# House 4/6/2009 "Simple Explanation" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 7, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208 "2009-04-07T01:58:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/1 "2009-04-07T01:58:53Z")
I didn’t see that coming. Open spoilers in the next post… ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/2 "2009-04-07T01:59:55Z")
Oh my god! They killed Kutner! You bastards! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/3 "2009-04-07T02:16:20Z")
Well, that sucks. They killed the only really likeable character for no apparent reason. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/4 "2009-04-07T02:17:17Z")
Not what I expected. Not at all. Dang. What a sad, well-done episode. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/5 "2009-04-07T02:21:16Z")
Well acted by Mr. Loaf, too. ---
**Author:** ![Yeeter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/96bed5/32.png) [@Yeeter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeeter)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/6 "2009-04-07T02:22:15Z")
Did anybody else feel like Kal Penn had died? I mean I realize he is not dead, but the picture at the end with his picture and “Lawrence Kutner” under it felt like a REAL memorial… ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/7 "2009-04-07T02:23:22Z")
I normally watch How I Met Your Mother on Mondays but since it wasn’t on tonight I got to catch House. Man am I glad I caught this episode. I couldn’t wait for them to come back from breaks. I don’t understand why they did it though unless Kal wanted to get back to his movie career instead of playing third string. Even if that was a reason after killing off CTB you would think they would hold off before killing another character. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/8 "2009-04-07T02:24:32Z")
What was up with the darkness and shadows? The lighting was as if we were watching a period piece set before modern lighting. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Violaceous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Miss\_Violaceous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Violaceous)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/9 "2009-04-07T02:31:05Z")
YOU BASTARDS!!! It was really well-shot though. I loved the wall obscuring the gore. With the darkness of the shot I didn’t see the blood and gun at first, just thought he’d collapsed and was going to be a medical mystery, but then after a few seconds I saw the blood and gun, and then when 13 turned away with blood all over her mouth from the rescusitation I gasped out loud. A lot more restraint than you usually see on this show. ---
**Author:** ![Yeeter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/96bed5/32.png) [@Yeeter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeeter)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/10 "2009-04-07T02:31:22Z")
Also, naming Meatloaf’s character “Eddie” – a nod to Rocky Horror Picture show. And I swear somewhere in the episode they said something about “doing anything for love.” ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/11 "2009-04-07T02:33:07Z")
Holy krap! ---
**Author:** ![OhFace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecccb3/32.png) [@OhFace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OhFace)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/12 "2009-04-07T03:25:38Z")
I don’t get it… There was no forewarning to this. No hint of it in any previous episode. Did something happen with Kal Penn? Was there some conflict with him and the cast? Did he quit? Was he fired? It just seems so sudden and abrupt and came out of no where. Kinda felt forced to me. He was my favorite on the new team, I wish they kept him… ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/13 "2009-04-07T03:27:18Z")
It was great and unexpected (and great because it was unexpected). Kuttner always seemed pretty much on an even keel. It was shocking, but didn’t seem gimmicky, and the idea that no one foresaw it (not even the audience) made it even more powerful. Judging by everything, it was clearly the producer’s idea, not Penn’s. If he had been unhappy, there would have been word about it before the episode aired. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/14 "2009-04-07T03:33:29Z")
> [@OhFace](#): > > I don’t get it… There was no forewarning to this. No hint of it in any previous episode. Did something happen with Kal Penn? Was there some conflict with him and the cast? Did he quit? Was he fired? It just seems so sudden and abrupt and came out of no where. Kinda felt forced to me. He was my favorite on the new team, I wish they kept him… There have been mentions of suicide in previous episodes. Kutner and Taub had a disagreement over it a few weeks back but the fact that it came out of nowhere with no forewarning is entirely the point, I think. The writers seem to be going for the same reaction out of us as the people in his life on the show would have. That is perhaps the reason there have been no Kutner-centric episodes with the possible exception of last weeks. I really thought it was a great episode although I am disappointed because Kutner was my favorite character on the show. As to why Kal Penn is leaving, I really don’t know, but I have a sneaking suspicion the plotline has been planned for quite some time. I may be entirely wrong on that fact, but in hindsight, everything works. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/15 "2009-04-07T03:35:10Z")
> [@Yeeter](#): > > And I swear somewhere in the episode they said something about “doing anything for love.” DAMMIT! I missed that! Wish I’d taped it instead of _Chuck._ ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/16 "2009-04-07T03:47:26Z")
TAUB DID IT!!! (at least he had a motive) ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/17 "2009-04-07T03:52:29Z")
:dons tin foil hat: Taub did it House works it out and tells Cuddy Taub confesses to 13 and Foreman Everyone returns to work as normal. Move along, nothing to see here. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/18 "2009-04-07T04:00:08Z")
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but as much as I liked Kuttner, Taub is the most interesting character outside of the House/Cuddy/Wilson threesome. Maybe despite it. The character has depth and the others don’t. I still think Kuttner was murdered. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/19 "2009-04-07T05:37:48Z")
Yeah, they kind of left House’s suspicions of murder unresolved so I’m counting on further developments there. I, too, thought “Taub!” as soon as House started to suspect murder. His reactions to Kutner’s death could be seen as simply being in denial about the death of a friend, but it could also be guilt. He was also quick to make up reasons why Kutner did not show up for work. This could also make an easy way to bring the “original ducklings” back under House’s wing. Kutner’s dead; if Taub did it then he’ll be gone soon; and Thirteen’s Huntington’s Disease could take her out of the picture. The way is then cleared for Chase and Cameron to return! I dunno, just some WAGs. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208/20 "2009-04-07T05:41:02Z")
During the viewing of this episode, my theory was Kutner accidentally shot himself. 13 mentioned his home is furnished like a “man boy” heaven. He had a rare collectible blaster on display. I think Kutner bought a handgun for the novelty, got it home and started playing with it, waving it around, doing stupid macho poses with it, and it went off. Unfortunately, it was pointed at his head. I thought House would come up with this since it “fits the symptoms better”, but the writers played it straight for the drama value. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-4-6-2009-simple-explanation/492208.md?page=2)