Oh my goodness! I knew from a variety of sources that something shocking was going to happen on House. I knew that a cast member would be leaving. However, I didn’t know that it would happen tonight. For some reason, I thought last week’s preview was more for the rest of the season in general than tonight’s episode specifically.
I felt bad for Meat Loaf that this was the episode that shook things up on House. His performance as a dying man who wants to do right (finally) by his wife was lovely and understated. However, it was certainly a memorable episode to be a part of.
I think it’s okay to be frustrated and a little angry about this episode, even if it’s not for the same reasons that the characters are frustrated and angry. Form follows content: If some of the events this week seem sudden, shocking, pointless or meaningless, then we are in sync with what the characters are experiencing.
I don’t think the episode was meaningless or pointless: As Wilson pointed out, this is a great mystery that House is somehow going to make all about him. Perhaps he does think he is losing his touch if he failed to make a critical diagnosis: Suicide. House sees symptoms everywhere. That’s what he does. He solves the mystery of strangers’ ailments the way some people do crossword puzzles.
Thirteen says that in 25% of suicides, the person shows no signs of depression. House disagrees. He says that in 25% of all suicides, friends and family failed to see the signs. This makes House and his team complicit. They have failed to save Kutner. However, what if House’s premise is wrong in this case? What if Thirteen is right?
Debbie pointed to a few clues as to Kutner’s emotional state in her post. (Does anybody remember whether it was Kutner or Taub who vehemently disagreed with suicide in a recent episode? And did Taub make a suicide attempt and fail at one point? Or did Kutner??? OMG, I have to go back and re-watch the entire season!) I agree with her that it now seems deliberate that Kutner’s back story has been so largely ignored.
I think Kutner was so happy-go-lucky in his demeanor that he proved no mystery for House. House never took the time to get to know him; and Kutner allowed this. House, who thinks he has everyone figured out, was dead wrong when he read Kutner’s surface. This may be the one thing that actually causes House to change — or to find some humility.
I personally thought (hoped) they might find out that Kutner had figured out that he had a rapid mortal disease and killed himself to prevent a long, painful death. What do you think? Were you surprised?
Clacked by Jen Creer
on Apr 07, 2009 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
I was shocked at the sudden-ness of it too but then I remembered that Kal Penn is going to work for the White House. I thought they did a remarkable job shooting 13 and Foreman trying to save him – and all we see is the vantage point through the doorway. I also picked up on a comment that Cuddy made – that Kutner was similar to House. Maybe that is why House wants it to be murder? Although House has attempted suicide himself before, so never mind.
Good episode.
Jeez of course I remember – The Episode was 5×12- Painless, the diagnosis was epilepsy and I don’t get why I seem to be the only person who remembers even though I watch 12 hours of TV each day…
I’ll go and cut all the scenes out of the episode concerning Taub and Kutner and upload them to YouTube so you guys know too.
I don’t really understand why my memory of that episode is so vivid and all you guys have been talking about this murder thing for a week and don’t remember these conversations. When Deb hinted at Taub possibly killing himself I was instantly reminded of that episode – not that I thought Kutner would off himself even though he said he’d understand and Taub clearly didn’t even though later on Kutner rightly assumed that it wasn’t a collegue but rather Taub himself who tried to kill himself with a vial of insulin.
Anyway, I’ll be back…
Yeah well all the uploads get blocked. Whatever happened to the right to cite something?
Damn copyright.
I hope the transcript of the following scenes isn’t copyright enfringement as well. Really WTF is wrong in talking about a show? Do I need to paraphraze this **** now just so CC doesn’t get sued?
Anyway, First scene – the pain patient is in the MRI, Kutner and Taub watch the computer monitors. After a conversation before where Taub said he knew someone who tried to kill himself:
K: So who do you know who commited suicide?
T: Hemingway, Göbbels, Romeo & Juliet…
K: Your mom? Dad?
T: Saying that I wouldn’t do it under no circumstances means that my whole family is suicidal?
K: No, but categorical insisting there are no circumstances means you’ve got baggage of personal betrayal, abandonment
T: Just because you grew up in a Charles Dickens Novel…
K: It’s people like me who don’t do it. When your life sucks from the beginning and you got no where to go but up…
T: Thorax is clear, no tumors in the lungs… the only betrayal comes from the father of the year in there who has a wife and kid, people who count of him to have a pulse
K: OK, switching to high-res cuts of the abdomen
T: my parents lived very happily in Queens they never attempted, thought about or attempted to think about… (interrupted by new images of the MRI and a scene break)
Scene 2:
T: We were residents together. I should’ve done more to stop it. He had the mother of all god complexes, so busy treating everyone’s problems he was blind to his own. Helped himself to a vial of insulin… miracle he survived. His friends and family almost didn’t. He was a selfish ass.
Scene 3:
K: That selfish ass with the god complex that almost made the stupidest decision of his life – that wasn’t a collegue, that was you, wasn’t it?
T: No.
See you tomorrow
K: (knowing look)
This episode aired in january. Other parts of it were Cuddy getting the visit to check whether she was fit to care for her adopted child and House believing that he wasn’t responsible for the water pipe bursting in his home when in the end it came out that him holding on to the shower pipe was the reason.
Oh and the guy with the pain problems has epilepsy and that’s where the pain came from. Originally from his scrotum.
“I agree with her that it now seems deliberate that Kutner’s back story has been so largely ignored.”
Yeah if Penn is going to be working at the White House, then the fact he has no backstory is because the writers wasted his character.
Oreo, that made me laugh. You are absolutely correct!
Sebastian, thanks so much for the transcripts– now I remember that. Damn– I had no idea it was foreshadowing. Maybe it wasn’t intentional at the time, but way to follow up.
Totally agree on that – it could very well been just a topic then because of the pain patient wanting to kill himself and a way to deal with potential suicides. That’s why yesterday’s episode was so great in the way they offered help to people with mental problems and suicidal people with the help line information at the end. I don’t know whether that was also shown at the end of 5×12 but I don’t really think so.
This way or the other I know why I think House MD is the best show on TV right now. I guess that’s also why I remembered those scenes. I mean I forgot the Cuddy and House storylines during that episode but just looking at the episode titles of this season I instantly knew that “Painless” was the episode where those scenes happened.
Anyway, great show but dammit bring Cameron and Chase back in at least ONE episode. I WANT that.
“House never took the time to get to know him; and Kutner allowed this. ”
IMO, I am not too sure about this: House made a remark in Kutner’s home about a blaster that he had been obsessed with getting for a number of weeks (paraphrasing House’s lines). That seemed to me like House at least cared enough to listen about his personal life.
Are we sure this really happened? Didn’t the episode with Mos Def end with House in the elevator, and his sight going all blurry? Could House be in a coma?
(I know I’m reaching, but Kutner was the only one I didn’t want to die. He was the only other interesting character..)
this reminds me of Duala’s death in Battlestar
I believe he thought everything was going right for him & he wanted to end on a high note.
Not really pretty, not really noble, but sometimes that’s how life goes (life goes) sometimes.
I dig that…