5.10 - Let Them Eat Cake

We don't know what happened over the course of the three hours House had left of her time because we weren't shown it. In fact, we don't even know if three hours passed between the scene in the morgue and the scene in the office, really. I don't recall seeing any clocks in either scene, and there are no windows in the morgue. If TPTB wanted us to know, they would have spelled it out. They want us to speculate, just as Cuddy does. She's probably assuming the worst: she doesn't have the information we have. She doesn't know this woman was hired to punk Kutner and Taub. For all she knows, it's some woman he met and is interested in. Incidentally, this reminds me of the debate about the clinic patient who winds up in the Christmas play. People were wildly speculating about whether or not she was an actual prostitute, too. I think TPTB love making us wonder about hookers. LOL

Incidentally, this reminds me of the debate about the clinic patient who winds up in the Christmas play. People were wildly speculating about whether or not she was an actual prostitute, too. I think TPTB love making us wonder about hookers. The writer of that episode in an interview confirmed that she intended the POTW as a prostitute. :D I think TPTB expect us to believe that House uses prostitutes.

The writer of that episode in an interview confirmed that she intended the POTW as a prostitute. :D I think TPTB expect us to believe that House uses prostitutes. The writer did a good job, in my opinion. I believed she was a prostitute. But then, I am also a fan of irony! ;)

There were suggestions from TPTB that the reason they were giving Thirteen a fatal, genetic disease was because it would be interesting for House to contrast that with his own circumstances. His ailment is basically external -- he has a damaged leg, he takes opiates, he sticks knives in wall sockets, etc. while her body has been preparing to kill her since she was conceived. And I realize that I would be fine with that. If Thirteen's problems reflected back on House in some way, that could be worth exploring. But they haven't done that. Her situation has simply been all about her. And, even when it's well done, as it was in Let Them Eat Cake, it's not what I signed on to watch. I could have sworn there was an episode where they were making feints in that direction, either a juxtaposition of scenes or something House said. But it certainly hasn't developed that way. And I may be imagining this, or else I just expected them to do this. It would be the natural way to go. Re arcs that don't come back to House, would you say the Chase/Cameron relationship does? It seems to me to be its own little story.

Re arcs that don't come back to House, would you say the Chase/Cameron relationship does? It seems to me to be its own little story. When they were working for him, it definitely came back to House because so much of it was about when/how he would find out, if Cameron was doing it to make House jealous, and how it would affect their jobs while working for him. Even separate from working for House, Chase/Cameron reflects upon House because they're a contrast to him. He wants Cuddy, but won't open himself up to her (the Itch) while Cameron had to decide whether to open herself up to Chase more or lose him and she did. Chase/Cameron are a good contrast to House/Cuddy so they're telling opposite sides of the story. Both couples have an intense sexual attraction for one another. Both have one half that seem to be more emotionally invested than the other (Chase and Cuddy) and both have one half that seem hesitant or distant (Cameron and House). In the end, Chase and Cameron are willing to take the chance that House is keeping he and Cuddy from taking.

Re arcs that don't come back to House, would you say the Chase/Cameron relationship does? It seems to me to be its own little story. This is essentially my problem with the Chase/Cameron "relationship." First of all, because since the beginning of the show both characters were defined in their relationship with House and not each other, I don't think their romance was at all built up well to be acceptable and/or plausible for the viewer. But more to the point, since they are apparently some kind of salt and pepper shaker set now, I do NOT think that their story meshes very well with House and his story. We got a bit of overlap between Cameron and House in "The Itch" but Chase was largely an outsider to that. And frankly, while I like both characters, keeping them as a pair and relating only to each other and not to House makes them about the most useless characters on the show. (Although they are, at least, quite watchable in their uselessness as opposed to the new 3 which do absolutely nothing for me.) Chase and Cameron as individuals both dealing with House are interesting. As a couple absorbed in their own issues....not so much.

Chase and Cameron as individuals both dealing with House are interesting. As a couple absorbed in their own issues....not so much. I disagree. I don't think we've exhausted their relationship at all, and it does interest a good percentage of the viewers of the show, myself included. We haven't seen much of Cameron's backstory at all... and we've got pieces of Chase's but not enough for my taste. I don't need every single thing on the show to directly lead to House, either, so perhaps that's the biggest difference in perception; while I appreciate that he's the main focus, he's not the whole enchilada for me.

I've just seen this episode in its entirety for the first time and while I can happily accept everything else, I could not get my head around Stinkbomber Cuddy. This is a "man"'s concept of fun revenge, surely. I can't imagine Cuddy being that crass. A spilt scent bottle perhaps, though that's expensive!

Stinkbomber Cuddy is kind of consistent with Greater Good Cuddy, who deliberately wanted to cause House pain because she resented having to be back at work to take care of him. In this relationship she's meeting him at his own level. A split bottle of scent would be more Mata Hari and enticing. Especially if it was something she used herself, as a constant reminder of her. We haven't seen much of Cameron's backstory at all. And what we got of it in season 5 is inconsistent with what we learned in season 1 and 2. I think the problem with the Cameron/Chase relationship is that it's poorly constructed and written and probably only there as a bone to appease those viewers who are calling for them back. The writers don't seem to care about them any more, nor does DS or KJ. (I think the only writer who still cares about Cameron is Foster and he's more interested in her as a doctor (Big Baby) than her relationship with Chase (for which I thank him). Doris Egan and Liz Friedman still have some fondness for Chase because they will put him in the episodes they write but they prefer writing for Taub and Thirteen respectively.) In hindsight, I think Chase/Cameron also got separated from House's story because they wanted to separate Cameron from House and leave him with only Cuddy as a relationship and Wilson and Cuddy as friends. Even the brief suggestion of a friendship with Chase we saw during their bowling night in NMMNG got dropped. I could have sworn there was an episode where they were making feints in that direction, either a juxtaposition of scenes or something House said. But it certainly hasn't developed that way. And I may be imagining this, or else I just expected them to do this. There was an interview with either DS or KJ before season 5 started that we would learn more about House's damage by contrasting it with Thirteen's (external vs internal, obvious vs hidden, ongoing vs future fear). I don't know if that got dropped, was only an idea and never put into script, or if Shore thinks they did do it in the first half of season 5.

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