House – Thank God he’s still a sociopath

“So, we finally know what Taub would look like if he were life-sized.” – House, about Taub’s billboard

It’s been far too long since I got to enjoy a new episode of House and I loved every single minute of it.

The Taub storyline was actually really interesting to me. I never much cared for Taub’s marital woes in the past, because at the end of the day, no matter what choices Taub made, he still came out a selfish bastard. This time, though, by finally asking his wife for a divorce, he made the first unselfish decision since his character joined the series. Was it the billboard of himself with the caption, “Be better,” that inspired his changes? Was it the fact that he realized he’s been using his trustworthy face to his own advantage his whole life? And by defiling the billboard at the end, was he blaming the billboard for his unselfish acts, that the billboard was actually the  catalyst in his change of heart? I can’t remember a billboard being so symbolic since The Great Gatsby, and this literary nerd loved every minute of it. I’m anxious to see how this plays out in future episodes.

Now that my nerdfest is out of the way, my favorite scene had to be Cuddy’s birthday dinner. House is still a sociopath — another reason to celebrate this episode. Some of you may not like the House-Cuddy pairing, but without it, we wouldn’t have gotten House drugging Cuddy’s mother (played to perfection by Candice Bergen), with Wilson starting to commiserate with them just as he starts to realize that House drugged him too. Yes, Wilson, House is a sociopath and we are all so thankful for that.

This and that:

• House thought he was pretty clever, trying to get out of the birthday dinner and the night out with Wilson — they bested him but good. Though I’m very glad that House finally did get his couch night alone, in his jammies with his scotch and The Real Housewives of New Jersey.
• Taub’s reaction when the patient wanted him because he was the face of the hospital was priceless.
• There’s not a lot of funny Hitler jokes in this world, but you’ve got to admit that House pulled it off.
• I loved Chase and Foreman’s conversation about why they didn’t make it as the face of the hospital: Pretty boys and black men don’t make the cut.
• Couples average their misery — great line by Cuddy.
• Rock, paper, scissors.
• Matthew Lillard was an amazing guest star and I enjoyed the case of the week more than usual.

What did you think? Did you enjoy the first outing of House in 2011?

Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Jan 17, 2011 @ 21:00 EST5EDT