative of the script than of his acting ability. It would be very nice if they would blend in more fun or sympathy with Jimminy Conscience there.

[theninth.livejournal.com]

I think it would have been better if House's abuse story had been a complete lie through and through. It'd have been more in keeping with House and his methods for digging to the truth without revealing anything of himself.

In my mind, I choose to believe that House pulled a double-blind and was lying about it being his father. She wouldn't think he'd lie twice, right? So all the more reason to do it. I take his comment about "one day, one room" as his way of saying he's never going to talk to her again so she doesn't find out he duped her into talking.

[jdr1184.livejournal.com]

I want to believe it was a lie. Does that work? I much prefer the idea that father and son just don't understand each other than daddy is evil and mommy is blind.

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

In my mind, I choose to believe that House pulled a double-blind and was lying about it being his father.

That was my instinctive reaction to it as well. It just seemed a more House-like thing to do.

The "one day, one room" remark definitely can be interpreted as saying that meaning is situational: that is, what House said in that room (or park) during that day is not necessarily true, but what she needed to hear.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

That line was so open to interpretation it made my brain hurt. I am grateful to you for providing same-episode evidence to support some of its meanings in your post!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I would like to believe House was lying, but his delivery on the second confession sounded too real, too honest. When I have a chance to watch the scene again, I'll be able to pinpoint what it was about House's expression, tone etc. that convinced me. In that vein, "one day, one room" suggests that he was able to tell that girl about something so deeply personal because she would be out of his life soon; it wouldn't have been nearly the same if he had told Wilson or Cuddy or Cameron, who know him much better and would remind him of what his father did (whatever that may turn out to be) in conversation and just by being there. If he were to tell one of them, what happened to him would matter; by telling only that girl, when she leaves his life, he can forget about it again.

[firestorm717.livejournal.com]

Hm...I'm thinking there'll be more House/Wilson later on, give them time to process things a bit more. They're so very dysfunctional - it takes a lot to rock them out of their comfortable denial and spill everything on the table.

I agree that the father abuse thing was a little...off. But the way I see it, the whole idea of strict discipline and never telling his son he was right seemed to fit together with our image of this controlling military father. I think it explains a lot about why House is so emotionally repressed, as well. It did, however, clash a bit with our first encounter with House and his parents, but I suppose that's to be expected since they didn't plot this far ahead.

Cameron's storyline seemed incomplete. I felt like they'd cut scenes from it, because I was waiting for some big connection or further insight into her relationship with her husband. But I really liked the ethics and philosophy debates - I guess that's one of those things you either enjoy, or you don't particularly care either way for.

Scenery in the park was gorgeous. I hope they do more outside scenes like that. And how about Wilson being able to spot the "sightseer" male joggers, eh? XD XD Oh, House and Wilson...still got a bit of that college mentality *grin*

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Theoretical discussions aren't my forte -- I'm better with concrete information and details -- but I do enjoy watching or reading ethics and philosophy debates, and I would have liked them more in this episode if they'd spent more time on them. Instead, topics got skipped and skimmed over, circled around and repeated and I didn't feel like much had been explored or accomplished by the end. Maybe it's a script better appreciated on repeated viewings, but my first impression of it is mixed.

You're right that House's father as strict disciplinarian fits with both his and House's characters as we've seen them so far -- even the scenes in "Daddy's Boy," I think. The revelation just seemed unnecessary; we've already got plenty to chew on with the infarction and shooting, and IMO his strained relationship with John didn't need this added drama to be interesting or believable. Still, I'm more than willing to give the writers the benefit of the doubt and see where they take it.

[stephantom.livejournal.com]

The abusive father bit... I don't think it really takes away from the complexity of their relationship that was there before. It's more extreme, but it can still be complex. Obviously from what we saw from his dad, he wasn't the type to spring random pyschotic abuse on his kid. I think it must have just been harsh punishments escalating to the point that it eventually crossed over into abusive. But that whole area was considered much more gray back then, I think, and people really didn't have the knee-jerk "child abuse!" reaction to corporal punishment that they do now. I'm not saying that what happened to House wasn't abuse - it was - but I'm sure John didn't think of it that way, and probably neither did House at the time. Blythe probably felt very uneasy about it, but would have wanted to believe that it wasn't wrong too. John's a marine (and I'm not at all saying that all marines are abusive) and must have fought in Vietnam, so he'd figure that troops spend nights outside so what's the big deal? He definitley had a "Hey, suck it up and be a man," attitude when he made that little speech to House in "Daddy's Boy" about having two legs and not appreciating how lucky he is, in reaction to nothing more than House just answering that yes, he parked in a handicapped parking space.

I think that the clash of personalities and values is still part of it, and that the abuse came from that, but also exascerbatd it (vicious cycle kind of thing).

Of course I don't want to say that it "explains everything" but I do think it fits. House has a fearful, antagonistic view of the world (he's a Type Five (http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/TypeFiveOverview.asp) (with a definite Six (http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/TypeSixOverview.asp) wing) and our parents give us our foundation for how we perceive the world.

Shrug.

I liked parts of this episode, though overall didn't love it. But honestly, despite how much I love the show on the whole, there are very few individual episodes that don't dislike things about. I did really like that discussion about eternity and which way makes things matter and stuff, though.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

How old do you think House was when his father made him do those things? Teenager, then I can see it, and can see it being accepted by others (or at least turned a blind eye to). Younger than that, I think even given the time, somebody would have stepped in, especially if they were living on base.

It would be more interesting if it was his grandmother.

[stephantom.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I'd say sleeping outside would make more sense as a teenager too, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility of it happening when he was younger, like 9 or 10. But not on the base - I'm sure they weren't always living on a base and that sometimes House and his mom stayed at a home in the US, which his father would have stayed at also for shorter periods of time. That was probably when most of the abuse went on, I'd think. Ice baths, though, I can see happening earlier, and anywhere. An extension of more typical punishments like bed without dinner, standing in corners, getting whipped with a belt...

The grandmother would have been less expected anyway.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

It's more extreme, but it can still be complex.

Yes, that is true. It's the "more extreme" factor that irked me. House already has plenty of drama in his life, both current and past. The abuse struck me as an answer to the ages-old question, "What other terrible thing can we do to our hero?" Of course, it does help explain how House got to be the way he is, but there could have been other, subtler decisions made in fleshing out his backstory.

[stephantom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's true about there being plenty of drama already. House has some very, very bad karma... "What other terrible thing can we do to our hero?" -- That actually seems to be one of the main thoughts pushing a lot of the stuff that happens in the show. It's all about putting House through hell. And occasionally the other characters get a taste of it - Cameorn with her tragic dead husband, Chase's broken home, Foreman's brother and criminal record and not to mention that time he almost died, Cuddy's sudden desire for motherhood and inability to fulfill that desire, Wilson's brother and failed marriages and affairs (gah, I really want to know more about his family). But House takes the cake. And it does get a little ridiculous. Too much starts to get overwhelming and actually makes the audience feel less for him.

To be honest, House's father having been abusive makes more sense to me than a random guy walking into House's office and shooting him. That just seems pointless and unrealistic - especially since nothing ever really came of it at all. Couldn't they have just made the entire thing be dream, including the shooting? I suppose it would have needed something to prompt it, but, couldn't they have come up with anything better?

I guess the father doesn't bother me as much because I've speculated about it a lot before. I'm really a huge fan of gen fic, and House's family is one of my favorite subjects. Seriously - my favorite things to read in this fandom are House+family, House/Wilson, or occassionally House/Stacy (and Wilson+family, though there's very little of that). In that order, probably. I didn't think about the relationship with his father as being blatantly abusive really, but with somewhat abusive overtones to it... Overbearing, certainly, and distant. There are good fics out there that have dealt with it, and handled John realistically, and this new information doesn't necessarily refute any of that.

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

This episode left me--very depressed, mainly. I did like the parallel with SoCG, except that Wilson wasn't there to hear the revelation.

I do believe House's story of "abuse" by his dad was true (I will explain why I put abuse in quotes below). Sometimes it is easier to reveal something painful and personal to a complete stranger. I chose to interpret House's final "one day, one room" at the end as his statement that he'll never see her again, so his secret will be safe with her; similar to the way Gabe took House's secrets to the grave in SoCG.

his complex no longer arises solely from a clash of personalities and a desire to be right than with lingering fear and animosity for physical abuse

The clash of personalities still underpins everything however. And I'm--actually OK with House's explanation because it fits with the prevailing conservative culture at that time.

People have to realize/remember that back in the late 50s/early 60s, corporal punishment was entirely acceptable. Back then, parental authority was absolute. Today we'd consider it totally unfair, extreme and abusive. But back then, the prevailing culture probably would have supported John's choice of punishment for whatever transgressions resulted in ice baths or sleeping in the yard. For example, if you misbehaved at school, not only would you likely get your hands slapped with a ruler by the teacher, but also you would go home and receive a belt-whipping by your father. (I have this on an extremely reliable source.)

That view would also have been magnified by the military culture that the House family lived under. House may have been a child in the 1960s, but he was a military brat, which would have been far more conservative than the rest of society. Add to that the clash of personalities, plus my suspicion that John was probably terrified by House's extreme giftedness, and didn't know what to do about it. So he dealt with House the only way he knew how.

In nightdog_barks's LJ, the question came up why Blythe didn't prevent it. She couldn't have. She wouldn't have liked it but she probably would have gone along with it, because she had no choice and because that was how families worked.

Not to defend John, but he probably felt he was perfectly justified, given the culture and mores and values of the time. House of course didn't see it that way and we wouldn't either, because times have changed. It's all in how you interpret it.

Enough grumping--House is on the Western feed in 2 minutes. Time to depress myself again. *shrugs*

[theninth.livejournal.com]

This episode left me--very depressed, mainly. I did like the parallel with SoCG, except that Wilson wasn't there to hear the revelation.

The fact that Wilson wasn't there is something else that I'm using to convince myself House was lying. House was so willing to answer anything about himself with Wilson there, I think he'd want Wilson there to hear (or "accidentally" overhear) the story.

I can justify anything, though. Given a few minutes, I could probably come up with some rational-sounding reason why House's story was really about his relationship with Stacy, or House's way of admitting he has a son he's not allowed to see.

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

The fact that Wilson wasn't there is something else that I'm using to convince myself House was lying.

I knew in the hospital when House first talked about it he was partly lying, because he said he was left home with his grandmother; when we damn well knew he'd been to Egypt and Japan.

In the park though I'm convinced he wasn't lying, because when he said "It was my dad", I heard the tinest break in HL's voice at the end. That tiny break on the word "dad", the "oh God it hurts" implied in it, rang true. (And only boosts the awesomeness of HL's acting ability to the level of the universe...)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Heh. I didn't think Wilson's absence suggested that House was lying -- quite the opposite, actually. The fact that House revealed all that he did in SoCG spoke volumes about his relationship with Wilson, but I think he would have been much more comfortable if it had just been him and Gabriel in the room. That way his only witness would've soon been out of the picture and he could've gone on pretending that nothing he'd said was true or gnawing away at him. Thinking along those lines, and taking into account the way House/HL delivered the second confession, I think he was telling the truth to the girl. I do agree that some part of him must want Wilson to know about the burdens he's carrying. However, his defenses are so strong that he can't really let himself do that -- but he does seem to leave himself these "outs" so Wilson finds out anyway, like not ordering him out of the room while he answered Gabriel's big question, or letting him know he told the girl something upsetting, so Wilson can question him about it and dig at him until he gets at the truth. (Wilson's very good at poking and prodding and analyzing, as we know.) Of course, that's assuming Wilson doesn't know about the situation with his dad already.

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Topaz, for putting many of my scattered thoughts into clear form.

I felt that this storyline worked. Although I'm bracing myself for the Tsunami of Bad!fic and I'm aware that a lot of people will take the oversimplified view and say, "oh, he was an abused kid and that explains how he is." When in fact it's just one piece of the puzzle. I've known a few formerly abused kids and they aren't all the same. Some of them have responded to their past by becoming extremely compassionate and kind adults.

However, the one I knew (dated for a long time in fact) who was most like House was, as it happens, the one who had an abusive father who had made him feel absolutely rejected. (Interestingly enough, this guy also had a sort of Wilson, a best friend several years younger, much more likeable and stable, who would do almost anything for him and whose stubborn friendship was the most valued thing in my ex's life).

My Dad, a kind and gentle soul if ever there was one, would use his belt on our butts if he felt the situation called for that (it was a very rare thing). My brother and I were not damaged by this because we knew why he did it and we always knew we were loved. Had he ever done either of the things House mentioned, though, I'm sure we'd have been scarred for life. To put a kid in an ice water bath (I've never even HEARD of anyone doing this) or out into the yard for the night--that's got a feel of rejection about it that's just devastating.

The fact that House's father resorted to such horrible tactics does not, in my mind, mean that he's just evil, no matter what the Bad!Fic authors are certain to say. I'll second what Topaz said about the situation. John House did some very, very bad things because he was angry and clueless and frustrated, and probably very fearful. Not because he was Satan's henchman.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I'm bracing myself for the Tsunami of Bad!fic and I'm aware that a lot of people will take the oversimplified view and say, "oh, he was an abused kid and that explains how he is."

You would think fans of the show would know that no single factor ever "explains everything"....

I agree with what you and Topaz have said about John's motivations and the context of the times. Such punishment, or mistreatment, or abuse, or whatever it may have been, does fit with what we know of House and his father, and helps -- helps -- explain how he got to be the way he is now. I just didn't think it was an entirely necessary bit of drama in the life of a character who's already been through so much. (Of course, he is the hero, so all the bad stuff gets dumped on him.)

But who knows -- the idea could be handled well and turn out to be one of the best character developments yet.

...Or it could be dropped like half the intriguing points brought up on the series. :)

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with everything you wrote in this comment. My main worry is that TPTB (not to mention bad!fic writers) will use House's strained relationship with his father in predictable, soap opera-like ways. But if they can treat the relationship more like namasteyoga is doing in her "Family, Friends, and Other Complications" series, then I'd be happy.

Or it could be dropped like half the intriguing points brought up on the series

That's another worry. They do have an annoying habit of doing that.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about what you said since you posted. It's an excellent perspective, putting things into the likely context of the times and military culture as well as House's and his father's personalities. I especially like your point about John being terrified of his son's exceptional intelligence and reacting badly to it, translating fear into anger and an attempt at control -- the control House has to have now.

[firestorm717.livejournal.com]

Oooh and MST of an episode for a review! That's brilliant! I was playing with the idea of capping eps and Photoshopping captions onto them...hm...would be interested in a little MSTing if you have time ^^.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Weekends are best for me. MSTing could be fun! No worries if you decide to do the caps yourself, of course.

[firestorm717.livejournal.com]

I'm around pretty much all of Saturday unless something pressing comes up ^_^ Sundays work, as well. So whenever you're around, give me a poke on MSN (dragonorb77[at]hotmail[dot]com) and we can play around with a two-person MST. Hehe. Maybe even post it on house_mst.

[litalex.livejournal.com]

I'm worse than ambivalent. I'm beginning to dislike the show.

House used to be extraordinary and brilliant, and now they've made House *normal* by throwing in the OMG!AbusedByDad bit. And I *hate* it.

I'm only watching because of HL and RSL these days, and that's really sad, 'cause the show used to send shivers along my spine.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Just to say I read, but have absolutely nothing to add - except that false-hiccups guy was a classic moment which I forgot about in the light of succeeding events.

[stephantom.livejournal.com]

Haha, true. Reminded me of that kid with the mp3-player problem from season 1. ;)

I also loved the kid who had to take his own pulse and somehow came up with 26. The people I was watching with all laughed out loud at House's, "...Ok, either you suck at math or you're going to die in 2 seconds." 1... 2... "You suck at math."

[renoir-girl.livejournal.com]

Have a look at the post by kmw108. I think she's hitting the right notes.

[sangria-lila.livejournal.com]

I actually really liked the dying man, not the fact that it seemed to be a rehash of Cameron's subplot in Acceptance, but for the fact that the dying man wanted to suffer to be remembered. The whole episode was about looking for meaning, but this man dying was his way of creating meaning. And perhaps that's House's dillema too. Create meaning that may not be "true", or search for meaning even though it is meaningless?

Then again, I felt this episode was a whole lot of nothing - wanting to touch on a lot of issues but too ADD to follow through with them thoroughly. It didn't have the good narrative tightness and complexity that other Shore episodes had. I'm thinking about 'Three Stories', which is still my favorite House episode to date. Compared to OD,OR, Three Stories was able to touch on and talk well about a number of very prominent issues. This episode was all over the place.

The thing that annoyed me most was the rape victim. And the general teatment of rape in general. Again, it was probably because this episode jumped around so much, and because whoever was the rape victim was a phenomally, phenomally bad actress. After she said 'I was raped' for about the third time I wanted to scream, YES WE GET IT NOW. Even if she is a fictional character, it feel morally right to dismiss a rape victim just like that. I also thought that the subject of rape just has far too much stigma that clouded the episode (as in, the rape needs to get resolved, not House's search for meaning, which was what clearly was supposed to be the prominent issue in this episode.) I don't understand why House would open up to the rape victim. Given her illogical thinking, I don't think he would have respected her enough to open up in such a way.

Gah, it was such a poorly written and acted episode, but for those wonderful House/Cuddy moment s and Wilson's roleplay line.