One Day, One Room

I am a BIG fan of House.

Hugh Laurie is continually more nuanced than any actor on TV.

BUT the the performance of Winnick in her intimate dialogs in this episode with Laurie was more than stunning.

The character of House is completely challenged for the FIRST time.

First by actually feeling embarrassment for a patient who's medical problem includes forcible rape.

Then by caring so much that his made up finesse story is immediately challenged.

Although later it had some teeth.

The House character's success is tied to total insulation of his mind so as to not feel while caring quite brilliantly as a doctor for his patients.

Winnick's Eve indomitable aggressiveness really was the first equal to the House defenses.

She pushed and pushed and pushed through even the viewers' defenses.

This is the what, to the fans of Drama, is called WOW!! WHAT a pleasure!

On a side note: I thoroughly enjoyed the veteran character actor, Geoffrey Lewis, bring us the exquisite pain and sorrow of an old no-name guy letting go.

For fans of this episode you can't miss this YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaXzCY32lWk

You might dissolve into a fetal position when Eve decides to tell House .........as did I.

In response to the other persons comment, were they watching the same episode as me???

firstly, its a TV series not a "movie" and the writers did a wonderful job on that episode.

It actually showed house, out of his comfort zone and doing something he wasn't typically 'good at'. Also this episode gave a sense of 'realism' (for lack of a better word) to the show, instead of the whole usual saving lives thing where house and his 3 ducks dredge though mountains of information and possible diagnosis options (dont get met wrong i love that as well!!). But the show needed a smack of realism so, it changed it up and got away from the whole Tritter thing, and start afresh..

anyhow just my opinion i really enjoyed the ep!

great show.. great season!

Jono

I thought this episode was among the best.

What was clever about it was that in both House's interaction with the raped girl, and Cameron's interaction with the old man, was that they were forced to face the things that they fear the most.

House always wants to stay away from patients and focus purely on science, analysis, and solving the puzzle. He also avoids, at all costs, talking about anything truly personal and dealing with emotional issues. Imagine him then being placed in a room with a victim of rape, which is about as personal and emotional as it gets. House is clearly out of his element. There have been several comments about the woman continually reminding House that she was raped. I think that she was saying that to House when he tried to shift their discussions and fall back into his logic and analysis mode. She kept House in her zone where he was forced to deal with the personal interaction and her emotions.

Cameron has always had an aversion to dealing with death. From early in the series, she would freeze up when dealing with terminal patients. Her character is one of empathy. She can't bring herself to tell someone that they are dying. When the patient is dying, she goes out of her way to make the patient as comfortable as possible (as any doctor would). In this episode, she is confronted with a patient how demands that he be allowed to suffer until he dies. It is a situation where she has to stare a dying man in the face during his last days and he won't allow her to empathize.

I will put this episode in the top five of all the television I have ever seen. Incredible. Long Term Parking was arguably one the best episodes in the history of television. I'd put it right up there.

Those of you familiar with House know of his rude, arrogant attitude towards both his coworkers and his patients. This episode tones that down a bit and is a refreshing experience for those who have become numb to House's usual behavior. The humor is more tongue-in-cheek this time around and this episode provides more than its usual amount of laughs. While some viewers might view this particular episode as an apparent weakening of House's snide composure, it is only because House is reacting to someone who reminds him of his troubled past. This episode also served to develop House's character. Rather than spending all the time having petty squabbles with Cuddy and the rest of his group, House is a lot more deep in his discussions.