House: 8x11: "Nobody's Fault" - Discussion/Spoilers
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That was a great episode. Jeffrey Wright handed in a compelling performance as Dr. Cofield who made House, the team, and Foreman think about how House's process affected them. He even made me think about it and see through his perspective how House's treatment of the team has been influencing them in the wrong ways and locked them in a form of Stockholm's syndrome.
I was hoping that Cofield's ruling would give out some kind of punishment for House like getting his ankle monitor back on him or him and his team operating under strict rules and procedures to make sure they don't make the same mistake twice. But though House didn't receive a legal punishment, that doesn't mean, he didn't receive any punishment. Cofield may have declared that the incident with Chase was no one's fault but by the looks on their faces and House's outburst, the emotional consequences of the incident aren't going to stop there. A part of me thinks that one of reasons why Cofield made his ruling is to prompt a response from House, to get through his emotional defenses to the guilt he has been making an effort in concealing. It doesn't surprise me that Chase didn't accept House's apology at the end of the episode. I wonder how long this rift between House and Chase is going to last. I hope the show will commit to this emotional storyline and not let it all be neatly wrapped by the end of next episode.
The House-Chase relationship is another thing this episode made me think about. One way of viewing their relationship is a twisted father-son relationship. Chase has been seeking on and off House's approval that he never got from his own father. He sought his approval through work, pranks, and his personal life. There have been times that Chase made attempts to defy him the way a rebellious son would defy his father to prove that he can be his own man. But inevitably, Chase finds himself back to trying to make House proud of him or his abilities as a doctor or a House apprentice. I think this episode has brought that relationship to the breaking point in which a new dynamic needs to be formed between them. What that dynamic will turn out to be, I am very curious to find out. When I heard that Chase would be having difficulty walking, I had the most chilling thought: maybe Chase and House can be cane-buddies. It was chilling because Chase is only a couple of steps closer to being his surrogate father-figure and I think Chase is realizing that he doesn't want that anymore.
I was hoping that Cofield's ruling would give out some kind of punishment for House like getting his ankle monitor back on him or him and his team operating under strict rules and procedures to make sure they don't make the same mistake twice. But though House didn't receive a legal punishment, that doesn't mean, he didn't receive any punishment. Cofield may have declared that the incident with Chase was no one's fault but by the looks on their faces and House's outburst, the emotional consequences of the incident aren't going to stop there. A part of me thinks that one of reasons why Cofield made his ruling is to prompt a response from House, to get through his emotional defenses to the guilt he has been making an effort in concealing. It doesn't surprise me that Chase didn't accept House's apology at the end of the episode. I wonder how long this rift between House and Chase is going to last. I hope the show will commit to this emotional storyline and not let it all be neatly wrapped by the end of next episode.
The House-Chase relationship is another thing this episode made me think about. One way of viewing their relationship is a twisted father-son relationship. Chase has been seeking on and off House's approval that he never got from his own father. He sought his approval through work, pranks, and his personal life. There have been times that Chase made attempts to defy him the way a rebellious son would defy his father to prove that he can be his own man. But inevitably, Chase finds himself back to trying to make House proud of him or his abilities as a doctor or a House apprentice. I think this episode has brought that relationship to the breaking point in which a new dynamic needs to be formed between them. What that dynamic will turn out to be, I am very curious to find out. When I heard that Chase would be having difficulty walking, I had the most chilling thought: maybe Chase and House can be cane-buddies. It was chilling because Chase is only a couple of steps closer to being his surrogate father-figure and I think Chase is realizing that he doesn't want that anymore.
Maybe Chase is like Luke Skywalker.
He's worried he'll become the next House if he stays there any longer. He's already walking with a cane.
Next week there's bound to be a cane joke somewhere.
House- Hey only one of us gets to walk with a limp.
He's worried he'll become the next House if he stays there any longer. He's already walking with a cane.
Next week there's bound to be a cane joke somewhere.
House- Hey only one of us gets to walk with a limp.
Damn, why couldn't Jeffrey Wright have been this good in Source Code? His performance was the worst, most grating thing about that (otherwise pretty good) movie, but he was excellent here.
At first, I found this episode to be too much of a rehash of the basic themes and threads of the series -- House does things his own way, House cultivates his misanthropy, House says everybody lies, House pops pills, etc. It was like they were trying to make it a jumping-on point for new viewers or something. But it ended up going in a more striking direction. And it had a good resolution, with House genuinely showing remorse and apologizing to Chase.
At first, I found this episode to be too much of a rehash of the basic themes and threads of the series -- House does things his own way, House cultivates his misanthropy, House says everybody lies, House pops pills, etc. It was like they were trying to make it a jumping-on point for new viewers or something. But it ended up going in a more striking direction. And it had a good resolution, with House genuinely showing remorse and apologizing to Chase.
And I saw the apology coming too.
The director tried to hide it with over-the-top flair, but that just made it even more obvious.
No RSL was also a big let-down.
The director tried to hide it with over-the-top flair, but that just made it even more obvious.
No RSL was also a big let-down.
Thought it was a very good episode and showed a bit more of the complexities of House, House's team and his process than we've seen in a while. I think the poster above who suggested that Chase's actions are a form of trying to seek approval from him as a father-figure is valid. The series of actions in the episode, I think, make it clear that if anyone was "at fault" it was the patient or, yes, at the very least "no one's fault" since the POTW's psychotic episode stemmed from the treatment he was getting which stemmed from incomplete information on what was wrong with him.
You could also argue that House's process for training his fellows works as it's certainly done Foreman a lot of good and presumably hasn't hurt the other fellows House has had under his employ during his career.
I suspect Chase's paralysis/lack of mobility will having as lasting effects as the "brain-damage" Foreman got from his bout of Nigleria in the second season, pretty much only lasting an episode or two before it was forgotten. Hell, the primary symptom of Foreman's brain damage was left/right reversal was forgotten by the very next episode!
Anyway, this was clearly designed as a "Sweeps episode" and I think it did fairly well. Chase also has just as much himself to blame for what happened as he does House, childish pranks like dye in a shampoo bottle is hardly out of the norm between friends. And, yes, the episode greatly missed the input Wilson would have had on events.
I didn't much like the cinematography of this episode as recently House (the show) has a way of oddly presenting things. In this case the "real world" scenes in the deposition office were dimly lit and moody with varying precipitation outside, the "past"/"memory" scenes were overly washed out and white. It was only when we got to the "present" set of events with everything in the hospital and the deposition room that the color balance was bit more neutral.
I've also felt for the longest time that the more House "doesn't care" the more he cares. He doesn't avoid patients to avoid human contact but more because of, as stated, he doesn't want to taint his DDx process which would happen because as we see he cares too much when he knows the patient if even on a basic level.
You could also argue that House's process for training his fellows works as it's certainly done Foreman a lot of good and presumably hasn't hurt the other fellows House has had under his employ during his career.
I suspect Chase's paralysis/lack of mobility will having as lasting effects as the "brain-damage" Foreman got from his bout of Nigleria in the second season, pretty much only lasting an episode or two before it was forgotten. Hell, the primary symptom of Foreman's brain damage was left/right reversal was forgotten by the very next episode!
Anyway, this was clearly designed as a "Sweeps episode" and I think it did fairly well. Chase also has just as much himself to blame for what happened as he does House, childish pranks like dye in a shampoo bottle is hardly out of the norm between friends. And, yes, the episode greatly missed the input Wilson would have had on events.
I didn't much like the cinematography of this episode as recently House (the show) has a way of oddly presenting things. In this case the "real world" scenes in the deposition office were dimly lit and moody with varying precipitation outside, the "past"/"memory" scenes were overly washed out and white. It was only when we got to the "present" set of events with everything in the hospital and the deposition room that the color balance was bit more neutral.
I've also felt for the longest time that the more House "doesn't care" the more he cares. He doesn't avoid patients to avoid human contact but more because of, as stated, he doesn't want to taint his DDx process which would happen because as we see he cares too much when he knows the patient if even on a basic level.
I'm not crazy about the degree to which digital color correction is overused these days to make images look weird in one way or another. But I did like the more theatrical in-camera touches, like doing a whole "intercut between different interviewees mid-question" montage in a single take just by moving the camera and having the actors quickly switch places while it's pointed away. That was very deftly done. I also liked the way they transitioned in-camera from a flashback scene in Foreman's brightly lit office to a nighttime "present" scene in another part of the office (with Jeffrey Wright talking to Foreman about why he was chosen) just by lighting the two sides of the set differently and moving the camera between them (and probably having Omar Epps dash around behind the camera to get into position). I love that kind of live, theatrical stuff.
I agree. There's value to his detachment. If I'd been writing House's dialogue, I would've had him respond to the interviewer's questions about his lack of normal empathy and propriety by saying, "My job isn't to hold the patients' hands. My job is to find out what's wrong with them when nobody else could. If I thought and reacted the way everyone else is expected to think and react, then I would be redundant, and my value to this hospital would evaporate."
I did like some of the more dynamic/theatrical film-making stuff (I also liked the fade-in montage of everyone entering the room in the final deposition scene.) But sometimes the lighting of this show is just bizarre and makes it look like PPTH can't pay its electrical bills. It's a lot like when all of the lights on the Enterprise-D apparently burned out at the same time in "Generations."
I never thought that his detachment was completely rational. I think he is trying to avoid human contact. He's not a "people person". House does have some compassion, but it looks to be subconscious.
^Yes, House is someone who doesn't relate socially very well -- maybe he has some variant of Asperger's Syndrome. But that's what makes him good at what he does, part of what lets him do what others can't.
But I've always felt House does have compassion, even if he doesn't express it the way society expects. I mean, if he really didn't care about people but were only interested in solving puzzles, he could've become a physicist or a mathematician. Instead he entered a career dedicated to saving lives.
But I've always felt House does have compassion, even if he doesn't express it the way society expects. I mean, if he really didn't care about people but were only interested in solving puzzles, he could've become a physicist or a mathematician. Instead he entered a career dedicated to saving lives.
I was absolutely loving that part. I recognized what they were doing and had a big smile on my face. The old high school theater techie in me.
I'm reminded of a Red Skelton show where he did the gag of carrying the end of a plank across stage, then running around backstage so he he could appear from the wings carrying the other end too. Only he shared the joke by stomping loudly and fluffing the backdrop as he ran.
I'm reminded of a Red Skelton show where he did the gag of carrying the end of a plank across stage, then running around backstage so he he could appear from the wings carrying the other end too. Only he shared the joke by stomping loudly and fluffing the backdrop as he ran.
Wow, and we think we only get metatextual these days!
House seems to want to be punished. He could have avoided prison, but he didn't, according to Wilson. He fussed out the auditor when he let House off the hook. So even House doesn't think he's blameless. There are many instances showing that he cares about people in addition to Wilson, although he resists showing it openly and conventionally. He's a complex personality.
We've seen plenty of times in the series when House "blames himself" he gets a bit self-destructive.
Seems we get one of these dark style flashback episodes per year.
But we won't be next year because Fox has confirmed this is the last season!
As much as I like House I do think it's had a good run and going out now would be better than dragging it on. I hope they give House some kind of Arc to end the series and Character on.
But we won't be next year because Fox has confirmed this is the last season!
As much as I like House I do think it's had a good run and going out now would be better than dragging it on. I hope they give House some kind of Arc to end the series and Character on.
I'm not convinced that Chase didn't accept House's apology. It seemed more like an uncomfortable moment between two people who don't share their feelings well. Chase is certainly a more social person and a more empathetic person and he hides it well, but he has some pretty serious emotional walls. He didn't know how to respond to this sudden outreach and defaulted to detachment and dismissal rather than to reach back.
Wow, what an excellent episode. Not quite on the level as "Wilson's Heart," "House's Head," and "Three Stories," but close to them. I went into this episode knowing nothing, not the synopsis provided at the beginning of this thread nor Jeffery Wright's guest appearance, so both aspects were great surprises (although I did realize that we hadn't seen Chase's testimony a few minutes before he got stabbed). Wright's performance was pitch perfect and I have to agree with Christopher that I wish was this good in Source Code (although I had other issues with that film other than his performance).
As others have said, this was great insight into both the relationship between the long-term relationship between House and Chase, as well as how and why House operates with his patients and how and why this process works. The only downside about this episode was the complete and utter lack of Wilson. He could have easily fit in as a character witness.
I also suspect, as much as I hate to admit it, that Chase's paralysis will go the way of Foreman's brain tumor and House's cure.
As others have said, this was great insight into both the relationship between the long-term relationship between House and Chase, as well as how and why House operates with his patients and how and why this process works. The only downside about this episode was the complete and utter lack of Wilson. He could have easily fit in as a character witness.
I also suspect, as much as I hate to admit it, that Chase's paralysis will go the way of Foreman's brain tumor and House's cure.
