2.08 The Mistake

I also agree that it wasn't necessarily the cheating he had against the transplant surgeon--it was just a tool to use to control him and get what he wanted and then the guy acted like a jerk so House told the wife anyway. ITA The infidelity card was just a way to get the surgeon to do what he wanted, but I have little doubt that House telling the wife was his not-so- little payback for the surgeon's little "hoping that House and Chase both get dropkicked out the door" comment. :lol: Although I guess House sort of shot himself in the foot if he ever wants to blackmail another doctor.

I can't watch thins one for some reason. It might be because Chase is getting slammed and I love Chase. but i just can't get myself to watch it. Grr.

It might be because Chase is getting slammed and I love Chase. Oh, please don't let that stop you! Whatever slamming may happen is more than amply countered by all the rampant House protectiveness. In fact, for me, the simple, emphatic way he tells Stacy "Chase didn't screw up" makes up for any amount of Chase-harassing he does in other eps. Just a pity Chase is never within hearing distance when House is defending him. This is quite possibly my very favorite episode -- there are far too many wonderful things about it to list. I even enjoy Stacy in this episode. But there are two points I don't understand: House's line that "legally, it's better for me if you go down in flames" and the board's claim that Chase lied to his superiors. I understand how it could be argued (it wasn't, but it could have been) that the Behcet's misdiagnosis was House's fault, and I have no trouble believing that the review committee were happy for any chance they could get to punish House for all the things he's done that didn't make it as far as a disciplinary review (but probably should have). And I can fanwank why House wasn't going to say anything about why Chase screwed up (testing him, to see whether he really would hang himself if given enough rope). But how on Earth could it have been to House's benefit for anyone to think he let a hungover employee treat patients? And when did Chase lie to anyone other than Sam?

My guess is that Chase lied by omission. He didn't tell anyone what really happened and let everyone believe something that wasn't true, which is the same as lying. It's deception. House would have been better off if Chase had taken all the blame for what happened. When Chase was claiming to be hung over it was never impled by anyone that House knew he was hung over and therefore at fault for letting him treat patients (as far as I can remember).

I thought the "I was hungover" bit of that episode made NO sense. Is Chase so much of a martyr that he would throw away his career for the sake of two little girls? I don't think so. They were going to get a settlement anyway. Why did he make it worse on himself and everyone else? Why would he be so ashamed of actually caring that his father died? That's the weakness of the episode. If they had left off the hungover bit, it would have made sense. As it was... that was just puzzling.

Oh thank God, I thought I was the only one who found that strange! I've heard it argued that Chase was ashamed that his father didn't tell him he was dying, but I doubt he's the first person that's happened to.

Even if his father had told him he was dying, it would be hard to hear "You father died" and that could certainly account for the distraction that kept him from doing proper followup. If Chase were all hell bent and determined to protect his job at all costs (the Chase of the Vogler arc), he should have sung like a canary about getting that phone call to give himself a heart-tugging excuse. Maybe it was their way of showing that Vogler-Chase isn't the sum of who Chase is. He's also a guy who would give up years of work for the sake of two kids. But is he that stupid? No. So, why was he ashamed of caring about his father's death? Did his own position as a doctor lose its personal value when he realized that the man he was trying to please had died? Was he that distraught over not getting Daddy's Approval before he died? I think they've left a lot of questions about Chase's relationship with his father that they need to address. Why didn't Rowan tell him he was dying? Why did Rowan come to NYC for a conference the year before and not speak to his son? Why did he cut Chase out of the will? What about Rowan was so bad that it's made Chase see House as a good pseudo-parental figure?

House would have been better off if Chase had taken all the blame for what happened. When Chase was claiming to be hung over it was never impled by anyone that House knew he was hung over and therefore at fault for letting him treat patients (as far as I can remember). I guess I don't see how it would be possible, with House as the attending, for Chase to take all the blame. Either he let someone he knew was hungover treat patients, or he didn't notice that his subordinate was hungover -- either way it's a failure to supervise. Is Chase so much of a martyr that he would throw away his career for the sake of two little girls? I don't think so. They were going to get a settlement anyway. Would they have gotten a settlement anyway, if Sam hadn't sued? It didn't sound that way from the mortgage conversation. I took his martyr act as a combination of depression and guilt and impulsiveness, with perhaps just a touch of not really valuing his career as a doctor all that much, and a heavier touch of perhaps not having much perspective on all the relative amounts of money involved, and another touch of confession and penance. He doesn't strike me as the sort who normally does drastic things on impulse, but the mortgage conversation had suddenly brought the guilt front and center again. The way he stood by the hangover story to Stacy and Cuddy actually seems much more in-character to me than the impulsiveness of making the story up in the first place -- but he didn't stand by it very long, after House took him aside. So I put it down more to impulsiveness and not thinking clearly than to any conscious choice to throw away his career.

I've heard it argued that Chase was ashamed that his father didn't tell him he was dying, I hadn't heard this before, but now that you guys mention it, I can see it playing a role in his choice to keep quiet. I'm not sure if shame is actually the right word for it, but it's just weird and awkward when the people around you have expectations of what your family must be like (because aren't all families like that?), and then he'd have to put up with all the confused sympathy and condescending concern and disgusted superiority from people like Cameron and Cuddy and Foreman, and all of it implying what he must have suspected anyway, that there had to be something wrong with Chase himself for it to play out that way. And it's all around easier to just not say anything. So he takes (what at least starts out as) the path of least resistance. So, why was he ashamed of caring about his father's death? I don't think he was ashamed of caring per se, but letting his emotions interfere with patient care? It's the sort of thing that House would normally disapprove of. Obviously, in this case, House thought the circumstances were enough to justify his distraction, but would Chase have expected House to be that sympathetic, especially after "Control"? And I suspect Rowan would have been even more perfectionistic and even more critical. Plus, as both an intensivist and an ACoA - being overwrought instead of in control of his emotions? Not a good idea. I suspect Chase thought losing his detachment, even for a moment, was a much more serious crime than not asking a question because he simply forgot or didn't have reason to think it was important. Did his own position as a doctor lose its personal value when he realized that the man he was trying to please had died? Want to ramble about this, but it's midnight-thirty and the computer glare has eaten my eyes. The rambles would probably belong better on the Chase thread anyway.

I thought the "I was hungover" bit of that episode made NO sense. Is Chase so much of a martyr that he would throw away his career for the sake of two little girls? He was definately trying to goad the brother into suing him with the "hung over" story. Up until that point Chase had not been sued because Kayla and her family liked him. Home is a very important concept to Chase, so it makes sense to me that if Chase were going to martyr himself for anything, it would be for the cause of two children being able to keep their home- especially if he felt that he was the reason they were about to lose it.

I'm not sure if shame is actually the right word for it, but it's just weird and awkward when the people around you have expectations of what your family must be like (because aren't all families like that?), and then he'd have to put up with all the confused sympathy and condescending concern and disgusted superiority from people like Cameron and Cuddy and Foreman, and all of it implying what he must have suspected anyway, that there had to be something wrong with Chase himself for it to play out that way. And it's all around easier to just not say anything. I would also expect that the same lack of perspective that made Chase decide that convincing the brother to sue was a good idea also contributed to the decision not to admit what was happening. After all, would Cameron and Foreman actually react that way? Or is this Chase's perception of how they would react, colored by his distress and yes, perhaps shame and embarrassment at something he saw as a reflection of some kind of failure on his part? It's hard for me to believe that they wouldn't be more upset on Chase's behalf rather than thinking that he'd done something wrong. Sure, he's not their best friend, but his father died. Keeping the death a secret is a pretty self-defeating gesture, because Chase's colleagues could have responded supportively - the needs of a colleague who has lost someone close to them are hardly excessive or unusual - but he never gives them the opportunity. By doing nothing, he might have ended up alienating them even further, like they could end up thinking he was stuck up or simply didn't want anything to do with them. In an odd way, it's also a protective gesture, like Chase didn't want anyone to know his dad did something that thoughtless, even if it was clear that they didn't get along.

Maybe he felt like he failed as a doctor because here he is in a diagnostics fellowship and he didn't even realize his father was a cancer patient.

Home is a very important concept to Chase I'm curious, melly, what's the canon for that?

:?: I'm not sure where to post this but I kinda need help with something. I'm writing an AU fanfiction for Chase_fest (stupid me took three prompts :shock: ) and I'm not quite sure when Kayla first showed up. She came into the clinic and was treated and then six months later she was dead. I'm just trying to figure out when (Like between which other cases) she would have come in the first time for the clinic and back again to be checked for ulsers. Anybody out there with a good concept of this timeline feel like being my hero today? Again, if this is the wrong thread to post this in I can move it. I'm new 'round these parts. :?

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