Pardon the Interruption: House 7:20 - Changes

Overall: 6.7

I was mildly entertained by this episode, but I do have at least one serious objection.



Plot Synopsis:

FOX.com has a recap here.

The Skinny:

Looks like I need to rely on bullet points once again.

First, the decent:

• I actually did laugh several times at the subplot involving Foreman and Chase. My take? I think Foreman is better off. Sure, he needs to yank the type-A rod out of his butt, but I think Chase's current penchant for bed-hopping is definitely more pathetic.


• Thanks, writers, for allowing Taub to point out that people who've had fewer sexual partners tend to be happier in their relationships. I guess Taub would know the flip side of that, wouldn't he?


• I also smiled when Arlene told her daughter that her standards are impossibly high. YES! EXACTLY! That's what I've been trying to say! As I noted in my commentary on Bombshells, Cuddy has been so unlucky in love mainly because she's too busy looking for perfection. And as we all know, perfection doesn't exist.


• And speaking of Arlene, it was a nice surprise to discover that her lawsuit was really a subterfuge to get House and Cuddy in the same room together. I think that twist added a much needed layer to Arlene: She's annoying and bitchy as all hell, but apparently, she really does want her daughter to be happy. Who knew?


• Lastly, although I believe Thirteen is wrong to assert that one's potential happiness is fixed at birth, I do think it makes sense, from a character standpoint, for Thirteen to embrace that kind of fatalism.

And now, my complaints:

• Back in the third season, we had this whole huge plot in which, among other things, House stole Wilson's prescription pad and forged a few extra prescriptions for Vicodin. At the time, as I recall, this was a BIG F***ING DEAL for Wilson. Remember that road trip with "Vegetative State Guy"? Wilson was bitching about House's forgeries the whole time! So why, in the name of all that is good and holy, was Wilson not exercised about a similar issue in this episode? Why is his response to House's relapse so anemic?


• More generally, this episode feels like filler -- and given that we only have a few episodes left before the end of the season, this seems like a bad time to produce a filler episode. We should already be ramping up for the planned big finale for the year.

Writing: 6.0

As I said, this script is not all bad, but it irritates the hell out of me that Wilson is not behaving the way he should.

Acting: 8.0

There's nothing majorly wrong with the acting this week.

Message: 6.0

There are also no Big Themes to speak of. On the message front, this episode is pretty neutral.