I did have 2 "shut up Cameron" moments, but they worked because they were in character and they weren't overdone. 1. Waking the patient up in the hospital so he won't be scared that he's in the hospital. 2. Telling Chase that she quit, House fired him.

No offense, but why is every bad quality of Chase's excused away by his childhood? Looking for reasons isn't necessarily excusing actions. I am psychologist and part of my job is that of a behavior specialist. I'm a firm believer that people have to take responsibility for their own actions, but I also believe that, to some extent, people can be understood as a product of their enviroments. I believe understanding behavior and its origins helps a person change it. I believe the past affects the present and that people react in a pattern. Growing up with an alcoholic teaches someone to not rock the boat. In no way did I excuse Chase's behavior. I saw a reason and identified it. I think he needs to examine why he's so afraid to confront people. That's one area in which he has room to grow. That's one area that the show could explore for the character. Unlike the badly beaten dead horse that is Cameron's PDH issues, that parallel has never even been drawn on the show It doesn't have to be drawn out on the show. The show revealed that he's the child of an alcoholic. That tells us a lot of things that potentially apply to Chase's behavior patterns. This "not rocking the boat" is a habit he's had for years and it is one that many children of alcoholics can identify in their lives. Like any behavior pattern, it takes time and a lot of effort to break and he may be able to break the pattern in one area of his life (standing up to House), but not in others (risking alienating Cameron). It's actually the mark of a well-written character in my opinion because it shows consistency and realism.

(shrug) I'm no psychologist, but given that alcoholism is the second most common mental illness in the U.S. there are a lot of adult children of alcoholics out there. My dad, aunts and uncles, and some friends are among them. They're all very different people, but none of them are afraid of confronting others, hate fat people, or anything else that I'm always told Chase does because his mother was an alcoholic. Why do all his bad traits have to have reasons? Why can't he just be imperfect like everyone else on the show? my little brother (with all of six months' worth of chemistry) was able to call that from about five minutes in. Your brother is very smart, because I have years of chemistry education and didn't see it coming! I've heard stories of people living with bullet fragments in their bodies for years - in fact I know one - so that's why it surprised me. It hadn't been that long for the guy, had it?

Who said he was perfect? I believe I said he had room to grow in that area which is sort of the opposite of being perfect since a perfect person wouldn't have room to grow. That said, I believe that most people's bad traits *do* have reasons and understanding those reasons can be a step toward change.

It made me smile, and that goes a long way toward my enjoyment of anything.

I liked the episode. I was hoping for a little more House/Cuddy, but that's fine. I loved the fact that Chase and Cameron got to actually be a part of the episode. Not just some one liners, but an actual part of the show. Classic. By the way, what was the name of that song playing at the end of the episode?

Why was House so dressed up in this ep? I kept seeing HL instead of House.

I really enjoyed this episode. I disliked, however, how stupid Wilson was being about encouraging a relationship--very unlike the protective Wilson of the past, and the sensible Wilson of the past and present (except for this episode, of course). That said, the moment in Cuddy's office between them was cute. House's dream was great, and I particularly found his "Oh, shit, well that's not good" grunt amusing. I also was very glad to see that Cuddy showed no real signs of wanting to pursue a relationship with House. If she did show any such signs, I wouldn't have been able to respect her. The parallels between the patient and House were quite anvil-icious, but still valid. I'm also so glad that the episode ended the way it did, because it reaffirmed my faith that the writers know what they're doing with House, and that they're keeping him consistent, and won't do something stupid. Cameron was....feisty in this episode, by the way, but it was nice to see her doing what she felt was right and to see her and Chase move forward. All of the cast members had nicely balanced screen time this week, and it was nice to see the old and new coming together. Oh, and this is the first patient-of-the-week that I've cared about this much in a long time. Very nice episode. I have serious thinky-thoughts about it that really apply to the whole season, but I'm not sure this is the place for them, so I'll leave it at: This fit so nicely with House's established characterization and incorporated his outlook that we've seen throughout the whole season. Such great, consistent, well-done writing this season.