6.13 - Moving the Chains

I didn't like it. I thought it was boring and it couldn't keep my attention. (Although granted I have an 10 week old little distraction in my house.) But those pranks were just stupid. I'm not a prank fan to begin with but Lucas' pranks were downright destructive. The sprinklers would ruin the walls, floor and furniture in the loft. (although maybe it wouldn't be such a disaster if it ruined that godawful orange couch!) That could cause thousands of dollars in damage. How is that funny? And the tripping...that's just mean. I still don't care about Foreman. The POTW and clinic patient were boring. I mean...the first time we see House in the clinic in ages and he gets a sane patient!! What happened to the patients who think spermicidal jelly can be found in the peanut butter aisle at the grocery store! On the bright side, there was hardly any 13. Maybe more 13 would have kept my attention because I would have been focused on how much I hate her and want her to leave my TV screen forever.

I really enjoyed this episode, particularly on rewatching it this AM (due to other distractions, for instance, I missed the scene w/ Wilson and the possum. WIN!). Yes, I agree the end of the POTW story was very weak. Since I don't know anything about football, I bought that this was his one shot. But when the actor was sitting and Taub was talking to him (I love Taub!!) it was a great visual. What I liked about this episode was that it reminded me of earlier seasons, where there was interplay between everybody and lots going on that all tied together. Am I the only one that thought House let the soldier stay on the "bad antibiotics" so that his foot would be amputated? House appears to be his attending physician. I loved the pranks, and Wilson trying to save the television. The handicapped bar was startling and TOTALLY out of character for Wilson, so like a lot of people I assumed it was Foreman (esp. after Marcus's remark that Foreman is good with a flat head screwdriver; I know my screwdrivers). To find out that it was Lucas, and that Lucas is a total psychopath (like the POTW in "Remorse" but without the self-awareness of being a psychopath), I loved that. He lies to H/W, then lies to Cuddy. Tripping House when he was carrying a lunch tray was so full-on evil, and his proclamation of his "superiority," was chilling. I've been fine with the whole Lucas/Cuddy thing because I'm sure it's temporary, and the writing staff wouldn't have put in that kind of bombshell unless they intended to exploit it later. They're good at that sort of thing. Wilson arguing with House that he's doing something nice echoes a lot of earlier arguments (a LOT of earlier arguments) so I wonder if House is backsliding. He's certainly in more pain. To finish, I enjoyed Marcus, although I hope he's not a recurring character. It opened up Foreman's character, something I've been hoping for this season without it involving (ugh) 13.

I must admit that, as a former member of the US military, the soldier story made no sense and was offensive as well. First, active duty military personnel must get treatment at a military facility, unless they are sent to a civilian facility by the military. Military members don't have private insurance and their families are also covered by the military medical program (TRICARE) for free. So, when this guy was asked for his insurance info by PPTH, he'd be out of luck. And, I don't think that, on his salary, he was paying as a private patient w/o insurance. Second, even if he did manage to get through PPTH the first time, I think someone in his unit, especially if it were getting ready to deploy, would have noticed the injury, sent him to military medical, etc. Especially after a toe was amputated. Third, tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of US military members are in the exact same position this guy was in. It's not unique to the current war or to our country; it's happened throughout history. When you join the military, you know this is a possibility, especially if your country happens to be at war. If you aren't prepared for this, go into another profession. This ep made it seem as it the military is insensitive, some of its members are crazy, and that sending people to war when they have kids is the worst thing in the world. Fourth, House was an idiot for not notifying the military once he found out about the situation. Whether or not you like the military, it does have counselors, psychiatrists, etc. who can evaluate whether a person is so "crazy" that he'd amputate his foot (or allow it to be amputated) to avoid being deployed. No one wants that. Had House contacted the military, the entire situation might have been avoided. Yet there was an implicit suggestion that the military was insensitive to the kid's plight, even though we have no indication they were told. Pathetic and unrealistic.

I must admit that, as a former member of the US military, the soldier story made no sense and was offensive as well. First, active duty military personnel must get treatment at a military facility, unless they are sent to a civilian facility by the military. Military members don't have private insurance and their families are also covered by the military medical program (TRICARE) for free. So, when this guy was asked for his insurance info by PPTH, he'd be out of luck. And, I don't think that, on his salary, he was paying as a private patient w/o insurance. Remember that the Clinic is free so he wouldn't have needed to provide any insurance information to be seen there. Also I'm assuming that he went to the ER after he shot himself and the hospital would be required by federal law (EMTALA) to stabilize him even without insurance. However, what probably would have happened in real life is that the hospital would transfer him to a military facility. EMTALA only requires the hospital to stabilize the patient before transferring him/her. Although it seems like PPTH is some magical hospital where patients can receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in care without any discussion of insurance. And the clinic is some magic place where nice middle class looking people (presumably with insurance) will go to be treated in the same place with those who have no insurance. Not likely in the real world.

Also, he'd finished out his contract, so could have been back in civilian life when the military did a stop loss on his miserable ass.

If his wife has a job, she could have insurance, regardless. It's unlikely that she would opt for a family plan if he were covered by the military, but she might. And the clinic is some magic place where nice middle class looking people (presumably with insurance) will go to be treated in the same place with those who have no insurance. Not likely in the real world. The most bizarre part to me isn't the affluent and poor being treated in the same place. They're not in a huge city so there are only a limited number of facilities. While it would be much more likely to happen in an ER, a walk-in clinic could also get a range of patients. But PPTH's clinic is free. That means people come for boo boos. And why anyone with insurance would opt to take a day off from work to sit in a clinic waiting room for 3+ hours is completely beyond me.

I used to have a doctor whose office could get you in for emergencies in 3 days, and this was normal for our area, despite the presence of good regional hospitals. You had to go to a clinic for everything, and then insurance wouldn't pay. If I'd had the choice of a free clinic, even a 3 hour wait, for emergencies (outside of ER type emergencies) I would have taken it.

Also, he'd finished out his contract, so could have been back in civilian life when the military did a stop loss on his miserable ass. If he'd finished out his contract, he wouldn't be deploying anywhere. I just found the whole story unrealistic. We have a volunteer military and have been at war for almost 7 years. Anyone who joins the Army or USMC in particular and thinks he/she won't see Iraq or Afghanistan is nuts. The fact is that the odds of being killed/injured in this war are much lower than in the previous major wars this nation has fought. I've heard of people doing odd things to avoid deployment. This is beyond the pale. If this patient were a real person, he'd be considered a psychiatric case and should have been given professional help. House, being an MD and having just come from being a psychiatric patient himself, should have recognized this. I resent that the writers used an unrealistic and inane distortion as a throw-away plot device. I guess that 's the norm for this show, but it's akin to suggesting that someone would chop off his own arm rather than be forced to get into a commercial airplane b/c of a fear it might crash. And that such an attitude is normal and/or the fault of the airlines. ETA: If his wife has a job, she could have insurance, regardless. It's unlikely that she would opt for a family plan if he were covered by the military, but she might. Don't want to jump OT so will keep this short. TRICARE (used by military dependents such as the wife) allows you to be treated by civilian MDs for free. Trust me that dependents don't pay for additional insurance because they already get better benefits and pay nothing. The problem is that the writers -- in their haste to have the shock value of an amputated foot -- didn't stop to think of the idiocy of the scenario they created and obviously know nothing about the military. Of course, that was demonstrated in the astronaut ep of several years ago. Mod Note: Please don't reply to yourself - simply edit your first post and add to it. I've combined the two posts and deleted the second. Thanks, Fid.

I must admit that, as a former member of the US military, the soldier story made no sense and was offensive as well. I really didn't like how it played out either. Aside from being factually incorrect it struck me as somehow kind of patronizing. A real misstep. Third, tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of US military members are in the exact same position this guy was in. It's not unique to the current war or to our country; it's happened throughout history. When you join the military, you know this is a possibility, especially if your country happens to be at war. If you aren't prepared for this, go into another profession. This ep made it seem as it the military is insensitive, some of its members are crazy, and that sending people to war when they have kids is the worst thing in the world. I'm curious, though, the guy could have been National Guard. (I'd have to go back and re-watch to confirm and I probably won't, so....) I would say that in the Iraq war era, the National Guard types are getting more than they bargained for. Then again, the kid was young enough to have enlisted, even in the National Guard, after the war had started. But it seems to me that there are plenty of older people in the Guard that have been sent on multiple deployments and then slapped with a stop loss. Either way, I found House's response unusually callous. I didn't really have a bad/good feeling about the military either way with this storyline. Fourth, House was an idiot for not notifying the military once he found out about the situation. Whether or not you like the military, it does have counselors, psychiatrists, etc. who can evaluate whether a person is so "crazy" that he'd amputate his foot (or allow it to be amputated) to avoid being deployed. No one wants that. Had House contacted the military, the entire situation might have been avoided. Yet there was an implicit suggestion that the military was insensitive to the kid's plight, even though we have no indication they were told. Pathetic and unrealistic. Agreed.

I've heard of people doing odd things to avoid deployment. This is beyond the pale. If this patient were a real person, he'd be considered a psychiatric case and should have been given professional help. House, being an MD and having just come from being a psychiatric patient himself, should have recognized this. Well, obviously House didn't expect him to go to such lengths, hence his shocked face in the end. But I agree that this whole plot seemed disturbing, especially since I got the impression that they wanted to portray the guy's act as a noble and sacrificing deed, maiming himself for his family. The PoTW was a loveable young man and it was funny to see that, sitting down, he is still a bit taller than Taub. By the way, Taub was genius through-and-through this week (when isn't he?). Even funnier, the moment before he sat down, when Taub was addressing the patient's nipple ;). I don't understand the scene where House admits he's soaking in the tub because his leg is bothering him, and then Wilson looks him right in the eye and tells him to stay out of 'his' bathroom? Are we supposed to think that Wilson doesn't believe him about the pain, or are we supposed to think Wilson does believe House about the pain and still refuses to let him use the tub? What's going on there? That's exactly what I was wondering about. And I felt bad for House, because he actually admitted that he was in pain, something he's not comfortable with, but instead of encouraging House's openness and his efforts at drug-free pain management, Wilson outright snubbed him! So yeah, did he just not believe House or does he simply not care? Perhaps they are foreshadowing future developments? Maybe the pain gets worse at some point and no one will take it seriously and House will have to deal with it all by himself, shutting himself off again and that'll drive him back to the Vicodin...? I think it shows how jealous and insecure Lucas is about House. He knows that he's just a substitute for what Cuddy really wants and that's gotta hurt. That has occurred to me too. I guess that's the reason why he feels the need to attack House and fight him with his own weapons, so to speak. It's like he's marking his territory, proving to Cuddy that he can take on House and even beat him. But I just don't understand why the writers let him succeed in conquering House? I know I'm biased, but I want House to be the cleverest of all. He has enough shortcomings in other areas, especially emotional ones, so let him at least be the genius he used to be, who always sees through people and their true motives. He lies to H/W, then lies to Cuddy. But didn't Cuddy imply that she knew that he was responsible for the pranks? At least that's what I got from that scene. True, but tripping someone in a hospital cafeteria full of doctors just struck me as less potentially disastrous than letting them fall alone on a slippery marble surface. (Or whatever tubs are made of nowadays...) Oh, I didn't mean that the bathtub-incident was less severe, just that it wasn't the only disturbing prank. And seriously, I can't get over that tripping! If that was me, me and my cane would have been in Lucas' face before he got the chance to say one word, let alone the opportunity to guilt-trip anyone. They turned it into a game (House even got to channel his inner Poirot) and were not emotionally hurt by it. It is probably a crappy argument, but I tend to measure the "evil" of an action to the reaction of the people on the receiving end of it. Actually that is what's bothering me. I wish they would treat that kind of thing more realistically. To me, these were really nasty and dangerous pranks, but judging by the character's reaction they were meant as comic relief. Which would be okay, if they were actually funny! I used to watch the show for its witty dialogue, and not to see people falling over and having supposedly funny accidents, pulling "surprised" faces. That type of crude slapstick-like humour just annoys the hell out of me!

I really enjoyed the episode, but there are three things that bugged me. The first is that it was just totally OOC for Wilson to ban House from the bathtub. I guess I can understand Wilson acting pissy finding House in his tub early in the morning, but it wasn't like him at all to stop House from doing something harmless to help with his pain. I have decided though that it was just something that the writers threw in to explain the prank war, even though it was OOC for Wilson. The second thing was that I would have expected that House and Wilson to be far more angry that Lucas ruined the apartment and all of their belongings with the sprinkler "prank". I mean really, that would cost thousands and thousands of dollars of damage, not including things that couldn't be replaced. Well, I guess this is TV Land, so everything will be fine in the apartment next time we see it. House's treatment of the kid bothered me too. I would have thought that House would have no problem helping him. It made no sense that he was so harsh. But to me it seems that there was an underlying theme in this episode, which was mentioned before, like in MLC and Instant Karma, that Wilson is sure that House really is the "benevolent puppet master" with a heart that was by no means "too small" like he told House in Instant Karma. I really liked this, to me it showed why Wilson sort of idolizes House in a way, cause he is so convinced that House really is a good and kind person deep down. I think the last scene, with House staring at the kid in the wheelchair, right after Wilson again told House that he did messed with Foreman and his brother out of kindness, was to contrast the way that Wilson thought of House, with the way that House thought of himself. Although in this case House was not kind to the poor kid and it seems fitting that he seemed so guiltridden at the end.

The PoTW was a loveable young man and it was funny to see that, sitting down, he is still a bit taller than Taub. By the way, Taub was genius through-and-through this week (when isn't he?). Even funnier, the moment before he sat down, when Taub was addressing the patient's nipple ;). I had forgotten about that. I am sure that if somebody was to show this episode to Randy Newman, he would immediately reword his song to "want loads of short people 'round here". I think it shows how jealous and insecure Lucas is about House. He knows that he's just a substitute for what Cuddy really wants and that's gotta hurt.That has occurred to me too. I guess that's the reason why he feels the need to attack House and fight him with his own weapons, so to speak. It's like he's marking his territory, proving to Cuddy that he can take on House and even beat him. But I just don't understand why the writers let him succeed in conquering House? I know I'm biased, but I want House to be the cleverest of all. He has enough shortcomings in other areas, especially emotional ones, so let him at least be the genius he used to be, who always sees through people and their true motives. Lucas does seem insecure and pissed. And I believe the idea of him "marking his territory" is just right. It makes sense given what he asked Cuddy in Teamwork : "is this relationship going to be about House, or is it going to be about us?" He knows their relationship is already somehow about House, at least in spirit for Cuddy values her friends' opinions and they couldn't have made their disapproval clearer (something they had every right to do). Lucas probably does not want Wilson or House to go beyond the call of duty and actively try to complicate his love life any further (by faking emotional confessions or attempting to disrupt a Thanksgiving lunch or finding ways to delay his and Cuddy's cohabitation). To go back to the "marking one's territory" idea, I think Lucas's intention was to piss all around his relationship, telling House and Wilson that it is off-limit. It may even be why House decided not to retaliate afterwards. He had already chosen, after the whole Thanksgiving debacle, not to interfere anymore. Wilson took it from him and bought the loft. Now, they seem to both have reached the conclusion that the relationship between Cuddy and Lucas is indeed off-limit and that if it is to fail, it will do it on its own, without their active participation. He lies to H/W, then lies to Cuddy. But didn't Cuddy imply that she knew that he was responsible for the pranks? At least that's what I got from that scene. I think she started suspecting Lucas after the little Clue reunion (I doubt Lucas warned her beforehand). They turned it into a game (House even got to channel his inner Poirot) and were not emotionally hurt by it. It is probably a crappy argument, but I tend to measure the "evil" of an action to the reaction of the people on the receiving end of it. Actually that is what's bothering me. I wish they would treat that kind of thing more realistically. To me, these were really nasty and dangerous pranks, but judging by the character's reaction they were meant as comic relief. Which would be okay, if they were actually funny! I used to watch the show for its witty dialogue, and not to see people falling over and having supposedly funny accidents, pulling "surprised" faces. That type of crude slapstick-like humour just annoys the hell out of me! To be fair, slapstick has always been a part of House to a certain extent: after all, House and all the others are children at heart ;) Wilson sawed through House's cane, House made Wilson wet the couch and tampered with his chair so he would fall over... They like pulling one another's hair and pushing one another around. They're kids who happen to be in charge of other people's lives... Not a scary thought at all ;)

He lies to H/W, then lies to Cuddy. But didn't Cuddy imply that she knew that he was responsible for the pranks? At least that's what I got from that scene. As Chiara said, I don't think she realized anything was going on until the scene in the conference room, and furthermore, I doubt she knew the extent of them. Though she's pulled somewhat similar stunts herself, I doubt she would have let Lucas off the hook so quickly if she knew the specifics of the guardrail fiasco, for example.

I really enjoyed the episode, but there are three things that bugged me. The first is that it was just totally OOC for Wilson to ban House from the bathtub. I guess I can understand Wilson acting pissy finding House in his tub early in the morning, but it wasn't like him at all to stop House from doing something harmless to help with his pain. I have decided though that it was just something that the writers threw in to explain the prank war, even though it was OOC for Wilson. For Wilson, this was a boundary issue. Wilson's bathroom is inside his bedroom. House was in his bathroom nekkid, singing away. House doesn't see anything wrong with intruding into Wilson's space sans permission. I get where Wilson was coming from. It's been a general theme this season that House has been moving more and more into Wilson's personal space. The boundary thing seems to be evolving. First, Wwilson finds him stroking his morning glory. To deal with this, Wilson replaces Amber's shrine with hHouse's morning glory. Then we have drugging Wilson and stealing his pants. Then House is serenading Wilson with I wanna touch your body. Now House is in Wilson's bathroom soaking in Wilson's bathtub. The second thing was that I would have expected that House and Wilson to be far more angry that Lucas ruined the apartment and all of their belongings with the sprinkler "prank". I mean really, that would cost thousands and thousands of dollars of damage, not including things that couldn't be replaced. Well, I guess this is TV Land, so everything will be fine in the apartment next time we see it. I understand what you're saying but House purchased a very expensive oversized poster as part of his ploy to make Nora think they were a middle aged gay couple. Wilson purchased a gold wedding band to up the ante with a marriage proposal to House. They have money and can afford it. I loved, loved all the House/Wilson scenes. They just seemed perfect. Did anyone notice the way Wilson runs and how he cals to House for protection. And why the hell was Wilson not in his pajamas at 2 am in the morning? Weird totally weird. And House as Hercule Poirot was awesome. Just awesome. Edited to add this: In the scene, where House is in Wilson's canoe tub the second time, we first see House lying on a bed reading. Then he grabs his leg and looks in the direction of the bathroom. It appears that he is in Wilson's bedroom and laying on Wilson's bed. Do I have this wrong?

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