Actually, I'm pretty sure the first implication that House and Cuddy had history came before Cameron's date, when Vogler asked if they'd had a fling. (IIRC, she pointed out that it was not an acceptable question, but neither confirmed nor denied.)

I couldn't agree more, Namaste. Vogler: Are you sleeping with House? Cuddy: What? No. Vogler: But you did. Right? A long time ago? Cuddy: That's an incredibly inappropriate question. Vogler: If your judgment is compromised by a prior or current relationship, that is my business. Cuddy: I respect him. That is all you need to know. Pretty sure that's the dialogue. Not that I'm obsessed or anything.

namaste wrote: Actually, I'm pretty sure the first implication that House and Cuddy had history came before Cameron's date, when Vogler asked if they'd had a fling. (IIRC, she pointed out that it was not an acceptable question, but neither confirmed nor denied.) Yes, the careful ambiguity in the way that Cuddy answered Vogler's blunt question immediately made me think that TPTB had a longer term strategy in mind for the House/Cuddy relationship. I can remember feeling in seasons 1 and 2 that they were somehow holding Cuddy back for something big, since it seemed impossible that such an alluring and smart woman would remain celibate. Although the show rightly doesn't focus on it, in the background we have seen Cuddy's character unfolding over the years just the way House's has been peeled back. The one-dimensional stock bad-ass boss figure of season one has gradually been revealed to be a person with lots of layers, some prickly or unsettling, some endearing or startling, some gratingly tough, some tender.

I believe the Cameron/Cuddy conversation about House came before either Vogler or the date with Cameron. I could be wrong. You mean the Cameron/Cuddy conversation in Humpty Dumpty? That took place in S2. Vogler was early/mid S1.

I always thought that Cuddy is kind of enjoying her employees thinking she has a special connection with House. She never denied a former relation (to Vogler she just said she wasn't actually sleeping with House, to Cameron she deflected, to Chase she did not answer). And yet she has been known to lie on other subjects. I think somehow she didnt want to deny, because even if it was not true, it could become true. And because people wondering how she deals with him probably add to her authoritative image. Well, at least until 5 to 9.

Back to "Help Me" one more time, because that well never runs dry, as House would say. I am struck so much by the imagery of that final scene, the use of light, the confined space, the hushed tones. So I am going out on a bit of a limb and say that what we saw was a version of a marriage scene for House and Cuddy. The doorway of the bathroom forms a sheltering arch over them, much like in a church or the chuppah of a Jewish ceremony. The light source seems to glow from above the couple, indirectly outlining them in silhouette and creating an otherworldly ambiance for the scene. House is already in place and Cuddy moves to him by proceeding down the hallway like a bride approaching her waiting groom. Once Cuddy has taken her place in front of House, the primary audience view point remains in the hallway as we witness the ceremony, with Cuddy on the left and House on the right of our screen, as they would be in a traditional church wedding. House is dressed in a dark, stiff, heavy ensemble which highlights his face and hands, while adding to the impression of his weight and substance. He is crusted with dust and blood. In ethereal opposition, Cuddy is clothed in highly contrasting attire of palest pink scrubs which are light-weight and notable for all their folds and creases. Her arms, throat, and upper chest are exposed. She seems clean, bare, and unblemished. Not quite tuxedo and white gown, but a visual approximation, I think. Their vows are hardly traditional, of course. But there is a sense of an exchange of pledges nonetheless. Foresaking all others: Cuddy renounces her past affair with Lucas; House admits his shortcomings, including his addiction, throwing aside the pills in a dramatic act of renunciation. In sickness and in health: Cuddy acknowledges his weaknesses and voices her own misgivings. By giving her his hand and silently requesting her help, House vows to try to make their new life work. To love and to cherish from this day forward: By accepting his passionate but non-sexual kiss, Cuddy agrees to try too. The repeated extreme close-ups of their faces and wonderfully expressive eyes emphasize the spiritual rather than carnal nature of this moment. Cuddy's saying "I think we are O.K." when House throws aside the pills recalls her question at the end of last season's "Both Sides Now:" Are you O.K.? The previous time he said, No, I'm not O.K. Now all he has to say is "Yeah" to complete their transition. At the end of the ceremony, as the camera pans downward to emphasize that the audience is acting as witness, we understand their clasped hands as signifying their new union of mind, body, and spirit. If this is their unconventional wedding ceremony, it would make sense that season 7 start with a quirky honeymoon, House-style. To throw out an entirely different set of images, some have noted that the crane collapse site resembled a vision of Hell that House descends into in his search for insight and salvation. "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." So could Cuddy be the Beatrice who leads House's Dante through Purgatory and into Paradise?

Wow, blacktop! That's quite a limb but I can see others crawling out to join you. Terrific use of the grey matter :)

Blacktop, the way you can see symbols in that scene is amazing. I just saw a bathroom....But it is really convincing. And it would go well with the kind of honeymoon first epi to come. And since House believes in monogamy, as we've been told, maybe then, if this is an engagement, we should hope for long term! (again, I dont' care if we don't get to see much of it after a short time, I just want to know it happens. It is probably better if we are not seeing them as the best part of the show).

Wow...yeah. I hope, as you imply, that this scene indicates a statement of commitment, rather than "let's try it". I remember reading a fan fic set right after this scene in which Cuddy repeated that she loves him, and that it is a statement, not a question, and doesn't require an answer. Why don't we see how this plays out - I hope that we will all see something quite unique and amazing.

From the Spoiler discussion thread: We don't know at what point Lucas and Cuddy started their relationship, but I remember feeling very sorry for her at the beginning of season 6 when House and the oriental lady from his cooking class pretty much set her up for humiliation when she was telling him that she'd miss him They didn't set her up, House didn't want the oriental lady to reveal that she understands english, she did this on her own. And what's the big harm in her listening in on the House/Cuddy conversation? Sure, it was personal, but she doesn't know Cuddy, and will never see her again. Sure, House could have asked the lady to leave the room or he could have talked with Cuddy somewhere else, but imo the fact that he didn't was pretty significant to illustrate his emotional state. He didn't mean to humiliate Cuddy, he wanted to protect himself! He was in a very awkward situation, seeing Cuddy must be pretty painful, and I'm sure that he was afraid to be alone with Cuddy, because then things would have been much more intimate and the conversation could have become much deeper and more personal, and that's the last thing he wanted. I think he wanted a clean cut from his old life and not dig everything up again, so he was candid but reserved with Cuddy, and kept the whole "talking about it" short and precise. House also demeaned her again in the scene when Cuddy told him he could practice again, and he did this in front of the fellows. Which scene are you talking about? I tried to find it, but I don't recall anything like this. No wonder she ran away from House in Known Unknowns. She didn't run away from him because he repeatedly humiliated her, she obviously enjoyed his company during the dance, and she actually ran away because she enjoyed it too much and because it became too meaningful and House was too invested, whereas she was already in a relationship with Lucas.

Bea, I guess we just see things differently. That's what this is all about, isn't it? Yes, she will never see the oriental lady again, but she'll see House, won't she? He embarrassed her, and to what purpose? If he wanted to protect himself there were better ways to do it. The other scene I'm talking about is in a different episode when she comes into his office to tell him that he has his license back. The fellows were there too. I can't recall what he said (haven't seen the episode in a long time) I just remember cringing at what was probably another sexual innuendo. Have to see this again. I agree, she didn't run away from him because of his humiliation of her. Rather, out of the blue, he tells her it wasn't just a one night stand to him so long ago. So here she is, already in a relationship with Lucas, and suddenly everything she thought was true about her long ago relationship with House, was NOT true. After he got out of Mayfield, he pretty much treated her like crap or with indifference, and suddenly he reveals this? I'd run too. 20+ years is a long time to keep THAT a secret!