April 30th, 2008

On This Week’s House: “No More Mr. Nice Guy”

By Natalie Zutter

Last season, the controversial episode “The Jerk” had House pitted against a POW as mean as him; for the show’s return after the strike, the POW is so nice that House is claiming his amiability is a disease in itself.

But, as usual, the A-plot is nowhere near as interesting as the subplots revolving around House’s life. Wilson is still with Amber, which has House feeling ignored; in one of the cutest moments this season, he and Chase rock (non-matching, sadly) bowling shirts and gloves.

House quickly approaches “Wilber” and proposes “joint custody” of his best friend. Without blinking, Amber responds, “Every other day, every other weekend.” Are these people for real? If so, they’re adorable, and the one good thing left about this show.

Back at the hospital, House is supposed to be giving his new team performance reviews, but of course he doesn’t put any effort in. When Foreman tries to take over, the v2.0 ducklings will have none of it; they taunt him that House has made him think he has authority, when he’s still another lackey.

The custody battle continues, with House bringing Cuddy in to “rule”. Later, House gets Wilson drunk to provoke a fight with Amber, but he’s unsuccessful. I’m really liking Amber more in this context, with the twisted Mommy-Daddy complex/threesome.

There’s a bizarre subplot in which the ducklings think that House has syphilis. Ultimately, it was another trick of his, but it does give us an amusing exchange between Chase and Cameron in which he accuses her of sleeping with House and she…doesn’t deny it. Careful, David Shore, or you’ll have thousands of slobbering fangirls all over you.

Oh, right, back to the POW. It turns out he has Chagas disease, which just means that there’s a parasite in his brain that has altered his personality for the past decade. You would think this would be good news to his wife, who used to passive-aggressively hate him for being so perfect, but the episode ends with her staring sadly into the distance. Guess it’s nice to live with a saint, as it makes you a better person…except in the case of House.

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