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swatkatIn Which I Explain My Issues With House Does McMurphy (Sort Of):
Lydia: All I know is that I was happy five minutes ago, and now I'm not. How's that better?
I confess, I was very iffy about this episode to begin with. Let me explain. I don't watch this show for my favourite character. I don't watch this show for my favourite ship(s). I am incredibly invested in House's journey, and I was very glad that the show made the choice to deal with his problems than handwaving them away, even if it meant moving away from the show's traditional setting. But that said, I wasn't really aware of how much I love the PPTH setting and the ensemble cast until I realised that there would an episode without them. And it was incredibly unsettling for me as a viewer, even when the episode was at its best. I honestly wish I could have warmed up to the setting some more, because the two parter feels like one of those episodes that require rewatching to really get all the nuances, and… I'm not sure I want to rewatch. *facepalm*
This is not to say I didn't enjoy the episode, because I did, despite the choppiness of the second half. I loved the way it was shot, I enjoyed most of the new characters, especially Dr. Nolan and Alvie, I loved House making in effort, I loved the pretty, aesthetically shot sex, I loved Wilson's little cameo, and I loved the way it sets up the rest of the season. I still have issues, though, issues I am not able to articulate very well. Most of the issues have to do with House, Lydia and things about ethics and enabling and what the episode seemed to be telling us about the pursuit of happiness and… stuff. As I said, I'm not really able to articulate this very well.
I was annoyed by the Cocktail Party Plot Device, as well as the Sex in a Public Place Plot Device—which, subsequently, is not an issue at all. I do get the Doylist reasons for such a set-up: sex hallucination, madness, followed by cathartic real sex, parallels, affirmation of life, etc. But I had difficulty buying this part, despite some fabulous performances by HL, AB and Franka Potente. I am even willing to fanwank the cocktail therapy as a part of Nolan's unorthodox treatment, which is what makes him good for House (the talent show was just cringeworthy). But then there is more.
I did enjoy the way House and Lydia's relationship progressed. FP was fabulous, and it's very much in the tradition of House connecting with people who don't know his everyday self. But I felt the show did a serious disservice to the actor's performance by failing to flesh her character out and handwaving away the fact that he was a patient and she was not. And while I buy that she was emotionally vulnerable at that precise moment, leading to the hurt/comfort sex, I'm not comfortable with how the show did not give us her motivations, did not bring up the issue of House being a patient in the facility, did not give us much except scattered insights such as Lydia's comment about being happy in the moment and House's actions re. Freedom Master being irresponsible and misguided and yet NICE, as though somehow the nice weighs out the irresponsible and misguided and therefore justifies Lydia giving House the car keys and being indirectly implicated in Freedom Master's situation. Wilson refusing to enable House; House working out his issues; Alvie enabling House enabling Freedom Master, Lydia enabling House, Nolan not/enabling House; the odd parallels between Lydia and her sister-in-law and House and Wilson/Cuddy – I feel like that there are things here that are interesting and possibly foreshadowing and demand a far more complex response than what I'm capable of at this moment. And I feel like I should rewatch, but I know I'm not going to. Not right now, anyway.
Which is why 6.03 made me so unequivocally happy, because the setting was once again familiar and the ensemble was back, and then the show was funny and cute and had continuity and stuff. Even the obligatory 'lesbians are there to entertain heterosexual men' and 'let us insert yet another tasteless hooker joke, this time in a foreign language and spoken by a woman' moments, framing two of my favourite scenes in the episode, could not ruin my enjoyment. But more on that in the next post.
Lydia: All I know is that I was happy five minutes ago, and now I'm not. How's that better?
I confess, I was very iffy about this episode to begin with. Let me explain. I don't watch this show for my favourite character. I don't watch this show for my favourite ship(s). I am incredibly invested in House's journey, and I was very glad that the show made the choice to deal with his problems than handwaving them away, even if it meant moving away from the show's traditional setting. But that said, I wasn't really aware of how much I love the PPTH setting and the ensemble cast until I realised that there would an episode without them. And it was incredibly unsettling for me as a viewer, even when the episode was at its best. I honestly wish I could have warmed up to the setting some more, because the two parter feels like one of those episodes that require rewatching to really get all the nuances, and… I'm not sure I want to rewatch. *facepalm*
This is not to say I didn't enjoy the episode, because I did, despite the choppiness of the second half. I loved the way it was shot, I enjoyed most of the new characters, especially Dr. Nolan and Alvie, I loved House making in effort, I loved the pretty, aesthetically shot sex, I loved Wilson's little cameo, and I loved the way it sets up the rest of the season. I still have issues, though, issues I am not able to articulate very well. Most of the issues have to do with House, Lydia and things about ethics and enabling and what the episode seemed to be telling us about the pursuit of happiness and… stuff. As I said, I'm not really able to articulate this very well.
I was annoyed by the Cocktail Party Plot Device, as well as the Sex in a Public Place Plot Device—which, subsequently, is not an issue at all. I do get the Doylist reasons for such a set-up: sex hallucination, madness, followed by cathartic real sex, parallels, affirmation of life, etc. But I had difficulty buying this part, despite some fabulous performances by HL, AB and Franka Potente. I am even willing to fanwank the cocktail therapy as a part of Nolan's unorthodox treatment, which is what makes him good for House (the talent show was just cringeworthy). But then there is more.
I did enjoy the way House and Lydia's relationship progressed. FP was fabulous, and it's very much in the tradition of House connecting with people who don't know his everyday self. But I felt the show did a serious disservice to the actor's performance by failing to flesh her character out and handwaving away the fact that he was a patient and she was not. And while I buy that she was emotionally vulnerable at that precise moment, leading to the hurt/comfort sex, I'm not comfortable with how the show did not give us her motivations, did not bring up the issue of House being a patient in the facility, did not give us much except scattered insights such as Lydia's comment about being happy in the moment and House's actions re. Freedom Master being irresponsible and misguided and yet NICE, as though somehow the nice weighs out the irresponsible and misguided and therefore justifies Lydia giving House the car keys and being indirectly implicated in Freedom Master's situation. Wilson refusing to enable House; House working out his issues; Alvie enabling House enabling Freedom Master, Lydia enabling House, Nolan not/enabling House; the odd parallels between Lydia and her sister-in-law and House and Wilson/Cuddy – I feel like that there are things here that are interesting and possibly foreshadowing and demand a far more complex response than what I'm capable of at this moment. And I feel like I should rewatch, but I know I'm not going to. Not right now, anyway.
Which is why 6.03 made me so unequivocally happy, because the setting was once again familiar and the ensemble was back, and then the show was funny and cute and had continuity and stuff. Even the obligatory 'lesbians are there to entertain heterosexual men' and 'let us insert yet another tasteless hooker joke, this time in a foreign language and spoken by a woman' moments, framing two of my favourite scenes in the episode, could not ruin my enjoyment. But more on that in the next post.
