5.04 - Birthmarks

House told Wilson that his father was in Okinawa at the time he was conceived, it was one of the reasons he gave for doubting John House was his biological father. I'm actually disappointed that the paternity -*test*-('") proved him right. It's all too easy an explanation for their problems, and it feeds into the "magical House" idea.

What I don't understand about the timeline is this. The announcer said it was a 40 year old secret. House is 49. Wilson said House figured out his father was not his bio father when he was twelve. That would mean House was 52 instead of 49. Am I missing something here. I always thought House found out when he was nine, which makes all the year references fit. That was the only piece that sort of confused me. That's just another example of a person (the announcer) rounding up. People don't get all super-specific and say, "a 37-year-old secret." They just round up and say "a 40-year-old secret." I do believe House is the same age as Hugh (49), and he's had the secret since he was 12, which means the secret is 37 years old. But it's kind of silly to say "37" when it's quicker to say "40." It's two fewer syllables and it's a neater, rounder number. Just like we might say House and Wilson have known each other 20 years, but maybe it's actually 22 years or 17 years. We just round to the nearest round, neat number.

On the subject of Blythe... I understand why people think it was necessary for House to go to the funeral (and was amused by the cop's quick and definitive stance on that). And I'm not going to hold Blythe responsible for, or even assume she knew about, Cuddy and Wilson's means of getting him there. But how are people justifying her choice to coerce him into delivering the eulogy? The only comments I've seen on Blythe have been of the "poor sweet woman" type, and I don't get it. What justification does she have for ignoring his feelings or even for wanting him to get up there in front of everybody in the first place?

The people closest to House (Wilson, Cuddy, Stacy and now Blythe) seem to alternate between treating him like he's some sort of deity and can do no wrong and disregarding his feelings and his free will entirely. I wouldn't handle a pet that bizarrely or a child much less a grown man. If Blythe needed him at the funeral that's one thing (although she seemed to be doing fine without him) but forcing him to do the eulogy for a man he hated seems wrong unless she was more concerned with appearances than her son's feelings, and that's wrong too. Since we now know that House's father is someone else and he doesn't take after his mother, does anyone else see a future arc where he goes searching for his biological father for some answers?

Blythe clearly knew there had been a "war" between son and father. Whether she was right or wrong, she wanted him to deliver the eulogy so he could face up to what his father meant to him. She also knew he'd be reluctant, so she enlisted the one person that could get him there, James, and told him they would wait for them, so clearly she knew he would delay as much as he could, maye she even knew he had delayed thinking about this (in this sort of way) for too long. I think it was her version of tough love: Get her son to face up to the man his father was in front of her and all his friends who were honoring him so that he could see not only his own childhood relationship with him but also how his father fit into and was respected in his own world. She was right to get him there and right to get him to give the eulogy: maybe she does know him better than Wilson. If he hadn't gone to the funeral, he wouldn't have been confronted with all these people who knew and respected his father and might have just kept his view from childhood of his father as someone who didn't understand or appreciate him: I think it was a bit of a breakthrough when he said that his father was the man who made him who he is, for better or worse (and that there is better as well as worse); and if he hadn't given the eulogy, he wouldn't have gotten the dna sample, whatever those results in the end meant to him. Anyway, that's one scenario that makes sense to me. :-)

Barbara Barnett interviewed Doris Egan and David Foster and the pair discuss the ep "Birthmarks" and John House and Greg House's relationship in detail. It's a totally awesome interview. A lot of stuff that made me very, very happy to read. As for the eulogy scene, they left it deliberately vague: But Egan and Foster left the door open to interpretation as to whether what House eventually does say in his eulogy was actually sincere. “Was he saying it sincerely, or insincerely as a tool?” asked Foster. Egan added that as writers they like to “get the audience fully involved in the scene and then pull the ‘trap door’ to a deeper level. We hope that causes the audience to rethink what they just saw.” “Hopefully that happens in the eulogy scene,” said Foster. Her article blog is here: http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/10/15/071400.php

The one thing I've never understood about Blythe is why she didn't protect House from things like ice baths or no dinner if you were 2 minutes late. Now I have to wonder if allowing John to raise Greg as he saw fit (when he was stationed in a place where the family could be together) was because she felt guilty about the fact that he wasn't really Greg's dad.

I like how your mind is working, Boffle. Since we now know that House's father is someone else and he doesn't take after his mother, does anyone else see a future arc where he goes searching for his biological father for some answers? Well, House already knows the man who he thinks is his father so he may not need more details (as he loves to avoid stuff) but it would be interesting (if done well) if we were to see a bit more of how that all happened. And also, the family friend - how much influence did he have in House's life - Was he around? Was he aware that House was his son?, etc.

For all the awesome of this episode, I was rather let down by the "reconciliation"--it... didn't actually reconcile anything, for me. I hope it doesn't just end there. What happened to everything Wilson said at the end of DCE, and his "right to walk away" from NC? House's theory--that Wilson's so afraid of losing him and not being in control and prepared that he pushes House away instead--rings pretty false to me, all things considered. Well, at least for Wilson. It's certainly what House always does. :lol: Oh, and I see that interview was posted! That's pretty cool. I'd like to see how, exactly, their views on House and Wilson differ. :D

But how are people justifying her choice to coerce him into delivering the eulogy? The only comments I've seen on Blythe have been of the "poor sweet woman" type, and I don't get it. What justification does she have for ignoring his feelings or even for wanting him to get up there in front of everybody in the first place? I didn't want to say it because I was afraid it would start an argument that I'm really not interested in, but I think I officially don't like Blythe. Thinking about everything we know about House's childhood, I just have a hard time respecting her or feeling sorry for her.

And does anyone have the words to Leave a Tender Moment Alone and Dancing Queen? Here you go: Leave A Tender Moment Alone Dancing Queen

For all the awesome of this episode, I was rather let down by the "reconciliation"--it... didn't actually reconcile anything, for me. I hope it doesn't just end there. What happened to everything Wilson said at the end of DCE, and his "right to walk away" from NC? House's theory--that Wilson's so afraid of losing him and not being in control and prepared that he pushes House away instead--rings pretty false to me, all things considered. Well, at least for Wilson. It's certainly what House always does. :lol: Actually, I thought that was really believable. It fits with Wilson's psychology and even brings an element of his LLB into it. While House has daddy issues, I've always felt that Wilson has mommy and abandonment issues. His crappy marriages, and the fact that he leaves before he is left or leaves when he thinks he is not needed anymore. He is as much a control freak as House is he just shows it in a different way. House gets accused of being afraid to live (with emotion etc.). I can see Wilson having a fear of death and becoming an Oncologist as a way of attempting to have control over that fear. And House is there for him, maybe not in an emotional, let me hold you while you cry kind of way, but in a it's 3 a.m and I have a couch you can sleep on and beer in the fridge kind of way. I can see someone who has abandonment issues taking a liking to House simply because House never changes. Plus, with his abrasiveness, you know where you stand with him. The problem is House is a risktaker especially with his own life, and Wilson having been through multiple episodes with House, just couldn't cope with his own grief of Amber's death AND hang around House, who at times has a near suicidal, inquisitively-driven self-destructiveness. I never felt that Wilson left because he was tired of House, or even because House was miserable, he left because he didn't want to experience losing House to death as he had lost Amber. Wilson needs House because no one else forces Wilson to confront his issues, even while at the same time House ignores his own. Oh, what a wonderfully complicated pair. Lots, and lots of issues still to be played out here. I think there is way more H/W in the future. The fact that Wilson comes back to House because House is fun is just icing on the cake. It is easy to forget in all the angst, drama etc. that the two of them also just like to hang around together. I'm hoping we get to see them at a Monster truck rally real soon. :D

I thought the reason Wilson gave for coming back was not very convincing. The roadtrip was the most fun he had had since Amber died. Well, that figures if the only things you have done in those few weeks is go to griefcounselling and read magazines about barnconversions. :roll:

I thought the reason Wilson gave for coming back was not very convincing. The roadtrip was the most fun he had had since Amber died. Well, that figures if the only things you have done in those few weeks is go to griefcounselling and read magazines about barnconversions. I thought he was clearly enjoying his little ddx with House. He sounded excited and it looked like he was trying not to smile during the whole thing. Perhaps, if nothing else, it took his mind off Amber and he's been away from House for so long that after the bottle incident, he was just enjoying being with him again. I started smiling when Wilson started smiling because it's been so long since he has smiled. Lots, and lots of issues still to be played out here. I think there is way more H/W in the future. I hope so.

We'll be seeing older episodes in a different light now; I watched 'Maternity' a couple of weeks ago, where House's patient is pregnant and thinks it may not be her husband's child, and House advises her to not get -*test*-('")ed and just keep quiet. And that one where House bets everyone that the patient's dad isn't the biological father. Blythe likely believed that House delivering the eulogy was the "right" thing to do, and doing the right thing matters more than what you want to do. I like that they addressed Wilson's fear of losing House. You knew he had to feel that way - it's the only explanation that makes sense for The Big Lie in 'Meaning' IMHO - but they've never touched on it before. I like that Wilson came back because he had fun with House, it means that he's resuming the friendship because he WANTS to. I hope they don't go back to the way everything was as if nothing happened, though.

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