'House' - 'Baggage' Recap

(S06E20) "Your best friend (Wilson) just threw you out and you're fine?" - Dr. Nolan, House's therapist

"Why wouldn't I be?" - House

An episode that delves into the complex psyche of TV's angriest doctor always has promise. Let's face it. House has been a hard nut to crack, even after six impressive seasons on the air.

So when House sits down with his therapist, played by 'Homicide's' Andre Braugher, it's hard not to get all giddy. Despite his gruff exterior and sour temper, House is easily one of the most interesting characters on TV today because so much of him is still shrouded in mystery.

The challenge, however, with his therapy episodes are finding the right balance between not revealing too much to keep the series moving and revealing enough to make the episode worthwhile. All we really learned from last night's episode is that House is lonely. I could have told him that and saved him the insurance co-pay.

House tells his therapist at the start of the episode that Wilson asked him to move out, now that he and Sam are again an item. This means he is surrounded by people who have found love, whether they deserve the other person or not. Isn't his loneliness obvious? Even Shaggy from 'Scooby Doo' could figure out that little mystery in the time it takes him to smoke an entire ounce of Maui Wowi.

Of course, that wasn't the only payoff of the night and there were some intriguing side-stories that managed to wrap themselves around House's latest head examination. The scenes between House and Alvie were fun since the nature of the relationship turned them into a modern 'Odd Couple.' The opening scenes between the two had me giggling just because it was a wonder that House continued to put up with the guy just so he could have someone else to kick around for awhile. It also set up for a nice payoff when House helps remove his immigration status with some medical trickery, a moment that became twice as funny when Alvie announced he was moving to Arizona.

House also recalls another bizarre medical case, a runner who suffers from a full-blown case of amnesia, one of television's most overused conditions. Of course, 'House' only uses amnesia as a symptom, so they can be forgiven for relying on an old stand-by as the title character gets his own head examined. However, the case gets buried under all of the other things going on in House's life.

The real puzzler was House's incessant need to get back the stuff that Alvie pawned as he "looked after" his apartment, particularly an old medical textbook that turned out to be a very expensive first edition. It seemed a little pithy at first to go after something so insignificant, even for House, but his reasons for saving it felt genuine and a little heartbreaking. He may or may not still be carrying a torch for Cuddy by wanting to give her the lost book, but everyone has been in his shoes at one time or another, watching the people they care about move on with their lives without them. It's hard not to feel like a piece of luggage left behind on the airport carousel to spin endlessly with no one to take them off of it.

The real shocker was his reaction to his shrink. House berates him for not helping him move on in his own life and finding his own slice of happiness that didn't come from an ill-timed office prank or a fifth of scotch. Does House really think his problems are his shrink's fault or is he really just mad at himself for refusing to learn anything about himself through his doctor's advice?

Don't worry House. That diagnosis was a freebie.