the obvious
Nov. 13th, 2008 09:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swatkatI did a little 'Hallelujah!' dance. It wasn't pretty, but it certainly was appropriate. One might say the occasion demanded it.
we didn't deny the obvious (but we didn't entirely accept it either):
There's that scene at the end of 'Honeymoon', where House tries to take a steady step without his cane: Stacy has gone back with Mark, Mick Jagger is singing in the background and House takes a step forward, and doubles over. That scene sealed my 'House is my darling w00bie asshat and I don't care what anyone else says' sentiments, and I can never watch that scene without cringing. Like our POTW here, House has always been what he is—bitter and misanthropic; miserable (conversation with POTW in 'Not Cancer'—it's not just her eye, and it's not just his leg)—but with Stacy, at least, he wanted once in a while to go out, face the world (again, conversation with Lucas in 'Not Cancer'—a friend is someone who allows you not to sit in the room by yourself). But here's the thing about this season—dying has changed everything (Amber, his father); House is still a bitter misanthrope, but the world is not as ugly as he's always claimed it is:
'And now… things will be… beautiful?'
'Things will be what they are.'
Allow me to quote myself from my post-'Not Cancer' post: "I squeed, because of course I had a flashback to 'Humpty Dumpty' and the 'you see things as they are and you see things as they should be; you don't see the giant gaping chasm between' speech, and the difference here is in House's admission that the world is not as ugly as he's always claimed it is. That's why he got off the bus." The last scene of this episode gave me flashbacks of that scene in 'Honeymoon' (he can't get what he wants; he can't have his leg—a chance at a happier life with Stacy—back), with a difference: he still won't try to get what he needs because he's a just a big scaredy cat, like we've always known, but at least he walked out of his house and went there. He WENT there. I cannot begin to tell you how ridiculously proud I have been of House this season (wait, I already have—in every frakking post-episode post *g*), because for once in his life he has been holding true to what he told Amber in that bus: that he doesn't want to be miserable, that he doesn't want to be lonely, that he doesn't want Wilson to hate him. And he has been reaching out to people, and that's so incredibly awesome, coming from Dr. Greg 'I'm better off alone' House.
we said hello to it each morning in the foyer:
And, of course, there's the fact that he reached out to Cuddy (reached out so far, in fact, that his tongue fell into her mouth), and I cannot begin to tell you how happy that makes me, because I love them SO MUCH and I've waited for this since… Season 2. 'Humpty Dumpty'. When House tried to comfort her in his oblique backhanded way and I nearly fell out of my chair in joy, screaming, 'Yess! I knew it! They care about each other and have a history and are FRIENDS!' I don't care if House and Cuddy never kiss again, because Cuddy actually called him a 'friend' in this episode. When have they ever admitted out loud that they're friends?
It goes without saying that I loved Cuddy in this episode, cool and in control and all grown-up (UNLIKE some other people she kissed the previous night) and snarky to the boot, but what I loved even more? Was how she was completely in control of herself the night after she lost the one thing she so desperately wanted, the one thing she thought would make her life 'perfect'. No, you cannot convince me that she really was COMPLETELY HEALED by House's magic tongue, and this has nothing to do with how hard Cuddy tries to convince herself that she is a sane and rational and healthy being. You can't. What is she doing all throughout this episode? Rationalizing. Doing the adult thing. Not thinking about kissing House at all, no way (what do you mean she just went into a one minute monologue about why she isn't thinking about it? she's not in denial!). What is she doing at the end of this episode? Working. AT HOME. At that ungodly hour. Because House is right and she's given up, and she's compensating again with the only thing that works for her, the only thing that has never failed her: her work. She will be more careful with her tongue in the future. She'll lock herself up in her house and her office and say that she's happy. Which, of course, does not answer the question from the previous episode: what does she need from House?
I'm seeing a lot of comparisons between House/Stacy and House/Cuddy in fandom after the previous episode, and I don't think it quite works that way, because what House had with Stacy was different. And Stacy was able to walk away—and as of now, after being pushed away by House the second time, stay away. The more obvious comparison for House/Cuddy, to me, is with House/Wilson, because Cuddy, like Wilson, can't (won't) walk away. And there's a co-dependence there that's not always very obvious, because Cuddy and House do not share any of the clear-cut 'best friends' things that House and Wilson do. They don't hang out together, they don't feel the need to blab their secrets to each other, and yet, when it comes to something like adopting a child, she desperately wants his approval ('Are… you gonna congratulate me?' and her FACE when it is clear that he won't). Cuddy keeps herself very well together, and it's only in episodes like 5.06 does her dependence on House become very obvious. He's her friend, and while he may be the long-distance runner of neediness, she isn't very far behind, either: that's one of the reasons why she can't, like Wilson, walk away and stay away. It's kind of pathetic, really, and I ♥ it.
we patted its little head as it made a mess in the backyard:
Meanwhile, how awesome were Wilson and Cuddy in this episode? Every sentence was a gem, and that little kiss in the end, I just… *flails* I love their grown-up friendship. I've wanted them to be better friends since, oh, the end of S2, and I'm so happy that it's grown into THIS, this thing where they can have a mature conversation about House, where she can PWN his pathetic attempt at being manipulative and then kiss him on his cheek.
What blew me away about the House/Wilson/Cuddy dynamics in this episode, however, was Wilson's vehemence about the need to grab at any opportunity to be happy. There's something more to their usual highschool OT3ness of 'Act Your Age', and that's because Amber's death has changed everything. House kissed Cuddy and he can't ignore it, can't take it back, and Wilson—loss has made him more aware of the need to grab at happiness when it comes your way, more vehement about it. That's why he wouldn't stay away—that, and the fact that there is zero concept of personal boundaries when it comes to the three of them. And yes, it is vicarious living—there's a reason why we call these people co-dependent and why the only kind of relationship that will work for House in canon is a platonic version of the OT3.
Meanwhile, more pining, please.
Not that I will complain if House and Cuddy try something and then crash and burn…
Etc:
* 'And then we don't speak for two months' – Cuddy clearly referred to House and Wilson's break-up here. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. ♥
* Meanwhile, Cameron was AWESOME in this episode. It's good to see her back, being all grown-up—there's a clear hierarchy between the Ducklings and the D2 (as there should be), and I loved that at play in the various scenes of the episode. I loved that she invoked the poor dead husband AND the infarction AND was firm before insecure!Chase while acknowledging that she still has commitment issues. But if Cameron has commitment issues, Chase has trust issues, and I'm glad he FINALLY spoke about it after one and a half years. Foreman had little to do in the episode, but aww, it was wonderful to see him fall in step with Cameron again, and, oh, that 'you know him' that Cameron told Foreman in the differential scene! ♥
* There's still some unresolved House and Chase issues that need addressing, though.
* Wilson throwing House out is a continuation of his determination not to be an enabler after a certain point. THAT'S how it's supposed to work, and not by staying away from the person who means the world to him, and I'm glad Wilson has realised that.
* Did I mention the part where I loved Cuddy in this episode?
* And am I the only person noticing all the touching that Wilson did to House in this episode?
* AND DID YOU GUYS NOTICE THE FAKE ROMANTIC MUSIC PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND OF WILSON'S FAKE PROPOSAL SCENE? DID YOU? AND CUDDY'S FAKE 'TOUCHED' FACE, AND HER FAKE 'RROAAR' FACE… AND THE GENUINE PECK, OF COURSE. GOD I LOVE THESE PEOPLE. ♥♥♥
* 'Never leaned so far that my tongue fell into their mouth.'
* 'I don't think of House that way. I never have.' And then she fidgeted with her ear-ring, which is classic defensive Cuddy. *g*
* 'You know exactly how that would go. It would start off exciting, we'd get caught up in the novelty and the hostility and the forbidden-ness, and then we'd realise that the flirty hostility is just hostility and his inability to open up is no longer exciting it's just… frustrating… and then it's the inevitable blow-up and the recriminations and we don't talk for two months…'
'Yeah, well certainly proves that you've never thought about House that way.'
'I get your point. I will be more careful with my tongue in the future.'
And I love that Wilson played the optimist in this scene here, since Cuddy has lost much of her optimism since 'Humpty Dumpty'. I love that he's there to remind her of that.
we didn't deny the obvious (but we didn't entirely accept it either):
There's that scene at the end of 'Honeymoon', where House tries to take a steady step without his cane: Stacy has gone back with Mark, Mick Jagger is singing in the background and House takes a step forward, and doubles over. That scene sealed my 'House is my darling w00bie asshat and I don't care what anyone else says' sentiments, and I can never watch that scene without cringing. Like our POTW here, House has always been what he is—bitter and misanthropic; miserable (conversation with POTW in 'Not Cancer'—it's not just her eye, and it's not just his leg)—but with Stacy, at least, he wanted once in a while to go out, face the world (again, conversation with Lucas in 'Not Cancer'—a friend is someone who allows you not to sit in the room by yourself). But here's the thing about this season—dying has changed everything (Amber, his father); House is still a bitter misanthrope, but the world is not as ugly as he's always claimed it is:
'And now… things will be… beautiful?'
'Things will be what they are.'
Allow me to quote myself from my post-'Not Cancer' post: "I squeed, because of course I had a flashback to 'Humpty Dumpty' and the 'you see things as they are and you see things as they should be; you don't see the giant gaping chasm between' speech, and the difference here is in House's admission that the world is not as ugly as he's always claimed it is. That's why he got off the bus." The last scene of this episode gave me flashbacks of that scene in 'Honeymoon' (he can't get what he wants; he can't have his leg—a chance at a happier life with Stacy—back), with a difference: he still won't try to get what he needs because he's a just a big scaredy cat, like we've always known, but at least he walked out of his house and went there. He WENT there. I cannot begin to tell you how ridiculously proud I have been of House this season (wait, I already have—in every frakking post-episode post *g*), because for once in his life he has been holding true to what he told Amber in that bus: that he doesn't want to be miserable, that he doesn't want to be lonely, that he doesn't want Wilson to hate him. And he has been reaching out to people, and that's so incredibly awesome, coming from Dr. Greg 'I'm better off alone' House.
we said hello to it each morning in the foyer:
And, of course, there's the fact that he reached out to Cuddy (reached out so far, in fact, that his tongue fell into her mouth), and I cannot begin to tell you how happy that makes me, because I love them SO MUCH and I've waited for this since… Season 2. 'Humpty Dumpty'. When House tried to comfort her in his oblique backhanded way and I nearly fell out of my chair in joy, screaming, 'Yess! I knew it! They care about each other and have a history and are FRIENDS!' I don't care if House and Cuddy never kiss again, because Cuddy actually called him a 'friend' in this episode. When have they ever admitted out loud that they're friends?
It goes without saying that I loved Cuddy in this episode, cool and in control and all grown-up (UNLIKE some other people she kissed the previous night) and snarky to the boot, but what I loved even more? Was how she was completely in control of herself the night after she lost the one thing she so desperately wanted, the one thing she thought would make her life 'perfect'. No, you cannot convince me that she really was COMPLETELY HEALED by House's magic tongue, and this has nothing to do with how hard Cuddy tries to convince herself that she is a sane and rational and healthy being. You can't. What is she doing all throughout this episode? Rationalizing. Doing the adult thing. Not thinking about kissing House at all, no way (what do you mean she just went into a one minute monologue about why she isn't thinking about it? she's not in denial!). What is she doing at the end of this episode? Working. AT HOME. At that ungodly hour. Because House is right and she's given up, and she's compensating again with the only thing that works for her, the only thing that has never failed her: her work. She will be more careful with her tongue in the future. She'll lock herself up in her house and her office and say that she's happy. Which, of course, does not answer the question from the previous episode: what does she need from House?
I'm seeing a lot of comparisons between House/Stacy and House/Cuddy in fandom after the previous episode, and I don't think it quite works that way, because what House had with Stacy was different. And Stacy was able to walk away—and as of now, after being pushed away by House the second time, stay away. The more obvious comparison for House/Cuddy, to me, is with House/Wilson, because Cuddy, like Wilson, can't (won't) walk away. And there's a co-dependence there that's not always very obvious, because Cuddy and House do not share any of the clear-cut 'best friends' things that House and Wilson do. They don't hang out together, they don't feel the need to blab their secrets to each other, and yet, when it comes to something like adopting a child, she desperately wants his approval ('Are… you gonna congratulate me?' and her FACE when it is clear that he won't). Cuddy keeps herself very well together, and it's only in episodes like 5.06 does her dependence on House become very obvious. He's her friend, and while he may be the long-distance runner of neediness, she isn't very far behind, either: that's one of the reasons why she can't, like Wilson, walk away and stay away. It's kind of pathetic, really, and I ♥ it.
we patted its little head as it made a mess in the backyard:
Meanwhile, how awesome were Wilson and Cuddy in this episode? Every sentence was a gem, and that little kiss in the end, I just… *flails* I love their grown-up friendship. I've wanted them to be better friends since, oh, the end of S2, and I'm so happy that it's grown into THIS, this thing where they can have a mature conversation about House, where she can PWN his pathetic attempt at being manipulative and then kiss him on his cheek.
What blew me away about the House/Wilson/Cuddy dynamics in this episode, however, was Wilson's vehemence about the need to grab at any opportunity to be happy. There's something more to their usual highschool OT3ness of 'Act Your Age', and that's because Amber's death has changed everything. House kissed Cuddy and he can't ignore it, can't take it back, and Wilson—loss has made him more aware of the need to grab at happiness when it comes your way, more vehement about it. That's why he wouldn't stay away—that, and the fact that there is zero concept of personal boundaries when it comes to the three of them. And yes, it is vicarious living—there's a reason why we call these people co-dependent and why the only kind of relationship that will work for House in canon is a platonic version of the OT3.
Meanwhile, more pining, please.
Not that I will complain if House and Cuddy try something and then crash and burn…
Etc:
* 'And then we don't speak for two months' – Cuddy clearly referred to House and Wilson's break-up here. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. ♥
* Meanwhile, Cameron was AWESOME in this episode. It's good to see her back, being all grown-up—there's a clear hierarchy between the Ducklings and the D2 (as there should be), and I loved that at play in the various scenes of the episode. I loved that she invoked the poor dead husband AND the infarction AND was firm before insecure!Chase while acknowledging that she still has commitment issues. But if Cameron has commitment issues, Chase has trust issues, and I'm glad he FINALLY spoke about it after one and a half years. Foreman had little to do in the episode, but aww, it was wonderful to see him fall in step with Cameron again, and, oh, that 'you know him' that Cameron told Foreman in the differential scene! ♥
* There's still some unresolved House and Chase issues that need addressing, though.
* Wilson throwing House out is a continuation of his determination not to be an enabler after a certain point. THAT'S how it's supposed to work, and not by staying away from the person who means the world to him, and I'm glad Wilson has realised that.
* Did I mention the part where I loved Cuddy in this episode?
* And am I the only person noticing all the touching that Wilson did to House in this episode?
* AND DID YOU GUYS NOTICE THE FAKE ROMANTIC MUSIC PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND OF WILSON'S FAKE PROPOSAL SCENE? DID YOU? AND CUDDY'S FAKE 'TOUCHED' FACE, AND HER FAKE 'RROAAR' FACE… AND THE GENUINE PECK, OF COURSE. GOD I LOVE THESE PEOPLE. ♥♥♥
* 'Never leaned so far that my tongue fell into their mouth.'
* 'I don't think of House that way. I never have.' And then she fidgeted with her ear-ring, which is classic defensive Cuddy. *g*
* 'You know exactly how that would go. It would start off exciting, we'd get caught up in the novelty and the hostility and the forbidden-ness, and then we'd realise that the flirty hostility is just hostility and his inability to open up is no longer exciting it's just… frustrating… and then it's the inevitable blow-up and the recriminations and we don't talk for two months…'
'Yeah, well certainly proves that you've never thought about House that way.'
'I get your point. I will be more careful with my tongue in the future.'
And I love that Wilson played the optimist in this scene here, since Cuddy has lost much of her optimism since 'Humpty Dumpty'. I love that he's there to remind her of that.
