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The Interpretation of Dreams
I'll preface this by saying that I tend to be a total sucker for attempts to break out of formulaic storytelling in general, and dream sequences in particular. So even aside from the totally unexpected bonus of House relapsing and the Huddy break-up (not that I approve of the causal connection, but more on that later), I was pretty much guaranteed to be pleased by this episode.
Cuddy's Worst Nightmare
Hilarious! Right after designating her sister as Rachel's guardian, Cuddy dreams of the alternative: her boyfriend cultivating his "biggest tax write-off" as a juvenile delinquent after her death. I'm sure that I missed some interesting details (like the choice of clothing) due to my highly selective tv viewing, but that's okay. And Wilson is her other dad! And those eyebrows! And the group hug!
My Job Ate My Relationship
Did anyone else have a Buffy moment when House whipped out the ax-cane and decapitated Chase? Perfect depiction of House's not-so-subconscious difficulty in balancing his work and his relationship with Cuddy; his team is basically killing her by distracting him with an actual case. Whether or not it's true, House has long believed that allowing himself to care about his patients would make him a worse doctor. This season has shown this to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, although it could (easily) be argued that the problem is not that he loves Cuddy but that he needs her like an addict needs anything - desperately and unconditionally.
Hi Honey, I'm Home!
Talk about your obvious Freudian wish fulfillment dream! So, so funny that I actually felt sorry for Cuddy in this one for being depicted as such a blatant inverted stereotype: coming home from a hard day at work to find her little woman making dinner and her perfect daughter (again, those eyebrows!) doing her homework. Happy 29th birthday again!
Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head
There were a lot of complaints from House/Wilson fans that Cuddy should not have been the one in this iconic BC&tSK sequence, but let's face it, she's dreaming that it's her and House against the world... and then it's just her. Despite her brave words, Cuddy does fear being deserted by him in her time of greatest need.
Come On, Get Happy
I cannot, cannot believe that House/Cuddy fans got from the previews that this was going to end well. Psychedelic dream sequences with House singing a showtune about chasing your troubles away can only mean one thing: drugs. And it's time to get ready for "Judgment Day," when Cuddy will boot his addict ass out of her life.
So that brings me to my one complaint about this episode. Words cannot express how whole-heartedly I wished for the House/Cuddy relationship to end, and yet the way in which it did, despite gorgeous acting by HL and LE, left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied. I was hoping for some kind of growth - some action on House's part in response to his drunken insight last week about his inability to balance being a good doctor and having a relationship with Cuddy. I wanted him to get to the point where he could choose whether or not to be with her, or even better, reach a mutual understanding and agreement.
But eh, what am I talking about? This is House. What we get instead, as far as I can tell, is the conclusion that he is an addict, that he can't do better even if he wants to, that Cuddy has been his drug of choice ever since she saved him from relapse in his bathroom... and that she entered into a relationship with him knowing that he was bound to fail to live up to her expectations and then abandoned him because he was so afraid of losing her that, after trying every other permissible distraction he could think of, he took the edge off before coming to see her by swallowing a pill.
Without laying the blame fully on either side, I have to think about Cuddy's parting words to him. Is House's MO really about avoiding pain that he feels unable to handle? I don't think so; at least, it doesn't seem to me to be that simple. Is the problem that he is so self-centered that he can't notice and respond to the needs of others? Again, I don't think so, although it's the primary persona he tries to project. I do think, though, that he would be an extremely difficult person with whom to have a relationship for anyone, and doubly so for Cuddy, who has tried so hard to make herself a perfect, orderly, responsible life, and who will try to control her environment, including the flawed people in it, with her last breath.
And Cuddy is a strong, independent woman. She doesn't want to be needed in the way that House has always been needy. You know who does? Wilson.
I'm just sayin'.
Cuddy's Worst Nightmare
Hilarious! Right after designating her sister as Rachel's guardian, Cuddy dreams of the alternative: her boyfriend cultivating his "biggest tax write-off" as a juvenile delinquent after her death. I'm sure that I missed some interesting details (like the choice of clothing) due to my highly selective tv viewing, but that's okay. And Wilson is her other dad! And those eyebrows! And the group hug!
My Job Ate My Relationship
Did anyone else have a Buffy moment when House whipped out the ax-cane and decapitated Chase? Perfect depiction of House's not-so-subconscious difficulty in balancing his work and his relationship with Cuddy; his team is basically killing her by distracting him with an actual case. Whether or not it's true, House has long believed that allowing himself to care about his patients would make him a worse doctor. This season has shown this to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, although it could (easily) be argued that the problem is not that he loves Cuddy but that he needs her like an addict needs anything - desperately and unconditionally.
Hi Honey, I'm Home!
Talk about your obvious Freudian wish fulfillment dream! So, so funny that I actually felt sorry for Cuddy in this one for being depicted as such a blatant inverted stereotype: coming home from a hard day at work to find her little woman making dinner and her perfect daughter (again, those eyebrows!) doing her homework. Happy 29th birthday again!
Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head
There were a lot of complaints from House/Wilson fans that Cuddy should not have been the one in this iconic BC&tSK sequence, but let's face it, she's dreaming that it's her and House against the world... and then it's just her. Despite her brave words, Cuddy does fear being deserted by him in her time of greatest need.
Come On, Get Happy
I cannot, cannot believe that House/Cuddy fans got from the previews that this was going to end well. Psychedelic dream sequences with House singing a showtune about chasing your troubles away can only mean one thing: drugs. And it's time to get ready for "Judgment Day," when Cuddy will boot his addict ass out of her life.
So that brings me to my one complaint about this episode. Words cannot express how whole-heartedly I wished for the House/Cuddy relationship to end, and yet the way in which it did, despite gorgeous acting by HL and LE, left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied. I was hoping for some kind of growth - some action on House's part in response to his drunken insight last week about his inability to balance being a good doctor and having a relationship with Cuddy. I wanted him to get to the point where he could choose whether or not to be with her, or even better, reach a mutual understanding and agreement.
But eh, what am I talking about? This is House. What we get instead, as far as I can tell, is the conclusion that he is an addict, that he can't do better even if he wants to, that Cuddy has been his drug of choice ever since she saved him from relapse in his bathroom... and that she entered into a relationship with him knowing that he was bound to fail to live up to her expectations and then abandoned him because he was so afraid of losing her that, after trying every other permissible distraction he could think of, he took the edge off before coming to see her by swallowing a pill.
Without laying the blame fully on either side, I have to think about Cuddy's parting words to him. Is House's MO really about avoiding pain that he feels unable to handle? I don't think so; at least, it doesn't seem to me to be that simple. Is the problem that he is so self-centered that he can't notice and respond to the needs of others? Again, I don't think so, although it's the primary persona he tries to project. I do think, though, that he would be an extremely difficult person with whom to have a relationship for anyone, and doubly so for Cuddy, who has tried so hard to make herself a perfect, orderly, responsible life, and who will try to control her environment, including the flawed people in it, with her last breath.
And Cuddy is a strong, independent woman. She doesn't want to be needed in the way that House has always been needy. You know who does? Wilson.
I'm just sayin'.