3.16 Top Secret
From tv.com: The ex-Marine that saved House's life, in a dream he had the day before, is admitted in the hospital with symptoms resembling Gulf War Syndrome. While House is busy dealing with his own health issues, and Chase and Cameron are too busy with each other, the ex-Marine gets worse.

Lots of yum and little angst in this episode, which is usually not my cup of tea, but in this case I'll make an exception, because I loved it a bushel! I can barely remember anything about the POTW, so I don't have much to say there except that I think that Cuddy could do much better than going on even one date with that guy who played Buffy's military boyfriend Riley on "Buffy The Vampire Slayer." He was not very sexy then and has not gotten any hotter in the intervening years. His total lack of hotness supports House's theory that Cuddy was just snogging him because he was related to a big donor. And her comment in "Insensitive" that she likes sex! And it makes House's two years of jealous obsession even more significant! Our hero is like a bulldog who won't let go no matter what, which is what we adore about him. The opening dream sequence was truly scary, since I still can't make myself watch "Full Metal Jacket" or any other movie made about any war that takes place after 1945. I knew it was a dream but still I was upset to see House bloody and injured like that. Freud said that some times a cigar is just a cigar, but in this sequence I think we can safely argue that the amputated leg, Capt. Riley handing House the rifle, and the fade out to House gripping his cane all point to our old friend the phallic symbol. House's trauma about the damage to his thigh does indeed translate into his deeply held concerns about his sexual prowess and performance. Which is why I think that Riley the Rival gets mixed up in House's amputation dream: if he can't deliver for Cuddy, some one else will take his place in her affections. I loved Cuddy's voice throughout this episode. She interrupts House's sleep with the softest voice I think we have heard her use this season, and even when he starts to offer his standard resistence to taking on the new case, her tone is deep, slow, gentle, but firm. Lisa E. is just plain wonderful in conveying so much with not only her face and body but her voice and posture. Wilson was in many scenes this episode (yay!) but he really got the shaft (sorry!) this time. He offered a plausible, but wrong interpretation of House's Iraq combat dream. He went hilariously too far with the Village People reference. I loved House's look at Wilson in this scene, too funny! How significant it is that House almost immediately went to tell Wilson about this dream and seek his help in interpreting it. These two are so close it must frighten both of them sometimes. Wilson was wrong on the cancer diagnosis. (Again, for pete's sake! I think Cuddy needs to send Wilson back to cancer school for a refresher course.) He cruelly resisted giving House the prescription he needed to relieve the urinary problem and did his usual nagging about the need for House to cut back on the Vicodin. House of course recognizes the horrible dilemma he faces, but unsurprisingly resents Wilson for reminding him about it. Instead of being relieved that the urinary issue was resolved by a rather simple, excruciatingly painful procedure, Wilson was chagrinned that once again House seemed to not have learned a lesson from the scare. On the other hand, I liked seeing Wilson actually working and in the operating room and participating in the diagnosis. RSL looks particularly good in scrubs. House seemed very put out when Wilson commandeers the fellows and leads them from the room saying, I'm going to do my work. < Side note: The relationship with Wilson continued to be tense and off-kilter after the Tritter calamity. Where House appears to have completely forgiven Cuddy for her earlier lying, he seemed to still blame Wilson and to carry an underlying resentment against Wilson for much of the disturbances of the early part of this season. House seemed to see Wilson as the betrayer with Cuddy as the manipulated pawn in that drama. The broad arc of this season seems to suggest that removing Wilson from the center of House's emotional life leaves a significant place that can be filled by a burgeoning relationship with Cuddy. Maybe House instinctively and unconsciously moves toward Cuddy to replace what he feels was lost with Wilson in the Tritter arc. > Of course, House's real work this episode was understanding his dream and only secondarily saving the patient. How disturbingly funny was it that while Wilson was trying to comfort the panicking paralyzed patient on the operating table, House was asking if he'd ever starred in a porno film! Gotta love House's single-mindedness and his instinctive recognition that solving his dream and curing the patient were linked somehow. Jesse and Jen were, like, the cutest couple ever and would totally be elected King and Queen of Homecoming in any high school in America, but I did not feel any heat from their encounters. Perhaps these were meant to be humorous interludes, in any event they induced laughing in our house. I was so glad when House finally snapped at Cameron to just do her job -- a long-overdue reprimand that she seemed to only partly comprehend. She seemed seriously screwy this episode -- and not in a sexy way. As a shoe fancier, I was deeply shocked by the clunky platforms Cam threw on the countertop in her effort to seduce Chase. But then they worked, so what do I know? House also seemed not at all perturbed to discover that Chase and Cam were getting naked in the closet. He was satisfied to have his hunch confirmed and seemed actually relieved that she was on her own back and off his. Hugh and Lisa delivered a tour de force performance during that final confrontation: the volleys they threw illustrated why their banter is promisingly sexy and highly satisfying. The back-and-forth dialogue here seemed like the verbal expression of the horizontal idea; each party vying for top position, reversing direction in order to gain an advantage, devising a clever comeback only to be turned over again, and finally recognizing that no one really loses in this particular love duel. Both of them looked particularly delectable in the opening shots of this scene when they confront each other at a distance: he leaning against the wall, she emerging from the glass door. Their eyes raking back and forth across the other's face and up and down each other's body throughout this dialogue was just so steamy. Gorgeous! I am not clear on the time line we now have for the House/Cuddy hook-up. Are we to understand that they slept together sometime before she hired him for his present position at PPTH? Was this before, during, or after Stacy? I am guessing before the infarction, but after college for their fling, but I am not sure. Since they both seem to recall their romp with a good deal of pleasure, (I gave you everything you asked for, yowza!) the question is begged, why did they not continue? Professional discretion once he became an employee? Stacy? Infarction? What drove them apart? In any event, the game is afoot for real again. House's satisfied and genuine smile (all the way up to the crinkly eyes which he usually reserves for Wilson only) as she flounced away indicated that he did not consider Cuddy's statement to be a closer but an invitation to pursuit. I loved that the director gave us Cuddy's brilliant smile as a departing look with her lush backside covered up by her lab coat. This smile -- conveying friendship, comfort, support, sex -- is what House delights in. As his Cuddy said in his dream, I am always there. Is this House's "Top Secret?"

< Side note: The relationship with Wilson continued to be tense and off-kilter after the Tritter calamity. Where House appears to have completely forgiven Cuddy for her earlier lying, he seemed to still blame Wilson and to carry an underlying resentment against Wilson for much of the disturbances of the early part of this season. House seemed to see Wilson as the betrayer with Cuddy as the manipulated pawn in that drama. The broad arc of this season seems to suggest that removing Wilson from the center of House's emotional life leaves a significant place that can be filled by a burgeoning relationship with Cuddy. Maybe House instinctively and unconsciously moves toward Cuddy to replace what he feels was lost with Wilson in the Tritter arc. > From what I've seen since...hell, since season one, it's true. Wilson has never had any problem lying to House or discounting anything he feels House brought upon himself, even when it was impossible to do so, i.e. the ketamine treatment. I've readily forgiven Cuddy, too, because--unlike Wilson's manipulative ass--she actually felt compunction and remorse. I have yet to see Wilson do either. *resists urge to defame the probably-deceased Steve McQueen* Bastard.

Initially, I didn't care for this episode - Riley bores me no matter what he's doing, and pee isn't really something I want to watch on tv. But on rewatch, there seems to be an awful lot going on in this ep. There's the House-Cuddy, and their final scene in which Cuddy implies that she knows House really is interested in her and verbally denies returning that interest while nonverbally encouraging it and seeming flattered. There's the House-Wilson scenes, which both demonstrate their continued intimacy and show the unhealed rift, which is tightly tangled with Wilson's continued dismissal of House's health concerns. Oh, Wilson's concerned about House's health, all right, but only when and how he wants to be; he'll harp about the Vicodin, but doesn't respond like a doctor when his patient has another complaint. He'd much rather lecture House about something irrelevant while House is trying to get actual medical attention. Wilson's exclamation on hearing that House catheterized himself is telling, I think. Obviously, neither of them learned much from the Tritter arc, since what House does here is exactly what he did with the forged prescriptions -- something considered outrageous to do for yourself, but that he thinks is medically necessary to do for himself, since his doctor is brushing him off. And there's the Vicodin itself -- House tells Wilson he took three before getting to sleep, but I didn't see him do so. And he doesn't correct Cuddy when she thinks he just took two at once, but my assumption was that the second pill was supposed to be whatever the pee drug was? Was he really taking that much Vicodin or not? And if he was, what are we to make of that, given the presumption that his pain gets worse when he's stressed? In fact, Wilson seems to assume that even the urinary problem is caused by a conversion disorder, since his first assumption is that solving the case solved the pee problem too. He only mentions Vicodin side effects after House denies that solving the case solved the other. And one throw-away line that I think isn't throwaway at all: when House bitches to Cameron that "Cuddy and Wilson may not have to listen to me, but you do." Given that for two and a half seasons, he's encouraged them to argue with and disobey him, I don't think it's a coincidence that the one time he reminds her he's actually the boss, he phrases it in terms of Cuddy and Wilson dismissing him. Comparison: He tries to hide the extent of his pain in second season, but is pretty open in front of his subordinates with the pee issue. Does he think after they saw him in rehab he doesn't have any dignity left anyway? Or is it just some Guy Thing, that doesn't mind talking about pee in public? (I can't believe myself that I'm actually typing it this often in a public post.) The Cameron-Chase scenes, to me, showcased everything wrong with their relationship. Chase's instincts are right -- behave professionally at work -- but, just as in the differentials, he ignores his instincts and lets himself be overridden. He may be growing a spine at this point, but it clearly isn't affecting his personal life yet. And I think his instincts are right about Cameron too; I think she clearly is trying to get House's attention still. She may not be doing it consciously, and it may be more of a generic "look at me, recognize me as someone of consequence" thing than trying to make him jealous per se. But, either way, their relationship strikes me as being All About House. If she really felt anything but mild contempt for Chase, would she have called him a baby for not wanting to act like a teenager, or chosen that particular way to deflect Foreman? I just don't see anything remotely resembling affection, friendliness, or even respect coming from her. (To be fair, I don't see any affection coming from Chase in this ep, either.) On the other hand, House's smile after walking in on them is very cute, as is Chase's "since when does he throw anything away" line. The smile reminded me of ... hmm, is it in "Not Necessarily Human Error"? some lovely scene in a fic where House gently gloats about walking in on them just in time to see yummy shirtless Chase but nothing more eye-scarring. My own theory, though, is that he's glad for Chase's sake, since he recognizes the parallels between Chase and himself - a bit of vicarious living, since I agree with blacktop about House and his phallic symbols. (And it also relates to the "as above, so below" House-Wilson-Cuddy and Chase-Cameron-Foreman triangles mentioned in the Chase thread.) I would love to see a good analysis of his second dream, and how it compares to his "No Reason" hallucination. Two things jumped out at me: Dream!Foreman supports Chase's idea, in a way I don't think real!Foreman ever does; and dream!Chase is the one who both slips up on and discovers and reveals House's weakness. The latter fits in perfectly with some of the House-Chase analysis in other threads, but I'm not sure what to make of the Foreman bit.

House seemed very put out when Wilson commandeers the fellows and leads them from the room saying, I'm going to do my work. Yep, that did seem significant. On the surface, it seems reasonable -- Riley is already familiar with them, so they should stay on the case. And given that House steals Wilson's lunch, his office, his car keys, and that Wilson has been playing Mommy to House's kids since the beginning, stealing his fellows seems like it ought to be par for the course. But when you consider that this ep is full of Wilson being dismissive of House in other ways... And contrast it with the way House points out that they all missed it, it wasn't Wilson's failure when Wilson is worried about misidentifying the brain tumors. Maybe House instinctively and unconsciously moves toward Cuddy to replace what he feels was lost with Wilson in the Tritter arc. This slots neatly into my personal canon, as explanation for why the Huddy is suddenly coming on so strong in third season; thank you!

IMO dream!Foreman's follow the leader behavior forshadows the realization House comes to that Foreman isn't ready & he relies on House's opinion (verbalized in the Jerk, IIRC) & dream!Chase is the proxy for House. As you say, its Chase who discovers/reveals House's physical disability. Also its Chase who is making the logical leaps that we see him do in the hallucination in No Reason, just here it forshadowing that Chase is the one who's ready to act on his own (& House will shortly act on this by kicking him out).

I've readily forgiven Cuddy, too, because--unlike Wilson's manipulative ass--she actually felt compunction and remorse. If House feels better around Cuddy after the Tritter arc, I think it has less to do with him genuinely forgiving her because she felt remorse, and more him forgiving her because despite her threats he can still manipulate her. She didn't learn anything either. In "Words and Deeds" Cuddy tried to be a hard-ass and told him she owns him, yet right after that we saw nothing changed. I think House realized that it was a hollow threat - what's Cuddy going to do, admit she committed perjury and send herself to jail? Anyway, that's why I find Cuddy's remorse or guilt - while I think it's sincere - still hollow. Like with the parking lot dispute - as soon as House makes his equivalent of puppy dog eyes (or pain filled eyes) at her, she immediately backs down. My theory is that it's because she still has guilt over her part in the infarcation, but regardless I don't cheer it or take any delight in it. I wish Cuddy would actually grow up a backbone and not just capitulate to House all the time because she suddenly gets wracked with guilt.

What struck me in watching this episode is that even though I wouldn't have ranked it among my favorites from Season 3, it's still so much better than anything we've seen in Season 4! The dreams present a pretty interesting view of Chase through House's eyes. Chase is smart in House's dreams, but House's dreams also seek to dominate/humiliate Chase. And talk about sexual! In Top Secret, we have Chase on his knees getting covered with something flowing from House's netherregions. Chase stayed on the floor a lot longer than anyone who just realized they were getting soaked in urine normally would. Is that saying that Chase will put up with House longer than a normal person would? Is it a coincidence that some guy exploded on Chase in No Reason? Had Wilson been in Chase's place in those two dreams, the HoYay thread would have gone nuts! :lol: One thing I did notice about this episode is that with the Chase/Cameron stuff, we saw early on that even having regular sex with Chase was not making Cameron think of him as a "person." I don't think she would have said what she did to Foreman if she had any real empathy in her heart because it was really cruel, not to mention completely dishonest. When it was obvious that she she had hurt Chase's feelings, she didn't even apologize. She just suggested they go have sex again. Cameron's an interesting person. She acts like she "cares" but she's cold as ice too.

Watching this episode again last night reminded me how much I enjoyed it upon first viewing. As extra_cat has outlined so well, the Chase/Cameron dynamic is one of icy cold manipulation, which contrasts deliciously with the warmth and mutual interest of the House/Cuddy interaction. Also interesting is that "Top Secret" underscores how isolated and truly alone House is now in season four. The departure of his team has coincided with (or prompted) a real rift with Cuddy. Four episodes into the new season, House is clearly not on the same page with her. In the past his tormenting of her was on a personal level, focussed on her physical attributes and expressed his investment in her sexuality. Now House's shennigans about hiring a new team seem designed to provoke Cuddy and undermine her as a professional. I wonder if TPTB chose to broadcast the rerun of "Top Secret" this week to contrast the light, bright House/Cuddy of last season with the considerably darker place they are right now? If so, good move.

House's dreams also seek to dominate/humiliate Chase. And talk about sexual! In Top Secret, we have Chase on his knees getting covered with something flowing from House's netherregions. <snip> Is it a coincidence that some guy exploded on Chase in No Reason? Okay, much as I love the slash, I think this is stretching the analysis a bit too far, especially since, as House says in the Harvey ep, "I'm not into that." (OT for the thread: I always love the casual, understated way he says that.) I'm sure it's just a sign of our perverse brains (a common affliction in fandom) that your reasoning actually makes sense to me. Had Wilson been in Chase's place in those two dreams, the HoYay thread would have gone nuts! Shipdom... where no one even tries to restrain the flailings of multiple perverse brains. :-) Chase stayed on the floor a lot longer than anyone who just realized they were getting soaked in urine normally would. Is that saying that Chase will put up with House longer than a normal person would? I originally took that as just the first obvious sign that it was a dream, but your theory makes sense too. No reason it can't be both.

I'm sure it's just a sign of our perverse brains (a common affliction in fandom) that your reasoning actually makes sense to me. I'm not denying the perverse direction my own mind can take, but actually the analysis I gave is more from looking at the symbolism of the positions, inclusion/origin of body fluids, and the timing. I've always had such vivid dreams that I've been interested in dream analysis as long as I can remember. I've had experience in helping other people really come to understand the symbolism of their own dreams. (It's easier for me to help someone else find meaning than to find meaning of my own, but that's another subject.) I'm into psychology, psychoanalysis, psychodiagnostics, hypnotism and the like. Chase was disagreeing with House and House (via his urine) brought Chase to his knees. Is there some need for House to dominate? It would seem so since later in the season he wanted to hear Chase say that he was wrong (re: Addie).

Oh, Wilson's concerned about House's health, all right, but only when and how he wants to be; he'll harp about the Vicodin, but doesn't respond like a doctor when his patient has another complaint. If this ep had aired at any other time I would 100% agree with you, but it was directly after House faked terminal brain cancer. His immediate doubt when House comes to him with another complaint and his pissy attitude seemed perfectly natural to me after that; in fact, any other reaction would have been strange. There's a reason little children are taught the story about the boy who cried wolf. Wilson did give him the medication when he realized House was telling the truth, and I don't remember Wilson refusing to cath House. Or is it just some Guy Thing, that doesn't mind talking about pee in public? Given that House has on three occasions enjoyed peeing in front of other people, complained when Wilson didn't saran wrap his toilet and made Wilson pee on his own couch, I kinda think that House has a thing for it!

I missed it on first run, and watching it later I always thought it came before. It was aired the week before. I'm not sure that makes a difference, though, because both House's and Wilson's actions follow a pattern set back in second season, long before H-W. We'll agree to disagree, because to me it makes a huge difference. Wilson's immediate pissy reaction to House's "I can't pee" was new, in the past he's at least taken him seriously in the beginning. To me it was clearly a holdover from the cancer fake-out: "Like I'm going to believe anything you say NOW". he's forced over and over again, to diagnose himself, to medicate himself, even to cath himself. Who's stopping him from seeing another doctor? I'm not disputing that Wilson (and Cuddy) have been poor doctors to House at times (NOT all the time), but he does keep going back to them by his own choice. No, Wilson doesn't refuse to cath him, but I think House had ample reason to think that Wilson would continue to dismiss him if he hadn't taken matters into his own hands....what would Wilson's reaction have been if House had tried to tell him the prescription wasn't helping? I reread the transcript and Wilson was the one to suggest catherization, after following up on House's problem (as a doctor should). How could House conclude that Wilson wouldn't do the procedure when Wilson was the one to suggest it? My problem with Wilson in this ep was that he didn't seriously follow up on House having a serious side effect from the Vidocin he's prescribing for House, he just mentioned it and did nothing. I don't think he was a bad doctor for not happily give House all the painkillers he wants and cheerfully treating the consequences without questioning whether that's the best way to manage House's pain. As for Wilson assuming it was conversion disorder, I thought that his line about solving the case = solving his urinary retention was sarcastic after finding House peeing in the bathroom. Not that he was seriously suggesting it was conversion disorder.