House plays Games

I watched House M.D this week and wrote comments as I watched. So, if you are also a fan, I encourage you to read my comments and see if you agree or disagree with my thoughts - and then let me know!

If you are not already a fan of House, you can read my commentary to get a feel for the show to see if it’s something you may want to watch.

House M.D. Episode: “Games”

The show opened with House watching a soap opera. You’d think House would be above these, but he’s so not. He seems to enjoy them, maybe if only to confuse us. Cuddy comes in, and they bantered, which is always fun, especially since House and Cuddy always think they’re both the one in charge.

House went to visit Cameron. There’s a sick punk rock patient. He’s a difficult patient, so, no surprise here - House decides he wants to take over his case. House then meets with the finalists in his ‘game’ of who he’ll hire for his new team and tells them that this is the final case, and he’ll then choose who will be hired based on this case.
Something I really like about House is that he treats diseases like robbers, tricking them - knowing that they sneak around. This is something that most good Dr’s probably have to do. House makes medicine fun. Of course, if you’re a longtime fan of the show, you, like me, probably believe that he’s stretched out this ‘hiring’ process for so long, not just for fun, but because he wants his old team back.

In our B storyline, Wilson has found out that a man he told was dying, isn’t actually dying. That’s a pretty big mistake to make, but you’d think the patient would be happy. However, when told the good news - that he’s cancer free, the patient is befuddled. Then he’s mad. He’s angry because he’s said goodbye to people, sold his house, bought planes tickets to Venice, etc. House tells Wilson that this isn’t about the money, but Wilson doesn’t listen.

We see this demonstrated when, later on, Wilson attempts to pay the man. But he doesn’t want the money. House tells Wilson that the man isn’t mad that he isn’t gonna die, he’s mad he has to be boring again - that he is no longer special. Wilson tries to think rationally, telling him that he put the guy through three months of misery, thinking he was going to die. But the opposite is true - for three months, this guy was free. And now he’s not. The guy rips up Wilson’s check and says that it’s not enough money. He said that he was suing him because Wilson gave him happiness and then took it away.

Giving us some wisdom, House tells us (well actually the actor playing the drug addict/punk rocker) that there are three choices in life, to: be good, get good, or give up. (I can tell you right now, I am giving up trying to play the banjo.)

The drug addict/punk rocker said something to the effect of, “They feel like they have to tell me what I’m screwing up, what I’m wasting.” Who can’t relate to that - the pressure of not being good enough, or not being appreciated? It’s a universal human condition.

Wilson and House had a battle of accusatory simplistic truths, based on their life experiences:

“You think you can avoid pain” - Wilson
“You think you can cure pain” - House

Who do you agree with?

As we get to the end of the episode, and if you’re spoiler free like me, you had no idea who House was going to hire. I was totally shocked and upset that he fired #13! Maybe it was because he couldn’t ever truly replace Cameron. He fired Amber, but I didn’t like her. Game over. I’m disappointed…
Cuddy then came in. Apparently House had this has a plan all along. I guess he has to hire a girl, so #13 is hired, too! Yay!

“At least the games are over,” says a relieved Cuddy
“How long have you known me?” House asks with a smirk, and a cock of his head.

That’s right, the games are just beginning. And I’ll be here to tell you about the good, the bad, and the ugly. The next episode of House is in January of 2008. Can you stand the excitement?

If you can’t…

House, M.D. - Season One

House, M.D. - Season Two