House: "Detox"

[mandolin]

Okay, cut for spoilers, and blow-by-blow reactions:


Okay, my first thought in the teaser was, "Oh, great, someone else getting sick while having sex." So having her pick up a set of keys instead cracked me up.

I had a flashback to The Fast and the Furious there without having ever seen the movie. Drivers like that girl are the reason I am loath to take a busy or long work commute.

House vs. the pharmacist - Greg, I adore you, but you're becoming an entry in customers_suck.

Okay, I retract what I said about Cuddy in "DNR." I get that the bet is to prove a point, but if she's going to make that bet, she should relieve him of duty for that week. As dependent as House clearly is, it doesn't take a doctor to realize that his withdrawal symptoms will screw up his performance - just look at his behavior waiting for the improperly shipped pills!

Can anyone tell me if the "hair drug test" is legit?

I don't blame Keith at all for spazzing over the (temporary) blindness. *shudder* I'd be a wreck.

Five bucks says Wilson's just there to make sure House is okay - forget keeping him from cheating.

"Is it my birthday? I'm not lonely. My leg hurts." Hee! I like "I-can't-do-anything-because-I'm-married" logic too.

*dies* Okay, I expect to see icon bases of House's reaction to the hand massage in short order.

I don't care if it's not technically eye surgery. Eeee! *covers face*

*blinkblinkblink* Cameron got House to admit he was wrong. Now you know he's in trouble.

I'm partly with Foreman on this one - House isn't "losing his mind," but he is not fine and he is not dealing. The hand-crushing alone proves it.

Cat hallucination. We have the Pivotal Clue, folks.

Is it me, or does this episode feel like there's too much smashed into one hour? I get that they wanted a case where House's poor judgment would get him in trouble (and I'm amazed Keith's dad has yet to grab his cane and beat him with it) but geez! Even at my lowest attention span, it's a bit much.

Wow. Not sure I totally agree with his prescription or his handling of the situation, but Foreman has guts. I honestly thought House caved in this scene. (But he needs to stop complaining about the field trips - after last week, he should be used to this. At least there's no rabid bats involved.)

Cat dissection. Gak. And House's hand shakes, which is a) the first clue he didn't cave, and b) the fact that he notices it is interesting.

There's the sucker punch! Ow...

Now I thought House had gone and taken the Vicodin when he went and stopped the surgery, since he was suddenly a hell of a lot more lucid than before. But I can think of two reasons for his clarity - first, the certainty of a "good" diagnosis.

Second, I think by this point he'd finally realized that yes, he's addicted. Between Foreman's ultimatum, Cameron's betrayed reaction, noticing the shaking hands when dissecting the cat, House can't deny that he is severely dependent on Vicodin anymore. He's stopped denying it at this point, and while the pain is still driving him nuts, he's accepted that yes, he is hooked. I think that certainty, that final realization, is what made the moment of clarity click - kind of like the Shakespearean "I am" moment of self-awareness.

(Yes! I am a geek! So what?)

He won the bet? Does that mean we go several episodes without clinic moments? Aw.

Saw House's final decision coming a mile away. But is Wilson talking about House's change as a result of the drugs, or the leg?

Wait. This whole thing was Wilson's idea?? He of all people should have known better than to let House take a bet like that and keep working.

So, finally... it really didn't live up to the hype. Too early, too rushed, but an interesting ending. I'm on the fence, and it's time for bed...

Comments

[germankitty]

Haven't seen the movie nor am I likely to, but if this particular point is what I THINK it is ...

Testing for drug use by examining hair samples IS a legitimate drug test. A few years ago, a German football (soccer) coach was sacked from his job (and consequently lost his shot at taking over the national team) because he was convicted of cocaine use. (Bad idea on his part, as the Football Association was one of the "spokespersons" for the nation's anti-drug campaign ... can we say "Oops!"?) This was in fact confirmed by testing his hair. Apparently, the drug(s) leave a residue in the follicle which literally grows out and can be established even quite some time after the fact, as it stays within the actual hair until it's shorn off.

Dunno if this applies to all types of drugs, though.

[irenak.livejournal.com]

Y'know, this was my first episode of House and I give full credit to the writers for creating such an incredibly snarky and damaged main character.

No credit whatsoever for having said character who's an infectious disease specialist performing an autopsy on a cat while undergoing detox. I'm hardly an expert but, dude, even I knew there was no way that would happen.

I might have to watch this regularly, though. Damn my weakness for snark!