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swatkatSome smart things people have been saying about a particular thing I could not make any sense of in 'A House Divided':
vitawash24:
But was House trying to kill Chase? Or was he blaming himself for something no normal, rational human being would ever actually put together? We've all talked about how it's absurd for Karamel to still be stripping, still use the same body butter, know for sure that Chase would do a body shot, etc. It isn't rational for House to want to kill Chase and it's even more irrational for House to think that's what he wanted to do, much less for the reason implied. But since hallucinations and delusions aren't noted for their rationality, that's not surprising. (Unless, of course, my last hotline caller's neighbor really was a witch trying to poison her thoughts through the wall.)
The fact is, House tried to mess with Wilson/Amber, and then by Living the Dream, had backed off of anything more than a joke when he realized Wilson was genuinely happy. He tried to break up Stacy and Mark, and then gave up and sent her back when he realized he would never be what she wanted and needed. House made it so Foreman and Thirteen could continue to work together well. Cameron and Chase might well have stayed broken up if House hadn't told her to go and talk to Chase at the end of Saviors, and when House realizes that Chase was hurt at the bachelor party, his instinctive reaction is to be openly concerned about that - not even burying it in a joke. What fauxAmber says doesn't really match up with everything House does, and the fact that House is convinced that he can only be valued for his diagnostic skill doesn't match up with how many people genuinely care about him.
...
vitawash24:
Oh, I agree. But FauxAmber had spent the entire episode proving her worth as valuable to House's rational thought process - she knows what he knows, she can help him work towards diagnoses. So in the end when she makes a suggestion, House, always an evidence-seeker and a scientist, accepts the word of an irrational being, just as she's been priming him to do all along. (Especially when the rational option for anyone who's ever read a mystery - wanting Cameron for himself - doesn't work for him.)
maya:
I do think that House distrusts happiness but more for himself than anyone else. And when it comes right down to it, I don’t think he would ever wish that kind of harm to come to Chase. Or anyone else, for that matter.
What the bath tub scene told me is that deep down, he has doubts about just how good a human being he is. And I think that doubt has substantial roots in the guilt he feels about his role in Amber’s death. Yes, his rational side knows that the chain of events starting from his drunken call to Wilson and ending in her death on the bus is a weak one. But he can’t get over the fact that he did start out by resenting her presence in Wilson’s life and that he behaved in a stubborn and childish way when he refused her ride when she came to pick him up from the bar. The writers brilliantly revisited the theme of House reading too much meaning into a semi-random set of coincidences with the Chase incident. Like in Amber’s case, he starts wondering if there’s some reason he resents Chase and wants to kill him. I don’t think he resents Chase and I don’t think he wanted to kill him.
I think the other aspect to all of this relates to the idea that House sees a bit of himself in Chase and Kutner. Especially Kutner, I think, because he was always passionate about the medicine, solved so many cases, defied the rules and had hobbies outside work that he was passionate about. But Kutner killed himself despite all this and despite the fact that he seemed to have many friends. So to House, Kutner represents the idea that no matter how much he loves his job and his music and his monster trucks and no matter how hard he tries to make changes in his personal and emotional life, there is still no hope for him. On the other hand, Chase has made his professional and personal life come together over the years despite all the issues he had when he first joined House’s team. House has been a witness to this growth and so Chase gives House a reason for feeling hopeful and positive, for holding on and striving for change. In that sense, House’s fear that he somehow wanted to kill Chase may also have been his fear that he will end up sabotaging his own chance at any kind of happiness and kill all hope.
Just trying to make sense of things before the new episode.
vitawash24: But was House trying to kill Chase? Or was he blaming himself for something no normal, rational human being would ever actually put together? We've all talked about how it's absurd for Karamel to still be stripping, still use the same body butter, know for sure that Chase would do a body shot, etc. It isn't rational for House to want to kill Chase and it's even more irrational for House to think that's what he wanted to do, much less for the reason implied. But since hallucinations and delusions aren't noted for their rationality, that's not surprising. (Unless, of course, my last hotline caller's neighbor really was a witch trying to poison her thoughts through the wall.)
The fact is, House tried to mess with Wilson/Amber, and then by Living the Dream, had backed off of anything more than a joke when he realized Wilson was genuinely happy. He tried to break up Stacy and Mark, and then gave up and sent her back when he realized he would never be what she wanted and needed. House made it so Foreman and Thirteen could continue to work together well. Cameron and Chase might well have stayed broken up if House hadn't told her to go and talk to Chase at the end of Saviors, and when House realizes that Chase was hurt at the bachelor party, his instinctive reaction is to be openly concerned about that - not even burying it in a joke. What fauxAmber says doesn't really match up with everything House does, and the fact that House is convinced that he can only be valued for his diagnostic skill doesn't match up with how many people genuinely care about him.
...
vitawash24:Oh, I agree. But FauxAmber had spent the entire episode proving her worth as valuable to House's rational thought process - she knows what he knows, she can help him work towards diagnoses. So in the end when she makes a suggestion, House, always an evidence-seeker and a scientist, accepts the word of an irrational being, just as she's been priming him to do all along. (Especially when the rational option for anyone who's ever read a mystery - wanting Cameron for himself - doesn't work for him.)
maya:
I do think that House distrusts happiness but more for himself than anyone else. And when it comes right down to it, I don’t think he would ever wish that kind of harm to come to Chase. Or anyone else, for that matter.
What the bath tub scene told me is that deep down, he has doubts about just how good a human being he is. And I think that doubt has substantial roots in the guilt he feels about his role in Amber’s death. Yes, his rational side knows that the chain of events starting from his drunken call to Wilson and ending in her death on the bus is a weak one. But he can’t get over the fact that he did start out by resenting her presence in Wilson’s life and that he behaved in a stubborn and childish way when he refused her ride when she came to pick him up from the bar. The writers brilliantly revisited the theme of House reading too much meaning into a semi-random set of coincidences with the Chase incident. Like in Amber’s case, he starts wondering if there’s some reason he resents Chase and wants to kill him. I don’t think he resents Chase and I don’t think he wanted to kill him.
I think the other aspect to all of this relates to the idea that House sees a bit of himself in Chase and Kutner. Especially Kutner, I think, because he was always passionate about the medicine, solved so many cases, defied the rules and had hobbies outside work that he was passionate about. But Kutner killed himself despite all this and despite the fact that he seemed to have many friends. So to House, Kutner represents the idea that no matter how much he loves his job and his music and his monster trucks and no matter how hard he tries to make changes in his personal and emotional life, there is still no hope for him. On the other hand, Chase has made his professional and personal life come together over the years despite all the issues he had when he first joined House’s team. House has been a witness to this growth and so Chase gives House a reason for feeling hopeful and positive, for holding on and striving for change. In that sense, House’s fear that he somehow wanted to kill Chase may also have been his fear that he will end up sabotaging his own chance at any kind of happiness and kill all hope.
Just trying to make sense of things before the new episode.
