House #3: Everybody Lies

[Missing]

I honestly was like WTF is going on, cause when 13 said he was cold it was ok he is gone...I didn't follow any spoilers for this show and like sucide in real life it was a surprise so I think it was done great for the storyline because no one saw it coming on the show hence the question into did any one notice anything. So good job on that and good luck to Kal on his job at the White House.

 

[CSINYAddict]

I was so upset he died, I kept wishing for House to be right and discover it was indeed a murder. Unfortunately, this was not the case and I think this was also done to demonstrate House doesn't always see everything. The final picture in the end didn't do much justice to prove Kutner was depressed but I'm happy Penn will be pursuing something that he desires.

 

[~Sarah~]

xeri, I kept getting the feeling that House desperately wanted to figure it out, that getting all the answers would be like "fixing" the situation and then he wouldn't be tortured by those pesky feelings of confusion and loss and guilt. What I didn't like was his browbeating of Mr. and Mrs. Kutner. That was too much. I knew the second he told 13 and Foreman he was coming with them that he'd say something awful. House can make any sensitive or devestating situation 10 times worse.

House is defiantly not good in those kinds of situations, he lacks the compassion every other character on the show has - he was telling his parents that it was their fault that he committed suicide, that's not something you say to people. Kutner's mother should have smacked him or something for saying that.

 

[GrissomLivesOn]

House is defiantly not good in those kinds of situations, he lacks the compassion every other character on the show has - he was telling his parents that it was their fault that he committed suicide, that's not something you say to people. Kutner's mother should have smacked him or something for saying that.

I agree - in a way. While I don't think Kutner's mother should have actually smacked House, I do think she should have found some way to reprimand him without resorting to violence. I think she should have just said something like, "Our only son is dead, and you don't care? You're insensitive!"

But that's just my opinion.

 

[addictedtoSpeed]

Anyone order the new House shirt? They did one last year or maybe it was the year before. It's for NAMI, National Alliance of Mental Illness. The proceeds go to the foundation. I bought the last one they did, it's grey and the front reads Everybody Lies with the House logo on the back. This year it's black and reads Normals Overrated. It's for a great cause and I love the shirts! I just ordered the new one today.

 

[Hollyyo]

When he went to talk with the parents for some reason I thought he would turn over new leaf and be nice or something. But that scene added to House's shock value, so it should have been expected.

I know this doesn't justify it at all, but I felt bad for House. I guess that was just his way of dealing with it. I keep trying to figure out if what Wilson said about him was true though. That he's not upset about Kutner dying, he's just mad he didn't see it coming. I hope that's not the case. I actually think he was affected by it.

 

[Ginnna]

I know this doesn't justify it at all, but I felt bad for House. I guess that was just his way of dealing with it.

Actually that's what I kept thinking, that people grieve in their own way. It actually reminded of the last episode of Bones I had seen (the episode involving Cam and the girl to whom she had been a mother many years ago). I remember the girl saying very cruel things to Cam because the girl's father had just died and she still felt abandoned by Cam even after so many years. She was lashing out because that was how she dealt with the pain.

I know that House was treating Kutner's death like any other puzzle, and that he assumed once he "solved the puzzle", he'd feel better like he always does. That's just the way he operates. It's really the only way he knows how to approach ANYTHING in life. He either analyzes or negates everything, absolutely everything. He'd handle grief and guilt in the same way he handles unemotional curiosity.

So... I know that his attack on the Kutners was part of his "grieving process", but he had another option. We've all seen him comfort others. I remember, in Informed Consent, House laying a hand on Cameron's shoulder while she sat crying in the hospital chapel. He then basically told her that he was proud of her for euthanizing their patient, which is kind of a screwed up sentiment... but it was the thought that counted.

What he did in this last episode was cruel. He could have gone the comforting route for the second time in his rotton life but noooooo, he blamed them for Kutner's suicide.

I know this is a long shot and I may be reading far too much into it, but I think he may have been projecting his own anger at himself onto them. They didn't notice and they were his parents, and HE didn't notice even though he saw Kutner every day at work, probably saw Kutner MORE than Kutner's parents saw their own son. Despite this interpretation, I still disliked House immensely for it. In their time of mourning, the Kutners didn't deserve to be slapped across the face with House's own self-loathing.

 

[MaddyAnn]

I know this doesn't justify it at all, but I felt bad for House. I guess that was just his way of dealing with it.

I know this is a long shot and I may be reading far too much into it, but I think he may have been projecting his own anger at himself onto them. They didn't notice and they were his parents, and HE didn't notice even though he saw Kutner every day at work, probably saw Kutner MORE than Kutner's parents saw their own son. Despite this interpretation, I still disliked House immensely for it. In their time of mourning, the Kutners didn't deserve to be slapped across the face with House's own self-loathing.

I really feel that House just wanted someone to blame for Kutner's death. House likes things that are logical, and to him (and everyone else) Kutner's death was illogical. He wanted to find some rational reason for Kutner to commit suicide. I don't think he cared if he hurt Kutner's parents. It was more important to him that he make sense of a senseless death.

I think that's where the title of the episode comes from--"Simple Explanation." House wanted a clean, neat, logical reason for Kutner to commit suicide. He ran through everything that made sense. When those reasons ran out, he made it into a murder. What House can't handle is the fact that there may be no one reason for Kutner's suicide. There may be no one issue that broke him. It may be that Kutner was simply unhappy--and a lot of things may have contributed to that, including House.

In that respect I think you are spot on, Ginna. House played a role (and arguably a big one) in Kutner's life. He was almost a paternal figure to him. Now he has to accept the fact that all his flaws and self-centeredness may have contributed to the unhappiness that led to Kutner's suicide. I think that House would rather find some reason, or blame some person, for Kutner's death than accept the fact that he may have driven, or helped drive, someone to suicide.

 

[Ginnna]

I know this doesn't justify it at all, but I felt bad for House. I guess that was just his way of dealing with it.

I know this is a long shot and I may be reading far too much into it, but I think he may have been projecting his own anger at himself onto them. They didn't notice and they were his parents, and HE didn't notice even though he saw Kutner every day at work, probably saw Kutner MORE than Kutner's parents saw their own son. Despite this interpretation, I still disliked House immensely for it. In their time of mourning, the Kutners didn't deserve to be slapped across the face with House's own self-loathing.

I really feel that House just wanted someone to blame for Kutner's death. House likes things that are logical, and to him (and everyone else) Kutner's death was illogical. He wanted to find some rational reason for Kutner to commit suicide. I don't think he cared if he hurt Kutner's parents. It was more important to him that he make sense of a senseless death.

I think that's where the title of the episode comes from--"Simple Explanation." House wanted a clean, neat, logical reason for Kutner to commit suicide. He ran through everything that made sense. When those reasons ran out, he made it into a murder. What House can't handle is the fact that there may be no one reason for Kutner's suicide. There may be no one issue that broke him. It may be that Kutner was simply unhappy--and a lot of things may have contributed to that, including House.

In that respect I think you are spot on, Ginna. House played a role (and arguably a big one) in Kutner's life. He was almost a paternal figure to him. Now he has to accept the fact that all his flaws and self-centeredness may have contributed to the unhappiness that led to Kutner's suicide. I think that House would rather find some reason, or blame some person, for Kutner's death than accept the fact that he may have driven, or helped drive, someone to suicide.

He wanted someone else to blame because he couldn't get away from blaming himself.

"Suicide means you could've helped him, murder lets you off the hook"

That's what Cameron said, to which House responded with a brief uncomfortable silence before launching straight into his current case.

Cameron smirked for half a second, telling herself (and us) that she was right.

Then later Cameron told House that he, like everyone else, couldn't have done anything because Kutner didn't show any signs and didn't reach out to anyone. House looked like he'd been punched in the gut.

Finally, near the end, House gets frustrated with Taub and blurts out "Either we have all the clues and we're idiots, or we don't have all the clues!" He was talking about their patient, but there was obvious subtext.

These quotes support what we're both saying. House doesn't want to feel guilty. He doesn't like pesky human emotions. But he does feel guilty. He feels like an idiot. He can always figure everything out. He sees all the little details that no one else notices, makes the connections no one else does, but this time... he feels like he stupidly missed the clues he should have been exceptionally clever enough to notice, and that worse still, he himself was one of those "clues" and never realized it.

Then again, he's also hoping that they no one had all the clues, that he couldn't have seen what wasn't there to see, and he therefore isn't to blame.

Oh, and about the upcoming episode, 5.21, I just realized that the guest star is the guy who plays "Scott" in the Quiznos "Toasty Torpedo" commercials.

 

[_Hush_]

sneak peek at tonight's episode.

 

[GrissomLivesOn]

Wow!

Just from those clips, I think this is going to be a very interesting episode. Furthermore, I could be wrong, but I think there is some serious denial going on at Princeton-Plainsboro. I'm probably correct when I say that Cuddy and Cameron both have feelings for House, but (and this is the clincher) neither of them want to admit to said feelings. Moreover, if all three finally admit to their feelings, there very well could be a love triangle between the three of them! Which could get exciting or annoying, depending on how the writers decide to have it play out.

Just my two cents on tonight's episode.

 

[Ginnna]

I reeeeally don't want to see a love triangle. I much prefer the House/Cameron pairing over House/Cuddy, but if they're pursuing the House/Cuddy route at the moment, I say - STICK TO IT. I don't want Cameron thrown back into the fray simply for dramatic effect. That's too much "soap opera" for my taste. I know that House is just as much about the characters as it is about the medicine, and in fact often times it's MORE about the characters, but I don't need it to get roll-your-eyes ridiculous.

 

[GrissomLivesOn]

I know that House is just as much about the characters as it is about the medicine, and in fact often times it's MORE about the characters, but I don't need it to get roll-your-eyes ridiculous.

I know exactly what you're saying, and I do agree that they should pick a pair and stick with it. However, I have this funny feelling that they won't do that, and if I'm right, then this show might go downhill. What did you think of the part about Wilson's diet? What possible explanation could he have for going on it?

 

[~Sarah~]

Ah, so they are gonna get married. I like them together actually, so that's not such a bad thing. I was glad we got to actually see them in this episode and I hope that continues.

Spoiler: Next Week

Although next week with the bachelor party and House seeing Amber? Eh... I kinda wish they would just stop bringing Amber back in House's hallucinations - she's dead, we don't need to keep seeing her.

 

[Ginnna]

Hey, wanted to post a link to this picture of "former actor" Kal Penn... he's on the South Lawn with fellow White House staff members as they watch the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House.