2.04 TB or Not TB
From tv.com: While in Africa, a famous doctor becomes inexplicably ill and is sent to Dr. House for treatment.

I re-watched this episode last night, and it left me wondering... I think there's more to House's attitude toward Sebastian than meets the eye. On the surface, yeah, House is being an asshole toward a rather admirable man. What I want to know is why? House, by all accounts, is a misanthrope. But, when he sees an outsider, a person that he can't as easily "solve", that person appeals to him, or at least grabs his attention (vegetative state guy, autistic kid, black presidential candidate, Munchausen OTB woman, death row guy, etc). He connects with these types; he's a lot like them. In short, he only categorically dislikes normal people, the "Circle Queen" types he described in Lines in the Sand. This means there's something specific about Sebastian Charles that grates at House. I think that something is jealousy. House is a good example of a jaded idealist, and helping unique people seems to be his way of challenging authority. Like Gabe in SOCG brought up, if he actually didn't care about people, there are better puzzles to be found in medicine, such as research. So, I think it's possible that House once considered a career path similar to Sebastian's. It would explain his specialty in infectious diseases, and his knowledge of several languages. * House cuts Sebastian down, possibly to feel better about himself, or to justify his jaded nature, the fact that he "gave up": Sebastian: There’re people dying in Africa of a disease that we cured over – House: Yeah, I know. I saw the concert. Seriously, let’s say you sleep six hours; that means every night you kill 1440 people... * Wilson brings up the Nobel Prize in the ep. Did House once dream of this level of altruistic fame? To a degree, he already has some of that. Sebastian beats him far and wide at this though, looking at the numbers. Wilson: You’re just mad that he’s closer to a Nobel Prize than you are...(banter)... He cures thousands of people every year, you cure, what? 30? *Wilson calls House out on his jealousy. Wilson: That’s your problem with him, isn’t it? House: Look at him, he loves it. Eats it up. Wilson: Yeah, the man actually enjoys what he does. *House asks Foreman how he feels about Sebastian: Foreman: You figure that anybody that gives a crap about people in Africa must be full of it? House: Yes. There’s an evolutionary imperative why we give a crap about our family and friends. And there’s an evolutionary imperative why we don’t give a crap about anybody else. If we loved all people indiscriminately, we couldn’t function. Foreman: Hmmm. So, the great humanitarian’s as selfish as the rest of us. For most people, what House said is true. It's emotionally rewarding and more practical to prioritize those we're closest too. However, activists, humanitarians, healers, etc, show a greater capacity to help strangers and to reap emotional benefits from it. House's ability to open up much more to unique patients than people heavily involved in his life reflects that he's most comfortable caring about people from a distance. Sebastian's much better adjusted, but there's a parallel there, he travels the world, is a continent away from his family, and while it's a bit cold to say this, he goes through patients left and right. Sebastian's other observations of House: *I think doctors like House cling to objectivity like a three-year-old to a blanket; don’t get too worked up, stay calm, stay cool and maintain that correct perspective. *...Or do you just have a problem with hope? You know, the difference between our jobs is not numbers or styles. It’s that I know I’m going to fail. Even if I save a million people there’s going to be another million. You couldn’t handle that. I think you resent anyone who can. Thoughts? Remove the tin hat? Grain of truth in there?

House: It’s not about the kids dying every 8 seconds, it’s about the media stroking. Adulation and pats on the head. Wilson: That’s your problem with him, isn’t it? House: Look at him, he loves it. Eats it up. I think House states pretty clearly what he dislikes about Dr. Sunshine and, no Wilson, it's not jealousy. It's the guy is an egotistical fraud. He's all about image--the image of himself as the wonderful humanitarian who cares so very much about the dregs of the earth that he commits his handsome, awesome, brilliant, talented self to fighting TB in Africa. He even adores it that he has gotten tb because it just polishes his halo. He doesn't really care about fighting tb or helping the people who are in danger from it nearly as much as he loves the image of the wonderful, self-sacrificing, noble Dr. Sebastian Charles. The man makes me want to puke too. If he was doing the exact same things but being honest about why--I do this because I want the world to see me as noble as Mother Theresa, as smart as Einstein and as sexy as Adonis and I'm very clever about getting that fake image out there--I don't think House would hate him the way he does. It's the assumption of the mantle of noble martyrdom for the sake of those no one else cares about that turns the stomach. I saw him exactly as House did and see this as just another instance of Wilson assuming he knows what's going on with House when he is actually wrong again. The man is pulling the wool over everyone's eyes and getting away with it and has an image that is hollow--how could House not hate him?

Quote: House: It’s not about the kids dying every 8 seconds, it’s about the media stroking. Adulation and pats on the head. I think that this line explains pretty well the problem that House has with Dr. Charles. I don't think he "hates" the guy, but he hates the hypocrisy. Maybe Sebastian truly believed that he was doing it because he is a noble man (I think he really saw himself like a example of self sacrificing) but it was all about fame and world's admiration and maybe Nobel prizes

:shock: What a bunch of cynics you are. I agree with hry. I think House's problem with Sebastian is that he's (House) a miserable bastard that can't go about minimizing the suffering in the world, because he's too absorbed in his own. What does it matter if Sebastian enjoys some aspects of his job? With that much death and pain he experiences, isn't it good there are some perks that keep him going? Or should he suffer 24/7? I think it's easier -and actually necessary- for House to label Sebastian as a phony and an opportunist because he couldn't handle him any other way. His mind boggles when he's confronted with human caring. Devoting your life to helping unfortunates, dealing with crappy accommodations and poor sanitation, loosing much more patients than you save, risking you own health - it's so out of whack for him, it reminds him everything he can't do, how emotionally impotent he is, and the guilt makes him even more abrasive than he usually is. YMMV, but that's one of the eppies I wanted to take a punch at House myself.

I'm with Jouse. Sure Sebastian liked the media stroking, but so what? Dr. Johnson once said that man judges the action and God the intention. Sebastian Charles saves the lives of thosands of people that nobody else would help, and he's not hurting anyone else by it. Who cares why he's doing it? House may, but I don't. Look at it this way: for whatever reason, people like him are out there doing this work and you and I aren't. and, no Wilson, it's not jealousy. It's the guy is an egotistical fraud. Actually an earlier version of the script had House being jealous that the ducklings hero worshipped the guy so much. Yes I know it's not canon because it's no the version that aired, don't jump on me for that! He's all about image--the image of himself as the wonderful humanitarian While I'm sure he admires himself as a wonderful humanitarian, I also believed that he wasn't faking the caring about his patients and his cause.

Sebastian was an annoying, pompous ass. But he was accomplishing something good. Yes, he liked his job -- raising money and getting thanked for saving lives. But why should it only be acceptable to save lives if you hate doing it? Why would he continue to do it if it didn't have some reward for him?

What a bunch of cynics! Sebastian is charismatic, that's how he gets the job done. He may be rude (to people who frankly deserved it, House and the drug reps), but it achieves his goal of saving lives. His assertive, thick-skinned nature is how he saves lives. He manipulates the media to bring attention to his cause, which he has come a face of. Someone who was more modest would be less effective. If all he wanted was attention, there are more effective ways of getting that.

What a bunch of cynics! Actually I am 8) But I thought the question was about House and not my personal feelings... There's nothing wrong in saving lives and receiving media attention. It's pretty much impossible doing the first thing without the second. House is a very cynic man, so I'm not surprise with his reaction to Sebastian and I suspect that while he was attacking the hypocrisy, he was also a little jealous.

I suspect that while he was attacking the hypocrisy, he was also a little jealous. ITA, lully. House was completely jealous Sebastian, but I think what he hated most was that, in House's mind, he was a worse doctor, but got more recognition. Like House said, "He treats thousands of people with one diagnosis." Those 30 people that House saves are impossible to treat no matter where they'd live. If House weren't their doctor, his 30 patients would die whether they lived in California or the Congo. House is bored by treatment, yet treatment is all Sebastian does. He is jealous of Sebastian's recognition and is angry because that recognition comes to someone with no apparent medical prowess. House is jealous, but his anger is just as much at the injustice as at the hypocrisy.