I think the fact that Wilson would be top of any class in breaking bad news is due to something in his own makeup. I think the fact that Wilson collects $10 from House every time a patient thanks him for telling them they're dying says more about his makeup. I honestly believe he is a force for good. So do I. Wilson would make a good politician or cult leader, House would make a great Bond-type supervillian. But they're both using their "powers" to save lives, to do good. For me the most painful moment in the Tritter arc is Wilson doubting his worth in the scheme of things. Thinking his compassion, his gentleness, his patience, his dedication is somehow of "lesser value" to House's brillance. When he goes on about the lives House saves and how what he does is not as important, my heart totally breaks for him. Because he knows not all lives can be saved. Because he knows sometimes all you can offer is comfort. And it seems so cruel to me than in the Houseverse there seems to be no understanding of how important and esencial doctors like Wilson are. Absolutely true; working with patients is part of being a doctor. If you can't get patients to comply with treatment or agree to tests, you can't cure them. The guy who writes reviews on Polite Dissent commented on that in the case with the autistic boy. And yet, would you rather have a doctor who can save your life or a doctor who can make you feel better about dying?

True, Taiga, if those are my only two choices. But which would society rather have, a doctor who saves 25 lives a year, or a doctor who improves longevity and quality of life for several times that many (assuming a reasonable oncology caseload)? I'm not devaluing the former contribution; I'm annoyed that the show devalued the latter, especially given the fact that they seemed to acknowledge and support its value in earlier seasons.

I always felt that question was part of the conceit of the show, you only get two choices, a jerk who saves you or a nice guy who kills you. When it really isn't that. Being diagnosed (which is what House does) does not mean you always get to be cured or saved. Many times it means you get diagnosed with a very rare disease that needs to be managed/medicated/treated for the rest of you life. Which means you are going to need a doctor to be there for years and years. Or maybe not a rare disease, but a common variety diabetes, Alzheimers, Lou Gherings, Cancers, MS, Lupus, you need a doctor for the rest of you life. Your family needs support for the rest of you life and probably beyond. And amazingly there are nice, gentle, compassionte, dedicated, GOOD doctors, nurses, therapists who'll be there. And they are not, for many years, just holding your hand and watching die, they give you a chance a life, they improve your life, they extend your life, they are there when it gets too much for you and your family. And at the end, yes, they might even hold your hand or your parents or your childrens. Sorry, as I said before. Not acknowledging this seems to me a particular cruelty of the Houseverse.

I always felt that question was part of the conceit of the show, you only get two choices, a jerk who saves you or a nice guy who kills you. When it really isn't that. Being diagnosed (which is what House does) does not mean you always get to be cured or saved. I've always thought the show did a good job of showing that diagnosis does not always equal cure. There are always patients in each season that don't survive, some, like Amber, because what she has can't be cured, and some, like the young mother who killed her baby, because the patient's emotional pain is too much to survive. We had the baby who had to die in order to help diagnosis of the rest and the young mom who died of her injuries but had her baby survive. Even Andie did not get cured; she got another year of life. I also think the show clearly shows that House is there for the diagnostic, period, and he's done as soon as that is found. Long term care is done by other folks. Wilson has remarked more than once that one difference between his and House's jobs is that he is involved with his patients long term.

It wasn't a problem in the first two season. They managed to make House special without needing to tell us how not special everybody else was. Something happened during the Tritter Arc, somehow the balance broke.

Brought this from the spoilers thread, there has been no spoiler saying LLB or NMB will make an appearance this is just speculation/wishful thinking. I think this discussion reminds us how little we actually know about Wilson's family. -We don't know how old Wilson really is, he can be the same age as RSL or a couple of years older. So the 14 years difference for PG or SB could be actually be turn into a decade or less. -We don't know the birth order of the Wilson Brothers (plural) so it can be the most popular fanon LLB, Wilson, NMB, or Wilson, LLB, NMB, or NMB, LLB, Wilson, or NMB, Wilson, LLB, or LLB, NMB, Wilson or Wilson, NMB, LLB, etc. Point being the brothers could be older or younger, we don't know.

Just clarifying, LLB and NMB are Long-Lost Brother and Not Missing Brother? NMB is the one I'm most curious to see of Wilson's family. I think this discussion reminds us how little we actually know about Wilson's family. You know, of all the characters Wilson, Cuddy and Thirteen are the only ones who have never willingly mentioned their familes. With Cuddy it's never come up; she talked about herself to Stacy in 'Humpty Dumpty', so I don't think she's actively hiding anything. Thirteen is mysterious, but what's with Wilson? He gives this impression of openness but he's really closed off. He debates religious belief with House, but never reveals his own beliefs. House confides in him but he never confides in House. The only times he's opened up were in 'Histories', under extreme duress, and with Cameron in 'Spin' (and then he didn't seem to be telling her something she didn't already know). With other characters I wouldn't think so much of it, but Wilson's particular brand of screwed-upedness is the type that usually comes from family problems growing up.

Yeah, sorry. NMB=NonMissingBrother. It's kind of funny how much TPTB have messed up 13?s mysteriousness and yet they have made Wilson such an intriguing and really mysterious character. With other characters I wouldn't think so much of it, but Wilson's particular brand of screwed-upedness is the type that usually comes from family problems growing up. ITA. I think they were the kind of family problems that seem small when compared to other familes. Like there were no horrible/terrible things (terminal illness, abuse, neglect, etc) but a lot of little not-so-good things. So that Wilson could look around and see other families and think "My family is not that screwed-up" and yet. Which fed into his beliefs that if he just tried hard enough he could fix all those -not-so-good things and at the same time made it almost impossible for him to ask for help because compared to others his family's problemas weren't that terrible.

I have to say ixtab, your post let me a little dizzy... :lol: I'm with Taiga, I'd love to know the NMB. I'm curious about the LLB, but I have this twisted desire that he remains missed. I'm an awful person... yet they have made Wilson such an intriguing and really mysterious character Because they were not trying to do him mysterious. I have this pet theory that Wilson was a very different character on paper, it was RSL who created the intriguing, messed up Wilson we love. On another thread I was talking about how interesting is that TPTB seem to be giving to Taub some of the plots that originally belonged to Wilson. I guess Wilson's character grew in an unexpected and different way they had planned. I think they were the kind of family problems that seem small when compared to other familes Some time ago someone made a post about Wilson's family to be similar to the family on 'Ordinary People'. I still think it's the best picture that I have about how was the Wilson's family life.

I have this pet theory that Wilson was a very different character on paper, it was RSL who created the intriguing, messed up Wilson we love. I remember reading this interview with RSL where he said that they didn't want to give him the part because he was "too sarcastic and prickly" during the audition. One of TPTB talked to him (Bryan Singer?) and RSL said that House wouldn't be friends with a cuddly teddy bear type guy. He agreed but told RSL to give them what they wanted and get the part, then they'd work on it. So over time we've seen Wilson evolve from cuddly to prickly. I've heard about cases where missing people pop up again after a long period of time (one friend of mine's uncle disappeared for 20 years, and when he returned remembered almost nothing about that missing time), but they're rare. I'd agree that it's probably most realistic for LLB to remain missing, or only turn up in the morgue.

He gives this impression of openness but he's really closed off. He debates religious belief with House, but never reveals his own beliefs. House confides in him but he never confides in House. The only times he's opened up were in 'Histories', under extreme duress, and with Cameron in 'Spin' (and then he didn't seem to be telling her something she didn't already know). I was recently thinking about that. He always wants House to talk about how he's feeling and things like that but aside from wanting to have "an actual conversation" one time, he's very closed off when it comes to how he feels. Aside from Amber, we've never heard him tell anyone that he loves them (not counting the dry, rehearsed, "I love my wife") or needs them, something that even House has been able to do. I think that's the reason why I love that scene in 'Spin' so much, because he actually willingly reveals something that obviously means a lot to him. I mean, House isn't the sort of friend that you'd be able to sit around and chat about your feelings with but Wilson's always avoiding talking about himself, even if House brings it up. House and Wilson's feelings for each other (platonic, I'm talking about) are made clear by the things they've done for each other. But I would love to have just one episode where Wilson completely opens up to House because I believe that even now, he's still keeping things bottled up. I'd agree that it's probably most realistic for LLB to remain missing, or only turn up in the morgue. If they go there (and I think it would be amazing if they did) they should probably wait a couple of seasons since a dead LLB right after a dead CTB would be a little much for him to deal with in one season.

Sorry Lully I am totally hyper over the four-day weekend and all around me people are planning parties for monday's night celebration. So I should probably issue a warning that as the holiday progresses (and so does the "charritos" drinking) my posts might get even dizzier ':P' Yeah, I remember that post comparing Wilson's family life to Ordinary People it sounds close to what I feel happened. And I remember the comment about RSL casting (wasn't he the first one cast?) and Bryan Singer was right. I can believe that a lot of what has made the character interesting comes from RSL perfomances and input. Which I guess makes the situation with 13 much dire, because I really don't think OW can bring much to the table even if the character was being written right and not like a chestful of cliches. If Taub is closer to the "original plan Wilson" it might be revealing in terms of how much RSL brought to the table. As for the Wilson Brothers, I'd love if we get little glimmers before we set eyes on either of them. A conversation here, a phone call there, a memory shared, I want to belive that if the H-W friendship moves to healthier territory Wilson will feel more comfortable sharing a bit about his family.

People who cheat have avoidant attachment styles. I don't know about this, the people studied were pretty young. Were they married?

ixtab, next time you should bring the drinks with you 8) If Taub is closer to the "original plan Wilson" it might be revealing in terms of how much RSL brought to the table. I'm not sure if this is possible. They are very different characters, personality wise. The traits I think they are recycling are the philanderer and the unfaithful husband and how those may affect Taub's marriage and professional life. They seem to have dropped those ideas about Wilson around S2, because for some reason the character followed a different path and those traits didn't match anymore - it's hard to put the 'need to be needed' along with a slutty personality and to have consistence. if the H-W friendship moves to healthier territory Wilson will feel more comfortable sharing a bit about his family. I believe that too. I do think that Wilson is very closed off, but he shows signs, from time to time, to want to talk about himself. But it's hard to be open when you have a friend like House. Wilson is used to be low-profile to avoid House's barbs and accusations (and even so, he fails!). His secrecy is also a self-protective action. Aside from Amber, we've never heard him tell anyone that he loves them That's not fair! For who he would say that? We never met Julie, Bonnie was an ex-wife, Grace was a secret (we never saw the two of them together as a couple) and if he says that to House... well, the mockery would be astonishing... :wink: