HOUSE: "No Reason"

[rj_anderson]

Wait, before I forget -- again -- because I have a brain like a broken sieve --

Happy Belated Birthday, jalara!

Sorry I didn't catch you on the day. I suck at birthdays. :(

Anyway, on to the topic of this post. I've been reading quite a few comments about the House season finale, many of them surprisingly (to me) negative. I realize that not every

Comments

[izhilzha]

I'm quite sure he asked for it...but that opens up an interesting question. Did you simply mishear it (or did we?), or does it have something to do with what the episode led us to expect?

Because I was not expecting him to ask for the ketamine, but I recall going, "duh, of course" when I heard him ask. It seemed a logical conclusion to the arc--a choice House might in fact make after the pseudo-events of the episode.

[malabud]

The closed captioning text reads, "Hello. Tell Cuddy... I want ketamine." Now, closed captioning is not always correct, but it sure sounds like what House says. Whether or not Cameron heard him correctly is another question entirely.

[neonhummingbird]

A very intelligent and interesting interpretation, thank you. I agree pretty much right down the line, which is rare for me in House meta.

[rj_anderson]

Thank you!

[kneesroverrated]

Well argued. I am not, as a rule, a fan of hallucination-episodes, but if there must be one, I'll grant that they did it well. And it was entertaining trying to figure out how much of what we were seeing was hallucinatory, right up until the end scene.

The insights into House's rather screwed-up mental workings were fun. My biggest concern is that, dramatically speaking, this episode leads inexorably to a major, pain-relieving change to House's life. And there's no way the PTB will actually do that, because the leg and the pain are too integral to their main character. So we've been set up for a Part Two that will almost have to invalidate some or all of Part One. Mind you, they're welcome to prove me wrong.

[singingtopsy]

I agree *sigh*. I find it unlikely that House will experience healing (even physical healing) until the end of the series. He'll probably have his pain return, which is a 50% chance. But at least he might start acting a little less out of control, like he was after Stacey left.
I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the shooter represents House's Conscience (specifically), which amused me. Turns out House's Conscience is a balding, greasy-haired, and fallen entity with a soul patch that has to shoot House to get his attention.

Also, is it just me, or is the undressing-Cameron-with-a-robot-image just the perfect representation of how House relates to her? That he can't bear to get close to her without using an impersonal medium like robotic arms (or sarcasm, in the real world)?

[kneesroverrated]

Well, what else would House's Conscience be, really? ;-)

I think I just wrote off the robot-undressing thing as House being a jerk, as usual. But there's certainly room for symbolism there if you want it.

[singingtopsy]

Oh, I do :). 'Sides, if he was just being a jerk there would have been more sneering and less blank stares of shock (as in: Am-I-really-doing-this-oops-this-is-way-more-awkward-for-me-than-I-intended).

[malabud]

Thoughts on your points:

1. People thought it was cheating? Sure, if they did something like dreams or hallucinations even just a couple of times a season, we'd soon get tired of it. However, it's an accepted and time-honored storytelling and character-development device to delve into a character's subconscious mind. Definitely not cheating. Hmph.

2. As you know, I totally agree here. The patient was a stand-in for House in many respects. You've made points and illuminated many parallels I hadn't thought of. What is especially interesting is the "murder" of the patient. Was House killing his physical self? Or was he instead finally realizing that the physical matters, but he must destroy the mind-created illusion to get back to the physical? I think it's the latter, mostly because he asks for the ketamine when he wakes up.

3. For House, I don't think he could see Cameron as a true object of lust/affection or as a potential girlfriend unless he respected her mind first. (Say what you will about Stacey, but she was one smart cookie

[lydaclunas]

I'm not generally a fan of dream- or hallucination-eps. Maybe it's because I've seen so many bad ones that I'm automatically suspicious of it being a cheap trick, second only to that time-honored cop-out method, the clip show.

That said, I didn't hate it, and I wish I had TiVo or something so I could have watched this a second time. I think I would have liked it more on a second run-through so I could have picked up on all the clues you've highlighted.

[rj_anderson]

*loves your icon*

[lydaclunas]

Why, thank you. I was rather proud of it myself.

USA is airing "Three Stories" tomorrow. FINALLY. I've scrupulously avoided reading the plot recap of this episode simply because everyone says it's ZOMG TEH BESTEST EVAR, so I want to leave the experience as untainted as possible.

[rj_anderson]

Good for you! I think it is definitely better that way.