House: 4.09 Games--they shoulda called this one on account of rain. Or stupidity.
The conclusion of last night's episode left me confused and disappointed and angry and irritable. Oh, and did I mention confused? Continuity gods, why dost thou continue to forsake us? Our forgiveness for last season's Tritter arc wasn't a large enough sacrifice?
And speaking of arcs. I enjoyed the Stacy arc. *ducks*
I tolerated the Vogler arc ( Read more... )
i suppose that what's bothering me is another point you mentioned--that the writers are giving us intriguing, exciting glimpses into the minds of both house and wilson--and then are glossing over them, or even [apparently] dropping them totally [thus far, anyway].
I think back to the revelation of Wilson's depression. There were subtle hints that there was something wrong, that Wilson was suffering from depression, before it was revealed that Wilson was actually on ADs. After that revelation, one can go back and actually see Wilson's progression. So that gives me hope.
Also with the whole third season, basically. There was a lot of complex groundwork laid there, IMO. It was basically an entire season arc - first the shooting, then the brief euphoria and respite from pain, then a massive crash that took a long while to fully expose itself.
I remember how, post Cane & Able, there were complaints that the writers had dropped the storyline. It seemed like House got his leg back, then bam suddenly he was back to being disabled and using the cane again and it was like the writers forgot it ever happened. At some forums, people were angrily posting things like, "That's it??" and accusing the writers of copping out.
But it wasn't over, in fact it had even started back in season two, when we saw House's addiction ramp up. That was stopped by the shooting and the ketamine - or so we thought. But then the pain returned, and House continued on the spiral that saw him shooting morphine the previous season. It wasn't just "old House" again, like the shooting and ketamine didn't happen. It turns out the writers didn't let House be unaffected. He seemed unaffected, but his addiction was grabbing control. A combination of (I think) the shooting, having his glimpse of freedom taken away, his uncertainty about his abilities and his desperation drove him deeper into addiction. Before the shooting it was morphine, then it became stealing Wilson's pad and forging his name. He gradually started acting more and more like an out of control junkie, until he finally downed the bottle of Oxy and Maker's Mark.
Anyway, I'm rambling, but the point is that as soon as I'm ready to give up on these writers and their sense of continuity they surprise me. Who would've thought we'd essentially return, in Games, to an issue raised by House's hallucination in No Reason?
in the meantime, it's analyses like yours that make me remember that even when it's bad, House is still far better, in my opinion, than anything else on television--now, or ever.
Aw, thanks. ;) Hi, BTW, I've loved your fic for a while.
oddly, that thought has occurred to me several times this season--and i've quickly discarded it each and every time. i enjoy angst, i write angst, i think angsty thoughts. but i'm also very, very good at denial. and that particular theory hits far too close to "logical progression of events" for me to want to even contemplate it for long.
It's a horrible thought, but hell, even Wilson seems worried.
House doesn't meet all the criteria, but I'm sure you're familiar with those "warning signs of suicidal behavior" lists. And much of House's behavior has started coinciding with those alarm bells they print in those brochures: Development of extreme dependency. Sudden happiness after a prolonged period of depression. Risk-taking and careless behavior. Attempts to tie up loose ends with loved ones, express emotions or say goodbye. Discussion of death and/or the afterlife. Having a "death wish," tempting fate by taking risks that could lead to death.
It's that common perception that suicide is proceeded by depression ("he or she didn't seem sad!"). When it's more common that suicidal people seem happy before the act, because they've finally made a decision.
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and if you're familiar with my fic, you already know we'll have to agree to disagree on house's dependence on opioids in order to function normally. i see the examples that you call 'addictive behavior' as pseudoaddiction, and as a direct result of his having been forcibly deprived of those opioids he needs to function. my own theory? house doesn't have a problem with vicodin--he's got a problem (a big one) without it.
House doesn't meet all the criteria, but I'm sure you're familiar with those "warning signs of suicidal behavior" lists.
did you know they're getting ready to make Denial the 51st state, based solely on how very quickly i scanned that part of your comment and went, "uh-uh--not House!" ;)
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I have complicated feelings about it, being both the daughter of an addict and yet also someone dependant on painkillers for a chronic condition. I agree and disagree with you at the same time (God I'm a kiss ass!) in that yes, I believe House needs the drugs to function normally. I also think he's addicted to them in the traditional (or psychological) sense.
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ohhh, i was gonna leave this so alone.... how, then, do you account for the fact that he went three months without them [and without picking up an addiction to anything else] following the ketamine coma?
[full disclosure: i am a chronic pain patient, 49 years old, with a seriously screwed up right leg--and a favorite cane. i take oxycodone, oxy-contin, tramadol, and ibuprofen daily. i function in a reasonable assimilation of 'normal.' whatever that is.]
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