House M.D. Season 8 Episode 8 "Perils of Paranoia"

          For the first time in a while, there was a terrific introduction to this episode. Most of the time, the show begins by showing a normal person having a severe problem such as losing vision, vomiting blood, or having a seizure. However, this episode opened with a court scene, which was tastefully different. For the first few minutes, I forgot what show I was watching and became enthralled by the courtroom drama. Instead of being overly dramatic, the Tommy simply said, “I think I’m having a heart attack.”

          It is interesting how Foreman lied to the patient in order to get House to take the case.  This could be a random occurrence but I feel like it is possible that Foreman is slowly becoming more like House. Only in the context of lying to a patient in order to get his way.

          While Adams and Park are driving to investigate the patients house, several unique camera perspectives were used.  Throughout the scene, cameras were attached to the bumpers of the car and pointed at the characters to give a new perspective on the scene. Creative cinematography is a wonderful thing if used properly. In this instance, I found it distracting because these shots have never been used before in this show and they feel a bit “artsy” for being a medical drama. Despite the distractions, I did enjoy the unique angles.

          To my surprise, I have started disliking Park in this episode. She may be a brilliant doctor, but her people skills are horrendous and her personality is abrasive. Park seems to defend her opinions about the case like they are her children. People can tell her she is wrong, but she will need proof to believe it.  This could be because of different writing in this episode, or could be part of her character. Either way, I am not a fan.

          I absolutely loved the reference to Black Friday by Taub.  Although, I am not certain if it was supposed to reference the woman who maced people waiting outside of a store so she could get an Xbox 360. He says, “I don’t think stockpiling weapons is the most reasoned response but given what I’ve seen at Bloomingdales’ on Black Friday, I wouldn’t say it rises to the level of mental illness.”  I love when writers add cultural references into movies in shows. By doing this, they manage to connect to the readers through relevant information.

          While searching for a gun in House’s apartment, Wilson triggered a booby trap (set by House) and got caught in a net suspended above the ground. It is these unique bits of comic relief that make this show addicting and incredible.

          To be perfectly honest, this felt like a forgettable episode. It was fun to watch, but there weren’t any big changes (other than Foreman going out with a married woman).

House M.D. Season 8 Episode 7 "Dead and Buried"

          The beginning surprisingly doesn’t open with a patient in the process of getting sick outside of the hospital. Subtile changes like these make the show interesting without changing any major dynamics of the show.

          I know I give a great deal of praise to this show. I am sorry, but I am going to give a bit more.  Within almost every episode that I have seen, which is all of them, there has been a great deal of medical speech. I understand very few operations and diseases that they talk about, but love when they explain things.  For the first time, I noticed that there is tons of banter between House and his team. Normally, House talks about personal issues residing within his employees while they avoid the personal topics by suggesting theories. To me, only half of the dialogue was interpretable which added to the power of the understandable. Without thinking, I ignore what I do not understand and wait for House’s side of the conversation to begin. While both conversations are complete, only half is understandable which makes that part more important.

          Much like Sherlock Holmes, House isn’t interested in helping other people, he is interested in entertaining himself. To society’s benefit, this so happens to be in the form of a doctor who takes on cases nobody else can solve.  Also, he happens to fake and play off of human emotions to get what he wants, which makes him a more personable character and slightly likable by his peers.

          Another thing that grabbed my interest is House’s passion to figure out the case of a dead child.  He has never done this before and is broadening his curiosities. Because of his obsession and addiction with puzzles, House figured out how a child died while potentially saving the lives of two of the family members.

          Two flaws that I noticed within this episode correlated with the dead child case. First, the child was in excellent condition after being buried for 5 years. The skin was still intact and was not dried up and leathery. Second, when House opened the coffin, the smell from the decayed body would have been terrible. House failed to cover his nose or even show a change in smell.

          However, I am confused how is House getting away from being off the hospital grounds all the time. The show said the signal was jammed for only 45 minutes in the beginning.  Luckily, he got caught and punished in the end to show that he was breaking the rules and this wasn’t entirely a plot flaw.

          Finally, I loved the use of split personalities in this episode. While it is commonly talked about in psychology classes, it hasn’t yet occurred on the show. Multiple personalities isn’t a “medical diagnosis,” but it did serve as a cause to other diagnosis’.  To my discontent, this case ended abruptly because the focus was on the dead child case. While I wish the focus could have been on both cases, I feel that the writers did an adequate job bringing emotion into the other case.

House M.D. Season 8 Episode 6 "Parents"

          While this is probably the most boring episode of the season, it has some of the deepest values. The story revolves around familial problems and what it means to be a good parent (which House says is an oxymoron).

          I loved the familial background stories of each of the characters within this episode. Probably my favorite one is Chase’s. He explains that his mother locked him in his fathers study while she would drink because she couldn’t handle him. After a while of crying and banging on the door, he had to find something else to do so he read books on medicine. This horrible memory created his love for medicine and started his career.  He simply states, “We all have family disfunction. Its why were successful, to fill that hole.” Strangely, I find this comforting because it reassures me that every family has their problems and that I am not alone with mine.  

          At the end of the scene, I was surprised to find that Chase called House so that he could hear Adams “open up” about her background. To my disappointment, she somehow figured this out and foiled Chase’s attempts. I don’t exactly understand why Chase is helping House. Hopefully this will be explained later.

          I did not see the biological dad sexually molesting the son. This gave the son syphilis which caused all of his problems. That was definitely a unique diagnosis and an interesting ending to the rather boring episode.

          Adams seems to be the only person on the show that always see’s through House and his maniacal plans. Wilson on the other hand, was not so lucky and was conned out of his ring-side seats by House and Foreman. 

          Being a college student trying to find my place in life, I found the following quote comforting. “Following your heart is easy, following your brain is tough.” Many of the things I love, I am terrible at but sometimes, you have to make sacrifices in order to be successful. I overheard a speech relating to this topic recently from the singer of Slipknot and Stone Sour, Corey Taylor.  He was asked by Oxford University to speak on campus and delivered a phenomenal speech about how to choose a path to follow. http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/top-posts/video-slipknots-corey-taylors-full-oxford-lecture-online/

House M.D. Season 8 Episode 5 "The Confession"

          I’m glad that Taub and Chase are back but I am not exactly thrilled about them being back.  While bringing them back onto the show may add for some interesting scenarios, the drama from the previous seasons comes with.  I loved how this season seemed like a whole new show with Cuddy and the rest of House’s team gone. It seems like that was only temporary.   

          Luckily, there seems to be good chemistry between Adams and Chase. Maybe they will end up together like Chase and Cameron.  

          One thing that this episode does incredibly well is the tension between House and Taub.  Every time House tries to get Taub’s DNA, he fails but than makes his plans more elaborate.  Starting a betting pool in the hospital about the legitimacy of Taub’s children is cruel, unprofessional, and absolutely hilarious. This is why I hope the show never ends. 

          I would have to say that one of the most meaningful moments in this show happened in this episode. While at the newly installed mini-bar in his office, House confronts Adams about the truths in this world. After Adams says, “Maybe if everyone didn’t lie,” House steps onto his soapbox and delivers a wonderful speech.

"Aw that is cute. I’m talking about your breasts. They always get perky when your being painfully earnest. Truth. It’s uncomfortable isn’t it?  More truth. I only noticed because I noticed Chase was staring at them. He’d never admit it because he doesn’t want to offend you.  Same reason he’d never tell you he’s thought about having sex with you.  Although to be fair, every man you’ve ever met has thought about having sex with you.  They’ll lie because if you knew, you wouldn’t want to have sex with them. And thats just some of the lies from the last minute. And here’s a bigger one. You already know this, but you pretend you don’t because it makes you feel civilized.  Most people find it easier to ignore the truth, ask Taub."

Brutal honesty can come across as being rude, but I find it very interesting. With this statement, House shows the humor and reality behind what people are actually thinking. The whole time, he is making guesses, but the surprising thing is that he is right.  It is for this reason that I am absolutely in love with the Sherlock Holmes / Greg House character.   

          I really loved this episode, but I didn’t understand the ending at all. I would love to hear people’s opinions about it.

House M.D. Season 8 Episode 4 "Risky Business"

          Another wonderful episode of House. Even though the entire medical portion was predictable, I love the character interaction.

          House never fails to astound me. For the first time in the show, House spoke fluent Mandarin. It seems like something Sherlock Holmes would do considering the entire show it based on Holmes. 

          Along with the movie Sherlock Holmes, I found myself lingering on every word House said. Both to be entertained and amazed. No wonder this show, and the Sherlock Holmes franchise has done so well. People don’t watch this show for the medical work, they watch it for House.

          I would have to say that I am envious of House. His humor is astounding and almost infectious to those around him. Despite this, he has little to no emotion and cannot become close to others, qualities that I have no intention of having.

          For the first time, I noticed the slight background music that begins to play when a patient has a heart attack, vomits blood, or has frightening symptom. This music is barely   but causes anxiety within the viewers, drawing them in.  It helps that the instruments used are mostly synthesizers so people notice the music less.   

          At one point, House transformed into MacGyver and created a strobe light that causes vomiting in order to reclaim the other part of his office. Unbelievable. This is a simple example of the writers keeping the show fresh and entertaining.

          I loved Dr. Park talking to Wilson about House. It seemed funny because every piece of advise Wilson gives Park has a story or experience with House behind it. Wilson has learned a lot from his mistakes with House and still loses battles (as seen in the end).

          I would love for House to take an IQ test. With his deductive reasoning, medical knowledge, and highly advanced reversed psychology skills, he could probably score around a 144 (genius level).

          The final scene where Adams smashes everything with a baseball bat was visually astounding. The director of this episode used the perfect amount of slow motion to make the scene entertaining and authentic. 

          Another entertaining episode. Another long week to wait for the next one to air. Let me know what you thought of the episode.

House M.D. Season 8 Episode 3 "Charity Case"

Once again in this season, the episode had a very interesting patient with an enormous compulsion to give away money, and later his kidneys. The writers are getting very creative which is keeping the viewers tuned in for this final season (rumored). 

Adding Adams onto the team is a logical choice. Of course it happened only because House manipulated her into doing so. Even though she lost her last job because she disobeyed orders and listened to House, House convinces her that its ok because she saved a life. Having her on the team along with Park is a lot like the old team. Park is nerdy and shy just like Taub, and Adams is outgoing, rebellious, and hot just like 13. 

The patient had the most generous heart that I have ever seen. He was willing to sacrifice his own wellbeing for the less fortunate. Surprisingly, this ended up in a separation between him and his wife because she wanted him to love her more than everyone else. In the end, his personality instantly transforms from very kind and generous to extremely creepy.

The scene where House persuades the man to give him one million dollars is very well written. House for once acts like a normal person would, shying around the topic of money while telling a sob story in order to actually receive it. Although his classic manipulation still shines through the facade. 

Despite Wilson attempting to end his friendship with House in the previous episode, they remain friends and continue to engage in witty banter. The dialogue here is phenomenal and easily quotable.

Sadly, 13 has left the show to pursue her acting career in the film industry.  It was a huge delight to have her in this episode to wrap up her character. At one point she says that she wants House in her life, which is something very rarely said to him. Because she is such a lovable character, I am sad to see her go, but she left in style unlike Kutner (who was written out of the show by suicide). 

I seem to have a few problems with the show in general. One is that whenever the team of doctors does a simple test, something incredibly wrong happens. This always points their case in a new direction and creates confusion for everyone. Usually, the patient will seem to get better, until there is another problem followed by more confusion.  Despite this flaw in almost every episode, I realize and support the fact that many people do not watch the show for the medical aspect, but for the relationships and dialogue that are associated with House M.D.

Favorite quotes of the episode:

“I object to your cynicism.” 

-House

“You can’t take sex from a sexaholic, you can’t give booze to an alcoholic, and you can’t take this guy’s money.”

-Wilson

“You were right, it counts for nothing if you can’t defend it.”

-House

“I’m told... some people are just nice. I’m trying to embrace that wisdom.”

-House

“You know the down vibe in here is totally ruining my Charlie’s Angels fantasy. That haircut isn’t helping either.”

-House