6.04 - The Tyrant
TREATING A PATIENT PROVES TO BE A MORAL DILEMMA ON “HOUSE” MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, ON FOX James Earl Jones Guest-Stars When a controversial African politician (guest star Jones) falls ill, he is brought to Princeton Plainsboro for treatment. The team struggles with whether to help a merciless dictator being subpoenaed for crimes against humanity in his country. Meanwhile, Wilson tries to make peace with a feuding neighbor, but House’s prying exacerbates the problem in “The Tyrant” episode of HOUSE airing Monday, Oct. 5 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/ PT) on FOX. (HOU-604) (TV-14 D, L, V) Cast: Hugh Laurie as Dr. Gregory House; Lisa Edelstein as Dr. Lisa Cuddy; Omar Epps as Dr. Eric Foreman; Robert Sean Leonard as Dr. James Wilson; Jennifer Morrison as Dr. Allison Cameron; Jesse Spencer as Dr. Robert Chase; Peter Jacobson as Dr. Chris Taub; Olivia Wilde as Thirteen Guest Cast: James Earl Jones as Dibala; Roger Aaron Brown as Ntila; Garikayi Mutambirwa as Ruwe; Christopher Fairbanks as Agent Bass; David Marciano as Murphy; Kelly Scott as Ama

Oh Chase, Chase, Chase. Now that's good storytelling, yo. House brings the funny (the "not saying a thing" differential) and a typical Housian way of being "nice." And James Earl Jones, yo. One minute he makes you believe that he's really not as bad as the PR, the next he turns your blood cold.

This was an amazing episode. Superb acting by everyone. Go Cuddy for putting them on the case and not letting Cameron get out of it. I loved Chase's and Cameron's struggles with treating the president (I'm struggling to not call him Darth Vader). I'm so proud of 13's resilience against Foreman's asshood. I cannot wait to see how the aftermath of Chase's decision plays out. I loved the neighbor B-story. Really cool how it played out, and House's and Wilson's "OH!" at the end was priceless.

Wow! That was so intense. Oh Chase. I thought the episode was awesome. I was on the edge of my seat!

OH gosh. Chase. Oh man. Now that's good storytelling, yo you can say that again. The scene when Foreman confronted Chase was so good. I can't wait to see how this whole thing plays out. House kept trying to do be nice and not cause any waves. I had the same reaction he did when he ran into the guy in the lobby. I was like "wow," right when House said it. I felt a little sad for House when Wilson said he had to move out. I liked how House ended up helping the guy. That was a good scene. Too bad we didn't get a scene with JEJ and HL.

Excellent storytelling. What an intense episode. Great work from JS. And House resolving everything with the neighbor was made of win. HL in the "I'm not saying a thing" differential was so awesome. A really great balance of intense drama, comedy, angst, etc.

"I am vampire, Sookeh!" Oh, Wilson, let's be BFFs! Excellent episode. Chase made tough choices, but it was impressive to see him take a stand. Foreman is a dick. Every week he becomes more and more of a dick. How he manages to be more than 100% dick I don't know, but he does it. Loved 13 walking out on him, she should've hit him, too. Love the way Jennifer Morrison reads all of her lines like she's delivering a weather report. So much variety, there. What a real benefit to the cast she is. House's interaction with the neighbor showed some real growth. Glad to see that. Even if it's kind of bastardy, anyway.

*mind blown* That was fantastic. Really fantastic. Just great storytelling. Peter Blake wrote this one, right? Bravo, man. I knew JS would rock and rock he did. My love for Chase just went through the roof. He was awesome tonight. From Action!Chase, to "don't ever touch my wife!" Chase, to resigned!Chase. He's got me. I'm so in this. And Foreman was his usual jerky self and I was hating him up until that last scene with Chase. I think that was the most convincing OE has ever been on this show. I actually felt some emotion out of him and it wasn't laughably over the top. I liked the neighbor subplot, but that guy was a jerk. At least House is a clever jerk. This guy? Bleh. H/W love at the end watching the TV and their joint "Oh!" They're such cute little boys sometimes. Wilson looked fine tonight too. I'm very impressed with this episode and James Earl Jones was terrific. He scared me. He upset me. He gave me the chills. When he grabbed Cameron? Ooh.

Wilson: "I am Vampire, Sookie." I shrieked so loud that I scared the cat. Now all they need to do is make a Chuck and Blair reference and my life will be complete. Of course, House & Wilson watch True Blood. In my personal canon, they also watch Gossip Girl. :-) I love House and Wilson on the couch mirroring each other. It's so good to see Jesse Spencer getting something meaty to work with. 13 should have given Foreman a good kick in the 'nads while she was at it. A lot of good, good stuff this episode.

1. James Earl Jones is magnificent. He is incapable of being anything less than magnificent. 2. Holy crap. Way to give Chase a good story line for the first time in 3 years. "Do you really think you can kill another human being with no consequences to yourself?" "No." This is going to be interesting. I want to see the next episode RIGHT NOW! I thought he did a wonderful job. I also really liked Cameron. They found a good way to flip their usual positions. She's normally the one who makes moral judgments about the patients, he's the one who does his job. And yet, the ex-seminary student committed a murder. Or, as far as I'm concerned, he executed a criminal pro-actively. Shallower note - because anything other than life and death dilemmas are shallow when discussing this episode: Foreman is an ass. Loved the way Cameron called him on it. His opening line to them -- "You two are both competent and I know I can work with you." Foreman, you're a fellow, they're attendings. And three cheers to Thirteen for walking out on him. She gave him a second chance and he proved he didn't deserve it. Wilson was made of fail tonight. I know his past experience taught him not to trust House but he spent several months learning how to cope. Wilson could give him the benefit of the doubt at least once in a while. Every single thing House said Wilson assumed was a lie. When House was crazy he used to believe him sometimes. Now -- never. He's really determined to push House back, isn't he (whether I tell the truth or not... so why bother telling the truth.)

Also, this episode ranks among the best ever because of the appearance of Jesse's abs. Paired with Omar's abs last week, we're looking at a very ab-ilicious season. Better be on your toes, RSL.

WOW. That was easily the best episode in two years. Jesse Spencer and James Earl Jones were incredible together... so much awesome packed into every scene they shared. Can anyone explain why they have an actor as good as Jesse Spencer on staff and utilize him for an average of 49 seconds an episode? He is amazing! JEJ was amazing and the two of them together were pure gold! I loved the way their interaction started in an almost friendly manner and progressively got darker. I loved that Chase rushed into the room despite the danger and I loved that he got defensive of his wife. I also like the impossible moral decision they put on the character--save one life or save an entire group of people. Maybe he did the wrong thing for the right reasons... or do the ends justify the means? And he chose to save hundreds of thousands of people knowing that he was going to take on so much personal guilt and consequences. While Foreman is quite the ass, I have to give him props for burning the sign-in sheet and backing up Chase for being man enough to stand up to tyranny. I got tears in my eyes when the neighbor's pain was eased. This is what I knew the show was capable of being. THIS is why I've stuck through two years of disappointment. I knew they had this in them. It was just a matter of time before it came out.

Foreman is a dick. Every week he becomes more and more of a dick. How he manages to be more than 100% dick I don't know, but he does it. :clap: 13 should have let him have it more than that. I would have at least threw my beverage in his face. What a self-righteous creep. The whole episode, I couldn't help but notice that House was almost exclusively stuck in the b-plot while the team got the a-plot. I'm not complaining about that, as I loved both plots and the episode as a whole, but it was interesting. I don't think I would have guessed House was the main character from this episode (excluding the fact that the title gives it away :wink: ) Giving HL a break, I guess. I loved the little C/C we got. Cameron upset about the gun and Chase running after the guy was nice to see.

I didn't get the Sookie reference. Hee. Responding to Poeia's Wilson comments in the spoiler thread. Also ... did anyone else hear about the use of mirrors to ease phantom pain? I heard the story on NPR earlier this year. It's a real thing that's going on. You fake the brain to retrain the nerves and believe that the muscles can relax -- or you can scratch a phantom limb, etc.

I think this episode needed to be all about the tyrant. When they would cut away to Wilson's place, it lost steam, and that stuff seemed trivial by comparison. Granted, House cured a guy of chronic pain, but that subplot could have been used in any episode. The subject matter of the A plot was so serious and complex that even giving it an entire episode risks giving it short shrift. In fact, I think they did give it short shrift. Not because of the acting; my heart was very heavy watching Chase in the locker room at the end. I actually can't imagine where they can go from here, having saddled his character with this. This is enormous, way beyond The Mistake, even beyond Foreman injecting Cameron. Most depressed I've felt after an episode since Kutner's death.