TVSquad

(S05E09) Here's a bit of irony for ya. Before this week's episode of House began my family was in a lockdown situation of its own after someone, either a home invader or home owner, knocked out seven shots during the early afternoon right down the street from us. The police came along and ended up doing the yellow tape thing around the area, keeping the rest of us from going out until their fugitive search and investigation were done.

Sure, no one had a gun pointed at us. And, I wasn't in a hospital. And, I didn't have to take a series of drugs in order to prove they were safe. But, I was stuck in my house for over two hours. So, you know, I can relate. With that, let's get to this week's "very special" episode of House.

You would think that an episode featuring a hostage situation would allow the viewer to focus their anger on the person holding the bomb or, in this case, a gun. But, there were actually three people to be pissed at in this scenario. The hostage taker, Jason (played by Damages Zeljko Ivanek), was the obvious choice. Despite all of his problems there wasn't one ounce of sympathy that I could find for this guy. He was just another frustrated patient who thought that wielding a gun was the way to get proper treatment. It eventually did (What? You thought House would diagnose this in the first 30 minutes?), but at a great cost to Jason's freedom.

Another person to be pissed at was Thirteen. Well, we've been pissed at her for awhile now since he doesn't give a damn about her life anymore. But, in this instance, she was being way too much the martyr by taking Jason's medicine's first. I know, there was a bullet with her name on it for most of the episode; still, there was nothing stopping her holding back a few times rather than just grabbing the needle and plunging it into her skin. Luckily, this little life-changing incident gave her a clarity that she hasn't had all season. Now, she wants to live rather than continue living her life recklessly.

The third person to be pissed at was, of course, House. God, House could be treating infants after a combination dirty bomb/anthrax attack in the middle of poorest Africa and still not show any emotion. What the hell is wrong with this guy? He is just so obsessed in getting something right that he'll do anything... ANYTHING... to get his answer. Best example of this was giving Jason back his gun after the CT scan. That's right -- he gave him back his gun. Who does this? Arrrgggghhh!!!! He's so frustrating. Yet, that's what makes him the person we love to hate.

There were a few others who received Honorable Mention in getting our ire up. There's Cuddy, who decided to take this particular time to show House how devoted she was as friend and potential partner. There was Chase, who made a hasty exit after House asked for his first differential (which featured five of House's six team members in one room). Then there was Foreman, who feebly imitated Chase at the very end by leaving the last differential. He just pissed me off because he still isn't his own man.

The case itself? Okay, I guess. Since House nor Thirteen had access to their usual diagnostic tools, their tests were unique and, in the case of House slapping the patient, violent. If anything, it showed that, in many cases, sometimes the simplest tests can be used to diagnose an issue. Since the beginning of the show House has pumped his patients with so many chemicals that, were this real life, they would probably do more harm than good in the long-term.

Before I go I wanted to mention some of the production values for this week's episode, which were well done. I particularly liked two scenes. The first was the opening. It was done in slow motion and showed the clinic patients that would be involved in the hostage situation numerous times. The other took place in the elevator when Jason, House, Thirteen, and the remaining hostages were heading up to the CT lab. The fish-eye lens used really displayed the uneasy intimacy that these folks unfortunately found themselves in.

That's all for this week's edition of House. Next time, it's Odd Couple 2008 as Cuddy shares an office with House.