6 reasons why this House/Wilson fan actually kind of likes the House/Cuddy relationship
1. I agree with David Shore that in such a long-running show, it made sense for them to give it a try. They're two attractive, high-achieving, single (OK, not quite in Cuddy's case in S6, but I could never take Lucas seriously) people working in close proximity - why wouldn't they have been attracted? I thought the show did enough to establish that they were very interested in each other, but even if it hadn't, it would still have been my baseline assumption that they were.
2. She continues to call him "House". He doesn't call her by any name at all, except "Dr Cuddy" once in public. I like this for three reasons:
* It's what they did pre-relationship, so it feels believable
* The fact that House doesn't use her name at all makes the relationship feel less intimate than it would otherwise, which I like as a House/Wilson fan
* I dislike pet names of any kind (with one exception: Bodie's once-only "sunshine" and "angelfish" for Ray in The Professionals) and am glad they didn't go there so I didn't have to listen to it!
3. I quite like the way Cuddy conducts the relationship, and I think she's a portrayed as a much stronger character in this season than in say season 5, which is next on my rewatching list. Many people seem to think that she shouldn't have taken up with House since she has a child, but I'd say that doesn't entirely disqualify her from trying to pursue her own happiness (and the list of things that people with children "should" do is pretty long and probably not one that most people want to fixate too hard on). She gave it a try, she asked for what she wanted from him, and once it became clear to her that it wasn't going to work, she promptly ended it.
4. We get to see Wilson in some different best-friend roles to the ones he's played over the previous six seasons.
He's genuinely happy for House at the beginning:
(From 7x2 "Selfish". How often do we get to see Wilson giving House a long, long smile?)
He offers practical relationship advice:
Putting up with irrationality is the foundation for every relationship. I agree with Sam when she's calling her father a monster. I agree with her when she's calling him a saint. And in exchange, I get to have sex with her. And I'm sure she has similar tradeoffs with me. Relationships are hard. You have to make sacrifices. So sacrifice being crazy. Go get her a gift and apologize. (7x4 "Massage Therapy")
...and later warnings:
House… I'm not going to tell you a third time. Do not screw this up. Because I really don't want to clean up the mess. (7x15 "Bombshells")
He does his level best to support House after the break-up, and is near tears when he tells Cuddy that House needs her.
5. It provides the opportunity for House to worry about Wilson being single while House is in a relationship.
House: Do you know if that OR nurse that Wilson liked ever broke up with her boyfriend?
Cuddy: I thought your Wilson fetish was over.
House: I'm putting together a second string in case things don't go well with the well-breasted barista.
Cuddy: You've got to let that guy alone.
House: He's not supposed to be alone.
Cuddy: Is that what this is about? You feel guilty because Wilson's the one that's alone and not you? (7x12 "You Must Remember This")
6. We get to see House having sex with someone on-screen. Like most slash fans, I suspect, I'm fairly adept at mentally replacing one of the participants with the person I'd rather was there.
2. She continues to call him "House". He doesn't call her by any name at all, except "Dr Cuddy" once in public. I like this for three reasons:
* It's what they did pre-relationship, so it feels believable
* The fact that House doesn't use her name at all makes the relationship feel less intimate than it would otherwise, which I like as a House/Wilson fan
* I dislike pet names of any kind (with one exception: Bodie's once-only "sunshine" and "angelfish" for Ray in The Professionals) and am glad they didn't go there so I didn't have to listen to it!
3. I quite like the way Cuddy conducts the relationship, and I think she's a portrayed as a much stronger character in this season than in say season 5, which is next on my rewatching list. Many people seem to think that she shouldn't have taken up with House since she has a child, but I'd say that doesn't entirely disqualify her from trying to pursue her own happiness (and the list of things that people with children "should" do is pretty long and probably not one that most people want to fixate too hard on). She gave it a try, she asked for what she wanted from him, and once it became clear to her that it wasn't going to work, she promptly ended it.
4. We get to see Wilson in some different best-friend roles to the ones he's played over the previous six seasons.
He's genuinely happy for House at the beginning:
(From 7x2 "Selfish". How often do we get to see Wilson giving House a long, long smile?)
He offers practical relationship advice:
Putting up with irrationality is the foundation for every relationship. I agree with Sam when she's calling her father a monster. I agree with her when she's calling him a saint. And in exchange, I get to have sex with her. And I'm sure she has similar tradeoffs with me. Relationships are hard. You have to make sacrifices. So sacrifice being crazy. Go get her a gift and apologize. (7x4 "Massage Therapy")
...and later warnings:
House… I'm not going to tell you a third time. Do not screw this up. Because I really don't want to clean up the mess. (7x15 "Bombshells")
He does his level best to support House after the break-up, and is near tears when he tells Cuddy that House needs her.
5. It provides the opportunity for House to worry about Wilson being single while House is in a relationship.
House: Do you know if that OR nurse that Wilson liked ever broke up with her boyfriend?
Cuddy: I thought your Wilson fetish was over.
House: I'm putting together a second string in case things don't go well with the well-breasted barista.
Cuddy: You've got to let that guy alone.
House: He's not supposed to be alone.
Cuddy: Is that what this is about? You feel guilty because Wilson's the one that's alone and not you? (7x12 "You Must Remember This")
6. We get to see House having sex with someone on-screen. Like most slash fans, I suspect, I'm fairly adept at mentally replacing one of the participants with the person I'd rather was there.