My Friend's Reflections on Season 3 Finale "Human Error"
I have continued my daily correspondence (weekdays only) with my friend who has immersed himself in "House", and I thought I'd post his summation of the Season 3 finale, "Human Error." The Season 2 finale "No Reason" absolutely blew his mind. We took a break, and then he wrote me multi-episode posts, the one before this about the three preceding episodes (he LOVED House and Wilson drugging each other). Bear in mind, he's a cool cat and if you don't like, don't read past the first few sentences.
This is a real whiz-bang closer. i put myself back in those 2007 shoes and marvel at the way it must've sent shockwaves around the world. Don’t we all love being part of this shared experience? That’s probably the attraction of all those "House" boards and lists, or whatever. I bet you are already aware of the fact that this was the #1 show the week it aired.
Titlewise, this goes into so many ramifications, I really don't have the strength to marshal that many points. I think it's good enough to say that the biggest one is our main protagonist's. But really?
Stop and think: iconoclast, petulant child, devious manipulator, OCD autistic, polymath, liar, ultra-micro-manager, musical prodigy, sloth, lover of mysteries, misanthrope. When, last ep, Cuddy said: "I take it you're off anti-depressants," she was pointing out that his behavior was--by her standards if none other--back to "normal". If the previous are any sign of “normalcy” then what follows must be considered in that light
Ok, so then, there is no excuse for "hazy" or otherwise impaired judgment.
HOUSE: I only sabotage people I consider worth it.
This phrase keeps haunting me, and with good reason. we have no idea what he means by "sabotage", which, in the trado sense means to ruin or do harm to, but at that same time, "worth it"? Is that in, "worth the fun of it" or "worth my time in any respect" or "people who are worth sabotaging" or "people of such worth as to merit any concern towards their lives or futures at all"? The premise of this series is that, based upon all the evidence finally being shown, House does not make errors
WILSON: [looking at her] You're paranoid. [smiles]
CUDDY: You made that call. And because of that call, you basically guaranteed Foreman's out of here.
Now, add this in:
CHASE: You cost him a good opportunity and gained nothing.
HOUSE: I cost him a crappy opportunity. New York Mercy's where you go to treat boils and cysts and build a 401K.
CHASE: If you want him to stay, tell him.
HOUSE: I don't and there'd be no point.
CHASE: You do. And the point would be to make him feel like he's wanted.
HOUSE: He doesn't need that.
Now, what condition does this exchange describe?
HOUSE: Ah, you're deflecting. Only I'm allowed to do that.
You see, when I listed one of his character traits as “devious manipulator” I wasn’t being coy. This deflection pattern is something he does well and often, so much so that unless you go over the text a few times, you miss the subtleties-whether or not the actual writers ‘put them in! [Yeah. I know. This is getting waaaay to way now…but I have to assume that they get paid for being devious manipulators as well. They certainly have deviously manipulated me.] And this is the same guy who fires Chase outright, without preamble. He may hate change, but he tells Wilson “I’ve changed”, which sounds like a lie, but could just as well be another deflection. We’ll never know…at least until he makes his declamatory statement just before the next Rapture…
The only part that has me puzzled is the near-obligatory departure scene with Foreman. After saying “I don't and there'd be no point,” House contradicts himself…unless he was lying to Chase. But since House has little or no interest in Chase's opinion or value, the question arises as to why he would even bother. Remember: he sabotages only those he feels worth it.
The only explanation for House’s outburst, then, would be something along the lines of his exchanges with Wilson at certain points, especially with his recent divorce. This is about the only time House gets really personal with anybody. His lectures/ harangues are all about forcing people to confront ugly truths, about their realities, about their motives. When he gets on Cuddy’s or CamBot’s cases, it is the soft hiss of the serpent of Eden; here, he is…nothing we’ve seen to date. Snide, yes. Cruel, yes. BUT ALWAYS WITH A POINT!
And why is that a problem? “I don't and there'd be no point.” Worse, in some ways, reveling (either real or staged) in another victory over both God and Death, and then to just assault Foreman for having an ego?!? Egad. He’s just laid out a whole reason for his present state of acting-out-loud, and then? The only behavior that describes this is: abandonment issues. I’m not going to bring up family ties again, but will just let that go with the fact that House's vehemence totally outweighed the mood of the two participants-the less resistance Foreman offered the angrier House got.
Afterwards:
Wilson: Nice try.
House: Nice tries are worthless.
Just like “The Jerk,” he can’t stand to lose.
So what this ep delivers the most is the idea of the whole world turning over, and House getting a new guitar. Symbolically? What could be a better embrace of change? EXCEPT FOR THE FACT THAT IT IS THE SAME MODEL AS HIS OLD GUITAR! How better to change and still stay the same? And yes, it is trivial. And yes, that ain’t what makes ball games, but it sure helps for fantasy leagues…the game we are playing right now.