I thought there might have been a subtle parallel between House and the PotW: just as the dad had been sleepwalking through his life, so had House, through his relationships, especiallythis key one with Cuddy. Ever since the end of the last episode when he said "If you're happy, I'm" he has realized he doesn't know how he feels about her and about her having this baby. Being House, he tries to get her to think through her decision with his own brand of jerky tough love. He pushes her so she will see herself if her fine clothes being soiled or her expensive lamp being broken will throw her off. He seemed to think they would, but they really didn't. She got too involved, but not recklessly so. House, I think, isn't premeditating his actions as much as he usually does, he's just trying to figure out how he feels. Like with Terzi, when he's attracted to a woman, he behaves worse than usual and becomees "that guy" rather than who he thinks he should be. Seemed to me that he did let himself in, iamdaffodils and it was also interesting that it didn't surprise her to see him walk in. He was just so drawn to be with her and when he kissed her, it was out of confusion, out of need, out of affection, desire, all kinds of emotions that just came out that way and at that moment. The kiss sort of woke him up. (House as Sleeping Beauty: I know!) Anyway, that he left then rather than pursuing her further, when she was vulnerable enough that he could have if he had pushed just right, says that he both cares for her and respects her, and now he's revealed feelings he's not sure he's happy to have revealed. It was the genuine truth when he said "I don't know", but it was more from an overabundance of feelings and not knowing which ones were his primary motivation than from lack of them. I didn't think he abused her at all, she knows what he's like and she challenged him, rightly so. And, shallowly, yes that kiss was truly hot, sexy and real. Wow. Gave me the vapors, I'm telling you!

I'll go out on a limb and say, unabashedly, that I like Derin Serafian's directing style. For one thing, I think his extreme close up on House's darting eyes gave a real jump start to the DDX sessions which to this point have frankly sucked and been totally boring since the new team rolled in. Tonight I got the sense that there was some actual vitality going on. There were discussions and counter arguments and some passion with the various diagnosis. That has been completely absent for about 20 episodes now. More to the point, I thought Serafian's choices showed a House that was actually engaged in the DDX which, again, is something I've felt has been missing for a very long time. In many respects the show has gotten lazy and the House/DDX scenes have felt, if you'll pardon the pun, like sleepwalking. So tonight was better. I think all the directors should take a cue from Serafian. If they shot 13 in nothing but extreme close ups, I'll bet her acting wouldn't suck near as much. Maybe by getting closer the camera would actually reveal something without me having to be told it about her. I also thought LE really stepped up her game. I felt for Cuddy the whole way and there was a merciful lack of wailing, screeching Cuddy which sets me on edge and makes my hair curl. LE had a real emotional roller coaster to get across and she did superbly. For dramatic purposes, I'll conveniently ignore the fact that Cuddy's medical dilemma shouldn't have been a dilemma at all because it was so patently not her call. In fact, the whole OMG!theBaby!orTheMother! cliche was really the macguffin because it just didn't seem medically plausible that either the baby or the mother would be in such dire straits at that point. For further dramatic purposes, I'll ignore the Cuddy/Cameron scene in the ER because I really don't understand the point of putting a House-trained fellow down there for the purpose of her constantly being wrong about patients. Isn't that the better role for the no-named ER doc guy we used to see on those very few occasions when House would steal a case from the ER? It seems a bit odd to me to tell me that these former fellows are all brilliant now except they're more wrong than ever. Seriously, TPTB---just write the damn characters off the show if they can't be written competently or usefully. (Not to mention, these dramatically irrelevant scenes of Cameron in the ER or Chase behind the surgical mask are so stupid as to be a drinking game at this point.) In terms of the House/Cuddy lip-lock; I'll first be shallow and say, "hoo boy, that was hot!". I'll bet the entire cast is lining up waiting for their turn to kiss Hugh. I'll bet even Jesse Spencer has a story idea or two for a House/Chase romantically charged scene. If he ever thought that Cuddy would be turned off of having a kid because of spit up and knocked over lamps, then he doesn't know her nearly as well as he thinks he does. (Actually, between this episode and "Lucky Thirteen" I'm pretty surprised at how absurd I am finding House's edgy "psychology.") But yeah, to echo someone else above, I feel as though TPTB don't realize that they're actually writing a pretty abusive relationship. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to cheer them on (even though this being House it likely won't go anywhere anyway) or call social services for emotional battery. Yeah, yeah, this is House and he's 95% asshole with 5% humanity but I have a hard time believing that's anywhere near an equation that is plausible for Cuddy. (Really, Cuddy, that way lies insanity. Run, run, run the other direction. Because you don't look good as a doormat, you really don't. And I thought that, despite being really hot, kissing House--as opposed to kneeing him in the balls---made Cuddy come off looking like that doormat.) I could deal with them a bit better if House acted out because he wanted to be the man in her life, not the child getting her attention. But that he seems insistent on being an obtrusive juvenile and that Cuddy just rolls her eyes at those antics makes this think this potential couple is just....gross. That being said, I thought this episode was one of the tops of this short season. Okay, really, Birth Marks was best, obviously, followed by Joy. The rest are kind of mired down there in that vast pool of mediocrity I've grown accustomed to. This episode didn't seem "transitional" to me at all and I was genuinely interested in the POTW. (On the other hand, Taub is a dick and 13 is a bitch and I don't really care to see either of them on the screen at all because neither of them are dicky/bitchy in fun ways, but....sigh.)

I loved this episode and thought it was one of the best of the season. I liked the POTW case, if not the POTW himself and found the rest of the storyline entertaining. I was thinking that TPTB are starting to get their mojo back. And the kiss? Oh yes. I'd be happy to see more of that. Why should anyone here worry about House-Cuddy being an emotionally abusive relationship when I don't think there's anyone here who thinks they are going to have a long term relationship, or much of a short term relationship for that matter? If they do wind up in the sack, and I hope they do, it will likely only be a few times, or perhaps only once. Cuddy's a big girl. She can take care of herself. ETA: Can someone help me with some dialog? When House is talking with Cuddy shortly before the kiss he says House: You're quitting, just like you quit IVF. Cuddy: Yeah, just like that. House: <----- what does he say here?

I loved everything about this ep: the potw was interesting and not overly complicated. The Cuddy plot was compelling and heart wrenching. VERY nice to see LE play something other than the same annoying foil for House every week. The zomg! makeout, then him freaking out and leaving (didn't like that so much). Taub scoring coke and 13 being street smart was funny. And funny Wilson stuff. I actually was interested in the show and not just tuning in to see darling Hugh. A huge win. I haven't fully processed the kissing. It happened so fast, I have to parce out the hot vs awkward factor. There was hotness there but it was also kind of weird. That must've been stressful for Hugh to shoot that. As for LE, I don't know how much she minds cause she says how much she looks forward to seeing that in the script. But when it comes time to shoot she's prolly nervous like any other human being. Re: bareback, I see that as vag or anal condom free sex.

ETA: Can someone help me with some dialog? When House is talking with Cuddy shortly before the kiss he says House: You're quitting, just like you quit IVF. Cuddy: Yeah, just like that. House: <----- what does he say here? DOB - his next line was: House: There, you just did that again.

Wow, great episode. My heart broke for Cuddy at the end of it - Just the look on her face was so shattering. I wanted to hug the poor dear. Heck, I wanted to be there so I could find a new baby for her! I loved Taub and Kutner in this eppy. They're starting to grow on me even more. I cracked up laughing at Taub's "I'd like to buy cocaine please". Pure gold! Thirteen was even pretty good in this episode. Screentime was nicely balanced between the three of them, which was niticeably different ... and and a big improvement! I enjoy Thirteen when she isn't the center of attention. The camerawork, on the other hand, bugged me to pieces. It seemed so strange ... It didn't feel like I was watching a House episode, but rather some other show instead! I don't. As someone mentioned earlier in the thread, it took a while to figure out which rooms the characters were in during some scenes. (I definitely agree on the Wilson/House scene ... I didn't even realize it was Wilson's office until someone mentioned it). Speaking of Wilson ... what on earth was he doing when House walked in? Was he shining an apple? Jeez, he was really getting into it! Obsessive, much? LOL! Along with Cuddy's heartbreak, Wilson's sarcasm and obsessive-apple-shining were my favorite parts of the episode, closely followed by Kutner's bet and Taub's cocaine buying. The kiss was so weird though. While it was hot, I haven't quite decided if I liked the kiss yet or not. It was so random and sudden. My mind is still processing it, I guess. It was NOTHING like how I imagined. Left me feeling more "empty" than excited for them. (I felt like the sleepwalking PotW during the kiss ... come to think of it, I felt that way during the whole episode. The directing/camerawork left me feeling ... strange). I'm surprised Cuddy allowed the kiss after all that House had said to her this eppy. Heck, she might have feelings for him, but House was an absolute ass all episode! None of the usual flirty/funny jokes between them, just pure unadulterated assholery! I'm hoping this isn't leading to a House-gets-Cuddy-knocked-up plotline. >_> - - - On a slightly random note ... was it just me, or did House's voice sound kinda weird in this episode? Like, it seemed quieter? Even his sarcasm and jokes seemed subdued. - - -

Have we ever seen House in a moment of real joy over his personal life? I don't recall one. I think he's been happy to solve cases, but being happy over a job well done isn't the same as having some real happiness in your life. I think we have. There have been times when he's just hanging out and laughing with Wilson (such as at the end of "Damned If You Do" or when pranking Wilson. He seemed happy when he thought Stacy was really going to stay, and when he was playing with the skateboard when he was pain free. I think that moments of joy are few and far between for him overall, though. It's just the way he's wired, so for him, it's easier to find joy out of solving a case, than through introspection into his life. But I like the idea of the parallels in this episode with different versions of joy. The patients who didn't feel it and were literally sleepwalking through life, Cuddy who had and then lost joy, (literally) and House who doesn't know how to obtain it. I think part of what we were seeing in the way he treated Cuddy was his fallback position that life is crap, and he couldn't see a reason that Cuddy shouldn't be prepared for that -- which, to an outsider, becomes Wilson's "you spread misery" speech. But at the same time, House has a desire for happiness that he can't touch, and I think he genuinely was sorry for Cuddy that he ended up being right. On a different note, as to Thirteen's "street smart" aspects in terms of drugs ... did we have confirmation during the Survivor arc that her dad was a cop? Or was that just someone's suspicion when she knew that the CIA agent was carrying a concealed weapon? If her father is a cop -- say someone who worked in narcotics. And since cocaine derivatives are also used as topic anesthetics, I'm not surprised that she "-*test*-('")ed" Taub's cocaine by rubbing it on her gums.

On a slightly random note ... was it just me, or did House's voice sound kinda weird in this episode? Like, it seemed quieter? Even his sarcasm and jokes seemed subdued. I thought his delivery was perfect and it was key to why I didn't take his assholishness at face value, any more than I did when he told Wilson he was milking the bereavement thing. He's reacting to this giant change to Cuddy's life, which will affect their relationship in some way, and he's having the thought that his actions will partly determine how, and he doesn't know what he wants to do with that. He'd rather just stop the whole thing in its tracks. His subdued delivery to me signalled that he was very conflicted inside and didn't really always know why he was pushing so hard. His final "I don't know" and soft "goodnight" just fit the whole emotional progression so well, for me. I had no problem with Cuddy responding to that "I don't know"--open, raw, honest House who admits he's not sure what he feels. The last time we saw this was with Stacy. With Wilson, he was always sure what he felt, just not how to get Wilson to hear. This is another complicated relationship in flux. Despite the way he pushed Cuddy, I still think, "Poor House." He can't bear to commit or lose, but as with Wilson, where he had to decide to communicate in a way that matters to Wilson, House will have to decide something with his relationship with Cuddy. I think we are seeing the fallout from the bus scene this season. House is opening up and facing emotions, even though he's doing so in a very Housean way.

Just watched the kiss again on youtube the SECOND before it was removed! Very sexy, very moving. So full of pent up tension. Even better on second viewing. Well played hugh and lisa. Wow. Re: this ep in general, I did like the different camera work. Its good they break up the formula now and then. It was great to have a POTW not convulse or do something gross or pass out for once. Word on that. Nice that you're trying to keep it fresh, POTB.

In the scene at Cuddy's place, House said something about teenage boys will continue riding bareback. Strange. I always thought the term was used for unprotected anal sex. Well, it seems more often used to refer to that but "bareback" means sex without a condom in general.

poor cuddy. i saw this coming, but still... :( shame that everyone needs to stay miserable on this show. i actually kinda like 13, i can see this is not the case with many people... but yeah, i don't mind that she's getting a lot of screentime, i'm interested in what's in store for her. i also liked her in this episode, especially in the scene with the drug dealer. :D taub was funny, but where the hell was kutner all the time? and of course, the kiss. seemed like a mix of desperate and awkward to me. it didn't really have the passion i was hoping for, but it definitely opens up a lot of new issues. i'm excited about the rest of this season.