I don’t think that the PotW took backseat so much as that it was superfluous. I had no idea who the characters were, didn’t care, and the whole diagnosis bit was fully non-linear. Overall it seemed like they had five different stories that they wanted to pack in, which is silly, but didn’t want to have to choose one either. They should just give up on doing anything with the PotW like they did in the Wilson and Cuddy episodes, and focus on the characters. I don’t want it to turn into soap opera but at the same time, I’d rather the show focus on something and the characters are far more interesting. If they have spare time, they should be working on Chase, 13, Taub, Cuddy, and Wilson’s lives. Asking Hugh to carry the whole show is pointless if all of the other characters are just NPCs that get folded into the mix as needed.
i think they do a decent job of trying to involve other people’s lives. chase had his divorce, taub his affair, cuddy a baby and a new bf, and wilson a new gf. only 13 and foreman didn’t have significant arcs this season.
i thought this episode was necessary, if a little late, since it addresses (even better ties together) the therapy issue as well as cuddy’s relationship with lucas - the two large seasonal arcs.
i’m sure next season 13 will be addressed and killed off, which would involve foreman. wilson’s new lover isn’t going anywhere (i don’t think) and chase/talb will be the ones put on the backburner for next season.
it might have seemed a little packed because a PotW was so necessary, but i think it was also intentional. if they had just shown all their cards from the beginning, it wouldn’t have made sense that House was so open with the therapist. It was intentionally roundabout because it’s just the way House would tell it - couching his stories in a way where nothing incriminating would surface. however, the therapist being the ninja that he is, forced it open and the storylines actually tied together rather well (except for the PotW. that was forced).
But how much time have they actually spent on Cuddy and Lucas? They’ve had Cuddy-centric episodes, and Taub-centric episodes, and so on, but as soon as the episode ends, that person’s life is just on hold until the next time they have an episode, whereas House’s life progresses from day-to-day. Back in the first few seasons, when Chase and Cameron started their affair that was something that tracked through from episode to episode with Cameron getting experimental, leading to them making out in someone’s house, leading to them deciding to be fuckbuddies, leading to them…etc. There wasn’t an episode devoted to each of those stages of progression, with four or five episodes where nothing happened inbetween, it was something that unfolded just a little bit more with each episode, and in no way did that detract from the show’s focus on House and his life.
You say that Cuddy and Lucas have been a major plot point this season, but Lucas has been on screen through the whole 20+ episodes for maybe a maximum of 10-20 minutes? Cuddy had her very own episode, and even then we really have no idea what her life with Lucas is like beyond that he sits around and watches TV with her. And any sort of interaction that she has with House has been practically non-existent as well. If he’s pining for her love, her complete absence from his general presence is a pretty poor way to demonstrate why he would want her to begin with. Back when they were arguing and flirting every episode, it made sense that he’d want her. Now we don’t even get to see him wishing she’d flirt with him again since he only ever sees her to get something approved and then he’s back out of her office again. Like zweisamkeit said, they’re telling us that he’s hurting, but they’re not setting up the scenarios they need to actually demonstrate it.
well of course house’s actions are in the spotlight- he’s the titular character. in the first few seasons, there were almost no wilson/cuddy stories at all. wilson was there strictly as a sounding board, and cuddy was eye candy/a voice to say no. they could easily balance two coinciding personal stories with the PotW. however, even then you would have the occasional “foreman” episode about his childhood or chase and his dad that didn’t progress weekly.
now there’s 4 members in the team, and their stories don’t inter-relate like chase/cameron. each character has their own backstory, and wilson and cuddy are also clammoring for facetime. beside their interactions with House, their “outside” interactions with significant others, and toss in a PotW and there just aren’t enough minutes to go around. Maybe it’s a lack of foresight in starting so many stories, but I think it’s just the natural progression of a show. It’s evolved, and the web of “lies” spun now dictate a more complex solution. If House was still like season 1 where it was just about House shirking clinic duty, and his underlings being bland and 1 dimensional, the show would be super-boring.
cuddy/lucas was only revealed this season (just checked. episode 6). then an episode was devoted to House demonstrating his love, in sabatoge form. then another episode was about just cuddy. and yet another involving condo drama, and of course the OP episode. that’s 5 out of 14 which, works out to be every 3rd episode a revelation of the nature of cuddy/lucas is revealed. maybe the timing of these episodes isn’t quite up to your expectations?
i will agree that they are doing a lot of “telling” and not a lot of “showing” but they have dropped a lot of clues that the pain is getting worse, and that House is saucing it up rather heavily. however, boozing on the job is a big deal, and once they lay the bomb that house is drunk on the job, it would start a tidal wave of events like malpractice charges, etc. that would be hard to undo. maybe they don’t want to tip the dominoes over quite yet.
plus, another thing to consider is that long, silent shots of house looking thoughtfully into a glass of scotch take up precious seconds that they just don’t have if they want to squeeze in all their stories. most would say - cut olivia wilde but imo she’s foxy and her eyes are smolderingly sexy. between her hypnotic gaze, the loss of cameron, and rapid aging on cuddy, i don’t think they can afford to cut 13 from the show.
Did they ever come up with a reason House wanted to punish himself (picking a fight in a bar)?
Puerto Rican guy left him, he wanted Cuddy, and he got kicked out of his house. Some mix of all three.