Endo's a bitch Amen, sister. And it never really goes away. :-( In the beginning of the episode, I missed a whole bunch of stuff because for some reason, my connection to Fox dropped out. I'm going to have to download this episode to catch up on the first 2 scenes. :-(

The one prank that Cuddy did that was okay was getting House's utilities turned off. She could sneak into his apartment and untune his piano. She could get him subscriptions to gardening magazines. Fill his office with balloons. Shave him while he's asleep. Steal all the shoelaces from his sneakers. Instead, she chose to cause physical pain to a chronic pain patient. I kept thinking back to Three Stories. I've always been on the "It wasn't really Cuddy involved in House's surgery. LE just filled in for the doctor who was really involved" side of the debate. If, however, Cuddy really was the one who advised Stacy and she still felt comfortable hurting House, there really is something wrong with her. Then again, why should she be any less screwed up than any of the other characters on this show?

The one prank that Cuddy did that was okay was getting House's utilities turned off. I didn't think was cool either but obviously much better than the tripwire and the stairs.

Holy misogyny Batman! Why does it always have to be women who question their careers on television shows? I hate the tradition Hollywood-pseudo-liberal view of happiness and creating a balance between home life and work life. Then they had to insult me even more by having the whole thing be PMS related. You have rights in a liberal society but you also have responsiblities. I did crappy chef jobs for years and years, and I hate to break this to the POTW, but line work is not some great escape. I hate it when they try to tell us that some how minimum wage grunt work is so very fullfilling and that we should be happy that we didn't become respected doctors or lawyers. Line work, dish washing; these are jobs you can do drunk, these are jobs where if you miss a day, no one really cares. Didn't anyone read Kitchen Confidential before they decided what the POTW's new, wonderful job was going to be. I hated this because I just trusted the show not to have such an anachronistic view of existence. Why didn't House directly challenge the patient? Why didn't anyone? I take back all the stuff I said about RSL last week. It really is nice to see Wilson dealing with the Amber issues. Just when I thought Foreman couldn't get any creepier, he's watching her while she sleeps. Razor's creep-o-meter: WHeee! Wheeee! Wheee! I did like that they brought up some of the issues that I was thinking about last week. He did ruin his career. He seemed happy in the last scene though, maybe he really does want a wifey and a picket fence.

Overall, a very decent episode. Though so many things bugged the crap out of me. First of all, I DESPISE House's new found "care" for Foreteen. All these speeches "You're doing this because you love her" bullshit, I'm sorry, but when has House EVER gave a damn about someone else's relationship besides his own? He always makes a point to talk about them, but only in a mocking tone, ie. Chase/Cameron, Wilson/any wife and Amber (minus HH/WH). It just blows me away how off kilter this whole gesture of "I understand", its not rational for him. Then again, maybe its being done on purpose, considering House is supposedly changing in the next few episodes. Still doesn't seem right. I did, however, really appreciate the continuity references. Finally, some insight to Wilson's emotional status, Taub and Rachel and their relationship, it fills that empty void when you feel like the writers have forgotten, and they prove they remember and aren't dropping plot lines like hot potatoes.

If, however, Cuddy really was the one who advised Stacy and she still felt comfortable hurting House, there really is something wrong with her. Then again, why should she be any less screwed up than any of the other characters on this show? I don't think there's any question that Cuddy has her own hang ups and this was supposed to be screwed up behaviour. What rang emotionally true to me is that when babies are concerned, sometimes mommy bear behaviour comes out, and that can be very emotional and intense and occasionally misguided and over the top. Add in that Cuddy was also actually covering her own guilt that at one level she loves being at work, and you get lack of perspective on what you're doing. I didn't enjoy what she did, but I could understand that she had an angry lack of perspective thing going on. Good on Wilson for calling her on it and good for her for apologising for it. Don't want to see her or anyone else hurt House on purpose again. I guess my mommy bear is out, too.

I thought this was very well done. The only part that really annoyed me, was the whole Cuddy thing. She is a doctor. She could have really, really hurt House, especially with a trip wire. Wilson may have really loved Amber, but he is right in moving on. I'd love to see him move back in with House, even if for a night. I was thrilled for the House/Wilson scene. I wasn't sure how to feel as a H/W shipper when Wilson said Amber was the one person he had loved in a long time. Did he mean other than House, other than his wives? Did he ever love his wives? I don't think House feels bad at all about Cuddy having to be at work. If she was at home, she would have a baby camera on House, which shows she really needs to worry about the rest of her hospital. (see House/Foreman perform surgery on 13)

This is sort of in responce to an earlier post. I loved the POTW. I think she was one of the most believable ever. But I totally understand her story. A career in science is not as thrilling as it sounds. It totally makes sense that she would want to ditch it all for something she really loves. It totally makes sense that she spent her lfie dong what she "should" do and finally decided to do what she wants. That is exactly what I have been going. I spent years in science cause everyone told me I should do it, but unlike the POTW it never worked out the way it should. Now I am trying to do what I love, something that has nothing to do with science at all. I loved the POTW. It is not a feminist career story, it is a personal story of finally deciding not to do what was expected, and what one "should' do. It was totally and completely realistic, and honest and truthful.

Then they had to insult me even more by having the whole thing be PMS related. In fairness, endo is not PMS. As for the PotW's life choices, I don't think she intended to work in the restaurant field full time, did she? She was also taking piano lessons, going to a book group, etc. I think she was just doing things she enjoyed. I have to say, sometimes doing your hobby for a living can be the quickest way to ruin your love of it, that's for sure. ;-) But if so, having worked in plenty of restaurants, I hear you, but maybe she wanted that sort of contrast - it's so different that what she used to be doing.

OK, I'll be the odd one out. I thought this episode was really boring. Maybe because it was so dominated by Thirteen's endless litany of woes. And I'm getting tired of seeing Foreman gazing into his soul. And House being so concerned about them. It just all felt off to me. And it appears the whole Fourteen mess continues to dominate next week.

Topaz_Eyes on LJ had an interesting thought last week about Foreteen being a parallel to House and Stacy's situation in "Three Stories" which I think is continuing to hit on some strong points after this episode. Foreman, like Stacy, makes a decision about a loved one's health without their knowledge or consent (though of course in his case he's doing way, way, way too early in the relationship, which is a whole other issue). He, like Stacy, did it out of love and in hopes of improving the other person's life, but of course it exploded in their face (House's chronic pain and mobility issues, Thirteen's tumor). Don't know if that's going further, but it's an interesting thought. I have other thoughts on parallels with other situations, but since it strays into minor spoilage, I'll mull it privately a little longer. In other thoughts .... love the fact that Kutner decided to stand firm again, only to have Taub point out that he actually had no negotiating room since it was Wilson who was supposed to do the biopsy, not them. Hee.