Melon melon melon

[swatkat]

I'm a pile of mixed feelings. Incredibly mixed feelings—and please consider this a fair warning if you do not want your squee harshed—and all of them revolve around the last five minutes of the episode. All of it, before that, was pretty great, despite the contrived nature of the House-and-Cuddy Save The World Together scenario. I was very invested in Hannah's story—the parallels with House's Head were not a coincident—and was heartbroken when she died; Taub trying to be a good friend to Thirteen (FANDOM, SHUT UP) made me melt, as did Foreman trying to help House (one of these days I will have to write the Foreman as the Nightwing to House's Batman/Oracle story). Hugh Laurie was fabulous, as always. Allow me to express how I feel about the last five minutes through a couple of Cara macros (LOLCara is the new LOLCat, only more awesome):






+++ Divide By Cucumber Error. Please Reinstall Universe And Reboot +++



If I start counting the number of times I have flailed at you guys about Cuddy yelling at House in honest outrage, it'd get pretty embarrassing—have I mentioned the number of times I've rewatched Words and Deeds, just to watch Cuddy slam the files on the table and yell at House while House cowers? I have, haven't I? It's a bulletproof kink. I can't seem to help myself. So yes, the scene in the middle where Cuddy lashes out, saying incredibly hurtful things that House usually specializes in? Reader, I cheered. LE always does righteously angry Cuddy very well, and you could see that it had been bottled up for a while now—greater in magnitude, and more hurtful than Cuddy lashing out in Joy or Both Sides Now, although I'm not sure the last one really counts. Cuddy's equivalent of Wilson's bottle-throwing in Birthmarks, in a way. It's the kind of brutal honesty that only could have come after an entire season of not playing House's games and engaging him in direct, straightforward conversations—the kind of honesty that, before this season, was almost unthinkable between House and Cuddy when it came to everything but themselves. And what's really fabulous about this one is that it was not one-sided yelling on Cuddy's part—House got angry; House participated.


Cuddy: You took her side against me right after you heard of my engagement.
House: Yeah, that's me. Sucks that you're a pathetic narcissist.


There's quite a bit of projection going on here on Cuddy's part: House did not oppose her because he wanted to get back at her, but because he did not want Hannah to lose her leg—and Cuddy knows it, because she says it out loud the very next minute,


Cuddy: What're you clinging to, House? You're gonna risk her life just to save her leg? Really worked out well for you didn't it?


CONFRONTATION! ABOUT THE INFARCATION! I JUST… It has been six seasons since Three Stories, guys, and all we have seen is Cuddy's residual guilt and her enormous sense of responsibility towards House, and House playing on that guilt and responsibility. So this, culminating in House's 'it's just a leg,' is INCREDIBLE.

It makes sense that Cuddy was the one to witness House's admission, because after Stacy—who is not here—she is the person who needed to hear this the most. It's not about whether House was right that day or if Stacy and Cuddy were right—it's about what came after, and House clinging on to his leg as the reason behind everything that's wrong in his world. It's about letting go, about getting out of the bus. And for Cuddy to witness it is an absolution of sorts, for her, because the person Cuddy is hardest on is herself.


++?????++ Out of Cheese Error. Redo From Start.


Letting go, moving on, accepting responsibility, the season's themes that they forgot about post-5 to 9 and tried to resurrect in Baggage—this is precisely why I can only manage mixed feelings about the last scene, despite being rather enthusiastic about House/Cuddy, on the show or otherwise. It's impossible to be coherent about it, guys, so allow me to put it in a way that might at least make a little sense.


a conversation


Cuddy Fangirl: So basically, Cuddy is his prize for being a good boy?

Cynic: And you're surprised, why?

Inner Shipper: But, but. This has been coming for a while, and she wants it. She wants him, and she's finally in a position to admit it to herself and to him.

Cynic: What, he made her wibble by talking about her leg and that was enough for her to drop her fiancé AND her very significant reasons for keeping him at arm's length and come running to him to give him a hand?

Cuddy Fangirl: SHE IS NOT HIS PRIZE UGH

OPTIMIST: Actually, House making Cuddy wibble and moving her into doing things is nothing new, and quite in character for Cuddy. It goes all the way back to Babies and Bathwater, where he saves the baby, she wibbles, and subsequently, slays the dragon. You could trace it further back to the Pilot, where she is pretty straightforward about her desire to see humility in him. House being genuine and earnest tends to have that effect on her. House being vulnerable sends her on full-on dragonslaying mode, Words and Deeds being a prime example.

Cuddy Fangirl: That still does not excuse the fact that fifteen minutes ago, Cuddy was engaged, and a few episodes ago, Cuddy had valid reasons for wanting to not date House, LIKE HER DAUGHTER.

Cynic: Pacing, on this show? You're still surprised?

Cuddy Fangirl: Not surprised, just—where is the House/Cuddy interaction post-5 to 9 builds up to Cuddy saying she loves him? Why has she been largely absent, before being shoehorned into the plot by Nolan in the previous episode?

Cynic: Before Baggage, where has House been? Seriously?

Inner Shipper: Might I point out that she and Lucas weren't working that well to begin with?

Cuddy Fangirl: I'm not arguing with that. I'm just saying that given she said YES to him the previous day I would have liked a little more consideration on her part—just a little scene, really, it's all I ask for. She is a mature person. She has shown considerable character growth this season. Just, don't sacrifice that at the altar of House's character arc.

Cynic: Which is precisely what happened here. Yes, the show is about House and his Manpain, whatever.

OPTIMIST: I'm not really arguing on this one, but you should also remember that when Cuddy decides she wants something, she doesn't dither. She goes for it. She decided she wanted to a baby, so she did IVF; she decided she wanted to kiss House, so she went for it in LTEC (that she chose to sink to his level and communicate with him in the language of his games is a different matter altogether, and a contrast to her directness in this episode). She decided she wanted to give it a try with House, she went for it. As she said, she's not playing his games anymore.

Cynic: Now you're just fanwanking.

OPTIMIST: So what if I am?

Inner Shipper: She actually went to him. That's pretty fabulous as far as I'm concerned.

Cuddy Fangirl: I wish I could say the same.

Cynic: Given their track record of writing women in relationships, I can't say I'm excited.

OPTIMIST: Think about it this way—at least there won't be any more will they, won't they, right?

Inner Shipper: They can be okay. If the show lets them. ♥

Cuddy Fangirl: Perhaps.


*


Discuss.

*Blip* *Blip* *Blip* End of Cheese Error

Comments

[zulu]

(one of these days I will have to write the Foreman as the Nightwing to House's Batman/Oracle story)

YES PLEASE!

Hee, as for your conversation with yourself, I just went through most of those stages in my own reaction post and in my longass comment to ranrata. In short: YES. Why does Cuddy have to go to him? But she wanted to, so why is that wrong? GAH.

[swatkat]

Foreman is an excellent Nightwing! Okay, so in this universe Dick/Barbara/Bruce = Chase/Cameron/Foreman/House (in their own fashion, that is), whereas the Ducklings 2.0 are the younger members of the Batfamily (I am ENAMOURED with the image of Amber and Thirteen fighting over their respective territories and occasionally chasing each other over rooftops). Wilson and Cuddy are Alfred and Jim Gordon, although Cuddy can be a former superhero herself, who sort of found herself entangled into bureaucracy after rising higher in the organisation. House refashioned himself into this Oracle-like figure after his leg and has this complicated relationship with his original Ducklings who all grew up and developed - *gasp* - minds of their own. Chase has been growing increasingly violent and disturbed, and Foreman broke House's heart after he joined the police force, which, as far as House is concerned, is going over to the dark side. He expects Foreman to become Cuddy's minion and hang up his suit any time now. There is a lot of conflict.

I may have thought waaay to much about this. *facepalm*

Why does Cuddy have to go to him? But she wanted to, so why is that wrong? GAH.

She wanted to, she really did, and *even* with the lack of pacing and the disappearance of Lucas down *another* Plot Hole, I can appreciate that. At least she made that choice, and was honest and upfront about it - unlike, say, in LTEC (although there too she was upfront about the kissing). But, also, ugh. I believe my reaction can be summed up by a sense of 'what's a nice girl like her doing with a guy like him,' and that's a little unfortunate and unsettling, despite my general enthusiasm for House/Cuddy. I'm still... processing, I guess, and the bad writing does not help. Does not compute. Beep.

[zulu]

Dude, if you wrote such a thing? You would probably get me reading comics, I would want to know backstory that much! But even so, I can see how it works, and it makes me go all *grabby hands*.

Oh, Cuddy. It's great that she's being direct about what she wants, it's just...that's what she wants? When she knows how much trouble and emotional turmoil and quite frankly occasionally emotional abuse House can throw at her? I want her to have what she wants, but I want her to want better for herself!

[swatkat]

Dude, I owe many people - including YOU - a lot of fic before I can even *think* of writing such a thing, awesome as it would be. You don't even need to know a lot of backstory, it just maps onto the House characters really well.

When she knows how much trouble and emotional turmoil and quite frankly occasionally emotional abuse House can throw at her?

Sigh. Exactly. It's more than occasional emotional abuse that House throws at her. It was nice to see her hit back in this episode as a reminder that she can be just as mean when she wants to, but she usually does not - and there's the difference.