House!
Woo, I'm back. :) It was a whirlwind trip, but fun anyway. I'll post about that some other time.
Also, the depressing!post I said I'd write was, um, postponed. And it is again. I will get to it, but it's not something I want to rush though.
Because I was on a plane, I missed the House season 4 finale. But on the plane ride back, I saw someone watching it on their laptop a couple seats ahead of me. I could only see about a quarter of the screen, and I couldn't hear anything, but even so, I was like "DANG! That looks SO good!"
So today, I watched it. And I was in tears.
It was a brilliant episode. Some articles claim it makes up for the rest of this lackluster season - I don't know about that, but it was DEFINITELY the highlight of the season, and just an overall great episode. Not to mention heartbreaking! I really did not expect Amber to die. In fact I was sure it would be the opposite. She hasn't been around long enough to die, people aren't attached to her enough - that was my logic. But I missed the point - people were attached to Wilson and House enough, and their pain made the episode.
If the writers had gone the House-had-an-affair-with-Amber route... I don't know what I would have thought of that. It was too predictable. I'm glad they avoided it. And at first I thought they were going to give Thirteen a crush on Amber... but the writers impressed me again. Not only did they have her confront her fear of dying young, but she also tackled her Huntington's test and found it positive. For the first time ever, I'm interested in Thirteen. She actually acted human and not like a wannabe-Cameron clone. Plus, she furthered her own subplot. I might even be interested in her next season.
Kutner's little revelation - and the nonchalant way he shared it (though, it wasn't quite as nonchalant as he wanted it to be - it seemed to me he was forcing it out. Either he really wanted Thirteen to know, or it was difficult for him to relate, etc. Which was great.) was great. (Loving all those greats!) And Taub was Tauby. I do so love him.
Didn't see much of the originial ducklings - Foreman's been so jipped this season, I really hope he gets to integrate more in the next one. But what little we did see of Cameron and Chase was gold. Even Cameron very simply putting her hand on Wilson's shoulder to comfort him was so perfect.
And Cuddy acted like a doctor/dean of medicine, not like House's teenage high school flirtable BFF. I have missed that side of Cuddy so much. Also, her mature friend side. The way she looked after both Wilson and House at the same time - even while they're both working very hard at driving her insane - was like a buffer throughout the show. It kept everything else from spiraling into chaos.
Of course, the highlight of the episode was the House/Wilson dynamic. We saw House be gentle with a patient - a patient's family. This only happens when he's close to the person involved - it happened when Foreman was sick, it happened (in a way) when Stacy's husband was sick, and even a bit when Cuddy thought she was sick (but wasn't). This time, it was way more pronounced, even more than during Euphoria part 2. Now the question is, where will House and Wilson's friendship stand in season 5? Does Wilson "hate" House? I doubt it. He can certainly project anger onto him for a time, while he's grieving - but hopefully he won't push House away as revenge.
Besides, in the end, House doesn't have anything to be hated for. (The Amber in his head who said he did - well, that was House's brain's version of Amber, yes? So it's really his thoughts, not necessarily the truth.) Sure, it was House's fault they were on the bus. But not only did Amber chose to come onto the bus, neither of them had any reason to imagine it would crash, and the aftermath. There was no affair. Sure, House gets a perverse pleasure out of yanking Amber's chain, and he should have gone with her in her car since she'd brought it down for him and all - but this is House. Again, he had no way of knowing what would happen. Not to mention Wilson let him jerk Amber around quite a bit. (He likes people fighting over him. He's like a junior high girl.) There's really no place to cast blame. Amber's death was, as House said, random. But even knowing that can't stop the emotions of guilt and anger and grief from bombarding House and especially Wilson. I imagine Wilson will be angry for a while... but only in appearance. Underneath, he'll be more confused and bereaved and lonely. He'll recover his friendship with House for sure.
Beyond that - House risked his life for Amber, at Wilson's request. At first, when it was House's idea, both Cuddy and Wilson talked him out of it. But later, Wilson made it clear Amber was number one in his life by asking House to do the risky procedure on his brain anyway. Can't blame Wilson for that - and while he may have known just how much influence he has over House, it's also true that House is a strong, fiercely independent person. House made the decision to undergo the procedure himself. He did it for Wilson and for Amber (and depending on the writer, he may have done it for any patient), but he made the decision himself. He risked his life! Wilson can't be blamed for that, but he can't stay mad at House over it either!
... Geez. This episode was fantastic. I want to watch it again, but I'm all cried out for now. Season 5 can't come soon enough.
Three cheers for House's triumphant return to glorious television!
Also, the depressing!post I said I'd write was, um, postponed. And it is again. I will get to it, but it's not something I want to rush though.
Because I was on a plane, I missed the House season 4 finale. But on the plane ride back, I saw someone watching it on their laptop a couple seats ahead of me. I could only see about a quarter of the screen, and I couldn't hear anything, but even so, I was like "DANG! That looks SO good!"
So today, I watched it. And I was in tears.
It was a brilliant episode. Some articles claim it makes up for the rest of this lackluster season - I don't know about that, but it was DEFINITELY the highlight of the season, and just an overall great episode. Not to mention heartbreaking! I really did not expect Amber to die. In fact I was sure it would be the opposite. She hasn't been around long enough to die, people aren't attached to her enough - that was my logic. But I missed the point - people were attached to Wilson and House enough, and their pain made the episode.
If the writers had gone the House-had-an-affair-with-Amber route... I don't know what I would have thought of that. It was too predictable. I'm glad they avoided it. And at first I thought they were going to give Thirteen a crush on Amber... but the writers impressed me again. Not only did they have her confront her fear of dying young, but she also tackled her Huntington's test and found it positive. For the first time ever, I'm interested in Thirteen. She actually acted human and not like a wannabe-Cameron clone. Plus, she furthered her own subplot. I might even be interested in her next season.
Kutner's little revelation - and the nonchalant way he shared it (though, it wasn't quite as nonchalant as he wanted it to be - it seemed to me he was forcing it out. Either he really wanted Thirteen to know, or it was difficult for him to relate, etc. Which was great.) was great. (Loving all those greats!) And Taub was Tauby. I do so love him.
Didn't see much of the originial ducklings - Foreman's been so jipped this season, I really hope he gets to integrate more in the next one. But what little we did see of Cameron and Chase was gold. Even Cameron very simply putting her hand on Wilson's shoulder to comfort him was so perfect.
And Cuddy acted like a doctor/dean of medicine, not like House's teenage high school flirtable BFF. I have missed that side of Cuddy so much. Also, her mature friend side. The way she looked after both Wilson and House at the same time - even while they're both working very hard at driving her insane - was like a buffer throughout the show. It kept everything else from spiraling into chaos.
Of course, the highlight of the episode was the House/Wilson dynamic. We saw House be gentle with a patient - a patient's family. This only happens when he's close to the person involved - it happened when Foreman was sick, it happened (in a way) when Stacy's husband was sick, and even a bit when Cuddy thought she was sick (but wasn't). This time, it was way more pronounced, even more than during Euphoria part 2. Now the question is, where will House and Wilson's friendship stand in season 5? Does Wilson "hate" House? I doubt it. He can certainly project anger onto him for a time, while he's grieving - but hopefully he won't push House away as revenge.
Besides, in the end, House doesn't have anything to be hated for. (The Amber in his head who said he did - well, that was House's brain's version of Amber, yes? So it's really his thoughts, not necessarily the truth.) Sure, it was House's fault they were on the bus. But not only did Amber chose to come onto the bus, neither of them had any reason to imagine it would crash, and the aftermath. There was no affair. Sure, House gets a perverse pleasure out of yanking Amber's chain, and he should have gone with her in her car since she'd brought it down for him and all - but this is House. Again, he had no way of knowing what would happen. Not to mention Wilson let him jerk Amber around quite a bit. (He likes people fighting over him. He's like a junior high girl.) There's really no place to cast blame. Amber's death was, as House said, random. But even knowing that can't stop the emotions of guilt and anger and grief from bombarding House and especially Wilson. I imagine Wilson will be angry for a while... but only in appearance. Underneath, he'll be more confused and bereaved and lonely. He'll recover his friendship with House for sure.
Beyond that - House risked his life for Amber, at Wilson's request. At first, when it was House's idea, both Cuddy and Wilson talked him out of it. But later, Wilson made it clear Amber was number one in his life by asking House to do the risky procedure on his brain anyway. Can't blame Wilson for that - and while he may have known just how much influence he has over House, it's also true that House is a strong, fiercely independent person. House made the decision to undergo the procedure himself. He did it for Wilson and for Amber (and depending on the writer, he may have done it for any patient), but he made the decision himself. He risked his life! Wilson can't be blamed for that, but he can't stay mad at House over it either!
... Geez. This episode was fantastic. I want to watch it again, but I'm all cried out for now. Season 5 can't come soon enough.
Three cheers for House's triumphant return to glorious television!