Picspam/Recap: House 7x10 Carrot or Stick - part 1
Carrot or Stick!
Masters: We should not be looking at this.
Taub: He sent out an alert. It would be rude not to look, although I am straining my eyes.
Foreman: Whoever did this has a bone to pick with you, ironic since your bone--
Chase: Is not in that picture. My proof is right here, you really want to see it?
Foreman: Whoa, whoa, convinced.
Oh, hello totally hilarious Chase storyline. So much fun. Hee at the "You're a whore" -- and Foreman and Taub pretty much agree that yes, yes he is.
I would also like to draw everyone's attention to the fact that House came into the office SINGING. Looks like someone had a good night last night (plus, is that a blue shirt? :D And he has a t-shirt under the shirt -- which meant something at the beginning of the season, t-shirts versus no, sex versus no sex, but, yeah, I have no idea what to do with that theory anymore since, well, I don't think there's an actual pattern there. My name is echo, and I fixate on the clothing of fictional characters :D)
When House asked them what they were looking at (on his computer, no less--I thought the outer office had a computer as well?), Chase's response: "Another study about gays being better parents. We were lured in by the word 'lesbian.'" Heh.
Looks like Masters is the Theme Fairy for this episode: "It's hardly surprising you agree with our patient's philosophy. You run your department like a boot camp, as if cruelty ensures performance." House: "Oh, is this where I'm supposed to disagree with you?" ("I don't want them going home. I want them [to continue feeling like crap and] to stay here.")
Oh, boy. Masters, I'm begging you, please don't annoy me this episode. Please. You've been doing so well for so long; don't wreck all your hard work. When in doubt, ask Foreman to tell you about the common pratfalls you should avoid.
In "Larger Than Life," there was an emphasis on superheroes. "Captain Micropenis" would have fit right in.
HOUSE: What brings the lesser Cuddy to these parts?
CUDDY: Pediatrician appointment for a S-H-O-T. Waldenwood insists vaccination reports go in with the application.
HOUSE: Waldenwood. Is that by any chance a boarding school? Or a work camp?
The smiles before House realizes Rachel's there. Yep, a very good night. (Plus, eye!sex; third row, far right -- and it comes out of mocking (in a rather gentle tone! amazing)).
Why is Rachel so cute? Seriously, I was not planning on liking her this much or liking this storyline at all this much, but I was sucked in by the cuteness. I'm weak; cuteness gets me every time (which is also why I can't stay too mad at Chase. Sigh).
Is Rachel really supposed to not be that bright? I mean, she was born in season five and she's already old enough for preschool; that alone is impressive, right? The actresses are clearly very smart and I think Rachel behaves differently around Cuddy than around House. Her lying at the end indicates some higher level.... Hmm.
Yeah, I really think House should just accept that Cuddy women are going to screw with him. It is just going to happen and, quite frankly, he should really stop fighting it.
MASTERS: Maybe you shut down your account.
CHASE: I tried but who ever did this changed my password so I can't even prove it's my page.
MASTERS: Well, there's a clue. She's got serious tech skills.
CHASE: My password was 'password."
MASTERS: You're a dumb whore.
Taub: Listen, this is a tough time for me. Breaking up with Rachel, moving into a hotel. I wanted to know how much your humiliation has eased my burden.
Heh. There is really no part of this storyline that I don't enjoy. Oh, Chase. So pretty. And so, so dumb. (I kind of love that someone thought he would be dumb enough to have 'password' as his password--he couldn't add a zero or something?)
Oh, Tiny Taub. I do enjoy you as a foil for others. Wait, you're living at a hotel? Oh! You should definitely go talk to Wilson; drag Foreman along and you can all go drinking and commiserate. Yes! I like this idea-- as long as it happens on screen. Ahem.
MASTERS: A symptom which we learned about when he choked me. I hate to slow us down by acknowledging it.
HOUSE: And yet, you have.
Aww, Masters. You're being a little annoying in this episode but I still think someone should give you a hug. Not Chase, though. (Why do I think that Chase's...antics...are bothering Masters more than she thinks they should? I know JS was "angling" for it so maybe that's coloring my perception. Hmmm. i'm just imagining things, right?).
Poor Foreman is nursing a bruise, too. (Wait, "[p]oor Foreman"? I so would not have said that a few seasons ago.)
It's amusing how Masters thinks *this* is bad, whereas the other members of the team (and the audience) know better. At least she's not in love with him; that's a refreshing change (besides, we have Chase and Foreman for that :D)
Chairman: You want me to hook you up with two women?
Chase: Actually, three.
Chase being stupid with his boss's boss's boss. Seriously, Chase, stop while you're ahead. You're not that pretty. Stop it. See, this? Right here? Is why it was smart to leave you off the billboard.
WILSON: And her not getting in bothers you. You care about Rachel. That was not advice.
WILSON: Oh crap, crap! I'm such a sucker.
HOUSE: Thanks for the advice!
Hehehehe. You two. Oh, Wilson, you know the two of you have your routine and you know that you're not going to be the one to deviate from it. And what would you do if House didn't go to you for advice? You'd be devastated, you know that. On the other hand, MAYBE THAT WOULD OPEN YOUR SCHEDULE ENOUGH SO THAT YOU AND CUDDY WOULD HANG OUT MORE ON CAMERA.
I really don't think Rachel's dumber than a paste sandwich. She seems to enjoy screwing with House, Wilson, and her grandmother. She doesn't do those things around her mom.
FOREMAN: So there are no bad kids, only bad parents? Then why is my brother an ex-con?
MASTERS: Treating kids decently doesn't mean identically. Some kids need more structure or discipline. Nobody needs this place.
Snow!! No snow where I live during the great SNOWPOCALYPSE (just record colds; cold enough to break water and gas pipes in some areas).
But, wait--guys? What, exactly, was your plan for getting in? Please don't tell me you had to park this far away. I know it's your general MO, but I'm thinking this is the place to go through the front door and not, you know, try to scale the walls. Just a suggestion.
Aww, look at Show remembering the backstory of at least one of their characters. Thanks, Show! (and still an 'ex' con? that's great!). And yet, no mention of Foreman's own past, but, of course, that wouldn't have been as an effective counter to the point Show was trying to have Masters make. Show decided to omit all sorts of possibly pertinent information from this episode. It was an interesting choice.
HOUSE: Well done, Chase, now turn off your phone.
CHASE: You heard that? It's on vibrate
HOUSE: I'm assuming it's been ringing almost non-stop since you changed your status update to 'Nothing lights my fire like a lady of size. Less than three bills, don't bother calling." Followed by your cell number.
TAUB: No, no, no, you're right, this is in no way clever and hysterical.
Hehehehehehe. How did she get his cell number? Did he actually give it out? That doesn't seem smart (okay, admittedly, when it comes to Chase, that doesn't rule this option out). Did she do what he did and get his contact information from someone else? I would have thought, given Chase's earlier player mentality (pre-Cameron; didn't House once say something like "Chase will find eight someones"?), he'd be able to manage this a little better. Someone is clearly off his game. Oh, Chase. Not only can't you use an alphanumeric password (symbols might be pushing it), but you don't know how to give out a fake number? Not that I'm encouraging this sort of behavior, but this is getting sad.
To be clear, though, it's not sad right now. I'm with Taub; this is hysterical to watch.
Director: Maybe it would be safer to get rid of these toys.
House: No, no, don't do that. I'll tell you if anything's toxic. For now you should minimize your exposure.
Heh. Evil, yet clever. He puts so much time and energy into doing evil things. I like seeing the flipside to their usual interactions with members of the community; everyone is so trusting when you tell them "his brain is on fire!"
"Waldenwood." Just makes me think of Waldenbooks (are those even around anymore?). Or Thoreau, which, yeah, is probably where they were leaning :)
TAUB: You are a beautiful man. Can I leave now?
CHASE: I know where all three women are, but I'd like to avoid the additional humiliation of falsely accusing any of them.
Well, I see that that plan just fails spectacularly. Awesome.
TAUB: Or, maybe it's time to chalk this up to the hazards of being a player.
CHASE: Your zipper problem just blew up your marriage.
So...Taub would know of what he speaks. Plus, it's not like you're some expert on marriage, Chase. I mean, yeah, you didn't cheat on her, but you also killed someone, so, you know, you might want to tone down the attitude.
TAUB: Don't move. Unlike me, you had the decency not to cheat on anyone but you haven't given much thought to who these women are and how they might feel. Obviously, you hurt one of them. Emotionally hurt her, not physically, because how would they even know?
Thanks, Taub, for doing the heavy lifting and drawing attention to the broader issue. Nicely done. Plus, you do this in an unbelievably hilarious way, so thank you for that. I also appreciate Chase appropriating hospital property to blow (enlarge? zoom? there seem to be so many landmines) his photo up to life-size.
And look! Taub figures out that someone short must have taken the picture. Taub's height is helpful for something besides the mocking factor!
-- Part 2 --