monday night tv
Contains spoilers for House 520 and L&O:UK 107
Law and Order: UK 107 'Alesha'
Wow. This show continues to surprise me. Its not afraid to tackle some pretty uncomfortable topics, and I dig that, but Alesha! I cannot believe you went back. I'm just...stunned. Freema ROCKED this episode, and so did everyone else. She's just so believable. Still, my god.
"Its not just any woman - its Alesha!"
Excuse me while I fangirl shamelessly about Bamber/Matt. I loved that he was so filled with rage that he couldn't watch the tape and the whole time he's just barely keeping a lid on his emotions. Its all great. And James ruthlessly fighting for her? That's wonderful too. Its just...it came out of leftfield a little. Its a testiment to the actors that they were able to pull it off, but all of the sudden we go from work collegaues/flirting to concerned and doting. Not that I'm complaining - its clear they all adore Alesha (Matt especially) but idk? I'm nitpicking. The more Matt/Alesha and Matt/James the better. Things won't be the same again, though, and now I have to wait until SEPTEMBER for it to pick up where it left off. I miss Bamber already.
House 520 'Simple Explanation'
First episode in a long time where I didn't wander off and do other things halfway through. Like the dishes. Not happy they killed off Kutner - not at all - but I didn't hate it. That said, I didn't love anything especially about this ep, either. I guess this is what happens when you're not invested emotionally in the characters so much anymore. I never connected with any of the ducklings. Do I think it was a cheap ratings ploy? Yup. But then I've come to expect that from this show. Strangely enough, I found Cuddy well-written and appropriately boss-like. Wilson and House? If there's not an impending fallout/crisis of friendship soon, I'll be surprised. House was more interesting to me than he's been in a long time, they're clearly building up to some emotional turmoil. One of my favourite things about his character is that he's so fiercely self-reliant. When he said "living in misery sucks marginally less than dying in it" it was such a reinforcement of all that he stands for: not giving up. He fights, you know? He fought for his leg, he fights for his patients (he used to) and he fights for what's right. And Taub? Well, ok, I cried when he cried. Don't judge me. I thought Peter Jacobson was great. And his line about "you have to love someone to feel that guilty"? Interesting.
Now on to topics that I'm slightly less ambivalent about: House and Cameron.
Yes I still love them. While I think that the writers don't really know what to do with them, the actors sure do. Its always effortlessly meaningful and the subtext is still there. Although, I gotta say that the "incurable romantic" thing didn't really stick for me. Is she really? I don't think so. I'd say she's thoroughly pragmatic. If its a dig about her "noble, self-sacrificing nature" then that fits, I guess. She's still somewhat of a mystery to him, I suppose that's why he goads her with the labels. It would be nice if I could actually believe next week is going to be an exploration of this, but sadly, I don't.
Why?
I don't think Cameron is in love with House. I think she loves him, yes, but there's a difference. Cuddy's question is more for herself, I suspect (and the melodrama just makes me want to throw things).
Sometimes Cameron comes across as a more healthy Wilson for House. Sometimes his peer. Right now, I'll take his begrudging respect of her diagnostic savvy. That's enough for now. I can't get enough of those moments. Because we know he's proud of her the most. He trusts her as a doctor. For House, that means a hell of a lot.