5.01 - Dying Changes Everything

We know Hadley is positive for Huntington's. That's what we know. She could be positive for Huntington's and still get hit by a bus on the way to work tomorrow, same as everyone else in the cast. Her diagnosis means her lifespan is at best cut in half, but it could be even shorter and it could have nothing to do with her genes. Well, yes. But still. I would imagine it would stick pack quite a wallop with her, knowing she definitely won't live to see 95. If I had a choice, I wouldn't go to someone who could tell me "This is how and when you'll die." Yes, I could walk outside and get hit by a car, but I would still imagine it's rather harrowing to know that you're definitely not gonna see old age. Her dilemma seems to be that, knowing you're going to die earlier than you want to, do you go out and do the stuff you've always wanted to do now? I don't know how I will die, but there's always a sense of "I have time." I want to travel all around the world, but I'm in no rush to do it, so I am not going on a world tour now. Thankfully I have never had to deal with such a situation, but I imagine knowing for sure, without a doubt, that I will die early would change my perspective on life. Therefore, "Dying Changes Everything."

But, at this point, she doesn't have Huntingtons. What she does have is a guarantee that she'll get it. It may be a decade or more before she develops any symptoms. Knowing that her lifespan will be shortened and that it will end with a really nasty disease, she needs to decide whether she wants to spend her time in a fellowship, being a doctor at all, traveling or whatever. She got the DNA results 2 months ago. If she is planning to discuss her life expectancy with every patient and what her prognosis means in terms of their diseases, I will start taping the show to fast forward through her scenes.

Since this patient wasn't dying it wasn't as offensive as Foreman's speech to Lupe (how hard his life was compared to the woman he has just killed) but still, it was clearly over the line as a doctor to burden the patient with all that personal information. She (the patient) took it well, but it also could have gone down very differently. Upsetting the patient with personal information is out of line and shows that the doctor choice, or at least the patient care part of it is something she shouldn't be doing. I sure hope this isn't "well, Hugh needs a break and OW is getting attention so let's shift some of the heavy lifting to her." Agree with those that reiterate that this is House MD and would even venture to say that the heavy lifting would squash her like a bug! (Sorry, wishful thinking. I don't hate her, just need her out of the front and center).

I interpreted that moment as the first time that 13 came to terms with her diagnosis, so I felt for her in that sense, but I wish that her statement had been made to... I don't know... Kutner. Maybe Taub. Possibly Foreman. Hell, even Chase or Cameron. Anyone but the patient. I think that the patient took it very well and understood the context of her conversation, but if I didn't know anything about Huntington's other than the way it ends, I would have been scared to death.

I interpreted that moment as the first time that 13 came to terms with her diagnosis, so I felt for her in that sense, but I wish that her statement had been made to... I don't know... Kutner. Maybe Taub. Possibly Foreman. Hell, even Chase or Cameron. Anyone but the patient. I'm pretty sure we weren't supposed to conclude that it was a good thing 13 was projecting onto the patient, just that it was understandable that she was having difficulty processing her news. She learned that what she needed for herself or thinks she needs right now is not what the patient needed. Kind of like Cameron, Foreman, Chase, . . . one thing the writers have been consistent with is allowing the characters' warts to show without softsoaping. It would have been more appropriate for 13 to have kept her concerns behind the scenes, but she wasn't supposed to be acting appropriately.

Finally seen ep! :D Gosh what a long last two days it's been. I very much enjoyed it. Too much 13, but I was more interested in the POTW than I usually am. And infinitely relieved that she just accepted the termination of the fetus (I was terrified 13 was going to try and persuade her to keep it). All the House/Wilson scenes, and all the scenes about House/Wilson with other people, were just great. I squee'd when House put Wilson above the patient - so immediate, so instinctive, right from the moment he told 13 to get the hell out of Wilson's office. I couldn't help but compare this to his putting the patient before stripper!Cuddy.

Mind you, at some level, he did know that the patient was Amber . . .

Anyone think to look at the sets to see, as Hugh mentioned on Leno the other night, if they were "about two feet wider"? I only thought about it at one point, when the camera panned the hospital's entrance hall - it did look bigger, or that central desk or whatever it is looked smaller. Thoughts? That was one of the things that really struck me during the whole episode, and I am surprised that no one had commented on it until page 8 (thanks, IHARTHUGH). Wilson's office, especially, showed the glaring set change. The "distance" between Wilson and House throughout the whole ep was punctuated by their physical distance. The backdrop behind Wilson was unchanged (same dark brown bookcase, same distance behind him), but everything else was far away (House included). Gone, also, was the inviting nearby couch that had cameos in so many episodes, replaced by a stark, hard wooden chair and lot and LOTS of distance. I couldn't tell through the balcony door, so perhaps someone else could help me look------Was the size of Wilson's balcony enlarged as much as his office seemed to have been? Or was the dividing wall between their two balconies "gone", giving us metaphorical hope? Just my thoughts. Oh, and too much 13. Maybe she is contracted by the line, so TPTB are just getting her out of the way faster. After all...She has Huntington's!!!!!!! :twisted:

Which might just confirm my other theory -- that it's when Wilson is trying to avoid enabling House that he does the most damage. If Wilson's distance (without explaining to House why he was being distant) triggered House's drinking binge, then Wilson may be at least as culpable in Amber's death as House may be. Wilson knows he was culpable because he had enabled House for so long and Amber was there because she was taking on his role for him because he was unavailable. Wilson's fault was that he had been enabling House for a long time, like providing an addict with his drugs, but it's not Wilson's fault that House was there drinking and couldn't drive his bike home. For all we know, this could have been a power play on House's part to show Wilson and Amber that Wilson cares more for him than he does for Amber because he would be willing to leave Amber's bed to pick up House. House tried to break them up repeatedly and he got Cuddy to talk to Wilson about dumping Amber and Cuddy obliged, trying to talk Wilson out of his relationship with Amber and telling him that Amber was no good for him. Thinking someone is hot or trying to date them is not the same as liking them as a person and Thirteen actively fought with Amber. The only person who might have liked Amber (besides Chase) was Kutner and he likes everyone. Wilson was right, none of them really liked Amber or supported his relationship with her and he needed to get away from the lot of them to grieve properly. Son of a Coma Guy- I am sure some people will disagree but House telling Wilson he didn't want him involved in what was clearly an illegal move was pretty self sacrificing. What was House sacrificing? Getting Wilson into trouble along with him for something Wilson didn't do? I thought there was more a lot sacrificing on Wilson's part, letting House take his car, letting the coma guy drive, providing House with an alibi, than on House's. ITA with all of this. House has consistently taken full advantage of Wilson friendship’s for his own selfish reasons. It is not the same as Wilson miscalculating a couple of times when it come to the constant demand for him to have to yet again provide cover and protection for House, not just for what is happening at the time but trying to set up a safety net for the next time House gets himself in trouble. As a few other's have said this was the most extreme, with the worst outcome, of all the previous troubles endured in the recent years and at this moment suffering as he is Wilson had to get out now for both of their sakes and he had to do it in a way that devastating as it was for him to say and for House to hear made House understand that he meant it. Now he will likely see things is a more balanced way as more time elapses, remembering more clearly the past benefits and true feelings of their relationship but that doesn't negate the thoughts and feelings he is having right now that made this necessary to do. Do you suppose that Wilson was already going through some of this thought process before Amber's death? That part of his separation from House was not just because he was involved with Amber, but because he was purposely pulling himself away from House? I find this very believable. He always struck me as just a little too gleeful at the end of "Don't Ever Change". And Amber herself points out that Wilson is perfectly capable of setting his own schedule, which says to me that Wilson was choosing not to spend his time with House. It’s not surprising that Wilson would avoid what was seemingly a point of huge contention in all of his marriages the amount of time he spends with House. It was still early in his relationship w/ Amber and he had no reason to feel secure that if he did what he did in the past concerning his interest in spending more time with House that it wouldn’t prompt a dispute w/ Amber too. He wanted to spend time with both without being blamed by either for the time he spent with the other. That he should do what he wanted, no matter what Amber preferred, wasn’t raised until LTD and even there picking the mattress you want over your partner's choice is quite a bit different then you picking time with your best friend over your new girlfriend. There was no evidence that Wilson was looking to pull away from House otherwise Wilson could have easily denied the custody set up with House. Wilson was happy to take him up on his mid-day bowling invite and had House come with him on his return for the mattress. Sure he was gleeful in DEC he had found someone new in his life and received House’s acceptance of it. (Something most people wouldn't even require.) What he was hoping is that he could find a balance in his life for the two. Feminazi is a really ugly term. And just because 13 went with a rather misguided (and annoying) approach, I don't think she did anything that even vaguely merited that sort of characterization. I agree it not an appropriate application I’m not sure there ever is one. It’s quite likely that 13's approach to what she preceived as the patient’s lack of ambition and acceptance of what 13 saw as a lesser role would have been there even if the patient had been a man. She may have been projecting more readily on to a young woman like herself but the desire to leave a legacy is not exclusive to one gender or the other. 13's diagnosis, how she will live with that and what that means overall in her life is the struggle that she is going to go thru the next few weeks/months she will likely a have many extreme or inappropriate responses to what is around her as she tries to find a balance that gives her a comfort level she can live with and a way to go forward so that she is living with Huntington's (or the prospect of it) not perpetually dying from it. A not uncommon struggle for many people dealing with a terminal illness.

Wilson's office, especially, showed the glaring set change. The "distance" between Wilson and House throughout the whole ep was punctuated by their physical distance. Oh, I noticed that too! Actually, not in that way, because I knew nothing about the set changes, but in Wilson's first scene all I can think was WTH? Why he's so small? Of course, he wasn't small, the set was bigger :roll: I agree though, it did emphasize their physical distance and loneliness. I just watched the episode, and I think I'm still a little lost... Devastating! But I loved it! I didn't care about 13 - she didn't bother me or seduced me - but I like her scenes with the PtoW. Loved Wilson&Cam scene! She finally showed some of the qualities that her fans keep talking about. It was sweet and poignant, and she was so right... Distance doesn't kill pain, only time can do that. I loved the Foreman's scene too. They said opposite things to Wilson, but both of them seem to be thinking about him as a friend, or at least, as someone they learned to like as a person. The jury is still on about Cuddy... LE was great on her scenes, but Cuddy did seem self-serving for me. She was wrong about their reasons, and the couple's counseling, while smile inducing, was also pointless and a little bit silly. I still don't feel her concern or friendly approach towards Wilson at all and her 'Go to hell' showed her annoyance with him, because he wasn't playing along. She failed to convince me that she understands the H/W dynamic - or maybe she needs to try harder. But House and Wilson? That was perfection! So sad, so painful to watch and yet, I couldn't take my eyes of them. Their love is toxic and unhealthy and undeniable. Now I'm gonna watch it again...

The backdrop behind Wilson was unchanged (same dark brown bookcase, same distance behind him), but everything else was far away (House included). Gone, also, was the inviting nearby couch that had cameos in so many episodes, replaced by a stark, hard wooden chair and lot and LOTS of distance. I couldn't tell through the balcony door, so perhaps someone else could help me look------Was the size of Wilson's balcony enlarged as much as his office seemed to have been? Or was the dividing wall between their two balconies "gone", giving us metaphorical hope? A bit more "distance" could have just as well been achieved using the right lens for the camera. If Wilson's office has become bigger, then by nothing more than a foot or two in the back (behind Wilson's desk), which is pretty much the only direction it can expand in, because the stairwell is behind that wall and there was a bit of space in between. The balcony still has the dividing wall and doesn't look bigger to me. And I still see the couch, as well, just moved out of the way a bit. Admittedly there aren't really any wide shots of Wilson's office in this ep, that would give a clear image. We'll have to wait and see more episodes to get a sense of how extensive this supposed set rebuild is. :( I'm very invested in this. My hospital floor-plan, which I had almost completed, is on hold again, because of what Hugh said on Leno. On a different note. I thought two things were very subtle and very powerful in this episode. During the first DDX in the conference room, House glances out the window in the direction of Wilson's office twice. Blink and you'll miss it. During the next DDX, when House is standing at the sink seemingly not paying attention to what's going on, he's actually watching for Wilson again. As soon as the light turns on in Wilson's office, House storms out of the conference room to go see him.

I got the impression that Hadley telling the patient (did this patient even have a name? I completely missed it) about her Huntington's was at least partly meant as an explanation for her unprofessionalism earlier. It doesn't excuse her continuing the unprofessionalism, but it makes me a little more forgiving. The patient certainly seemed intelligent enough to understand that even doctors can't be perfect saints under all circumstances, and a death sentence is probably one of those. The hallway at House's apartment definitely seemed bigger -- his front door further away from the building door. And in one of the screencaps, it looked like they'd changed the basic structure of his living room: door further from the wall and no more windows on that wall. I hope I was just seeing the screencap from the wrong angle. Otherwise, I'll be annoyed; given how many times we've seen his living room from the exterior side of the windows, how could they think we wouldn't notice something like that? (Or maybe we should just take it as proof that he really does own the whole building, and thus is free to move from apartment to apartment whenever the whim takes him.) (For clarity's sake, the 3:07 post got the attributions reversed for my and sherlockjr's posts - I was the one who mentioned Wilson setting his own schedule.) It’s not surprising that Wilson would avoid what was seemingly a point of huge contention in all of his marriages the amount of time he spends with House. True, nor would it be surprising if he was simply swept up in new-relationship-itis. But either way, he should have been willing to take responsibility for his own decisions, not blame it on House and Amber being "scary". He could easily have denied, or accepted, or amended the custody set up; instead he chooses to pass the buck over to Cuddy, who shouldn't have been remotely involved. And to me it was predictable that Cuddy would side with Amber, so I do take the buck-passage as proof that he was looking to pull away from House (for whatever benign or nefarious reason). he had no reason to feel secure that <snip> it wouldn’t prompt a dispute w/ Amber too. I wouldn't say no reason; unlike (presumably) his past relationships, Amber knew the importance of his relationship with House going into it. But with three divorces under his belt, I can see him being paranoid enough that he wouldn't want to discount the possibility.

I agree though, it did emphasize their physical distance and loneliness. Don't know if it was the sets or what but in that final scene, House looked physically so incredibly small and frail to me - I mean it was noticeable that he was...diminished. HL looked so skinny and broken. It made me really sad.

And in one of the screencaps, it looked like they'd changed the basic structure of his living room: door further from the wall and no more windows on that wall. I just fast-forwarded my DVR to that scene in "Dying Changes Everything." There are two windows on that living room wall (the front wall, the wall that looks out to the street). I thought there used to be three windows on that wall, so I dug out my S3 DVD and went to the closing scene of "Human Error." I was wrong; there were only two windows even back then. So if they've changed anything in the living room, it's the size. But the windows are the same. (Phew. I love House's apartment almost as much as I love House himself.)

The hallway at House's apartment definitely seemed bigger -- his front door further away from the building door. And in one of the screencaps, it looked like they'd changed the basic structure of his living room: door further from the wall and no more windows on that wall. I hope I was just seeing the screencap from the wrong angle. Otherwise, I'll be annoyed... It was just a very unusual angle. Here's a cap. House's apartment looks exactly as it's been since the beginning of season 2. Other than that he's using a different rug and has moved the TV a bit, there's no change there. (layout for comparison)

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