Overall Rating: 5.5
*sigh* I know, I know...2 steps forward, 1 step back...it's the only organic way to grow House's character that we will believe...but I feel that while his treatment of his patient was a sign of his new respect for emotion over reason, his dealings with Cuddy are less appealing.
Cut for Spoilers
Plot Synopsis:
The Case: House's team takes on a super-genius with ataxia, memory loss and signs of anemia. The in first DDX, the team quickly zeroes in on a diagnosis of TTP (don't ask me to quote the whole name, I couldn't if I tried) and the newly assembled mixed cast of ducklings scurries off to test the patient's blood to confirm. They find evidence to support TTP, but because the patient is allergic to a common agent used during plasmafuresis, their only recourse is to remove his spleen. He appears to be getting better until he has a fit of aphasia that reveals brain damage.
House sends the team to check the home of this brilliant individual and find a tiny, not-well-kept apartment, brilliant technical schematics he apparently stopped drawing some 13 years ago, and a bottle of Vodka hidden in the air duct. They theorize that he might have liver failure due to alcoholism, but he denies drinking more than one shot a day and their liver biopsy comes up empty. House then realizes that their genius isn't acting so intelligent as he should and he formulates a new theory - DXM abuse! Their patient is intentionally making himself stupid - a fact he confirms after questioning. He says he can't be happy with his wife when he's smart and the team flushes the DXM from his system. As soon as his mind clears, he returns to doodling brilliant schematics and his wife is terrified by the obvious contempt he expresses for her lack of intelligence. He also hates himself for not being able to put up with her in this state. House, seeing the impacts of genius mirrored in his own life, tosses him a bottle of DXM. At this point, he realizes the broken ribs the patient reported getting from an attempted suicide might have damaged his spleen and he MRIs to confirm. Indeed, their patient has multiple satellite spleens and the original TTP diagnosis is still correct.
House / Cuddy: Meanwhile, House has decided that he will pursue Cuddy by trying to break up her relationship with Lucas. He schemes to get himself invited to Cuddy's thanksgiving party, but she dupes him by sending him to the wrong house. He steps up his campaign by making an appearance at Lucas' apartment. In an apparent show of genuine vulnerability, he declares himself unfit for Cuddy and says he loves her, all while very drunk. He passes out at Lucas' apartment and when Cuddy arrives the next day, she claims whatever House said scared Lucas off for good and that she can't forgive him for proving he's no better than he ever was. He then tells Wilson this his evil scheme worked and the break-up had happened exactly as he planned. Only later does he realize that, in fact, Cuddy and Lucas had not broken up when he tries to gie her a peace offering (no strings attached) and she says no to him. As he reports to Wilson, this is proof that she doesn't want to feel guilty for accepting his gift when there's nothing for her to feel sorry about. Wilson asks what he intends to do now and House says he will leave them alone - he tried to break them up and it didn't work, so they obviously are good together.
Ducklings: The entire team, at one point or another tries to console Chase after his wife skipped town and he insists to them all that he's fine and just wants to be left alone. To deliver his message all the more loudly, he punches out House...it makes everyone worry about him even more, but now they're afraid to talk to him about it, so the mission has been accomplished. Chase is rather pathetic in this episode. Meanwhile, 12 and Foreman each insist that there is no animosity between them, but the tention appears as soon as Foreman tries to take control of the team in House's absence. This will no doubt come back in later episodes.
Writing: 6.0
The one moment in the entire episode that had me sitting foreward with interest (House's apparent confession of love for Cuddy to Lucas) was immediately and rather cruelly devalued not two scenes later. The rest of the episode carried absolutely no emotional resonance for me. The patient was rather unsympathetic as far as I'm concerned. I may not have an IQ of 178, but I've tested as high as 151 and I don't buy for one second that genius automatically equates with misery. The wrangling House tries to pull to get at Cuddy is just mean and I really wish he were capable of just walking up to her and telling her how he feels. Perhaps this frustration is a good sign...I'm rooting for House despite his problems...but in this episode, it doesn't feel like the annoyance was worth it.
Acting: 5.0
The patient was flat as hell. He completely failed to convey any changes in emotion. If he was truly happier when stupid...why didn't we see any sign of it? Even House and Wilson were well off their game in this episode except in the aforementioned drunken confession scene which ALMOST has me going (in the case of House). And I'm not feeling it with Chase either. He just looks pathetic and moody...there's no depth in his performance at all.
Message: 5.5
I do like that House is willing to consider something besides the rational when it comes to his patient. Two years ago, he'd never have been OK with accepting the notion that ignorance really is bliss. The fact that I think that notion is a completely wrong-headed way to approach God's gifts to us doesn't undermine the reality that the fundamental way in which House relates to people is changing for the better, even if his first impulse is still to manipulate and game with them to get information and manipulate. All in all, the little good cancels the minor problems I have with an episode that is largely without larger moral messages.
No Highlights tonight due to Holiday business and my intensive personal coverage of the ClimateGate scandal...the show lacked a lot of stand out lines anyway, so you're not missing much.
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