'Nobody's Fault' Episode Review

The hand writing on the wall

There has been serious buzz around this episode for at least the past two weeks. Now I know why. The episode exudes Housian understanding and adopts a non-formulaic style appropriate for such a huge character centric plot. The episode opens with dramatic still shots of blood, syringes, fallen flowers and balloons, giving us an eerie indication that something has gone terribly wrong. The episode takes the format of a trial, and in Kafkaesque form, we are in the dark about what happened and the reason for the questioning. House is at risk of having his parole revoked and being sent back to jail. Dr. Cofield is in charge of House's fate and questions House's methods of differential diagnosis, asking the team members whether his games are the cause of the dramatic event with severe consequences. Notably Chase is missing during this process. The story moves fluidly from past to present from person to person. 

Dr. Cofield says that "I know you'd like to make it about me, because then it wouldn't be about you." House is usually very extrovert and likes to be the centre of attention, but not when it comes to his emotions. He will do anything to escape having to deal with how he feels, especially when it concerns others.

The initial POTW is a chemistry teacher who collapses during a run. Very relevantly, he is admitted because of paralysis. As usual House diagnoses with treatment and is aware that the patient could have a psychotic break. However, Chase agrees with Adams and believes that a biopsy of the patient's rash is necessary as it is the cause of his condition. His decision is a key point of the episode. Did he defy House to win a game, because that is the frame of mind they have become so accustomed to? The POTW's paranoia is triggered by Adams's syringe and
he attacks Chase with a scalpal, slicing an artery in his heart and almost killing him in an extremely tense and dramatic scene. Chase survives but discovers that he is paralysed and may never walk again.

Lightheartedly House paints himself in an angelic position of innocence, in a scene of heavenly light because "good things usually happen, bad things sometimes happen" and it is nobody's fault. However, House doesn't really believe that no one is to blame. He doesn't blame his team and they don't blame him (although more than once they say "He's not wrong" instead of he's right, implying great results rather than method). House blames himself. He tries to pretend he doesn't care but Chase explains to Dr. Cofield that asking about the other patient while Chase is on the brink of death and then paralysis is his way of checking on him without admitting to it. It's an extremely poignant moment at the end of the episode when House says "I'm sorry". I believe he's sorry about what happened to him but I think he genuinely feels guilty that what happened was his fault. Importantly, the games they play lead to the epiphany House has about the diagnosis of the patient, "two explosions". The chemistry explosion that caused the paralysis led to a second explosion of tumorous cells. Chase was the one who rigged the Vicodin bottle. This reflects the fact that unusual and unorthodox methods lead House to the correct diagnosis.

It is interesting to note that the episode really begins with House looking in the mirror, reflecting about his role in this "fiasco". The episode is shot in very dark lighting to emphasize the dark and dramatic plot in an atomosphere which is further created by heavy rain (sadness, tears). At the end the rain stops and the trial room is flooded with light and is empty, premptive of the notion that House is not sentenced and so in essence it was nobody's fault. However, the team (minus Chase) is there to support House. The patient's wife heavily influences the verdict when she says that House was right about her husband. House calls Dr. Cofield a coward, because he let his heart be softened by a happy ending. There is no happy ending. Chase is left in an agony that House can understand. In a role reversal House apologises while Chase tells him he's busy, angry but not letting House believe it was all his fault. They have a deep friendship and House knows how much Chase looks up to him. House looks incredibly disappointed that he has hurt Chase, and that Chase now suffers (leg pain, as House does) in such a debilitating way.

It is extremely hard to choose specific aspects of the episode to focus on because the entire episode was a masterpiece. These are just some of the scenes that really stood out for me. The emotion, the drama, the language, the slight threading of humour into darkness which is incredibly difficult. Extremely well written, directed and executed by the actors, especially Jesse Spencer as Chase who really showed both physical and emotional pain. "None of this is fun House". Best of the season so far in my opinion.

The Confession Episode Review

"Nothing has changed"/"Everything has changed" summarises this episode well. We see House's old "team" office from an angle that makes it look huge and empty (without Taub and Chase), but when they join the new team things begin to morph back into the ways of the past.

It was an extremely humourous episode, very old school. One of my favourite lines was "You probably want to boil the kids for a couple of hours when you get home". In terms of favourite (comedic) lines, The Confession wins for me so far this season.

This leads me to Taub, his Taubettes and the question of legitimacy. This storyline is a parallel to that of the patient. The imposing question is: Is it better to know/tell the truth despite the consequences? Taub confesses to "his" daughters that he needs to know the truth but that he will love them regardless. However in the end he decides that in this case the heart weighs more than the head. The patient, a man beloved by his community, has the urge to confess his affair to his wife, to free his yoked conscience. Later, confessions become symptomatic, and there is no barrier between reality and fiction. The patient pushes people away with unconscious false testemonies to past actions.

The POTW then develops an extraordinary skin peeling condition (Stevens-Johnson syndrome) and confesses even to several muders (to Chase which is brilliantly ironic). This does however, lead Chase to have a Housian epiphany and diagnose the patient's confessions as fabrications. Chase shadows House as he did when he "left medicine", taking time off while House was in prison.

Near the beginning of the episode, Taub utters the classic line "Everybody lies". This plays throughout the episode. People deceive one another, sometimes for personal gain, in the case of House trying to find out about Taub (which leads to the fantastic cafeteria scene where Taub philosophises about House's actions being a projection of his own inner feelings, and is then abruptly cut short by Wilson). Or, deceiving someone to pacify a situation or prevent pain, in the case of the patient lying to his wife at the end about the affair. It's a heavy moral dilemma. Confessing is the alleviation of the conscience, so do people do it out of respect for the other person or to take away their own pain?

House confesses to Adams what he says she already knows, that every man who sees her wants to sleep with her. "Most people find it easier to ignore the truth".

I loved the end scenes with the offices. Now he can pester Wilson whenever he wants. It's endearing to see him connect himself in such a way. House needs the comfort of familiarity. It was also very funny.

A nod to Cuddy was also very nice to see, acknowleding her rather than pretending the past does not exist, which would not be very realistic. This is the last big blow of the confessions. Wilson tells Foreman that Cuddy constantly asked him for advice about how to deal with House, and look what happened. Foreman again relies on Chase to tell him that House is screwing with him by not screwing with him. He's still finding his footing.

Great episode! I really enjoyed seeing the new team all together and more comfortable, balanced dynamics.

Ps. The bracelet is now officially a character on the show.