House 6x22 "Help Me" - Discussion and Spoilers

[Trekker4747]

It was excellent, very moving. House has been so detached and uncaring for so long that to see him actually making a connection and caring about a patient was very potent and touching. This is the breakthrough we've been awaiting for six years. Okay, it seems it almost fell apart when Hannah died, but I didn't really see it that way. It hurt him so much because he genuinely cared, and that's a huge step forward for him. And maybe it finally made him realize that it's worth the risk of pain to connect to another human being rather than retreating into a bottle of one sort or another. Emotional pain is preferable to physical pain, because it has meaning. Because it's a connection to someone.

House has has his moments over the years of "connections" with patients. There was a patient in S1 he went to "ends" for (lied to the transplant board) and there was the rape-victim he met when forced to work in clinic all day following his trial with Tritter. But, this patient -probably because of her leg- he seemed to really connect with and maybe even showed us why he tries not to care, doesn't visit patients. Hell, his "carring" is what gimped his ambition when trying to cure Forman, and what made him so reluctant to hire a new team.

But this episode was great, Laurie should submit it for his next Emmy Nom. He was great in this episode, I mean my heart really felt for him when he told POTW that he wished he had gone with amputation instead of saving his leg. And, man, his outburst with Forman at the end... Man.

Great, great episode.

 

[Christopher]

I don't think they'd redo the hallucination thing -- they already did that a year ago.

Anyway, I forgot to mention there was one other breakthrough that's been a long time coming; since we didn't get the usual main-title sequence, we finally got an episode without Jennifer Morrison's name in the credits. (Not counting the 2-part season premiere that lacked most of the regular cast.)

 

[Trekker4747]

Good final scene. Assuming in the first five minutes of next season they don't undo it by saying Cuddy was acting like that just to stop House from going back to drugs. I don't think they will.

I was gripped by the episode, but thought the final three minutes or so sent it completely off the rails. I did a "Wot?" House going back on the Vicodin would have made more sense (and developed more logically from the preceding fifty minutes). I'm still wot.

I actually found myself wondering if the final scene was a drug induced hallucination. It just seemed off, Cuddy conveniently showing up when she did, confessing her love, when hours before she was adamant about not loving him.

Color me suspicious.

If they play the "hallucination" card again, I'll call the biggest bullshit card into play ever. They pulled that on us for the season finale last-year, pulling it again this year would just be a smack in the fans' face. I think the bit with House wondering if its a hallucination or not, looking at the vic', and then tossing it aside was the way of telling the audience that "this is real."

Now, it's just a matter of how permanent this will be, how well the two's relationship can work because, let's face it, House is still an ass.

 

[Joe Washington]

I have no doubt that a relationship between House and Cuddy won't be easy. House has his share of problems. He admits this and Cuddy knows this all too well but, like she said, she can't help herself from loving the bastard and seems like she's done denying it or lying about it to herself or others. I also can see this relationship causing problems for them at work with other doctors suspecting her approval of House's radical procedures, thinking it may be motivated by the fact they are sleeping with each other.

I'm strongly aganist the possibility that this is a hallucination since House already asked the question and let go of the Vicodin which may have caused something like that. I can't wait to see next season after this. I haven't felt this happy for a pairing since Jim and Pam finally got together at the end of Season 3 of the Office.

 

[sidious618]

It was a really good finale. I'm glad they went with the happy ending instead of Hosue back on vicodin which would be a tad predictable. This season was a really mixed bag. The premiere was mind-blowingly amazing but after that things went down and the middle of this season was a snooze fest. It came up again with these past four episodes or so but I think this is a show that would benefit from shorter seasons.

 

[Joe Washington]

Me too.

 

[timmay2411]

Great picture on it and gave the episode an "intimate" feel to it.

That's exactly what it did. If you compare this episode to the usual, you'll notice it had a much shallower depth of field. There was very little leeway in it's focus, creating deeper (pun not intended) intimacy. There were a few shots where I feel it was a little too shallow...at the beginning in Cuddy's office, it seemed impossible to keep them both in focus. But overall it was used to great effect and was truly impressive for a $3000 camera.

$2400

It was the 5D MK II (which I own). They had filmed a previous scene in an earlier episode with it, and next season are migrating fully to this awesome camera.

 

[gh4chiefs]

Good final scene. Assuming in the first five minutes of next season they don't undo it by saying Cuddy was acting like that just to stop House from going back to drugs. I don't think they will.

I was gripped by the episode, but thought the final three minutes or so sent it completely off the rails. I did a "Wot?" House going back on the Vicodin would have made more sense (and developed more logically from the preceding fifty minutes). I'm still wot.

I actually found myself wondering if the final scene was a drug induced hallucination. It just seemed off, Cuddy conveniently showing up when she did, confessing her love, when hours before she was adamant about not loving him.

Color me suspicious.

If they play the "hallucination" card again, I'll call the biggest bullshit card into play ever. They pulled that on us for the season finale last-year, pulling it again this year would just be a smack in the fans' face. I think the bit with House wondering if its a hallucination or not, looking at the vic', and then tossing it aside was the way of telling the audience that "this is real."

I can't say I disagree with you, but I just found Cuddy's timing and the way events went down as suspicious and contrived and I generally thought the writers of House were a little better than that. BUT you're probably right, it's probably not that, but that was the thought that struck me as I watched that play out.

The other thought I had, assuming it's "real," is that it would have been a decent way to end the series all together.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

I think it's more powerful him giving up the Vicodin -which has been shown to us time and time again over the years to be more for emotional pain and distraction than his physical pain- for Cuddy.

They played the "leg card" very well in this episode too.

Man, this was a great, great episode.

Agreed on every point.

Does anyone know how many more seasons they are contracted for? I could definitely see next season focusing on House and Cuddy's struggling relationship and then it being the final season (not that i want that).

Oh and the amputation scene was sooo gut wrenching. I squirmed and held onto my legs like crazy.

OH, and someone asked about 13. I got the impression it's her Huntingtons that has taken a turn for the worse.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Definitely NOT a hallucination:

http://www.tvfanatic.com/2010/05/house-and-cuddy-to-absolutely-be-in-a-relationship-producer-says/

 

[Saul]

Great episode. Loved how they played the leg thing with House, beautifully shot, almost like a movie with the music too. Don't care about 13.
Expected an unhappy ending with House hitting the pills again. The ending we got just seems too happy for a guy like him.

 

[Trekker4747]

I want an episode where House has to watch the baby overnight for Cuddy. The comedic potential of that alone...

 

[Christopher]

Expected an unhappy ending with House hitting the pills again. The ending we got just seems too happy for a guy like him.

But he earned it. He reached out, he connected with Hannah, he really cared about a patient and acted selflessly, and he made a breakthrough confession about how screwed up he'd become because of his leg. He became more human than he's let himself be for six years. After that, I think it's appropriate for the storytellers to let him have a karmic reward.

 

[gh4chiefs]

Definitely NOT a hallucination:

http://www.tvfanatic.com/2010/05/house-and-cuddy-to-absolutely-be-in-a-relationship-producer-says/

Well that's good to know. And it cements the idea in my head that should have been the series finale even more.

 

[Trekker4747]

Definitely NOT a hallucination:

http://www.tvfanatic.com/2010/05/house-and-cuddy-to-absolutely-be-in-a-relationship-producer-says/

Well that's good to know. And it cements the idea in my head that should have been the series finale even more.

Nah, I hate stuff like that. You invest in a show, into characters, and then in the final episode they finally get happiness/hook up and the viewers don't get the benifit of seeing the relationship? Nuts to that!

This is a drama series and as such over time the characters and conditions should change. It'd be rip-off to finally get "Huddy" but never seen the "fun" it'd bring. If these writers "do it right" it could be a very interesting arc to go through next season.

I just hope next season is a little better in the medical-mystery department, I think that's where this season lacked the most.

 

[T'Baio]

I think even if I was hugely interested in Cuddy as a character, I'd hate the whole idea simply because of the term "Huddy."

 

[Christopher]

^Would you prefer "Couse?"

 

[Jax]

Why do I think 13 is going to die next season maybe that could be the last scene of the 7th season. I do wonder with FOX keeping the show until 8 seasons (current contract) what they can do for that amount of time am kind of hoping they wrap it up next season or at least make the 8th year only 13 episodes.

 

[Trekker4747]

I think 8, full, seasons would be a good-run for this show.

 

[Christopher]

Why do I think 13 is going to die next season maybe that could be the last scene of the 7th season. I do wonder with FOX keeping the show until 8 seasons (current contract) what they can do for that amount of time am kind of hoping they wrap it up next season or at least make the 8th year only 13 episodes.

Uhh, I think you're confusing actor contracts with show renewals. Actors are put under contract for multiple seasons at a time, but except in very rare cases a show is only renewed one season at a time. As far as I can tell, the show's only been renewed for a seventh season for now. Contracting the actors for two more seasons doesn't guarantee the show will have that many seasons; it just means that if the show does get an eighth season, the actors' terms for it will already have been agreed upon.