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'House' Season 7, Episode 16 Recap
by Danny Gallagher, posted Mar 15th 2011 8:35AM
['House' - 'Out of the Chute']So, after a full season of the kind of lovey-dovey loving that eventually seems to permeate every drama, comedy and mystery show on the dial, we finally get some classic 'House'. All it took was a little heartbreak and a whole lot of pills.
Cuddy hands his heart back to his bad Vicodin-popping self and because House treats all personal news with the decorum of a coked-up rhino, he goes on his usual self-centered bender (hookers, high priced hotels, more hookers).
And while a return to House's old form sounds like an excuse for the writers' room to lay off the medical know-how, it actually does a good job of blending two stories into one seamless episode. Wait, we are still talking about 'House,' right?
Of course, the main reason we're tuning in (other than we need something to do while the cable is out) is to see how House handles the break-up, and based on the usual spoiling promos, it not only addressed those concerns, but did it in a way that didn't feel like watching whatever airs during the credits would ruin next week's experience.
The opening, however, did a nice job of introducing the case of the week with a slow frame camera shot of a bull rider breaking the traditional eight seconds, together with an internal monologue of how he does it. The style might be a huge TV stereotype, but it works. It didn't just show how much research the writers did for this tiny section of the script but it actually melded nicely with the theme of the episode and House's problems.
Then we cut to House, who'd taken up refuge in a very posh hotel suite, living off room service and whatever booze hadn't been bolted down in the mini-bar. It was followed by a never-ending line of comely, high-priced (I would assume, silicone ain't cheap these days) hookers. Normally, my mind would be screaming at the TV for letting House be such a typical bastard and abandon his job and his patients for something so self-centered but, actually, it was a welcome return. It was like hooking up with an old drinking buddy from college, minus the hangover we never got after a night of Jack shots and Flaming Dr. Peppers.
Getting dumped by Cuddy and doped on drugs again was easily the best thing that could have happened to him this season. Sure, he experienced some growth (no pun intended, sickos) with his relationship only to fall back on crutches because he couldn't find the gumption to stand by her side when she needed him most, but it still didn't feel like the lessons he learned or learning how to love was only diluting the things that make him fun to watch. And, believe it or not, the true jerk in this episode wasn't House, but Cuddy. She didn't just act surprised when he failed to show for work, but she spent the whole episode avoiding him and facing up to her choices, even if they were for her best intentions. She felt a little written out of the episode, as if the writers either couldn't think of a way for her to address the break-up, or just physically didn't have time to work her into the show. Only time and the deleted scenes from the Season 7 DVD will tell.
Even the case was interesting and didn't feel like an afterthought that was distant from the central story. The rodeo rider who seemed to suffer a symptom on every conceivable part of the human body has to endure some very graphic and intrusive surgery and procedures from his sudden and distant bout with seizures. The cause didn't feel totally explained, at least for those of us in the audience who didn't spend a semester dissecting cadavers for college credit, but it did set up a nice solution for House, and it made for an even more interesting plot line for Martha, who was starting to feel like just another interchangeable member of House's team. The slow build up to her eventual heartbreak was a nice surprise.
The same can be said for the rest of the episode. It actually made me look forward to the final episode for a reason other than it's the final episode and I can go back to having my Monday nights to myself again.
'House' airs Mondays, 8PM ET on FOX.
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