As a guy who shaves his entire head every other day, I *cringed *when I saw that he was going to try to shave that week’s worth of stubble with a disposable razor.
I think he shaves every Sunday morning to go to church.
I liked this episode. Thought it was especially interesting how quickly Cuddy changed positions on House’s methadone use-- you could almost see the thought bubble saying “Wait, if House is happy, that means he’s not a dickhead, which means… we could totally be bf/gf! Yayyyyy methadone!” I really liked the bitter moment when she realized it wasn’t going to work out that way, also.
Still hate Fore-teen, though, and wish they’d stop crapping it all over my show. Ugh.
As for the POTW, Thirteen really should’ve stayed out of it. I think it’s ethically very shitty to interfere with parenting unless it is past the point of a judgment call. And I’ve seen shit like this happen over and over on this show-- some staff member has a very strong opinion on a subject and ends up pushing it onto their patient, usually to little or no avail and sometimes even detriment. Why can’t these doctors seem to draw the line between personal and professional involvement? I know it’s just TV and they’re just doing it to create drama or whatever, but it’s annoying that it happens almost every stinking episode.
To elaborate on the second point: Cuddy told House to choose between the methadone and his job. House chose the methadone. Wilson went to House’s apartment to check on him and stumbled upon a hooker whom House had hired to watch him sleep (“cheaper than a nurse, and hookers don’t scream, ‘sexual harassment.’”). He commented on House’s shave, and House explained he had an interview at another hospital to try to convince them to open a diagnostic medicine department.
Later, House went to Cuddy for his recommendation. Instead, she told House he could have his methadone, but he had to get it from Cuddy, and he had to take it under medical supervision. House accepted his job back, and by the way, told Cuddy, “Thanks,” very sincerely.
House later realized by acquiescing to the parents’ request for an MRI, he had caused the boy’s condition. The boy’s kidneys had been stressed from dehydration, complicated by processing the caffeine in the energy drinks he had been drinking. They couldn’t handle the contrast dye used in the MRI and it began to poison him. House realized if he had refused the MRI and gotten the boy rehydrated and gave his kidneys a chance to rest, he would have recovered and could have gone home. House blamed the good vibes from the methadone for making him so agreeable and decided to go back on the Vicodin.
Who gave him the methadone in the first place?
You’re jesting, I’m sure, but I suspect House goes to church from time to time, so that he can fart at an appropriate* point in the sermon or pastoral prayer. Even if he doesn’t ALREADY, he would if he ever thought of it.
*For Greg-House values of “appropriate.”
He just said that he “found a doctor” that was willing to prescribe it to him.
Not being too familiar with methadone - other than my cousin is a nurse at a methadone clinic - I didn’t realize it was such a dangerous drug. I also found it weird that everyone freaked out when they realized he was on it because I assumed everyone who was on it went through a clinic. Why didn’t they say “are you going to a methadone clinic?” Or is it just normal to assume that he was getting it on the sly from a pal? Why does Cuddy need to monitor his use, instead of trusting House as a doctor?
I think there was a very good chance it was Chase who prescribed the methadone.
Because House is insane?
Look, imagine that Wilson, say, were the one in chronic pain; let’s say he had been shot by the same never-to-be-found-nutjob who tried to off House back in the 2nd season. If he had decided on a new way to manage his pain, she wouldn’t have been nearly so concerned: partly because he would have let her in on it, partly because he’s not a nutjob.
Sigmagirl, Mrs. Rhymer also thinks that Chase prescribed it.
Because House had already gone into respiratory distress and proven himself to be a danger to himself. Also, hiring a hooker instead of a nurse to monitor him while he’s sleeping doesn’t show good judgment on his part. Even if she’s likely to be good at giving purple nurples.
Yeah, but hookers cost less than nurses. 
This show really needs to stop rigidly insisting on maintaining the status quo with each episode. The methadone issue would have been great to explore over several episodes, maybe even longer. It would have been a great opportunity to flesh out his character. But no, it has to be quickly resolved by the end of the episode. The episode where Cameron takes over for Cuddy is another example. That would have been a solid opportunity to stretch out a bit, to see how they both dealt with the different dynamic. And of course there are the countless fired-for-the-day episodes that resolve far too neatly. I suppose the producers are terrified of messing with a winning formula, but the show really could be a lot more than it is.
And they don’t sue you for sexual harassment.
My wife works in a hospital and told me many doctors prescribe methadone for pain, especially if they are worried about the patient being drug seeking. Google seems to suggest it is on the rise for end-of-life use (example article here).Here is an article about some of the dangers and concerns.
Jonathan
Right-o. If I understand it, methodone doesn’t itself give a high. House was acting a little high as a reaction to being pain-free for the first time in ages. Maybe if he gave it a little time, he’d adjust and be able to be as hard-headed as necessary while working on a diagnosis.
(I’ve never had a full understanding of House’s physical condition. If I recall, his backstory involves an infarction in his leg, and muscle death, leaving him with incomplete leg muscle and chronic pain. Then, after he was shot, he requested a specific drug which apparently took care of the pain – next thing you know, he’s jogging five miles a day. But then, for reasons I missed, his condition reverted exactly back to what it was before, and he’s back to destroying his liver with Vicodin.)
ETA: When Foreman gave House the Purple Nurple, my girlfriend said, “How did he know to do that?” I said, “Are you kidding? For five years he’s been waiting for the moment when he had a legitimate medical reason to do that. He’s probably researching to find a medical condition that requires a kick to the nuts.”
Totally agree with Garula - some of the show’s best episodes were earlier on, when they felt freer to play around with the style. The Tritter arc, Three Stories, the one with Cuddy and House on a plane were all great.
In the recent thread about “What’s the appeal in House?”, someone posted that House’s formula was in dangling a shred of humanity in front of the viewer and then snatching it away at the last moment. After reading that and watching this episode I’m beginning to feel like an abused spouse - I kept telling myself “but he can change!”
I know what you mean. Much as I like the character, half of his appeal is wondering what he’d be like if he stopped being an asshole. This episode seemed to present an “excluded middle” – either House is in pain, a jackass, and a genius, or else he’s pain-free, a decent person, and ineffectual.
Was anybody else reminded of the “Pre-School” episode of South Park when Foreman did that? House ought to consider himself lucky he didn’t get a Texas Chili Bowl.
Which doesn’t make any sense, because it’s not like he was a nice but ineffectual person before his leg injury.
He loses some sympathy points with me because he would not be in pain now if he had allowed them to amputate his leg. How would he be worse off with an artificial leg and no pain? I’m not certain that he couldn’t still get rid of the pain by having the leg amputated now. That’s admittedly drastic, but so is all this other stuff he’s trying.
So… Because Obama gave a speech two weeks ago, Private Practice ended up airing their “kid with gender mosaicism” episode before House. 'tis a cruel world.