Huge Ego, Sorry. (House 3.20, "Housetraining")

[bironic]

The original opening line for this entry was going to be, “WTF, Doris Egan, saying there wasn’t much House/Wilson chocolatey goodness?!”

Instead, it’s now, “Well, that was the first House episode that made me cry.”

*wipes eyes*

Fantastic. The sort of fantastic that needs re-watching and proper response later. Doris Egan reigns over all. The sheer range of emotions in this episode, all of them character-based and earned rather than shoved at you, the tightness of the writing, the one-liners, the tying-in of one plot to another, the use of silence. The Wilson presence and depth and House-Wilson interaction. Decent Foreman characterization, and excellent acting from Omar Epps.

For now...

Confirmed: Wilson is a dog person.

Confirmed: Ex-Mrs. Wilson #2 is flaky. And has a name! And is a real estate agent! Which at least some of us theorized for Julie, so that's cool. And is the uber-adorable Jane Adams whom I know as Oola from Wonder Boys.

Confirmed: Wilson’s caring in bed. “Because sex with James--it’s fantastic. No one works harder at giving a woman what she wants.”

Confirmed: Ex-Mrs. Wilson #2 despises House. In a brilliant sort of way. And resents the role he played in driving a wedge between her and Wilson but is bright enough not to blame him for breaking up the marriage.


The funny:

- Now-jaded Bonnie talking about Wilson “calibrating just the right amount of protectiveness for your personal needs.”

- House yelling, “James Wilson is never the safe choice!”

- Cuddy perhaps accurately accusing House of suddenly wanting her because Wilson's seeing her socially. Great line with the toy in the sandbox.

- Cuddy and Wilson peering at bondage art.

- Wilson likes super-sweet coffee drinks.

- Chase freaking Cameron out by being so blasé about reminding her that he's still open to continuing their relationship. The whole development of their maybe/maybe-not relationship has been completely predictable, but strangely it's still been enjoyable sometimes, such as in moments like the one in the MRI booth.

- House telling Wilson he had to sleep with Cuddy to prevent a relationship with Cuddy.

- House likes anagrams as well as metaphors.

- So many opportunities for slashy jokes with the House/Bonnie/Wilson/Cuddy stuff going on -- Bonnie talking to House about how good Wilson is in bed, and so easy to imagine House telling Wilson at the coffee shop that he had to have sex with House to prevent him from falling into the same pattern with women, etc.


The serious:

- Wilson holding vigil with House again, bringing him coffee, settling in and eventually falling asleep in the office chair. The sort of silent companionship, understanding and support we loved in season one.

- Foreman seeking forgiveness/being offered advice by each of the people he knows, and never finding the one that’s right for him. Wilson’s caring is too honed; he’s not ready to feel better (Cameron); the patient holds him responsible; he doesn’t believe in a God to pray to (father/Chase); he doesn’t want to lose himself in alcohol (Chase--and why the hell would Chase suggest getting drunk when his mother was an alcoholic, anyway?); House’s numbers are too dry, too coldly logical; and his mother... just when he’s ready to go home again, when all else has failed, she’s not there for him. Ow ow ow.

- So very satisfying to finally see them lose a patient earlier in the hour and spend the rest of the time dealing with the death and aftermath, with no eleventh-hour miracle diagnosis or even an answer as to what exactly was killing her. I loved the subdued diagnosis scene when they realized she’d gone septic and there was nothing they could do. I loved Foreman coming to House for solace.

- Foreman confiding in a dying patient, as House did with Gabe in "Son of Coma Guy." Because there's something about talking with a dying person that makes it easier, or necessary, to have horrifically serious conversations? Because if you tell a dying person, it doesn't matter afterwards because no-one knows what you said, but you feel better having said it out loud? Or because it matters more than anything when you tell someone who's dying, because everything is so intense?


Early musings on the title: Well, there's the dog thing, obviously. Foreman and House have been compared to each other numerous times before; are they supposed to be likened to each other again now, with Foreman training to follow in House's footsteps? He didn't seem too comforted by House's coping mechanism. Instead of seeing this as the start of Foreman's journey as an unconventional doctor in which he starts turning to numbers when things go bad, I thought tonight showed that nobody else's methods worked for him and he's going to have to find his own way.

Comments

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

Wilson holding vigil with House again, bringing him coffee, settling in and eventually falling asleep in the office chair. The sort of silent companionship, understanding and support we loved in season one.

YES! That made me so damn happy!!!!!

Sorry. I'm a tad incoherent at the moment.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

So damn happy, and so damn sad! How absolutely perfect.

And is it me or did they use the same hallway as the one in your icon at some point tonight? Only in different colors?

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

And is it me or did they use the same hallway as the one in your icon at some point tonight?

I thought that hotel corridor looked familiar. I think you're right that it was a redressed set. (It's also funny how everyone in New Jersey has doors that either look like House's or have number plates that look like his.)

[theninth.livejournal.com]

I loved this episode.

I called some of it ages ago, too (http://ninefics.livejournal.com/7877.html). >:D

There was so much about it that was right, and I think you're right about "House training" meaning Foreman learning a little more how to be like House. He doesn't like House's statistics, but House has a point. You can't get emotionally tied to every patient.

And House was so thinking about sex with Wilson when Bonnie was talking about it.

I got choked up at the end. Foreman's mother willing to comfort him even though she wasn't really registering who he was. That's just lovely and sweet.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Mm, that's a nice perspective to have -- the positive side, seeing the unconditional love Mrs. Foreman extends to someone she thinks is a stranger. I was crying for Foreman, so lost, even with a loving parent holding him in her arms.

I think every Wilson fan had something to squee over tonight, predictions-wise. You included! I have that section of that fic mem'd, btw.

[theninth.livejournal.com]

Do you really?! Well, gawrsh!

I wish I'd recorded this episode so I could watch it again later (I never remember to record anything. I keep forgetting that my DVD player does that (it seems so wrong)).

I am so glad Omar Epps was finally given something to do other than argue with House and roll his eyes. He's so good when he's given something good to work with.

I also really liked House's mini-obsession with finding out what the infection was. It was in-character and made complete sense. It's good to see House acting like himself two weeks in a row. They were heading into some strange territory with him being a jackass for no clear reason.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Hee. I still record on old-fashioned cassette tapes, if it makes you feel any better. Every episode. Except this week my dad took the WRONG TAPE and erased THE LAST FOUR EPISODES when he recorded the Discovery Channel "Planet Earth" special. *grinds teeth*

This was one of my favorite Omar Epps/Foreman episodes, possibly my favorite -- time will tell. "Histories" is up there too. "Euphoria" didn't do for me what those episodes did. I do like all those moments throughout the series where he explains things to patients' parents/loved ones, for some reason. Like in, what was it, "Daddy's Boy"" -- "Here's what you need to know. It's dangerous. It could kill him. You should do it."

[litalex.livejournal.com]

I wish I could have seen the positive side, 'cause my only thought was that House's response is actually more compassionate in the long run.

[jdr1184.livejournal.com]

Chase was a little strange in this ep with the child of an alcoholic suggesting Foreman get smashed and his detailed plan for stalking courting Cameron. POTW was a little boring (and unrealistic for a girl not feel a cut that deep on the bra strap—shit would hurt) for me but that could be because I kept screaming get back to Bonnie or more H/W. I’m apparently a greedy girl because there was plenty to feast on.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

There can never be enough Wilson. As someone around here once so wisely said, we could have an episode with Wilson in every single scene and we'd still clamor for more. *g*

*excuse to use new icon*

I liked the POTW -- thought she had a well-defined personality without being a stock character, and reflected Foreman without it feeling as if she'd been contrived to reflect Foreman (which, of course she was, because this episode was written by a person for a purpose), perhaps because they talked about it towards the end, finally.

Maybe she did feel the clasp cut her but didn't think it was relevant when she showed up at the hospital.

And Chase... well, my best guess now is that he grew up watching someone cope with problems by drinking, and it may be the only way he knows to do it too.

[jdr1184.livejournal.com]

I went back and forth between liking POTW. I think it was more the medical mystery that bugged me. Wilson was in half the ep but never got asked about Cancer and radiation treatment. Didn't they almost do the same thing to the girl with in Whose your Daddy? It seemed rushed just so they could have the big Foreman emo talk. I thought his scenes with his mother and House were stronger.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

was in half the ep but never got asked about Cancer and radiation treatment.

My guess on that is that the cancer diagnosis came at a time when House was pissed at Wilson for making the moves on Cuddy, so he didn't call him in for a consult.

But hey -- we could pretend that if they had let Wilson take a look at the test results, he'd have told them it wasn't what they thought it was, and could have spared them performing the radiation treatment that ended up hastening her death. So Wilson was once more cheated of saving the day, but this time not through incompetence. :)

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

Plus we learned that Wilson apparently lived in Boston (the House/Bonnie conversation about her first date with Wilson).

[jdr1184.livejournal.com]

Good catch. It of course does nothing to clear up the H/W timeline but at least we know that House was around for the marriage but not the courtship?

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

Um, I dunno. She said, "I didn't think you were paying attention" which seemed to imply that House had been around at the time, that they knew each other at least a little.

Maybe Wilson was in Boston for a while for other reasons? I'm not sure. Wish we could ask Doris about the backstory here. Oh well.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Yes, it sounded as if House had been around for the courtship as well -- just not paying attention to (what he considered) irrelevant details.

Do you remember the exact line(s) around the Boston comment? I don't recall what was said. It could be that Wilson went to a medical conference that weekend.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Oh! Yes! Need to listen to that scene again (and again and again) to pick up details. Happiness; I can write about Boston even more easily than I can write about Princeton.

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

Plus we learned that Wilson apparently lived in Boston

I know I've seen that in fanon somewhere, but I can't remember where. I think it might be in mer_duff's universe.

*is incredibly happy that he spent time in Boston*

[bironic.livejournal.com]

The one on Chinese New Year where they talk about the day they met at the Tufts conference, mayhap?

[theninth.livejournal.com]

It could've just been a date. "Hey, I've got to go to this thing in Boston. Wanna come with?" sort of thing, since she said they weren't actually dating at the start.

[(Anonymous)]

If House could pretend to believe that Wilson and Bonnie's first date was "around here", meaning Trenton, that would suggest that Wilson was living in New Jersey at the time. Remember that his missing brother went missing in and around Princeton too, eleven years ago now.

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

Confirmed: Wilson is a dog person.

Oh, well. Nobody's perfect.

At least Rodney's a cat person!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

:) Wilson has always struck me as a dog person. House, too.

Yes, you and Rodney can bond over the cat love.

Actually, I read the most adorable Rodney/cats story on Sunday -- it's one of the remixes. You should go find it, it's really adorable (and sad, but only in parts in the beginning; it's a happy smooshy ending).

[stephantom.livejournal.com]

So did House really take Hector? That would be... so cute. I seem to recall David Shore saying specifically that House would never get a puppy, but this makes me want to say say HA! Your character went and got a puppy and you couldn't stop him! lol He adopts a rat that came from Stacy, and a dog that came from Wilson... (What's happened to Steve anyway?? Is he dead?)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Technically it is not a puppy but a crotchety old dog that was once a badly-trained puppy, which suits House quite well. :) Steve had better still be alive and well in his cage on the kitchen counter. I'd like to think he'd have mentioned it otherwise. Cracking a joke at work about being all broken up that his rat died.

[stephantom.livejournal.com]

I think Steve has been a missed opportunity for most of the writers - the fandom loves him! But has he even been mentioned this season? lol I hope he comes back.

And good point about the dog. Very true, and it does fit him. Heh.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

The fandom certainly loves him for the outsider's perspective, watching House and Wilson get it on -- but I don't see the show writers taking advantage of that, lol.

[stephantom.livejournal.com]

Ahaha, true.

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

Wilson strikes me as a dog person rather than a cat person, as well. House doesn't seem like a pet person at all to me, but if I had to choose "cat person" or "dog person" I'd go with cats for him. Dogs are affectionate and needy and you can ignore and abuse them a little bit and they still come back with the same unconditional love and shining optimism. Perfect for Wilson. When cats want attention they'll ask for it and when they've had enough they go away. And if you try to give them attention when they don't want it, dammit, they let you know. You can put a dish of food out for them and pretty much ignore them and they're basically okay with that. They tend to be more aloof, more independent, more ... generally House-friendly. XD

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Oh here, I found it for you: "Home (The Felis Catus Remix)" (http://community.livejournal.com/remix_redux/85756.html)

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

Many thanks for the rec—I loved it!

[pun.livejournal.com]

Confirmed: Wilson is a dog person.

Hmm. I'm gonna have to disagree. It's confirmed that he and a wife owned a dog. I still think Wilson only thinks he should be a dog person, and he got it to please his wife since he already had guilt about not being attentive enough to her because he's in love with House. (If she already had resentment, I say he already had guilt.)

and why the hell would Chase suggest getting drunk when his mother was an alcoholic, anyway?

I thought that was weird too. Not cool, Chase!

So very satisfying to finally see them lose a patient earlier in the hour and spend the rest of the time dealing with the death and aftermath, with no eleventh-hour miracle diagnosis or even an answer as to what exactly was killing her.

Agreed. I always say that more patients need to die on House.

Wow, that was a great episode! My head is spinning.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Okay, then -- I'll take a leaf out of Mythbusters' book and say Plausible: Wilson is a dog person. *g* I hadn't put that much thought into it; was only thinking "had a dog in the house"/"dog likes Wilson best," equating that with "not a cat," and coming up with "dog person." :) I like your reasoning. Guess we'll have to wait to see how the both of them interact with the little guy. Or big guy.

I am all bouncy-spinny too! And I need to go to bed 40 minutes ago! Aaah!

[pun.livejournal.com]

I am picturing a bull dog. I'm going to be kind of disappointed, if he's smaller than a bull dog. I'm prejudiced against small dogs.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Be funny if they use one of RSL's little dogs, like they've used his love of theater and HL's glasses & fondness for motorcycling.

[pun.livejournal.com]

See, I didn't even know he had little dogs. What kind of little dogs?

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Um... little ones? I don't know. There was a thing -- he did some PSAs for the NJSPCA (and many other abbreviations as well) a few months ago, and he sat in an armchair with his dogs in his lap. Someone around here will know.

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

I want it to be a Basset hound. Because Hugh Laurie looks like a Basset hound. :D

[renoir-girl.livejournal.com]

I think he looks like a great dane (http://www.madison.com/communities/saa/library/files/Great%20Dane%20resized.jpg).

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

XD I see it. Long face and sad soulful eyes... I stand by Bassets, though. The droopy ears add to it.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

*IZDED*

No... I'm just... okay, I guess I'll have to sacrifice to the shrine of Doris Egan like everyone else now...

[no-detective.livejournal.com]

Oola!!! Thank you. That was bugging me.

I just rambled through a very long post about all the ways in which I loved this ep, so I think I'll hold off the squee until I see you on Thursday and we can flail in person. But - yes. YES. To EVERYTHING.

My love for this show has been totally rekindled. I can hardly believe it! Doris Egan, you miracle worker, you.

[fallen-arazil.livejournal.com]

Can I take the road less traveled and say I absolutely adored Wilson and Cuddy in the museum? The expression on Lisa face when Wilson got all flustered was perfect, and if they decide to go somewhere on the good ship W/Cuddy, that expression would totally explain it for me. Mmm, Wuddy ...

[perspi.livejournal.com]

And Wilson asking if she's keeping them there just to torture him? And then they're looking at the picture and he asks if that's a bicycle pump? And Cuddy says, "That's what I'm saying!"? That scene was the best.

As was Cuddy's 'toy in the sandbox' line. So perfectly delivered.

[renoir-girl.livejournal.com]

Confiding in a dying patient may have another meaning. There's a bit of prayer involved there, I think. The dying person can take your confession (or whatever) with them--or something like that. They may not themselves be divine, but they are about to encounter whatever there might be that is divine, if there is anything.

Excellent ep.

Wilson

[litalex.livejournal.com]

I love it that he was in this ep so much, but wow, that scene with him explaining how to tell a patient he/she is dying was pretty creepy. And Wilson is one damn fine manipulator, wow.

[azdaja-dafema.livejournal.com]

I am looking forwards to next week, where House will have to call Wilson in to make the dog behave, or something. *grins* Ah, the title of this episode had me thinking bad thoughts. My mum kept looking at me and asking why I was cracking up each scene with Wilson. So much love. Why'd it make you cry? I almost cried with laughter at some points, like Cuddy and Wilson trying to figure out one of the pictures in the gallery. That said, crying.. I'm not sure I have, although the end of that Christmas episode was a punch to the stomach.

What annoyed me, which has been mentioned here, is that Wilson was around, and yet he didn't consult. Fair enough, plot and all that, but still. Also, didn't House approve of checking people over, like the guy with the cockroach in his ear (no idea when).

I agree, lovely scenes with Foreman. I think that each season, it's one of the ducklings' time to kill someone. This was his turn, and he did well. I don't really relate to his character enough to have been as deeply moved by the scene with his mother not recognising him, more a pang of sympathy.

Mrs.Wilson #2 was mad, and quite interesting. I loved the way that Wilson was so upset that he thought that she told House that he was rubbish in bed, which House agreed to! Oh, so much slashy interest into Wilson's lovelife. The "fantastic" line made me happy, and I grinned until I got a funny look from mum. Then cracked up. I loved the sandbox line too, but I'm sure House is more interested in Wilson :P
to prevent a relationship with Cuddy.

The vigil was lovely, and so.. it's silly to say in character because they are the characters. It's how I'd imagine their friendship - able to withstand silence and say so much. Also, the technique of Wilson's, that was, just, so calculated, and brought home the "Wilson is never the safe choice!".

Re Chase and alcohol, I think that's just what he knows brings some type of oblivion, so suggests it for a friend.

I loved the character building too. We don't watch the programme for the medicine, and the characters really showed their colours today.