HOUSE Plays “Games”

Here’s why HOUSE can’t have four new members on his team – too many medical opinions can be confusing (at least for me).In tonight’s episode, the last until January, Dr. House finally chose the members who would be joining his team. Feeling the pressure from Cuddy to narrow it down from four (Taub, 13, Kutner, and Cutthroat Bitch) to two, House pushed back saying he wanted to at least hire three of them. Cuddy refused, and when House asked for her opinion she suggested keeping Kutner and Taub. Not quite ready to take advice from Cuddy, House put the four candidates in a FTW free for all. Patient: a druggie rock star wannabe throwing up blood – the one to get the correct diagnosis wins (and the other new team member will be picked randomly). All this hard work comes down to this case, but we know it doesn’t because let’s face it, House knew he was going to choose probably by the end of the first week.

I’d like to be able to tell you which of the candidates got the right diagnosis tonight, but since they were all talking over each other and running all these random test constantly I really couldn’t keep track who got it right. I was pretty confused by it all. I think in the end it was perhaps House who figured it out by listening to all of the opinions, but I can’t be sure (feel free to explain it to me in the comments). But again, does it really matter? No.

House and the candidates gathered one last time in the lecture hall, and with soft and soothing music playing in the background House cut…

Wait, first let’s talk about Wilson, as the writers felt the need to give him a story tonight too. We learned that he gave a patient an improper diagnosis. Three months a patient was told he was dying and had six months to live. After realizing an error, Wilson redacted the prognosis and informed the patient that he was fine. But having lived the past three months like they were his last, the patient made many personal and financial decisions he wouldn’t have if he thought he were going to live. He was angry with Wilson for taking away the happiness he had found in what he thought were his final days. Wilson faces a malpractice suit, one which was encouraged by none other than House. Wow, that guy can’t keep his mouth shut even if it means helping out his best friend.

Ok, so where was I? Oh yes, music playing and people about the be fired. So in the final few minutes of the episode, House did what I was hoping he’d do from the second episode of the season – he fired Amber, the cutthroat bitch. Finally!! Although he commended her on playing the game the best, he needed someone on his team that was willing to be wrong. Amber tried so hard to always prove she was right, to win, that she sometimes lost sight of the patient. So with one down House had one more team member left to cut. Would it be Taub, Kutner or 13? Despite constantly showing she was the most competent throughout the competition, and perhaps the only one who could truly ‘handle’ House, #13 was fired. So it was Kutner and Taub who were victorious in winning the coveted spots on House’s diagnostic team.

House informs Cuddy that he decided to go with her recommended picks and his team is set. But as it turns out, Cuddy only suggested Kutner and Taub because she thought House would go against her advice. Reverse psychology, ever heard of it? Cuddy said that House couldn’t hire the two men and insisted that he hire a woman. She ordered House to hire #13 to the team. And in an ‘a ha’ moment, (yet another moment where I question her competence) Cuddy realizes that this was House’s plan all along, and once again she was played. House, as always, got what he wanted – Taub, Kutner and #13 on his new team.

Oh and Cameron, Chase and Foreman got in their obligatory screen time. I wonder how embarrassed those actors have been this season?! Ouch.

So the first half of season four of HOUSE comes to a close. I think you all know by now how stellar I think this season has been so far. Let’s hope the writers can keep it up when they get back to work and the show returns in January (the power of positive thinking).

Thoughts on the episode? House’s choices? The season this far? Let it spill, we might not be talking about it again for some time now.