(Season One, Episodes 18-20)
Ding dong, Vogler’s dead. Or, you know, gone (for what it’s worth, I wrote that line before I watched “Kids”, and House said the same thing). On the one hand, I’ll miss him as a foil for House; but, at the same time, he was just a bit over the top (odd, I know, because so is House). Interesting developments in the relationship that is House and Cameron, but knowing what happens in the future tempers what I think will happen there.
“Role Model”
A black senator running for president sure was the fictional rage back in the day, but the candidate’s experiences, played against our reality today, raises interesting points. What if President Obama divulged a serious health concern during the campaign? Would he have still been elected? Obviously it depends on how bad the disease is, but in general, yes, I think he would have. I think we’re more accepting of the fact that our public figures are human these days, since we’ve seen their very human failings put on open display for the last twenty years.
I loved the clinic patient this week. Her, uh, “story” added a nice contrast for the main story, both from a tone perspective (as in it was funny…. Sex is always funny), but also because she was telling the truth, and it eventually came out that the Senator was lying. Both were inherently good people, though, which begs the question: Did they just moralize lying?
Cameron and House make an interesting pair. I like how they contrast each other so perfectly. I don’t see any kind of future for them, but it is nice to watch. Her departure, as temporary as it will be, is showing House the kind of person he should be.
“Babies & Bathwater”
I don’t mean to put too fine a point on it, but Vogler is a dick. Yes, House publicly humiliated him at the end of the last episode, but what did the money man expect? He started a pissing contest, and the name of the show isn’t “Vogler.” If he could just break down the 4th Wall, he could see that he’s going to be on the losing side of this war eventually. While his points are not exactly without merit, he made this personal early on, and these are the consequences.
Watching the mom die tonight was tough. Frankly, I can’t imagine being in the place of the husband, where I would have to make those types of decisions. It’s so refreshing to see House shine in scenarios like that, when no one else is around to see him act human. We all know by now he’s got that side to him, and it’s nice to see it come out and play every once in a while.
Both Cuddy and Wilson stepped to the plate for House. Wilson you knew would, but I didn’t imagine things would come to such a point so quickly with Cuddy. I liked that she called Vogler on the “mad man with no accountability” bit, because I’d been thinking that he fit a similar description, as well. Goodbye Vogler; don’t let the door hit you….
“Kids”
Not unlike my love of disaster movies, I have always liked “event” episodes on doctor shows. ER and Grey’s Anatomy have used such set pieces to ratchet up the intensity. This episode of House didn’t necessarily follow the formula, despite a similar setup, but in comparison, that’s to be expected, as this show tends to focus on one patient, instead of many.
Not unlike Keith‘s point about Casting a Cylon, I knew Eddie McClintock’s character had to be more involved than just standing around as the coach. The minute we found out that this 12 year-old child was pregnant, you had to know it was him. Strangely, though, they seemed to skip by the resolution there rather quickly.
Cameron coming back was no surprise, but that House met her condition was. It seems to me that this is a bigger sacrifice than a 17% pay cut, or speaking for Vogler’s drug, or in general cow-towing to Vogler’s demands. In this case House is, presumably, opening up on a personal level to someone other than Wilson. Again, I don’t see this relationship going far, but I think the idea of what could happen will cause both character’s to grow a great deal.
You can take a look at my previous House Virgin Diaries by clicking the House tag!
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Jul 16, 2009 @ 16:30 EST5EDT
