I think I broke a record for number of rewatches in a short time span with this episode. It takes me well over an hour to finish watching as I rewatch scenes over again during the rewatch. Even the first ddx scene watching Hugh listen to Amber trying not to let on that he hears and sees her, but Foreman senses something is off. Amber going for the high five is so funny. And then we get an awesome House/Wilson scene. When House says "Enough!" to Amber is also priceless. Wilson's concern. Then sleep apnea. Hugh is awesome. You can see the fear in his face. And the scene that follows: "Did it work?" "Do you see someone standing beside me?" I could go on and on like this for the whole episode. House apologizing to the patient, Amber tapping his leg "Very nice." Amber doing ballet walking out. House confessing Amber. and Wilson's "Your subconscious picked my dead girlfriend?". Gah! Everything in this episode. I haven't even gotten to the insulin shock, the ER scene with Wilson pushing him on the bed, the OMG!bar scene with creepy Amber and his fear filled call to Wilson. The bar/restaurant scene (as I've said before) should win an emmy itself. It is creepy, chilling, scary and sad. The scene I've watched the most is the detox. When he says "coffee cup", OMG! Makes me heart break. Just thinking about this scene makes me almost tear up. Hugh Laurie is brilliant! The kiss/make out scene, the way House is staring at her, wow! The first kiss is so very sweet. And then it gets HOT. The writing was fantastic and the acting just brilliant all around (I could say that for all episodes, but this one particularly so). I'm so glad it's Monday tomorrow.

Yes, double yes with a side of dammmmn straight yes!!! All those things and more. A massively complicated episode developed by the writers for the actors and directors, and done so beautifully without losing the profound human layers, humor or tenderness. Or, what spicy said. :-)

So how did House detox so quickly - he was recovered and feeling chipper enough to kiss Cuddy within 24 hours, whereas in Season 1's "Detox" he's in distress for a week, barfing, breaking his own hand, and having a miserable time for a lot longer than one day. Why did it happen so quickly this time around? Is it that easy to detox from painkillers? I thought it was more akin to detoxing from narcotics like heroin, which certainly takes longer than a few hours. And without the Vicodin, wouldn't he be in agony from his leg? I found the whole detox situation to be confusing and contradicting what's previously been shown.

And, it was subtle, but even the next morning he was shivering (and even shuddering a couple of times) when he was lying on the sofa. His feelings for Cuddy and his attraction to her (and having had a shower probably helped too) may have helped, kicked in some endorphins and mitigated the pain to a degree. We don't know how long Cuddy stayed with him. It could have been another day for all we know between the conversation on the couch and the kiss at the door.

After he told her to stop with the breathing and she said she hadn't lied to him in 20 years he visibly perked up while figuring out that puzzle (Sure you have. Which means that you just said that because you want to tell me what you lied to me about twenty years ago.) Maybe he didn't have anything else to occupy his mind the previous times.

I just meant, physically, how did he detox so quickly - not psychologically, just physically. I mean, how did he stop barfing and writhing in the agony of withdrawal, etc so quickly. Detoxing from painkillers 'cold turkey' is rough going and it would take a week for House to feel well enough to get out of bed. I guess it was just a plot device as pointed out upthread. It wasn't too convincing, though. On the other hand, watching him barf and moan for the entire episode wouldn't have been too entertaining.

Oh, thanks for sparing me - I haven't gotten a chance to watch last night's episode yet. I have to avoid this forum when I lag behind like this - not true spoilers, only spoilers for me.

Wondering what Amber said to House when she, House and Wilson were all talking at the same time during the hallucination? This was posted by a viewer who saw the show dubbed into Spanish http://community.livejournal.com/house_wilson/3449908.html?#cutid1