House - Episode 9 (Season Three): “Finding Judas”
An enjoyable episode of House. The mystery was good and the medicine passable. The soap opera and personal dynamics were the highlights this week, and it was was one of the best episodes yet in this regard. Stay tuned for this week’s House medical review (and spoilers)…
Alice is on a ride at a fair with her father when she starts screaming. He thinks it’s because she’s scared of the ride, but she keeps screaming even after the ride is over. There is an abrupt cut (and the title and a commercial) and we discover that Alice was having severe abdominal pain and was admitted to the hospital after it was discovered she was suffering from acute pancreatitis. The Young Guns are having a debate about whether the pancreatitis is caused by an infection or gallstones when House strolls in, notices the dilated bile duct (a sign of a gallstone, either current or recent) on Alice’s CT and informs them that a gallstone is the cause of her pancreatitis. An abdominal ultrasound confirms the presence of gallstones. House wants Alice to undergo surgery to remove the gallbladder; the father agrees but the mother does not. They go before a judge who reluctantly sides with House (though it should be noted he greatly overstates the risks of not having the surgery).
The next morning, Alice has a nasty looking vesicular (blister-like) rash at the surgical site. The team suspects allergies and has Alice undergo a scratch test, which is a test that looks at a whole range of possible allergens. She turns up positive to everything. The team is concerned, but House thinks she has an infection of some kind that is influencing the allergy test. He wants to treat her with a broad spectrum antibiotic. This time, the mother agrees and the father does not. They appear before the judge again who awards temporary custody to Cuddy. She, in turn, does not want to use a broad spectrum antibiotic but instead decides to use metronidazole (Flagyl).
Alice is abducted from the hospital by her father, but he brings her back quickly when she becomes stiff shortly after leaving the hospital. The differential at this time includes neuraxonal dystrophy (a term describing certain types of acquired brain damage) and Wilson’s Disease (a condition caused by impaired metabolism of copper), though House suspects Reye Syndrome (a rare encepholapthy usually associated with the use of aspirin during a viral illness in children). He starts her on charcoal hemoperfusion (similar to dialysis, it removes toxic particles from the blood) to treat the Reye Syndrome, but she develops a blood clot and her left arm becomes pale and painful. She is taken to surgery and the clot is removed, but she runs a dangerous fever. The team is now concerned about thrombocytopenia (a severe decrease in platelets, in this case thought to be caused by the blood thinner she was placed on for the hemoperfusion), though House continues to fixate on an infectious cause. It is also noted that she is anemic. Alice develops another nasty rash, similar to the first one, this time on her left arm and then her left leg. Varicella (Chicken pox) is considered, as well as Rickettsialpox and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF). She is started on chloramphenicol to treat the suspected RMSF. It does no good, and when the rash spreads, House decides that she Alice is actually suffering from necrotizing fasciitis, the infamous “flesh-eating bacteria”. A key component of treating necrotizing fasciitis is to remove any dead tissue, so they schedule Alice for amputation of her affected arm and leg. At the last moment, Chase realizes that she does actually has congenital erythropoietic porphyria, a rare disease where exposure to sunlight or other bright light breaks down blood cells causing increasingly severe symtpoms. The surgery is stopped in time (but not before House decks Chase).
Medical Thoughts (both good and bad):
- The clot appears to be arterial (a painful, pale, cold extremity), but she had venous access for the hemoperfusion.
Metronidazole was a poor choice of antibiotic. It is good against a small spectrum of pathogens, and none that matched Alice’s symptoms. - Alice’s symptoms don’t really match up well with Reye Syndrome. Charcoal hemoperfusion is not the treatment for Reye (though its close cousin hemodialysis can be used in severe cases).
- Chloramphenicol, though an old and rarely used drug, is the first line treatment of RMSF in children.
- While necrotizing fasciitis does require the surgical removal of dead tissue, it does not require amputation — that’s going way too far way too fast (and what about the fact that the rash first appeared on her abdomen — are they going to amputate her belly?). Despite what Cameron says it is not resistant to antibiotics and she, if not House (an infectious disease specialist, after all) should know better. House is right in that necrotizing fasciitis is an incredibly rapidly spreading infection and time is key.
- I liked the fact that House kept his secret secret secret stash of Vicodin in a textbook on lupus, because “it’s never lupus.”
- My biggest complaint is it took the team too long to arrive at what should have been an easier diagnosis (the general diagnosis of “porphyria” at least — though maybe not the specific porphyria right away).
The best part of this episode was undoubtedly the soap opera. You had Tritter against Foreman, Tritter against Cameron, and Tritter against Chase, showing Tritter to be an incredibly shrewd and manipulative person. You had House versus everyone as the pain and narcotic withdrawl made him increasingly irritable. There was the nice Wilson/Cuddy moment and then the haunting Wilson/Tritter moment at the end of the episode.
I give the medical mystery a B+ and the ultimate solution a B. The medicine was slightly above average, so I give it C+ (the team should have caught porphyria sooner, and Cameron should know better about necrotizing fasciitis). The soap opera/non-medical content earns a strong A this week, and was damn close to an A+.
Last week’s House review
A list of all previous House reviews
Grand Rounds, the weekly collection of the best medical blogging on the ‘net, is held this week at Notes from Dr. RW
November 28th, 2006 at 11:24 pm
I agree that the soap opera elements were particularly well done. I laughed out loud and clapped when the line about lupus was said. It seemed like a lot of the elements had been there before though (We had Cuddy in charge of a patient who is about to be amputated unnecessarily, much like she did with her houseworker; we had House detoxing; and Chase collaborating with the enemy…). It seemed that we got a more familiar side of Tritter as well, which is a nice break. In the previous episodes he was just a menacing, dark figure who just stood by and intimidated, whereas I felt that in this episode we saw him have a greater range.
I was wondering about the final diagnosis though (since I’m no doctor). If the condition is that she’s allergic to light, why didn’t her face break out in blisters as well?
November 28th, 2006 at 11:57 pm
I liked the soap opera aspects more. I wasn’t as interested in the medical case, mostly because of the bickering parents. I had no sympathy for either of them and that made them less interesting to me.
What everyone seems to be overlooking is that House does need the Vicodin not only to manage his pain, but also as a means to keep himself sharp as far as diagnosis. Chase was right in the final diagnosis and House totally wrong. And House was wrong in part because he was OFF drugs, not on them.
I would suppose that House as lost any ability to determine just how much Vicodin he needs because he seems to need it more psychologically than physically now. None of the others are able to really judge how much pain House is in and House himself pops the Vicodin so much like candy it’s hard to tell.
I read somewhere else that necrotizing faciitis is very distinctive though and not something you can misdiagnose.
November 29th, 2006 at 12:03 am
I feel stupid. I don’t understand the very last line of the episode.
“I am going to need 30 pieces of silver.”
??
(My favorite part of the episode was the Lupus joke. I love when shows make fun of themselves)
November 29th, 2006 at 12:04 am
May I ask why “it’s never lupus?”
November 29th, 2006 at 12:05 am
Yes, the Lupus line was ~particularly~ great in light of their bonus feature on the Season 2 dvd being a segment called “It might be Lupus” where it’s just a collection of all the times they refer to Lupus in the season (and it’s a lot).
And even though I don’t like him in this way, I did like how they emphasized the difference in House now where he’s being more mean without a point. Also, I liked that Cuddy pointed out that House does have his own internal self-censorship (just turned to off for the time being…). Sucks that he’s being that way, though, but that’s drama!
I also liked how they gave more information about Tritter. I was sick of all the complaining about the story arc before (since I feel it’s greatly unfounded), and hopefully that will cut it down a bit. But who knows, people like to complain.
November 29th, 2006 at 12:06 am
**I feel stupid. I don’t understand the very last line of the episode.
“I am going to need 30 pieces of silver.”**
That is what Judas was paid to betray Christ. Hence a reference to the episode title “Finding Judas.” Wilson is saying that he’s going to want something to betray House.
November 29th, 2006 at 12:06 am
The 30 pieces of silver comment was a reference to Judas; the discliple that, according to the story, betrayed Jesus for the price of 30 piece of silver.
November 29th, 2006 at 12:10 am
Why would a hospital give an office to the detective pursuing a vendetta against one of its doctors (and that’s spilling over to affect others)?
November 29th, 2006 at 12:18 am
Judas sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Great episode!
November 29th, 2006 at 12:41 am
This episode was kind of like “Detox” from Season 1, except House doesn’t come up with the dynamic save at the end. (Although, to extend the hockey analogy, he does go all Tie Domi on Chase.)
November 29th, 2006 at 1:25 am
No complaints this week - I enjoyed this ep a lot. It was shocking to see House whining for a fix, then decide to leave during the amputation.
They do give away too much in the previews, though.
Check out this 12 second version of ‘House M.D.’ I found on the web: http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/4017/housemdin12secjt8.gif
November 29th, 2006 at 1:36 am
Am I the only one who really doesn’t care about Tritter? I can’t wait until they get this story line over with - the whole Tritter out for revenge thing is getting old.
I agree that it took them far too long to make this diagnosis, I would think they should have noted the hemolysis on basic lab tests. Sure infection might be causing it, but she had gallstones long before any signs of infection.
It makes sense that the girl didn’t break out over her face because her skin appears to be most sensitive to very intense light, i.e. the light used for the allergy test or surgical lights. Otherwise she just gets a low level of breakdown which caused the gallstone.
November 29th, 2006 at 1:39 am
I realize a television drama is not reality nor is it supposed to be. But I’m a bit confused about the what is being referred to so freely as addiction. Does House really an addict? I understood addiction to be defined as a disease. I understood that when severe pain is being treated / managed there rarely is addiction. There may be a physical dependence, but not an addiction. Also because pain which requires this level of management will create increased tolerance to medication, high doses are often required to achieve the same level of pain relief. Further, one should reduce the higher doses gradually to avoid withdrawal symptoms stemming from the physical dependency. Isn’t one of the definitions of addiction that the drug is used complusively and creates dysfunction in the person’s life? As opposed to successful pain management which is not complusive use and increases function in a person’s life. It would seem House is in the latter category — his drug use is not complusive and it does increase his function within his world.
So, wouldn’t it be the wise and responsible treatment for someone who experiences severe and constant pain to have his medication reduced gradually and not suddenly as has been imposed on House?
Dr. Scott…can you shed some light on this? Is House an addict?
November 29th, 2006 at 5:05 am
Could Wilson be setting up tritter for a crime of bribery?
November 29th, 2006 at 6:57 am
I think House understated the dangers of not having the gallbladder removed on purpose to get his way (he’s done this before) — notice how he violently objects when the judge tries to get Cuddy’s opinion in addition to House’s.
Nicolai: “It’s never Lupus” is probably an insude joke about how many times Lupus has come up in the DDs on House, and yet it’s never actually Lupus.
Dr Ron NJ: I thought at first Wilson was going to give some information to discredit what Chase might say if Chase rolled on House (which it sounded like he was about to). But now I believe Wilson is going to cut a deal with House; 2 months rehab for the info Tritter wants. If Tritter is just a bully, then he’ll say forget it, if he really wants House to be less dangerous and dependent on medication, he’d gladly accept.
So I think Wilson is realizing how violent House has become, and seeing how House is hurting everyone around him (and beginning to do his job poorly) he figures House *needs* to be stopped, and the only way is through Tritter.
I didn’t like the story arc before because of its unbelievability. Now it’s actually interesting enough that I’m not as concerned with that anymore. Of course, they have to do things like this in the show or it’d be called “House’s Funtime Last-Minute Magic Miracle Diagnosis Show starring Hugh Laurie!”
November 29th, 2006 at 9:00 am
“It’s never lupus”…. I had to laugh, and then the first thing I thought of was the comments that would be posted here…… ;-D
I’m really starting to like the soap opera with Tritter - although I don’t think I’d like it half as much if it weren’t the incomparable David Morse playing the role.
And I also wonder about why he’s got a place to sit in the hospital - it looks like an unused storage room or something, the way there is plastic hanging around…but I’ve never worked anywhere that had that kind of “spare” space available.
House was on the edge of jumping the shark for me at the beginning of the season, but they’ve done enough to draw me back into it…..
November 29th, 2006 at 9:28 am
I think Wilson turned in House because he realized that it would be much worse for House if Chase did it. Laurie’s portrayal of a House completely off his rocker was excellent. The hiding of Vicodin in the Lupus book reminded me of how alcoholics supposedly hide bottles around the house after they’ve been cut off.
I hope they follow up on this and don’t let the character just go back to being the same old Vicodin-popping gimp he’s always been. The few episodes where House could walk again were a breath of fresh air, and I hope the writers are brave enough to make major changes like that again.
November 29th, 2006 at 9:37 am
Was it just me, or did Chase kick ass this episode? hes becoming one of my favorite characters. BOOYA CHASE, BOOYA!
November 29th, 2006 at 10:47 am
OhKen,
Tritter is using Wilson’s office. Wilson’s name is clearly on the door in several scenes.
PC,
I totally agree with your addiction vs. pain management assessment. If Tritter is so about saving the patients from a druggie doctor; it’s not personal, then he’d realize that House off Vicodin is more dangerous than House on Vicodin if he spent 5 seconds near him.
I think this story arc sucks. It’s been drawn out, and Tritter’s actions (freezing assets on a whim to pressure folks to flip) is illegal, if not impossible. I want it to end now.
November 29th, 2006 at 11:44 am
From someone who suffers from lupus (mild cases compared to most - knock on wood) I find the lupus comments hysterical. The hidden pill bottle in a book on Lupus was great, and his comment “it’s never lupus” just added to the comedy. My wife has watched this show from the pilot. For more than a year she tried to get me to watch but I wrote this show off as another “ER” or “Grey’s Anatomy”. I finally started to watch half way through the second season and I am now hooked. I can accept that the show my not be medically correct at all times or that it may be more action packed than real life (I was in the ER the other evening and noticed how calm and quiet it was and commented to my wife “this is nothing like they show on tv!”) knowing it ads to the content to entice viewers to keep coming back for more.
My wife does not like who House is becoming, but I think it is great they are showing him slowly unravel. When he told the little girl to “just eat the damn sandwich kid” and the comment to Cuddy on how she would suck at being a parent were probably the harshest comments I heard come from House and just shows a hint of who House will become over the next few episodes.
All in all, I feel the shows are getting better. House M.D is the only show on TV I actually schedule to watch (or schedule my homework assignments around).
November 29th, 2006 at 11:57 am
Official Comment
PC,
House is dependant on the Vicodin, but addiction is a different situation. During previous seasons, I don’t feel he was addicted. This season though, we’ve seen him take foolish risks and illegal behaviors that are more consistenet with an addiction.
November 29th, 2006 at 12:15 pm
“Jenifer Says:
November 29th, 2006 at 10:47 am
OhKen,
Tritter is using Wilson’s office. Wilson’s name is clearly on the door in several scenes.”
Thanks…. I had thought about that, but never saw the door (makes note to make opthalmologic appointment).
November 29th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
Scott,
Are House’s recent actions a sign of an addiction, though, or of pain that’s not being controlled? I guess I want to know if there’s a distinction between addiction and being in so much pain that one can’t function without massive amounts of medication.
November 29th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
I’m with Jenifer on this one - the arc with Tritter may be good storytelling, but what he’s doing is, for the most part, implausible and illegal.
I’m starting to wonder if how I feel about this arc is how doctors feel watching medical dramas, since I seem to spend more time griping about how what they’re doing is unrealistic than actually watching (and enjoying) the show.
November 29th, 2006 at 1:36 pm
Official Comment
Chris,
There is a difference. The amount of medication required to treat the pain really doesn’t matter — if anything, that shows a sign of tolerance to the medication, a physical condition.
Addiction, on the other hand, is a psychological condition. To oversimplify a little, with addiction, people do things that they know are wrong or illegal in order to obtain the drug — like forging a signature, for instance (or skipping school, or lying to the spouse, etc. etc.)
I go into a little more detail about addiction in my review of House episode 11 from two years ago.
November 29th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Sure, but House does things that he knows are wrong or illegal on a routine basis for reasons entirely unrelated to drug-seeking. So I think we would need a different test, here… (How does one determing if a sociopath [or borderline sociopath] is also a drug addict, anyhow?)
November 29th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
On my local Fox affiliate they’ve been showing reruns of House’s second season on Monday nights, which only emphasizes how far the show has fallen this season. This was the best episode so far, but still below last year’s standard of virtuosic brilliance. If they want to keep their fan base from defecting they’re going to have to get ther old lead writer back, at least on a consulting basis.
November 29th, 2006 at 2:03 pm
Wouldn’t the surgeon know that it’s not necrotizing fasciitis when he starts cutting deeply into the flesh?
November 29th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
The lupus joke made me laugh, I won’t lie.
Tritter is a great villain. He’s well acted, enigmatic, and even a little sympathetic. He is every bit the ‘evil’ House and it’s just fun to watch. The freezing of assets is a pretty silly concept, so it requires some suspension of disbelief, but if you just take it as shorthand for more subtle pressure he could actually apply that would take far more screen time to explain, it’s tolerable.
November 29th, 2006 at 3:08 pm
Chase rocked the HIZZOUSE this episode.
November 29th, 2006 at 3:08 pm
Chase is in da HOUSE!!!
House is outta da house….
November 29th, 2006 at 3:36 pm
“It’s never lupus.”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0qNBOoDiG0w
November 29th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
I am still betting on Tritter being squashed by a cunning plan.
“you can’t always get what you want”…..Rolling Stones
“in jersey, anything’s legal, as long as you don’t get caught” Bob Dylan, w/Traveling Wilburys from a song, I think is called….Tweeter and the Monkey Man…..
November 29th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
who else thinks the Tritter storyline will end by House curing Triter’s disease or whatever he had in his first appearance. He still seems to be chewing the nicotine gum
November 29th, 2006 at 5:59 pm
So, I know this has probably been asked before, but where is House’s doctor? Or one of the doctors attending him during his surgery? Does he avoid having a doctor because of he doesn’t think he will get enough pills? Wouldn’t getting a doctor in the midst of this investigation allow him legal prescriptions?
November 29th, 2006 at 6:04 pm
Does anyone else feel that the presentation of House’s drug use is really inconsistent? Up until this season, he hasn’t shown anything that looks like addiction - chronic pain and physical dependency, yes, but not addiction, though it was once implied that at least some of the pain was psychosomatic. Suddenly in the third season, he’s stashing pills everywhere (though the lupus joke was brilliant), forging signatures - much more addict-like behavior. Yet he functions “normally” while on Vicodin, and can’t focus without it - due to the pain in his leg and probably pain from withdrawl, and not due to a need for drugs for normal cognitive function. It’s beginning to bother me, especially because in House-land, Tritter seems to think he’s a dangerous addict, while the opposite seems to be true (he’s dangerous without the meds), and no one on the show has mentioned this.
Love the House-blog, by the way. My mother and I watch House together, and we’re both heavily interested in medicine (I’m a biology major looking to go into veterinary medicine, and my mother has a BS in Bio and an MLS, and works in a medical library) and we’re always trying to catch them out on badly-done medicine, but don’t have quite enough knowledge ourselves. Unfortunately it’s getting harder and harder to suspend our disbelief now that they’ve added unlikely law-enforcement to the mix as well.
November 29th, 2006 at 6:10 pm
I think that having even one of Houses enemies come down with an extremely rare and difficult-to-diagnose condition (his Ex-wife’s guy) stretched credibility, and sincerely hope that they don’t try and go to that well a second time…
November 29th, 2006 at 7:30 pm
The way they have written the Tritter arc so far, Tritter is definitely being portrayed as very similar to House himself. So, for House to win (as we know he must, since the show isn’t called “Tritter, detective”) he is going to have to out-”House” Tritter. Right now, Tritter has him on tilt. To win, he will have to find a way to get Tritter on tilt. I suspect we still have a good 2 or 3 more episodes with Tritter, at least.
November 29th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
Oh, and to Dr. Ron NJ: nice Blackadder reference.
November 29th, 2006 at 8:30 pm
Scott … That is an interesting distinction between addicted and dependent.
Can one grow tolerant to the pain medication he is on? I think it’s vicodin, right? Tolerant enough where he would need more than the average person in terms of dose?
November 29th, 2006 at 10:37 pm
My theory on the last scene (Wilson/Tritter):
Wilson is doing this for several reasons:
-if he tells on House before Chase does, this might avoid the tearing apart of the “best department of diagnostic medicine there is”, thus benefitting the patients, the hospital, House and his team. Basically, if he as House’s “bestest buddy” does it, there might (and probably will) still be a chance of reconciliation between him and House. If Chase does it, the whole team will fall apart.
-possibly because of a deal he wants to cut to benefit House (as has been mentioned in a comment here: Something along the lines of “Two months detox and rehab in exchange for what Tritter wants”)
-I’m pretty sure though that there’s ~some~ underlying motive of retaliation for what House did to him, but for Wilson this would not be enough of a motivation because his ethics would kick in and stop him from doing it if there is no moral and/or social benefit (which is what points one and two provide).
The dynamics between House and Wilson are really going to get intense when House finds this out. I am so looking foreward to this!
Great episode!
November 29th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
P.S.:
I’d like to hear your thoughts about this little theory of mine, because I’m completely in the dark about whether I am over-interpreting or not.
November 29th, 2006 at 10:46 pm
Chase is the best on that show, end of period. F*** house
November 30th, 2006 at 12:54 am
Exactly what could Chase give up against House? House has only done one thing particularly illegal, and that was forging signatures on Wilson’s drug pad. The other doctors can say he takes pills a lot of pills, but anybody that is around him for 2 minutes can tell you that.
Forget Wilson giving up House so House could have a reduced sentence. Wilson is just pissed off at him, after hearing from Cuddy then Chase he decided screw him. Judas didn’t give up Jesus for a reduced sentence, he gave him up for money and likely personal reasons. And if Wilson truly had ‘ethics’ he would have said right away that those signatures don’t look like his. Although how incredibly careless to use a signature that doesn’t match the real one to at least the untrained eye.
November 30th, 2006 at 2:24 am
“Does anyone else feel that the presentation of House’s drug use is really inconsistent? Up until this season, he hasn’t shown anything that looks like addiction - chronic pain and physical dependency, yes, but not addiction, though it was once implied that at least some of the pain was psychosomatic. Suddenly in the third season, he’s stashing pills everywhere (though the lupus joke was brilliant), forging signatures - much more addict-like behavior. Yet he functions “normally” while on Vicodin, and can’t focus without it - due to the pain in his leg and probably pain from withdrawl, and not due to a need for drugs for normal cognitive function. It’s beginning to bother me, especially because in House-land, Tritter seems to think he’s a dangerous addict, while the opposite seems to be true (he’s dangerous without the meds), and no one on the show has mentioned this.”
A large part of it I feel is House making sure to avoid the pain — like he said to Foreman in the two Euphoria episodes, fear of pain makes you do stupid things, as well as pain.
But the point of House being “dangerous” off the meds is stretched a bit I think (but certainly well phrased with the opposite of Tritter’s view). That could just be because I’d need to see a few more things before House would fit my version of truly “dangerous.” Far more of a jerk, distracted, coming off at the hindges, all of the above — just barely not dangerous to me however.
November 30th, 2006 at 2:44 am
I wish I could remember the exact lines that Tritter uses as he is describing House - something along the lines of, “He thinks he is never wrong, he is willing to break the rules, he browbeats people…” Like I said, I don’t remember the line exactly, but when he said them, my husband and I turned to each other and said “Tritter is describing himself as well as House.” If anybody Tivo’d it and can post it, that would be great.
Great site, by the way — love to hear the real skinny on the medical. And I am willing to suspend a fair amount of disbelief in the interests of drama - after all, it is only an hour and things must move along. Unlike in real life! There is a phenomena I call “hospital time” wherein everything moves along about 1/5 of the speed you think it should. Coming from a medical family, I know some of the behind the scene reasons for that, but you sure have to dial it down to deal with it. My favorite example was when the nurse told me at 10 am that I was to ready to be released from the hospital, the doctor had okayed it. I, being optimistic, got dressed and ready to go. It was 2 pm before I was wheeled out the front door! Hospital time.
November 30th, 2006 at 3:40 am
Very good episode, and nice review. Thanks, scott :)
Many people are wondering why House is acting like an addict in this season, while in the previous seasons, he was not. Could it not be because he went drug free for 8 months, then had his pain come back. Now he is mentally scared too, and has to have a constant, if not increasing amount of painkillers ( “Fear of pain is worse than pain itself” - Greg House, Euphoria, Season2 )
As he is loosing his vicodin cushion, he is getting mad. He is made to wait 6 hours (?) for Cuddy to give him two pills. He is experiencing pain and he wants others to experience it too.
I really, really liked the part that House screwed up. If he had made the diagnosis, even when he was off vicodin, it wouldnt have been that good. This shows us that he is not himself. This was pointed out by Cuddy too.
Overall, one of the best episodes this season. :D
Cheers
November 30th, 2006 at 3:59 am
One thing that kind of frosts me about people not knowing the “30 pieces of silver” reference (not only here, but on the FOX House board): It’s one of those religious references that I assumed was fully absorbed into the general secular culture. (Don’t kids go to Sunday school anymore?)
Perhaps it’s worth noting that Dr. Wilson is Jewish, and yet he knew what the reference was. And lest someone say that was just the writer’s conceit, I have at least two Jewish friends who know quite a bit about Christian customs. No way they wouldn’t know about the 30 pieces of silver (although one of them did ask me once about that John 3:16 guy who would show up in the stands at football games).
November 30th, 2006 at 10:30 am
“Don’t kids go to Sunday school anymore?”
Only the unlucky ones.
November 30th, 2006 at 11:18 am
Not everyone is Christian or goes to Church, so not everyone goes to Sunday School, no.
November 30th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Wilson is doing exactly what Stacy did, making a life-changing decision against Houses’ will. I doubt their freindship will survive, unless, before House checks into rehab, Tritter comes down with some variation on nicotine poisoning and becomes the patient of the week.
November 30th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
MrBuddwing,
thats also assuming that people are all Christians….and not everone is. IN fact, only 1/6th of the worlds population is Christian.
Also, I agree with the other’s about Chase being awesome this episode. They have really built him up nicely this season. I’m glad it was him that came up with the thing and not one of the other 2. He reminded me ALOT of house, sitting in that chair with the laser pointer, saying sarcastic remarks and then figuring out the solution because of some random event (the line “dont burn me” etc). ALso, if you notice, he is not wearing his lab coat, he is wearing a suit jacket and casual clothes just like HOUSE ALWAYS DOES!
Go Chase!
November 30th, 2006 at 2:56 pm
Has House been wrong about his final diagnosis before?
November 30th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
“Also, I agree with the other’s about Chase being awesome this episode. They have really built him up nicely this season. I’m glad it was him that came up with the thing and not one of the other 2. He reminded me ALOT of house, sitting in that chair with the laser pointer, saying sarcastic remarks and then figuring out the solution because of some random event (the line “dont burn me” etc). ALso, if you notice, he is not wearing his lab coat, he is wearing a suit jacket and casual clothes just like HOUSE ALWAYS DOES!”
Maybe he was trying to be House. Dress like House, act like House, become House. There’s his strategy!
November 30th, 2006 at 3:56 pm
When I was watching the episode and after, I really enjoyed it… The last scene was heartbreaking, simply because I can’t stand but think that Wilson was making a mistake, but Chase pretty much ensured the fact that he HAD to do it… If he hadn’t, Chase would’ve done something worse.
However, my friend called me the next morning(who has actually had her gallbladder removed because of gallstones) and said that the cuts were in the wrong places. Is this true?
November 30th, 2006 at 4:30 pm
Official Comment
David,
Tolerance is expected in long term narcotic use. For the same pain, House would likely need an increasing dose over the years. Sometime I’ll blog about differences in treating acute pain (like a sprained ankle) and chronic pain (like House). Anatomically and biochemically, they are different.
Kara,
There is more than one way to go after a gallbladder, particularly in children.
November 30th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
@Martin:
That one does have a moral code (a motivating ethical world-view) does not mean that “telling the truth” is the highest value, nor does it mean that one will always act in cvomplete accordance with one’s ethics. (Has anyone -have you?- ALWAYS acted the way you think was morally/ethically the best?)
Wilson might value ‘acting-so-as-to-best-benifit-the-ones-who-are-closest-to-you’ higher/more than ‘telling the truth’. And as I said, what he has done might have been motivated by concern for House and his team, but probably there was also at least a bit revenge/retaliation involved. But I don’t think Wilson would be capable of acting completely contrary to his ethical world-view, and if (which I doubt) his primary motivator was revenge/retaliation/personal gain, then he couldn’t have done it without finding some ethical justification.
If it was indeed his primary motivator, then the ethical reasons/justifications might save their friendship in the very end (and benefit House and his team);… if it was his ethical concerns (; primarily, but with a hint of retaliation…as I laid out in my previous post), then I feel the culmination of these events in terms of character-dynamics will be even more intense…
P.S.: IMO, it doesn’t make sense to strech the Judas-analogy to being a literal analogy… just because the mythological Judas acted towards the mythological Jesus in the way the Bible tells us - out of selfishness- … doesn’t mean the analogy goes that far. Wilson is the one who “sold” House to Tritter, that makes him Judas in the analogy,… doesn’t mean that he has the same motivations as the mythological Judas.
Best wishes,
MikeB
November 30th, 2006 at 11:08 pm
The team suspects allergies and has Alice undergo a scratch test, which is a test that looks at a whole range of possible allergens. She turns up positive to everything.
Scott, Do you know why this didn’t make them at least mention and want to rule out dermographism?
December 1st, 2006 at 7:19 am
To L,
I suffer from dermatographic urticaria. Those vesicular rashes looked nothing like those welts I get.
Plus, I don’t have gallstones or abdominal pains from DU (which is harmless btw) - guess it just didn’t fit
Once the implausibility of Tritter’s extremely unbelievable law enforcement methods are pushed to the back of one’s mind… the soap can be really enjoyable (IMHO)
Just a mention; I’ve been lurking about here since the middle of season two. I’m still in med school first year and I still need quite a lot of help discerning the wrongs from the rights of this show. Your page is an absolute gem.
December 1st, 2006 at 10:18 am
I love this show but the implausibilities are adding up, reaching a critical mass in this episode. I think the Tritter character who can stand up to House is a great idea (although they did a similar thing with the pharmaceutical billionaire) but many of the things he does seem unrealistic.
But for me, the biggest issue is why do his colleagues put up with House? Why does Wilson take it? Why do the young, bright doctors suck up the abuse? After 2-3 yr, haven’t they been trained enough to go out on their own? Is he THAT good of a diagnostician? Are there no opportunities elesewhere? Or are they so emotionally scarred in various ways that they are unable to leave? I was in a similar (but non-medical) situation where the director was abusive and let me tell you, there was a revolving door on the lab. The technicians left, the students left, the postdocs left. I like Chase but if he doesn’t leave (or get a big-time apology from House) I won’t be able to respect him in the morning.
I’m used to some liberties with plausibility in TV shows, but at some point they cross over from drama to soap opera.
“It’s never lupus” was funny. Sometime in the future I expect the line “Don’t hide it in the porphyria book.” :)
December 1st, 2006 at 11:18 am
To Mike B who says,
“IMO, it doesn’t make sense to strech the Judas-analogy to being a literal analogy just because the mythological Judas acted towards the mythological Jesus in the way the Bible tells us - out of selfishness- doesn’t mean the analogy goes that far. Wilson is the one who sold House to Tritter, that makes him Judas in the analogy,it doesn’t mean that he has the same motivations as the mythological Judas.”
There is a school of thought that Judas betrayed Jesus to the Romans because he thought it would force Jesus to assume his kingdom on earth and would therefor benefit the Jews (and they were all Jews, even Jesus.) The money was not the primary motivation. It is felt that he misunderstood the nature of Jesus’ kingdom, even after Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.”
December 1st, 2006 at 1:03 pm
And you know, at some point down the road, it’ll *have* to be lupus only for all the times it hasn’t been - even to the point of referencing it in this episode.
December 1st, 2006 at 1:30 pm
its a picture of someones back with hi spelled out in a scar… interesting
December 1st, 2006 at 7:11 pm
Benmast, I didn’t mean it could have caused all of her problems, only that it could have accounted for such a bizarre allergy test. Dermographism will give all false positives because the skin reacts to the needle, never mind what’s on it. Patients with this condition have their blood taken and then that is tested.
Zach, It isn’t a scar, right now that guy’s back is perfectly clear, unless he has recently had an itch. More information.
December 1st, 2006 at 7:58 pm
@Morgan in Jax:
Thank you for your clarification. While I would call myself an atheist, I am very interested in philosphy of religion. I have read the bible; grewn up in a social environment which is dedfinfitly protestant in nature etc…
You make an interesting point there… the analogy, -after all- might even go as far…
though of course my point still stands that Wilson didn’t do it just for his own benefit/revenge/retaliation…That interpretation of the Judas-story has the potential to enhance the analogy…
Thank you for your clarification… I’m sure I’ll be able to use that knowledge in my further career as a philosopher… though I’d still be greatful if you’d be so kind as to tell me weather there is a term for this kind of view on the biblical tale ( so that I can mentioan it without needing to have hour-long debates with my friends about what I mean and so on…and if it is the case that there is a term for this interpretation, what that term is.)
(P.S.: I know that they were Jews; since there were only two monotheistic religions in the great “king”doms of that time…. - i.e. — you are right :-)
Again, -honestly- thank you for your input!
Yours,
MikeB
December 1st, 2006 at 11:13 pm
@L
I apologize. Perhaps I was being unclear with my statement. :-)
I’ve looked pretty closely at those vesicular rashes on her back and abdomen again and I reaffirm my thoughts;
Those rashes really did not look like the welts DU sufferers get. But that, of course, is subject to opinions. But I distinctly recalled that one of the Young Guns mentioned that there were no itchiness (hallmark of DU welts)
But of course, I may be wrong. This is just my opinion.
December 1st, 2006 at 11:25 pm
mike b, weather is whether in your case. ie the weather is nice outside, I dont care whether or not the tornado killed my mom.
morgan in jax, Jesus was not a jew. Jews are evil shape shifting demons that are out to steal money, eat babies, and kill saviours. Ask hitler, there was a reason krystalnacht happened. Also borat nearly lost his life to the jew in his new documentary so hah, just be happy you have never met a jew before.
L, that is awesome. It seems cool at first but I can understand where it would be annoying. If I had a friend that had it I would write obscenities on him while hes not paying attention. I get something sort of like that from getting scratched by my cat but i am sure it is just because I am allergic to getting scratched by my cat. and yeah I did read where it said it can be mistaken for scratches, I was just supporting their ideals.
I have nobody else to talk to, nobody loves me… except pussy, and I love pussy also.
December 2nd, 2006 at 2:41 am
@Zach: thank you for your correction… I know the difference between whether and weather… it was late, I was in a hurry and didn’t look twice.
And regarding what you wrote in reply to Morgan in Jax… I hope (and it’s hard to conceive of it otherwise) that was supposed to be a joke, but even if so… it’s distasteful, offensive, inhumane and sickening! Definitly neither funny nor witty. (P.S.: it’s “Reichskristallnacht”, not “krystalnacht”).
@Scott: I’d like to suggest that you consider deleting that comment. Thank you.
December 2nd, 2006 at 10:51 pm
Okay, I go by Zach, and another guy is going by Zach. The one who was spewing anti-semitic comments is the other guy. When I came in, I saw post #70, that is identified as “70. Zach Says: Your comment is awaiting moderation.” My understanding is that comments awaiting moderation would not be seen by anyone but the original poster. Because I can see it, is that an indication that this second Zach has hacked into my computer somehow? Or is that just a feature that two people who have used the same name can see eachothers’ moderation waiting comments?
December 2nd, 2006 at 10:54 pm
On the subject, I think it’s far too late to try and paint Tritter as reasonable. It comes off as tacked on here when we could have used it earlier.
December 3rd, 2006 at 6:00 am
Firstly, I’m glad I’ve found this place. I’m a “House, MD” addict (hee) and it’s refreshing to stumble onto such a well-written weblog _with_ interesting, polite and respectful discussions in the comments, something that’s getting rarer across the internet.
I’ve chosen to drop a comment here simply to express my frustration about these late episodes, specifically since Tritter appeared. I’m not enjoying them much. There’s a new, darker atmosphere that’s getting to my nerves. I realise that, for the show to keep being interesting and appealing, there have to be twists and variations to the complicated-foreground-medical-case-to-diagnose formula, but this “detective story” is based on shaky, ludicrous grounds, and frankly it’s getting way too long for my tastes.
I enjoyed better the Vogler appearance and episode arc. I think it was better written and founded on a more understandable, proportionate and solid principle. Both Vogler and Tritter look for a vengeance and both want House’s head, but Vogler’s actions sounded less gratuitous to me, or more justified: he was made chairman of the board after donating 100 million dollars to the hospital, he had his personal views on how to manage a hospital, House and his department didn’t fit (both cost-wise and on a personal distaste level) and he did what he did because, well, in his position he simply could. Tritter is abusive in a more incredible way, given his position. He is a policeman, and a bad example of one. He’s using the taxpayers’ money to pursue his personal hunts. When his character is introduced, we learn that he’s a good detective: doesn’t he have other more important investigations to follow? In what ways is he being useful to society? Because he’s trying to neutralise someone he believes to be a dangerous element, a threat for present and future patients? During his interactions with Wilson, Cuddy, Cameron, Chase, Foreman, Tritter often boasts about his subtle understanding of people’s dynamics and he feels smart and confident about his insights regarding House. Yet I wonder how he seems to miss the basic point: House _functions_ with the drug. House solves cases and cures people. Instead of examining old House’s medical files and realising how good House is at his jobs, he’s stubbornly and annoyingly fixated on House’s drug habits and on his personal vendetta.
As I said, this situation of general stall and conflict among the characters, in my opinion is getting way too long and annoyingly so. Second season was better. Better written and with excellent ideas to keep the audience entertained. The 2 “Euphoria” episodes were great, because we got to discover more about Foreman’s life and character. I prefer that kind of development. I’d like to see and know more of Foreman, Chase, Cameron, Cuddy and Wilson. It would be great to see a development in their characters, because after 2 seasons and a half (more or less), we still don’t know much about them, and sometimes they do seem just puppets in House’s office. I’d like to see more explorations about them than this inconsistent and uninteresting Tritter mini-saga.
Apologies for my long rant. Again, my sincere compliments to Scott for this space. Bookmarking it right away.
Regards,
Rick
December 3rd, 2006 at 9:36 am
I actually have EPP. I don’t usually watch House but was notified by the EPP mailing list I’m on.
To be honest, there were quite a few mistakes in the portrayal.
The rash doesn’t look like that: in fact after the amount of exposure she got there shouldn’t be a rash at all. The pain comes first with no physical symptoms (about 5-15 minutes of August sun). After more exposure (about a day’s worth of August sun) the skin swells and bloats. After even more exposure (about 2 days’ worth of August sun) the skin takes on the typical porphyria purple lesions and a leathery texture.
Now this is all well and good, because to be honest, something like that would severely gross out viewers, and would completely confuse the doctors. It certainly confused mine. And, I’ve never had light exposure INSIDE and have a bit of protection just thanks to skin. So the lesions COULD come faster.
But what gets me is that she didn’t seem to be in much pain. Sun exposure HURTS. A LOT. As in she’ll need to be popping pills like House was. No sleep. Just scratching. This is my biggest problem. Everything else could be excused for the most part but porphyria burns are the most painful thing I know.
In the episode’s defense I will say they got the explanation down really well. It’s not an allergy. It’s not a skin disorder. She’s not a vampire. She’s a little girl with a blood disorder. Though it’s not shortened to EP, it’s to EPP, for the proto part of erythropoietic protoporphyria.
Also, you have the wrong diagnosis on your page. Congenital erythropoietic porphyria, or CEP, is another form of porphyria, but it appears at birth, rather than is developed over time. CEP children are much much more sensitive to light and can’t even have the reflective light from an open window. I know a 4 year old child with it.
December 3rd, 2006 at 1:41 pm
Hmm… They broke the no-mobile-phone-in-the-hospital rule this time.
December 3rd, 2006 at 1:59 pm
I thought it was a shame they didn’t cut one of the girl’s limbs off before they stopped the surgery. It would have made it a lot more tense - the arm’s gone, will the leg go too?
December 4th, 2006 at 1:42 am
That would really be bad! I imagine not a lot of folks will like to see a little girl hacked up all for nothing!
December 4th, 2006 at 4:48 pm
You are missing the point of Tritter really being there. That is to support the fact that this is personal vengence and will be written off as such. Why else would you go through the process of estabilishing that he is there on vacation? They needed to give the viewers something to point back at when house’s lawyer argues that it is an issue of personal vengence and not a criminal matter.
December 4th, 2006 at 11:41 pm
Anyone else hoping that this will end with Stacy coming back for an episode?
December 5th, 2006 at 12:34 pm
Stacey will most probably NOT come back into House’s life. House is aware of who he is, as complex as he is. Stacey would be doing the wrong thing and repeating her betrayal. House sees himself when he sees Mark on the wheel chair. Hence Mark and House are inextricably connected. House doesn’t WANT Stacey to leave Mark, because then she is leaving HIM AGAIN. In his mind, House is a cripple- when he sees Mark he is full of self-loathing, which he projects onto Mark. A part of him is DISAPPOINTED in Stacey, for cheating on MARK, and a part of him feels triumphant that Stacey still slept with him, making him her love-object. However, that is not enough for House’s psyche. Stacey would have a chance to return in House’s life if she remained loyal to Mark; perhaps if she did, House could have been cleansed, so to speak. In that case, there is only one scenario that will lead to Stacey returning into House’s life: if Mark leaves her. In which case, I don’t know if House will take her back. Part of House’s attraction to others is their mystery, their untouchability. This keeps him going. If you recall the hallucination in the end of Season 2, you will recall two scenes when he is sexually aroused by Cameron. In the first scene, he warns Cameron not to get too close, for this will lead him to feel aroused. The second is the more memorable: the machine popping off her buttons exposing a white upper breast, covered with a lacy bra. These scenes are meant to tell us two things: one: House’s unconscious desires. two: where the next season will lead us. So far, House does not act on his desire, if he indeed has one. Season Three, if anything, will focus on House’s relationship with Cameron. However, I do not believe the two will end up together. What I do believe, however, is that Cameron will grow to feel something greater than she felt with her sickly lover/husband. Let’s wait and see.
December 5th, 2006 at 11:05 pm
Mazal-
I’m not talking about Stacey coming back into House’s life, just his show. She was such a great foil for House that I would like to see her tear Tritter a new one. He’s causing legal trouble, and she’s a lawyer. It’s a natural fit.
December 5th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
I am totally hoping that Stacy returns, but I highly doubt it. For some reason I don’t think the writers are too keen into reintroducing her. I think they’re just goint to leave her story line as it is living happily ever after with Mark in Short Hills. I’d hate to see House have another love interest that isn’t Stacy. I’d also hate to see if House and Cameron end up together!
December 6th, 2006 at 1:13 pm
Frankly, I’d rather see that hot, under-aged girl return.
Now THAT’s something to look forward to.
December 6th, 2006 at 1:28 pm
I think stacy returning would be interesting, but I am going to have to side with Benmast though cause that young underage chick was hot and I enjoyed that episode even though I dont really remember what it was about. But that set aside I am pretty sure house and cuddy are gonna do the dirty, and the next episode looks intense with house refusing his services because of lack of pills. We shall see if house beats up wilson too, that would be an interesting fight… the cripple vs the nice guy.
December 7th, 2006 at 5:39 am
**But for me, the biggest issue is why do his colleagues put up with House? Why does Wilson take it? Why do the young, bright doctors suck up the abuse? After 2-3 yr, haven’t they been trained enough to go out on their own? Is he THAT good of a diagnostician? Are there no opportunities elesewhere? Or are they so emotionally scarred in various ways that they are unable to leave?**
1. Wilson takes it for the reason House says: Wilson has a need to be needed. House provides an endless bout of that for Wilson in a way. The true question with them isn’t so much why Wilson takes it (again, they’ve already somewhat explained it, but their surely can be more to it), but why House stays with Wilson and he’s his only friend.
2. I don’t know about the time length for fellowships, I’m not medically trained at all. It’s entirely possible that they might leave soon/now-ish of course.
3. Yes, the point is that House is one of the best, if not the best, in the nation. That’s why they came to work with House, that’s why he’s still at the hospital — because he’s still worth something in that way. In Failure to Communicate, Cuddy is close to sending the patient to another hospital. Why? Because House is not there, and as she says “a famous doctor for a celebrity.”
4. Cameron has said that she loves her job. Chase has said before that House does not annoy him, but now seems to be ticked. As well, it’s been suggested that House is another type of father figure to Chase, since he was so estranged from his father. This is somewhat supported by “The Mistake” when House and Chase talk about Chase’s father dying. Foreman seems to be staying primarily for the above point: House is a fantastic doctor.
Regarding Tritter, there’s an idea floating around that he has some kind of deal/relationship worked with the DA, a la House and Cuddy’s relationship. Cuddy gives House a lot of slack because he’s a great doctor. Therefore, the DA might give Tritter a lot of slack for being a good detective. But he very well could just be overstepping his bounds anyway.
Stacy returning I think is a natural fit, but so natural as not to be used. As well, she’s probably not too happy to see him since he left her this time, even if she might come around to seeing it as best. Finally, not that it matters, but a lot of fans for some reason hate her. I like her, and liked their episodes — but I don’t see it happening due to being a bit contrived.
December 7th, 2006 at 11:35 am
I didn’t realize that many fans hated the Stacy character. I thought that most of the episosdes she was in were one of the most well written ones. I personally thought she was awesome. Having Stacy also allowed us to see a little softer and vulnerable side of House. As well it was great insight into his past.
December 7th, 2006 at 3:40 pm
“I’m with Jenifer on this one - the arc with Tritter may be good storytelling, but what h’s doing is, for the most part, implausible and illegal.”
“Since the implausibility of Tritter’s extremely unbelievable law enforcement methods are pushed to the back of one’s mind…”
Acutally, Tritters actions are coming right out of today’s newspaper headlines:
News Article
Thinktank paper
Public statement by elected official
Rush Limbaugh’s wikipedia entry
Well, sure Dr O, the police go after those crimes, but they don’t cross lines like Tritter does.
This article is from just a few days ago. This blog has been recording incidents of police overstepping lines in the ‘war on drugs’ for a long time.
Am I saying that Tritter’s actions are completely realistic and par for the course? No! Do I think they are just as over the top, but plausable, as anything else on House? Sure do.
December 9th, 2006 at 11:36 pm
Hi there, Scott. This is actually my first comment to your House MD reveiew after reading them for months. It’s odd for me being and physics student yet enjoying this show. I’ve learned alot about medicine both from your site and the show itself. It’s nice to know someone review this show in a professional way. Thanks.
Btw, I am a Malaysian.
December 10th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
In sofar as the Young Guns not leaving the hospital….
The same reason members of the military in TB shows rarely get promotions, and stay in the same unit for years. The actor has a contract, the fans enjoy the character…don’t rock the boat.
It’s the same reason the Young Guns do the lab work, etc. They get paid the big bucks to star in the show, so they’re gonna do most of the acting.
December 12th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
DrObviousSo,
Very interesting links! Initially, I was dismayed at the obvious lack of regard for the law that Tritter displays in his dealings with House and everyone around him. I thought it was horribly unrealistic that he could be so cavalier with people’s civil rights, and I was growing increasingly irritated by the story arc as a result.
Now, after reading some accounts of overzealous prosecutors in the US justice system, I’m still dismayed, but for an entirely different reason. It would seem that the ‘War on Drugs’ in the states has spawned an ugly, monsterous offspring. The bizarre, foggy-headed fervour with which police and prosecutors persue their intented prey is nothing short of horrifying! This isn’t law enforcement, this is an Inqusition. A Modern day witch hunt.
How on Earth do American chronic pain sufferers get adequate treatment? No wonder the suicide rate amongst such patients is so high! And, with such unfathomable stupidity in the justice system, it will only worsen. How, exactly, does villifying pain management doctors solve ANY street drug problems?
Those of us who do not live in the US have for years shaken our heads in disbelief at the misguided, mismanaged and mangled ‘War on Drugs’ there. Now we have all the more reason to do so. It’s shameful when a fiction-based tv show is more truthful than the information given by those whose job it is to protect Americans’ civil rights.
Now I know why so many American cars these days have a bumper-sticker that reads: Has Anyone Seen My Civil Rights??
December 13th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
To quote an earlier poster:
“I wish I could remember the exact lines that Tritter uses as he is describing House - something along the lines of, “He thinks he is never wrong, he is willing to break the rules, he browbeats people…” Like I said, I don’t remember the line exactly, but when he said them, my husband and I turned to each other and said “Tritter is describing himself as well as House.””
The parallels are becoming more obvious, between Tritter’s cagey observations, sulky manner, little use for niceties, and other mannerisms that House has gained a mirror image of himself as an enemy. One item that I didn’t see mentioned was that both men told Cuddy she was a failure, as a doctor by Tritter and as a parent by House.
It would seem that both men are tipping over the edge, and I’d predict that both will crash around the same time
January 2nd, 2007 at 7:12 pm
With all due respect the misdiagnosis are nothing more than a time filler for an hour long episode. It would make a boring and less dramatic show if the problem was diagnosed within the first 15 mins. I still like house but the episodes are getting more unrealistic.
January 21st, 2007 at 5:13 am
As an Australian who found this website on IMDB, I’m not exactly sure how all these legalities work in America. Can Tritter, (who seems to be a ‘normal’ police investigator) freeze assets, and “legally” bribe people to get his own way? It seems a bit far-fetched to me for a policeman to just strike off on his own to whimsically hunt down “The best diagnostician within 60 miles of here”?(Cuddy quote)
January 31st, 2007 at 8:34 pm
James - let’s just say that the legal aspects of the show are less accurate than the medical aspects; as in accuracy takes a back seat to drama.
February 2nd, 2007 at 10:54 am
“**I feel stupid. I don’t understand the very last line of the episode.
“I am going to need 30 pieces of silver.”**
That is what Judas was paid to betray Christ. Hence a reference to the episode title “Finding Judas.” Wilson is saying that he’s going to want something to betray House. ”
I don’t think Wilson was saying he wanted something in return per se. He knew he was getting it in return. Wilson was pissed, and he thought that his betrayal might even help House, even though he did the absolute worse thing he could do knowing House’s personality.
Anyways, I think what Wilson was doing with this statement was being ironic. He knew that it was a betrayal, that’s what he was saying, and in the process was comparing himself to one of the worse people in biblical history. I mean, deepest circle of hell for betrayers and all that. That’s what he meant.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Interestingly enough, looking at the porphyria site I see that charcoal is actually a potential treatment path. I don’t remember if the one they used was administered by mouth, though.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Also, to Morgan in Jax: There is another school of thought that Judas was repulsed by what he perceived as excesses taken by Jesus, primarily that Mary Magdalene was rubbing Jesus with expensive ointment, which prompted Judas to essentially ask “Why are you spending so much money on that crap?” Jesus’ reply, essentially that one will always have the poor but not “Him”, would repulse any reasonable person. I suppose the debate about Judas’ historical motives would be similar to the debate about Wilson’s motives (i.e. he argues it’s not selfish, Cameron argues that it is).
August 6th, 2007 at 3:59 am
Is it just me or did no one else notice that they were marking the amputation point of the patients arm with a sharpie while she was awake! I’m no doctor but i think that would be cruel and unusual to do to somebody!
August 16th, 2007 at 3:25 am
Mike B: Jesus is a real historical figure. I don’t think “mythological” is the correct term.
October 5th, 2007 at 6:19 am
i saw the episode of the 3rd season which talked about FT28 a medicine in experiment. What is this medicine? What does it cure?
thank you
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