swatkat

+ This is the choppiest editing I've ever seen in a House episode. Ever. It was choppy to the point of being distracting, especially in the first half. The House/Wilson/Cuddy plot (with its separate Wilson plot and Cuddy plot) and the POTW-Chase&Cameron plot both deserved more space, given how weighty they were, and it's only because of consistent characterisation and a whole lot of fanservice that the episode was saved.

+ BACKSTORY. According to DE's tweets:

#First Michigan, then Hopkins. He was thrown out of both. Post-Hopkins, we draw a veil, for now.

#I personally believe that pre-Mich he bummed around the world for several yrs. One day I must tell you of his adventures among the Basques.

DISCUSS.

+ Gratuitous objectification of Cuddy in first House and Cuddy scene: DO NOT WANT. There's cleavage, and there's overkill. And I never complain about cleavage, so it was pretty bad and I don't wish to see it ever again. Just because you got away with a strip tease doesn't mean you can do whatever you want, show.

+ Slow-dancing was also gratuitous, but nice.

+ EVERYTHING ELSE: HELL YES. My brain is working very slowly at the moment, but I love the SHEER DYSFUNCTIONALITY that is locking up your boyfriend in your hotel room because House might discover.

+ House reading Wilson's paper for him, and pausing in the middle to address Wilson, oh my. ♥♥♥ Callback to Birthmarks.

+ Wilson has a very special self-destructive streak of his own, doesn't he?

+ Cameron broke my heart in this episode.

+ POTW plot made no sense whatsoever, and seriously, show, if you're suffering so much because of the procedural format? Break the mould. Make it a two-parter. Whatever. Just write better. I'm sure they were trying to say something about fangirls and fandom and possibly even Roman Polanski, but it was too incoherent for me to even care about.

+ 80s dance + Partypants = nod at Lisa E., right? And the sci-fi prequel to JM?

+ So, what *did* I enjoy in this episode? THIS: