5.08 - Emancipation

On Foreman's case, wouldn't any of the diagnostics or preliminary blood work show that the kids iron levels were sky high? Yes. Or the mom--wouldn't she realize that if she was only giving her kid one vitamin a day and yet the bottle empty that that would be a problem? I have two kids, and no, I couldn't tell you at any given time how many vitamins are in the bottle or how many there are supposed to be. There would have to be an extreme difference from one day to the next for me to notice, like say, at least 1/3 – 1/2 of the bottle missing from the previous day. I would probably not notice just a few vitamins missing from the previous day. Either the older brother was giving the little brother a few extra a day or he gave him half the bottle at once after the mother doled them out one day (and therefore she wouldn't have noticed). But either way... parents have a million things on our minds—a million. I'm not exaggerating. The detail of how many vitamins are in the bottle are not among the most prominent. This is why parents are supposed to keep all medications, including vitamins, up out of reach of children—and in a lock box once the kids are old enough to climb.

I had wondered about blood work also. So just a medical hole? I was also a bit confused when they showed that notSophia's urine had changed colors, because why the heck did she have a Foley? She wasn't unconscious, was pretty mobile... Seriously, why was she cathed? I'm still getting my basics in nursing school, but I didn't think that was something you just do because they are admitted and you don't want to walk them to the pot.

Great post, shutterbug12 - now you've got me totally rethinking this episode. Thank you for that. And that my friends, is the beauty of a discussion board in action. :-)

I was grateful that Wilson called House a noble ass because it settled something for me. Is House really such a selfish ass one moment and an honorable, selfless man the next? Yes. He is a contradiction. A recent example would be when he discouraged Cuddy from adopting a child so as not to lose her attention. I interpreted that as selfishness but others excused it as honorable. What to think? His selfishness was confirmed in my mind when he told his team that Cuddy adopting was "not an option". But he contradicted himself and became honorable when he admitted to himself that Cuddy should be a mother and to her that she would be a great one. He is a contradiction - a noble ass - and Shore continues to build him that way. I'm not going to try to come up with any more excuses for his selfishness.

It really is Fiddy, though I have to say the last few weeks I sometimes hesitated opening certain threads because of all the negativity. It's good to read that people have an open mind and are willing to reconsider some of their opinions. I must admit that is something that is not my strong point in real life or on-line. :oops: Back on topic. I'm still curious as to why House tells Wilson about the kiss and now the fact that he went to Cuddy's house. Somehow I didn't expect that of him.

Back on topic. I'm still curious as to why House tells Wilson about the kiss and now the fact that he went to Cuddy's house. Somehow I didn't expect that of him. Maybe it's unexpected, but House finds himself in the midst of a puzzle. He's not sure what he should -- or even wants -- to do. And anytime House can't figure things out, he has to bounce his thoughts off of people. It doesn't matter what they say, or if they're qualified (like "Dr. Buffer"), he just has to be able to say them out loud, or write them down on a white board. In this case, he's trying to get Wilson to give him that epiphany, that "ah-hah" moment, so he'll know what to do. But Wilson isn't playing along. He's refusing to give any feedback, so that House has to figure it out on his own.

My thoughts, bulleted.
* Cuddy seems to be keeping her distance; I find this to be realistic. I know it's annoying to people who want to see Huddy happen, but I think both characters realize how complicated things will get, and they are not rushing headlong into it. * Freedom of choice figured prominently in this episode. Even with Chase and Cameron, who chose to help Foreman (even if reluctantly). The old team is choosing to regroup; I'm thrilled with that. * I liked the fact that House talked to the PotW the way he did about life because it smacked of his decision to "get off the bus" re: Amber. He didn't want Wilson to hate him. She didn't want her parents to hate her. House was speaking from the heart there. * I didn't appreciate the way it seemed like House (and Wilson, and Cuddy) just totally forgot that Foreman had his own team at Mercy. It's not like he's never run the show before... and uh, he was right then, too, even if it got him fired. So why this whole "Yippee! We knew he could do it!" angle? Continuity fairy, where are you? * I almost fell over when Taub stole 13's favorite line, I was laughing so hard. I have to rewatch to hear the whole scene! Next, Taub will be announcing "This is Dr. House. He's (insert quip here)." * This is an episode where Lucas would have come in so very handy. Too bad he's flown off to the island of dropped plot points...

* I didn't appreciate the way it seemed like House (and Wilson, and Cuddy) just totally forgot that Foreman had his own team at Mercy. It's not like he's never run the show before... and uh, he was right then, too, even if it got him fired. So why this whole "Yippee! We knew he could do it!" angle? Continuity fairy, where are you? To me, the difference is that at Mercy, Foreman's actions were all based on House. He was going to be the anti-House, even in the way he treated his team, then he did what House would have done, then he blamed House for getting him fired (rather than fully accepting that it was his own decision). In this case, although House was in proximity, he didn't try to be like or unlike House. He approached the case as his own, had his own epiphany, had his own way of dealing with the patient. Then, once he came back, he'd fallen off the horse, and needed to jump back on, but continued to play a role within House's world, rather than creating his own.

Re: My thoughts, bulleted.
* Cuddy seems to be keeping her distance; I find this to be realistic. I know it's annoying to people who want to see Huddy happen, but I think both characters realize how complicated things will get, and they are not rushing headlong into it. I want to see Huddy, but I prefer it be realistic the way they're portraying it. She should keep her distance...she's just as confused as he is at this point, I think.

To me, the difference is that at Mercy, Foreman's actions were all based on House. He was going to be the anti-House, even in the way he treated his team, then he did what House would have done, then he blamed House for getting him fired (rather than fully accepting that it was his own decision). In this case, although House was in proximity, he didn't try to be like or unlike House. He approached the case as his own, had his own epiphany, had his own way of dealing with the patient. Then, once he came back, he'd fallen off the horse, and needed to jump back on, but continued to play a role within House's world, rather than creating his own. I have to agree here. Foreman really showed a lot of growth between his time at Mercy and this episode. I suspect it had a lot to do with this. And, as jim mentioned upthread, I'm glad Wilson called House a "noble ass", too, mostly because Wilson seems to accept the contradiction in House, and acknowledges that there's goodness in him, something he was having serious trouble seeing at the beginning of the season. A part of me wonders if doing this good thing for Foreman was partly to show Wilson that he can spread a little goodness in the world. And it's good that Wilson saw it and commented on it. =)

I just wanted to also thank Shutterbug12 for that insight into House's reaction to the PotW on the previous page. On first watch, I was a bit confused by the depth of House's reaction to the PotW's admission but after reading that analysis of the parallels to Amber's death and House's guilt and the idea of not retreating from painful situations...well everything just clicked after that. I do so love the House/Wilson relationship. On a different note, I found Taub and his Huntington's ploy completely amusing. It was a nice, subdued episode; I enjoyed it.

I liked this episode alot and watched it twice through last night and once again while dressing for work this morning. I particularly was touched by the taking-care-of-your-brother theme that permeated each important relationship in this episode: -- Wilson was taking care of House by showing uncommon restraint in allowing his friend to reach his own conclusions about Cuddy; -- House was looking after Foreman by showing uncharacteristic restraint all the while pushing him toward independance; -- the brother of Foreman's patient was looking after his sibling and went too far resulting in the life-threatening overdose (Foreman's own contrasting brother issues were touched upon but not beaten to death); -- the POTW was harboring her guilt over not looking after her brother as well as she should have which resulted in his death. The question in each pairing was how to strike the right balance. Thirteen put it best in reply to Taub's pressure, you need to have just the right amount of pain in order to get to your life's balance. Wilson knew he had gone overboard in lecturing House about Cuddy so he cleverly resolved to back off, to wonderful effect. House was befuddled and almost frantic to get Wilson back into his badgering mode. But with Wilson playing inscrutable (loved the "that makes me sound desperate" line from Wilson), House is now forced to work things out for himself and come to his own conclusions about the possibilities opening before him. I think that over the past three episodes we have seen that House is slowly becoming more comfortable with the idea of a fuller relationship with Cuddy. The hunger, longing and wistfulness with which he looked at the distant Cuddy in the final scene perfectly expressed his dilemma. The subdued and almost somber feeling of the episode is, I think, a deliberate reflection of House's inner turmoil as he mulls over a new direction for his long-standing relationship with Cuddy. House was taking lots of drugs this episode, wasn't he? We saw several close-ups of his hands grappling with the vicodin and sloshing it down with water. However, I thought that his steps across the lobby at the beginning and the end of the episode seemed especially light. I think his resorting to the drugs was an indication of his emotional turmoil rather than his physical pain. I very much liked the way that House handled Foreman in this episode. He knew that the more that he demanded that Foreman do all the routinue procedures the more Foreman would resist, which was House's goal. Foreman was right obviously, to point out that there are four doctors and only one patient, but he was ineffectual and weak to merely ask permission to take up an independant case. This was not arrogance or conceit at all, as House understands quite well, but instead further indication of the profound lack of self-regard and absence of basic confidence that Foreman has demonstrated consistently since season one. Foreman does not feel good in his skin because he doubts his own abilities. Again, the question for House was how to strike a balance between once more bludgeoning Foreman's always shaky self-confidence and pressing him to move toward positive personal and professional development. House wisely knew Foreman had to learn that lesson for himself. I did not have the sense that Cuddy actively collaborated with House in setting up this situation for Foreman but it was neat to see their mature insights dovetail into creating an avenue for success for the junior doctor. As others have noted, House was such a powerful force in the final confrontation with the POTW. His determination to push beyond her barriers was overwhelming and the resolution highly emotional for both of them. This scene reminded me of season one's "Control" in which House's overriding goal was not simply to discover the cause of the illness but to get to a cure for his patient. His actions in this scene were in direct rebuttal to Thirteen's earlier comment that he was coldly satisfied with solving the puzzle and was willing to let the patient die because she was an idiot about not contacting her parents. I also liked that House was self-aware enough to realize that his position paralleled Foreman's. His comment to Wilson as he slammed the office door in Foreman's face underlined that he knew that Wilson was resisting guiding him on the Cuddy dilemma, just as House was resisting helping Foreman reach a diagnosis in his independant case. Likewise, House's final comments in the lobby pointed to his understanding that the reversal he had pulled off with Foreman (stepping back in order to foster his independant decisionmaking) was just what Wilson was doing to House himself.

I'm still curious as to why House tells Wilson about the kiss and now the fact that he went to Cuddy's house. Somehow I didn't expect that of him. I think it's because in their first scene, Wilson didn't bug House about not asking Cuddy out, and House was confused by this behavior. He expects Wilson's advice, he probably even depends on his advice to a certain extent, so he was doing their usual thing at the beginning, expecting Wilson to go along with that. House deflects, but Wilson still nags. When that didn't happen, House freely offered information to see if that would get Wilson lecturing and analyzing. Thinking about it, this is good for them, Wilson's still being supportive and was willing to talk about it at the end of the episode, but he's no longer forcing the issue and House can be more independent about his problems. I'm happy with the way Wilson's been growing this season. It seems as if he's accepting that he can't change or save House, that he'll lose him eventually (you know, barring some horrible happening to Wilson first) so he's being happy and enjoying being with him while he has the chance. The more I think about it, the more those two brothers creep me out. Never have I encountered a boy that age who is that attentive and caring, I mean, I have two little brothers and they're not mean to each other, but they don't go around mothering each other either. And the 4-year-old's laughing sounded like something out of a horror film. I was just waiting for him to start shouting, "REDRUM!!!"

View Full Version: 5.08 - Emancipation