4.13 No More Mr. Nice Guy

I don't think Amber was lying to House when she said that she hoped she had changed -- with Wilson she got love and respect. She had just lost a job she wanted very much and having someone treat her like that must have been great. It helped her get feel better about herself (that's what Wilson does.) And she saved the aspect of her personality that "treats every encounter like it's the last copter out of Saigon" for people like headwaiters. But she's feeling better about herself and therefore reverting to her basic personality. I doubt she's using Wilson to get revenge on House for not hiring her. She's doing it because this is how she deals with everything -- she's dating Wilson, House wants Wilson, she has to win. And she's so busy trying to win that she doesn't realize that she could destroy the relationship in the process. House also always plays to win and he's probably better at it than she is (although I also think he deals with defeat better.) But the big difference here is that he has a decade plus of a relationship with Wilson. He can push harder without it breaking because of everything they've shared. I don't think Amber is capable of seeing that. She'll push just as hard as House does and that will cause her to lose. Very well said Poeia. That's what I was going for but you got it right on the money. Wilson is doing what he usually does, remaining patient waiting for the caring part of the person that first attracted him, well maybe second after the need, to remerge. With Amber I don't think that happens because what she most cares about is not losing. There's a difference in playing to win and playing not to lose, that's why she's not on the team.

That is what has been bugging me. First, why the hell would House put his OWN name on it. He never has before. In Half-Wit he used Luke-n-Laura as the name. When House tells Wilson about his ruse, he says he knows his team will want to test him for something sometime and he put the vial of blood in the lab with his name on it. Wilson asks why he switched the blood, what doesn't he want that testing to reveal? House cuts him off swiftly when he says Wilson is missing the point, and he distracts him by pointing out how diabolically funny his plot is. I think we had a hint that House is protecting something about himself, and also that House used this particular situation to do his own kind of performance review on his team. Seeing as how this case, like others, brings up personality as a symptom, and his team, like other teams before, resists the notion, he wanted to know who would run with that thought straight to House's own personality. Whoever did would be where House wants him in terms of looking at everything as a symptom and following a hunch no matter where it goes. Kutner got top marks, and I think not incidentally, the diagnosis. I also liked that House did his version of an on the job performance review on his team, and the only real thing he gave Cuddy was his review of her, which suggested she needs and wants more than her work in her life.

The effect Wilson getting drunk has reminded me of something in Forever about the Wilson and Cuddy dinner. Wilson: She's smart. She knows if she buys me enough alcohol, my defences just might be weakened. Apparently that’s not the only thing it weakens. Looks like Wilson didn't want to sleep with Cuddy either.

On a shallow note, Amber's skirts are way too short. SisterTrixi & my dear filey, I couldn't agree with you more. AD is very tall and thin and the short pleated skirts just make her look really gawky. Not to mention, with the flat shoes and the cardies, it reminds me of the way I used to look in Catholic school... OH. Well, now I see. Perhaps she and Wilson are doing a little role playing? ;-) If she shows up in knee socks, we'll know for sure. And then Wilson tells House, he can't get it up when he's drunk. And House knows this? Erm, idon, I really wouldn't read much into this if I were you. Most men have trouble getting it up if they're drunk. It's no great secret.

Seeing as how this case, like others, brings up personality as a symptom, and his team, like other teams before, resists the notion, he wanted to know who would run with that thought straight to House's own personality. Whoever did would be where House wants him in terms of looking at everything as a symptom and following a hunch no matter where it goes. Kutner got top marks, and I think not incidentally, the diagnosis. Nice take and catch there, and I do think that the House syphilis blood fakeout was House's own version of employee reviews -- and it was much more fun than paperwork. Of course I also love it that House used Wilson's review, giving us an example of what Wilson's review says and how at least someone else perceives him. (I wonder how old it was, though.)

But what got me was Amber's reaction to House getting Wilson drunk. It meant that she couldn't have sex with Wilson - almost like Wilson is an object to her. And when Amber got in House's face and said that she either has to stop House or stop seeing Wilson, the woman looked evil. After she left, House said to Wilson you realize she's a nut case? I'm not sure if there's been any evidence. I really want to know what other people think. If Amber is a nut case, she could decide if she can't have him no one can. There's something not quite right. Nothing these characters can do will be quite right because this isn't real characterization, it's fanfic. Therefore there's no point in trying to decide if Amber is really a nut case. She's a put-up job, a character with no organic reality to her, only serving to advance the increasingly extreme action. I waited so long for this? What a comedown after the last two episodes, which had SOME grounding in reality and some nuance. I've been patient and I've defended TPTB's right to do what they want, but I am not happy. The Amber arc is turning out to be my least favorite. She was allowed to go out with more dignity than her stint in the Survivor game had warranted, so why bring her back just to make her a ludicrous cartoon character? And worse, they're making House and Wilson look idiotic too. I am so ready to get back to where the PotW presents an interesting puzzle or an ethical dilemma, and we get to see plausible characters dealing with that situation. Last night, one of the few things that worked for me was the melding of the two teams. So it is possible to include all of them. Cut out the H/W/A stuff, and you'd have even more time. Enough already with the nods to the fandom. Cuddy should have told the three of them to get out of her office and take it to their off-time. And then we should have moved on. Not a popular opinion around here, I know, but does this really play outside the fandom?

Not a popular opinion around here, I know, but does this really play outside the fandom? Sure it does. I think the problem with fandom is that it overthinks everything and certain groups skew every action to their own point of view. (I was reading recently on a House/Cameron forum that there are members there who firmly believe that House's comment that "you'll have to check with Cameron" about his calender during the MRI conversation with Wilson in "Skin Deep" was completely a code to tell the audience that he had a date with Cameron later.) In this case ... I love you guys but I think there are factions of House/Wilson shippers that are looking for every opportunity to paint Amber in a negative light because she's in between their OTP. Look at the speculation on how the clips posted last week showed how Amber was infantalizing Wilson by referring to joint custody, when it fact it was House who proposed the concept. I'm not a shipper and I think the whole triangle is hilarious. It's a lot of fun. It's House and Amber trying to one-up each other and both of them are showing how cutthroat they can be over something that they want. But you asked about how it plays outside of fandom? Maureen Ryan from the Chicago Tribune has written about how much she's enjoying it. The Onion's AV club calls it "entertaining" and has named it the "devil's threesome." ETA: This from the Entertainment Weekly recap: Amber and House's battle over visitation rights with Wilson was childish even by Princeton Plainsboro standards, but the rapier-sharp repartee was a lot of fun. That's pretty much where I am. Is their behavior childish? Absolutely (but then when isn't House pulling something childish?). Is it fun? Hell yes. And the great thing about having Amber there to do battle with House is that she's shown herself from the start as willing to do anything to win. She's absolutely able to go toe-to-toe on childish fights with House, and it's great to have that opponent for him without bringing Cuddy down to his level, as in the Vicodin switch earlier this season.

The Onion's AV club calls it "entertaining" and has named it the "devil's threesome." I wonder if that's a reference to Barney's "Bro Code" discussion from last night's How I Met Your Mother. Or maybe that's common parlance. I'm not hip enough to understand most of what the kids say these days. Oh-and I like Amber. She's evil. It amuses me.

Very good points, Namaste. Though I like the thought above that Amber will end up scuppering her romance because she'll lose sight of the overall goal (grow a relationship with Wilson) in pursuit of the immediate goal (score off House)--the same reason she lost out on the Survivor game (fight for her diagnosis over examining every diagnosis, so she can win). I think Shore said that there would concentrated character exploration stuff in the last four eps, because he wanted to wrap up the storylines raised this season, so I wasn't surprised we saw a lot of that.

Enough already with the nods to the fandom. Cuddy should have told the three of them to get out of her office and take it to their off-time. And then we should have moved on. Well said, peggy. I wondered the same thing. Why indeed would they behave like this, all of them? Why would Cuddy put up with a shared "custody" of her top oncologist between his girlfriend and another top doctor? Why would House and Amber accept her "punishment"? It makes no sense. That, paired with the first person POV in the opening scenes almost makes me think this is all a hallucination that House is having from the bus accident a couple of episodes down the road. Maybe this and the next are both hallucinations (the next one seems pretty wildly ooc as well) and it will turn out they never really happened... Though of course, I hope that's not the case. On the one hand, I liked this show, it was dense, entertaining and amusing, but I do still miss my show. And I need to see this one again, because I don't remember Wilson's performance review coming into the mix at all. Edited by Poeia because what is going to happen a "couple of episodes down the road" is a spoiler and needs to be whited out.

Why would Cuddy put up with a shared "custody" of her top oncologist between his girlfriend and another top doctor? Because she has a personal relationship with both and considers them good friends? Because she knows how much Wilson means to House and that he really needs to have Wilson in his life? Because she has no time to develop close friendships outside of work, so that kind of friend-related stuff takes place at work? Why would House and Amber accept her "punishment"? It makes no sense. Because House and Amber made their own pact to have punishments built into their deal, and they chose to involve Cuddy, so she is carrying out their own instructions by delivering a punishment for their infractions? I didn't have a problem with the logic or characterisation.

Enough already with the nods to the fandom. Cuddy should have told the three of them to get out of her office and take it to their off-time. And then we should have moved on. Well said, peggy. I wondered the same thing. Why indeed would they behave like this, all of them? Why would Cuddy put up with a shared "custody" of her top oncologist between his girlfriend and another top doctor? Why would House and Amber accept her "punishment"? It makes no sense. This is exactly why I think House and Cuddy are already Huddy. During the scene where Wilson and House are talking about House faking syphillis, Wilson asks House if they need to talk (presumably about the reasons he might have syphillis) and then asks House if he was going to continue screwing... and House says he will but they won't talk about it. YES, this could very well mean messing with his team, but after the reference to "doing Cuddy" along with his taxes, I honestly think House distinctly meant he and Cuddy were "screwing". That would explain a lot...particularly the reason House would even remotely do the clean up at the end. That conversation could easily have a double meaning.

During the scene where Wilson...asks House if he was going to continue screwing... and House says he will but they won't talk about it. YES, this could very well mean messing with his team. Or having sex with prostitutes. That seems to me to be the most logical and simple explanation.

Why would Cuddy put up with a shared "custody" of her top oncologist between his girlfriend and another top doctor? I thought she agreed to mediate on the condition that House would do the team reviews. He got what he wanted; she of course did not. What else is new? She did get reviews. Of course they all said the same thing, but as she said, it was better than she'd expected. And let's face it, unless you really screw up, reviews are mostly intended to keep HR happy. (My boss only does them when he'd forced to, because he finds them a waste of time, as long as we're performing to expectations. Which is why I've only had two in eight years, which is fine with me.) I can't imagine that House doesn't fully tell his team what he thinks of them on a regular basis. Putting those thoughts on paper and sticking a file just meets some paperwork quota. Now Cuddy has something to stick in a file.

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