Season Four, Episodes Nine and Ten
The “Hey it’s Blank” guest star portion of the column went into overdrive with Jeremy Renner (SWAT) and Donna Moss … erm … Janel Maloney (The West Wing). And yes, I did just credit the former with an enjoyable summer popcorn flick instead of his Academy Award nominee The Hurt Locker, because, well, I’m just funny that way sometimes. With the episode-of-the-week nature of the show, I do love the myriad guest stars the producers bring in.
“Games”
The teaser did a good job in setting up that Quidd is a total douchebag. When we compare House’s “attitude” to the punk rock “star’s,” it is not House that is found wanting.
House’s little chat with CTB was as much of a view into her back-story as I think we’re going to get for a while. She makes no excuses for wanting to win, and doesn’t understand why people don’t just get that. If that’s the entirety of her worldview, well, she just became considerably less interesting.
What the hell is Wilson’s problem? He should have just kicked the guy out of his office when he turned down the check. The patient was being utterly ridiculous. Fortunately the storyline led to a great argument between Wilson and House. “Dying is easy, living is hard.” These two are great friends, but are at their best when they’re pissed at each other.
The “Drugs are always a mask for something else” back and forth between House and Thirteen would be worthy of quoting, but what made the exchange great was the physical acting. Specifically, the looks that the two actors gave each other made the scene stand out. That, right there, is the reason why Thirteen has become my favorite of the fellow candidates.
Knowing that all four of these candidates remain a part of the show going forward, seeing CTB and Thirteen both get fired was a bit of a surprise. I guess I should have seen House’s game a little more clearly, and I thought, for a quick second, it might work enough to get both of them on the team. But alas, it wasn’t to be. At least not yet?
“OK, you’re an idiot. That, or you’ve decided you can trust a smoking addict alone in a bathroom with an oxygen tank … [BOOM!]” – Thirteen
“I have seventeen points?” – CTB
“I started you all out with a hundred, and then you blew up part of the building.” – House
“Get him on a nicotine patch. I’ll keep up with his Joneses.” – House
“It’s a Wonderful Lie”
I’ve got to be honest in that I’ve already seen this episode, probably when it first aired. I’d seen two episodes of House before I started the Virgin Diary last year, and those are ones where Maloney and Felicia Day guest starred, because I’m a big fan of both. I remember little about it though — fortunately — except for the freaky bleeding from the eyes bit.
I don’t know what I like more — a parent that promises never to lie under any circumstance, or one that sets their kid on the road to IT happiness early on by getting her a Mac.
Like the rest of the team, I wonder if the game is over. The group has actually gelled in a relatively short time period. Taub and Foreman worked the ex-one night stand/date-rape jerk-off pretty well.
It is always refreshing to see House in the clinic. It is even more refreshing when he’s treating prostitutes. The refreshing feeling, however, ended with the words “Donkey Show.” The misdirection of the whole storyline saved the day, but not nearly as much as the smirk that Melanie had on her face in the final scene.
There were a couple of telegraphed plot points in this episode, though. The minute the Secret Santa bit started, I knew House put his name on all of the papers. And the minute Maggie denied the bone marrow test, I knew she wasn’t Jane’s real mother.
“Lies are like children. Hard work, but worth it, because the future depends on them.” – House
“And now I’m choosing not to be mad at you.” – Thirteen
“Why?” – Kutner
“Because it will make House nuts.” – Thirteen
“And you think that will make your lives better or worse?” – Foreman
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Jul 09, 2010 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
“He’s not a virgin! He’s not a virgin!!!”
“…they can tell that?”