(S5E15) "You're a wuss. Part wimp, part puss." -House to Wilson
We get yet another religious patient this week. Father Danny, who is running low on the big F, ends up in Cameron's ER after getting a late-night visit from Jesus. House initially grabs the case as a way to mess with Foreman and Thirteen, but it turns out that Father Danny might have a real problem.
We've explored religion before on House, but this one of the times when it hasn't worked so well. Father Danny's lack of faith is a good opportunity for Taub and Kutner to engage in a philosophical debate, about God, faith and the nature of suffering, but this all feels like ground the show has covered before.We know that House thinks faith is for suckers who just can't deal with life, just like we know that Cuddy, while not overtly religious, adhere to religious rituals which provide her with meaning and comfort. This is all good ground to explore, but it didn't tell us anything new about the characters. That being said, I'm not even going to delve into the issue of Father Danny as a possible pedophile. I know they cleared up that he wasn't, but that part of the story felt a bit dismissive to me.
But it was interesting to see House actually eat lunch with and talk to patient. When have we ever seen him do that before? It's usually the coma patients he prefers to hang out with.
In addition to this week's theology debate, House complicates matters when he starts playing games with Foreman and Thirteen, and to a lesser degree, Cuddy. House wants Foreman and Thirteen to break up and the two decide to fight back. Foreman and Thirteen try to out bluff House at his own game, and that makes for some interesting confrontations, even though it's all for naught at the end. I've always thought that the Foreman/Thirteen relationship progressed too quickly to be really believable and it was good to see them implode a bit. But, as we learn in the end, Forman was able to play into what House wanted, while still keeping both their jobs.
Their argument in House's office was the one time I've seen some real spark between the characters and showed how petty and defensive people can get. But, since it was all an act, we'll be back to our lovey-dovey duo next week, which is actually too bad.
For once a complicated game of cat and mouse ends well for everyone else, and badly for House. The fiasco with Cuddy's Jewish naming ceremony for Rachel is probably are a rare example of House getting what he wanted with his games, but still ending up on the losing side. He doesn't attend Cuddy's baby naming ceremony, even though he wanted to be there and she wanted him there, because of his principals.
Can you feel sorry for House? Is it at all possible to feel bad for someone who has so often manipulated people for his own gain? As sad as it was to see House playing the piano alone, while Cuddy was surrounded by friends and family, I also couldn't' help but feel that House would have been really out of place at the ceremony. And that's not something that can be easily fixed.
So one last question for fans. What was the song that House was playing on his piano at the end?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-17-2009 @ 1:48PM
bruce said...
I wasn't aware that Cuddy was Jewish. Had this been established in a previous episode? "Cuddy" is not a very Jewish-sounding name (Edelstein is, of course).
I got a kick out of House addressing Foreman and Thirteen collectively as "Fourteen" - that cracked me up.
Reply
2-17-2009 @ 1:57PM
Martin said...
The song seemed to be a mix of 3 or 4 songs strung together..
Reply
2-17-2009 @ 2:00PM
Megan said...
Re: the piano music at the end--my closed captioning called it "Cuddy's Serenade" and then it went into a little "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and then back to "Cuddy's Serenade".
Reply
2-17-2009 @ 2:02PM
Martin said...
Oh, and apparently Laurie composed the song himself, so probably no name to the song, but I heard at least 3 distinctive songs, 1 the begining, then breaks into jewish fest song, then kinda ends in a jazz blues type song I swear I know..
Reply
2-17-2009 @ 2:06PM
Martin said...
Yeah, and you cant always get what you want, forgot about that... so yeah seranade, jewish song, break into cant always get what you want, then back to seranade..
Reply
2-17-2009 @ 2:26PM
Guesty said...
I can't believe that House would fall for the "foreteen" game of fighting, break-up, job stuff.
Beating House at his own game? I don't buy it, nor do I buy this sudded introspective of each facet of House's life - next week it shows him coding? Have they run out of stories.?
But please, please kill off "foreteen" boring, annoying and adds nothing to the show.
Reply
2-17-2009 @ 3:44PM
0megapart!cle said...
I could buy them fooling House this week. He was kind of distracted, after all. But definitely, if they still try to play House next week, I don't see how House wouldn't catch on quickly.
God, I am getting sick of the peek-a-boo with House's humanity. I don't think there has ever been a series in the history of television with a main character that has progressed so little, while the overall series is still relatively high quality.
2-17-2009 @ 2:53PM
onedollarwilliam said...
I don't think it's that odd that someone named Cuddy would be Jewish. Judaism is passed down from one's mother, and last names are usually taken from the father, so I imagine Jewish people with Anglo last names will become more common as time goes on. Despite what Oma Goldman would prefer.
Also, the show says that Dr. Wilson is also Jewish, and you don't get many names more Anglo than that.
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2-17-2009 @ 8:24PM
Chris W said...
What was the song in the teaser before the credits? Where the McPoyle priest guy is in his apartment?
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2-17-2009 @ 8:38PM
Gary said...
"What was the song that House was playing on his piano at the end?"
The closed captioning labeled it, "Hugh Laurie's 'Cuddy's {I don't remember}'" with a Rolling Stones riff in the middle of it.
Reply
2-17-2009 @ 8:50PM
JR said...
I am Jewish. The a name is given to the child using the first letter of a deceased relative as a way of saying gone but never forgotten. The first name is usually not an indicator its the last remember how Christianity came to be with Jewish people converting so some where along the line Jews have had every last name that dates back to before year one in the Jewish calendar we are at 5769.
Reply
2-17-2009 @ 11:12PM
mrskarn said...
I thought the "Jewish music" House payed sounded like the wedding processional "Sunrise, Sunset"
Lyrically, it would fit the images:
is this the little girl i carried,
is this the little boy at play?
i don't remember growing older,
when did they?
when did she get to be a beauty,
when did he grow to be so tall?
wasn't it yesterday when they were small?
sunrise, sunset ,
swiftly flow the days.
seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers,
blossoming even as we gaze.
sunrise, sunset ,
swiftly fly the years,
one season following another,
laiden with happiness and tears.
what words of wisdom can i give them,
how can i help to ease their way?
now they must learn from one another,
day by day.
sunrise, sunset,
swiftly fly the years,
one season following another,
laiden with happiness,
and tears
Reply
2-17-2009 @ 11:55PM
Marcy Arbitman said...
Why was the boy apologizing to the priest at the end?
Reply
2-18-2009 @ 12:23AM
Evocatus said...
cause the kid lied about being molested by him
2-18-2009 @ 12:25AM
comctrl6 said...
Because the boy's accusation was false. Father Danny never actually molested him. The boy lied about the incident and now that the Father is on his deathbed (so the boy thought), he is apologizing about doing a horrible thing.
2-18-2009 @ 9:48PM
Modwild said...
I thought it was common knowledge that Cuddy was Jewish.
I might be done with House. He used to be a very interesting character and always left me wondering if he was really such a pain in the ass, etc. Now he's just mean. I don't even want him to explore a thing with Cuddy - he's a turd and she deserves so much better.
The whole Thirteen as the main focus of almost every story has dragged on too long.
I'm so disappointed in House. Once a favorite show for its witty, snarky and humorous dialogue, it's become boring and leaves me with nothing to quote. Ick.
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2-18-2009 @ 10:54PM
♥huddyforever♥ said...
The song at the end was "Cuddy's Serenade". Hugh Laurie composed this song especially for Cuddy and the song played well with this episode so the producers added it. The serenade is a mix of songs but they all are different from the original versions and are combined into one big serenade.
♥huddyforever♥
Reply
2-21-2009 @ 9:18AM
staci21_875 said...
Okay so i thought that i was such a pretty song but me being Jewish and all i had no idea what he was playing i think i was more in shock of what was going to happen in next weeks episode. OMG House stops breathing again. I'm really a big fan of the show though and Hugh Laurie cracks me up him and his sarcastic sense of humor
Reply
2-22-2009 @ 7:06PM
pedro said...
for a few seconds the song that house played on the piano, after the jewish part, looked like Joe Cocker's you are so beautiful.
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