'House': Drug Trial and Error

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The Grim Reaper, as always, is a major character on House. Amber's bus-crash death drives the season and continues to litter each episode with understandably sad emotional debris. House still narcotizes his leg pain and blunts his emotions as he pops pills, while yakking with the team about his drug-addled patient. (House's trio of names for the drug trials were hilarious, but none better than "Cuckoldisol," in reference to Taub's potential marital status.) Thirteen is now open about her Huntington's disease death sentence, which finally adds weight to her character, while Cameron and Cuddy continue to try to tutor House about the feelings he just doesn't feel he needs to feel.

I'm so deeply fascinated by House and the way he can spend entire episodes rooting out the emotional and physical ailments of his colleagues and patients, and yet he remains as closed off as ever. But he wouldn't be House without that. The same way that only House could falsely diagnose Dr. and Mrs. Taub's relationship drama, but still have the exploration of that diagnostic miss lead, eventually, to the correct answer. As an aside, even with the seriousness of the possible implications, it was hilarious to hear Taub try to sneak a lie past House's truth-seeking missile: "Damn! Always forget to use the right article while lying."

Finally, as I mentioned, the private-investigator bits were too cute for my taste, but I was interested in the kid's attempt to analyze House. Everyone seems to give House a free psychological diagnosis, and I would love to attempt this sport, but as the good doc says, "People hate people who have theories about people."

I'm riveted by these highbrow analyses but am also shallow enough to tune in next week just to satisfy my primetime-soap-opera jones and to see if House and Wilson get back together and if House and Cuddy finally hook up. Or do you think that the PI will slide in there first?

For more House and EW stories, click on the links below.

'House': New Season Adds a Shot of Romance

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