House Season 2 GoldenGait episode reviews

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Season 2 here...

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2x01: Acceptance

And the cool guest stars continue in season two with LL Cool J in the season opener. Seriously, how does this show manage these awesome guest stars in almost every single episode?

"Partypants" is Cuddy's password?

Wow, Cameron's hair is suddenly five shades lighter. I'm not sure how much I like it.

Especially love two of House's funnies as he brings Clarence in to the hospital: "Stop it, I'm getting turned on" as Stacy talks Lawyer, and then his bestest Scooby Doo impression as Cuddy catches up with them.

I love the mneumonic for a high anion gap. MUDPILES. Just went over that the other day, actually, with one of the other students on my rotation.

I'm just not interested in Foreman's back story. He just doesn't seem like as strong a character as some of the others. Just like Chase doesn't, either. I did enjoy House's instruction that Chase should be the one to go to the prison because he has "a prettier mouth".

Hysterical line: "I know you're friends with her, but there is a code. Bros before hos, man."

Atropine was also mentioned on CSI 1x04 Friends and Lovers with Heroes guest star Milo Ventimiglia--dry as a bone, mad as a hatter, red as a beet, blind as a bat.

Cameron's "unbelievable" was great, as was House's follow-up "I coulda hit that."

I want to see more drunk House! That was cute.

With him moving that much there's no way they would get any kind of a clear picture on the MRI.

Cameron's often pretty annoying, but this episode really got to me. I'm with House--she's way too nice for her own good, and it gets slightly obnoxious.

Cuddy's floral dress is awful. Awful. But I continue to love the fact that House wears random graphic tees with jeans, sneakers, and sport coats to work.

Halleluia by Rufus Wainwright is extremely overused. About as much as Iz's Over The Rainbow.

Decent episode all around, but nothing fantastically amazing. You know what I want to see now? A flashback episode showing how House found and hired his current team.

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2x02: Autopsy

Odd little episode. Every medical show needs the inspirational little girl with cancer episode, but... I don't know. This one seemed thin. I liked the amount of Wilson involvement we got, since I don't feel like we've seen him all that much lately, but the diagnosis and character didn't move me.

House being sick was funny. I'd like to commend Hugh on his American accent with nasal congestion. Tough, but well done. Unless Hugh was just sick this week, and they wrote in the cold to explain the fact that he can't talk properly. Either way, he does nicely in this episode.

Chase kissing Andie was kinda weird, while still being a little sweet, but mostly weird. I suppose if they were going to do that in this episode, they handled it well, and Jesse did nicely. I also like how much the whole situation gave the rest of the team the willies. Great reactions all around.

Funny line: "Tell that to all the hookers who won't kiss me on the mouth."

Funny moment: Wilson opening the menthol rub container for House.

Great exchange: "You have a cane, nobody even likes you!" "I'm not terminal. I'm merely pathetic. You wouldn't believe the crap people let me get away with."

Sasha Pieterse (Andie) has a lovely voice. Listening to her deliver her lines in this episode was wonderful.

I liked the light across House's eyes when Wilson tells him he's not going to discuss the specifics of the procedure with Andie. Very film noir. I just think it could have been used better in a different episode, because it didn't seem to fit in this one, about a sweet little girl.

The practice runs were cute, with House counting them out and dancing around the room like the situation isn't incredibly gruesome and grim.

Go Foreman! I'm glad he was the one who saw the clot as saved her. We haven't seen him do much in the way of heroics lately.

The song as Andie wakes up from her autopsy is lovely... I should look that up. It plays again as Andie is discharged. I remember it from some other show, or movie... What am I thinking of? Where have I heard it before?

I liked how disturbed Wilson was at the sight of House and his cold medicine and razor blade, doing lines of diphenhydramine.

Love that House went out and bought a motorbike. Awesome. The shots of his foot and the road speeding by were very pretty, as was the aerial shot of his bike racing through the countryside, but I didn't like the sideways shot of his face. Unnecessary, and kind of odd-looking.

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2x03: Humpty Dumpty

Man, Cuddy is horrible. The kid's having an asthma attack and sweating, and she sends him back up on the roof because she doesn't want her dinner party to be ruined? Seriously, woman, uncool.

Funny line: "Sorry, trouble concentrating. That tank top really absorbs moisture." And again: "Looks like the same old Cuddy.... same cleavage...?"

If I were Cuddy I wouldn't have stayed away. Go in there, visit the kid! Alfredo's younger brother Manny was completely correct--she is a bit of a bitch.

Great exchange: "I'm not breaking into my boss' house." "I'm your boss." "She's scarier than you are." "Rrrr. She's a woman. And relax, I'm coming with." I think House was actually a little insulted that Chase was more scared of Cuddy than him.

Finally, a scene between Wilson and Stacy. I liked that she knew she could wheedle the information she wanted out of him, and I'm glad he kind of put her in her place about being too curious and interested in House. Nice job looking out for your guy, Wilson.

House is ridiculous. He knows he's got Cameron after him, he flirts (in his own crude way) like crazy with Cuddy (and goes through her thongs), and then ends up still mostly in love with Stacy. All the while all three women are after him in some form or fashion, whether they admit it or not. Nice, House, you're such a pimp.

Funny exchange: "She uses super tampons. What does that mean?" "You two are just too nasty to each other not to have been...nasty." "Hey, I can be a jerk to people I haven't slept with. I'm just that good." Yes, but come on, it's obvious by this point (at least, by the end of this episode) that Cuddy and House had something at some point, whether it was a drunken night in her office or a party back in college. Now I can't wait for the story. I love the final line: "By the way, why does everyone think we've had sex? Think there could be something to it?" Ooh, House, you're evil. The two women are getting along nicely and you have to come in there and rub it in Cuddy's face about all the sex he used to have with Stacy, and then make Stacy bristle by insinuating he'd also had sex with Cuddy.

I love that House referred to the Amphotericin B as "the Amphoterrible". That's what I've always called it!

The way House twirls that cane is a great little character bit.

I'm quite impressed that House speaks Spanish, and almost even more impressed that he's managed to keep that fact from Cuddy for this long. The look on everyone's face when he asked Alfredo's mother where her son works on Saturday nights was fabulous, as was his explanation: "Honestly, I have no clue what I just said." "Why didn't you tell me you spoke Spanish?" "Because then they'd want to talk to me."

This is just the episode of interesting revelations about House. He can speak Spanish, he can juggle with one hand or two, and he is capable of saying something nice to someone. His odd little compliment of Cuddy at the end was weirdly sweet. Funny line: "Would the world be a better place if no one ever felt guilt? Would sure make sex better. You should have seen her in the last months of our relationship. Lotta guilt, lotta screaming."

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2x04: TB or Not TB

Continuing with the wonderful run of guest stars, this week we have Ron Livingston (Peter from Office Space). He actually really bothers me. Not the actor, just the character he always seems to play.

I can't decide whether Cameron's crush on Sebastian was cute or not. I'm glad she's able to crush on a cute patient after her thing for House, but

Augh, House's explanation of his allergic patient's cat problem was so wrong, and yet so incredibly funny. "Pills?" "You don't like to swallow? Not surprising. I'll give you a nasal spray." "Steroids? Is there something else you can give me?" "If you live by the river I've got a bag?"

I love that Sebastian wastes no time in accusing House of upping the speed of his tilt-table test. House's This Is Spinal Tap reference was great, too ("Does this go to eleven?"), as was the almost bored, matter-of-fact way Sebastian began listing his symptoms as he passed out: "Okay, I'm getting dizzy, I can't see, and I'm going to pass out."

First off, it was a HIPAA violation for Foreman to reveal the name of the patient he was talking about to Cecelia Carter after listing all of the other man's symptoms. Secondly, that woman is nasty. Seriously not a nice person. I could tell they were going to have trouble with her from the beginning.

Love the "compelling television" as House yells "That is not TB!" into the news camera.

House's apology to Cecelia Carter was funny. Tricky, tricky, tricky.

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2x05: Daddy's Boy

This week's guest star: Vicellous Shannon from 24 and CSI.

Love the team's apprehensive look at Wilson's white board list, as if they can't wrap their minds around someone else's bad handwriting up there besides House's. And the comments on his new leather jacket were hysterical. Love the jacket, though, looks very nice on you, Hugh.

Funny scene: "Two wheeled vehicles that travel 150 miles an hour don't really go well with crippled, irresponsible drug addicts." The childish revving of the bike's engine as Foreman tried to talk was amusing, as was the fact that Wilson attempted to insist motherly that House was going to take the bike back. Robert and Hugh did a great job (as per usual) with their exchange at the end of the scene, Wilson admitting his latest marriage was going badly (we've never even seen his wife on the show--I'm beginning to think of her like Maris), and House offering to drive, insinuating Wilson would have to ride on the back of his bike.

Mom? House has a mom? No way. House can't have parents. He was hatched, fully formed and graying with two days of stubble from a very large, spotted egg somewhere on the hospital grounds. Right?

Great line: "Who was that?" "Angelina Jolie. I call her 'Mom'. Who thinks that's sexy?"

Ooh, sneaky, Cameron. Conspiring with Wilson to bring House's parents along on their little date. And I was wondering why House needed a loan from Wilson to buy that bike--he's a brilliant doctor with no codependents, and he needs $5,000 to finance half his new bike? Plus, Wilson said this is the 4th time he's had to lend House money. I know there are brilliant doctors out there who are horrible with managing their own personal finance, but House just doesn't seem the type to not be a bit of a scrooge with his coin and look after it like crazy. Hoard it, even. Which is why I was relieved and pleasantly surprised by the fact that his borrowing from Wilson was some kind of a sick experiment with his friend's generosity. Wilson should've punched him after taking the check. How does he put up with this guy? And Wilson's retaliation: "I lied. I've been lying to you in increasing amounts ever since I told you you looked good unshaved a year ago. It's a little experiment, you know, see where you draw the line." sigh Brilliant.

I'm so proud of Cameron for setting up this squirm-fest around House--she and Wilson invited Cuddy? Lovely. I'm disappointed Chase and Foreman aren't going, though.

Who started the rumor that Cuddy's a transsexual? I think that would actually be me, not you, House. I believe I mentioned it in one of the first three episode reviews of the first season.

Oh, the "she's a doctor!" scene was priceless. And for the record, the kid was right, fungus is fungus. The same type of organism that infects feet (tinea pedis) infects the groin (tinea cruris), as well as the head (tinea capitis) and torso (tinea corporis). A topical azole will usually clear any of them up.

Based on the actors' ages, House's father, John, would have been 15 when House was born, while Mom!House, Blythe, would have been 21. I'm assuming they're pretending House is a little younger than Hugh (maybe 43 at this point in time?) and that John is a little older than the actor that plays him (about the same age as Mom!House most likely--around 67). This puts the Houses at 24 when they had their kid. That's okay with me. I have a big pet peeve about actors playing roles that obviously don't fit age relationships--like Angelina at 31 playing the mother of Colin Farrell at 30. Huh?

I'm so insanely curious for the whole backstory of why House hates his dad but still loves and can't lie to his mom. Hugh did a fantastic job with his delivery of "Thank you... for not eating." He sounded so defeated. This was worse than his deflation the first time we saw him with Stacy at the end of last season.

House's description of his mom hating confrontation seemed like an odd thing for House to be aware of to the point that it's one of his main descriptives when he thinks about her--must be hard, when he's one giant ball of walking confrontation. And I'm sure House was an insanely intelligent kid, and it must have been very hard for him to grow up with a military father who doesn't seem as enlightened as his son.

Nice ending: "You know what I figure is worse than watching your son become crippled? Watching him be miserable."

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2x06: Spin

Love the line: "She's still got a thing for you, making it impossible for her to deal. Makes perfect sense. Except for the pronouns." I love lines I have to kind of think about.

Taraji Henson! Love her. She was so wonderful as Shug in Hustle and Flow.

Funny line: "Is there a light somewhere that goes on when I have food?" "Green for food, orange for beverage, and red for impure thoughts. That light burns out every two weeks."

Oh, I loved the cafeteria exchange between House and Mark. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! Followed up by the just-as-brilliant scene where House crashes Mark's therapy session. Nice.

Cuddy's using an online dating service? Oh dear.

And we're back to every patient getting the differential diagnosis of paraneoplastic syndrome.

Tom Lenk! Loved him on Buffy. So funny. And I can't tell you how hard I laughed at House shouting at Stacy about how he can get his rocks off any time he wants in front of the patient. Not get his rocks off in front of the patient, shouting in front of the patient... misplaced modifier, I know, Eggy, I know... At least I recognize them more now...

How can Stacy be so angry at House when she and her shiny new husband just dropped in and set up shop in his hospital after he saved Mark's life at their particular request? Plus, just a few weeks ago Stacy was in House's office telling him she wasn't over him! What's with this woman? Complete psycho.

I like Wilson's confession to Cameron that he's cheated--a lot--on his wives, and that telling them always hurts everyone involved. Robert, you're so sweet. And you're cute when you're conflicted.

And Cameron's hair is getting even lighter... I liked her better as a brunette. For no reason other than I have a die hard loyalty to my fellow dark-haired ladies, and tend to have a completely irrational pissy-ness toward brunettes who decide to be blondes. ...Okay, okay, I've done it, but everyone experiments in college, right?

Cameron and Wilson are starting to grow on me. I'm pretty sure their scene at the end there spawned a thousand fanfics. So, are we ever going to have a questionable little moment between the two of them? Oh, that would just drive House insane. It would be fabulous.

House looked in Stacy's therapy file? Bad, bad, bad. ....now I wanna know what it said, too!

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2x07: Hunting

House is reading Stacy's file aloud to Wilson? Uncool. But it's hysterical--borderline delightful--to watch House so incredibly happy about something. Funny line: "Meanwhile, she can't stop thinking about--I can't read that--is she obsessed with a grey horse? Or me?"

Love that House lives at 221B. I also love the expression "doc blocking me". I've had that experience. Just didn't have the appropriate term for it--until now.

Funny exchange: "Let go of my cane before it becomes your new boyfriend." "Honey, I will marry it if you'll look at my file." "Congress says you can't, so let go."

Kalvin is Matthew John Armstrong, Ted from Heroes! He does great in this episode. Plus, it's interesting to see him clean shaven for once. He was always beard-boy on Heroes. I'm assuming since the actor is married to a girl named Ashley he's not actually gay, so I'd like to compliment him on a very nice performance. Unfortunately, straight guys often play homosexuality way over the top, or look uncomfortable in their own skin while they're doing it. Matthew was perfect.

House is awful--and completely brilliant--at playing Stacy in this episode. Wow. She didn't stand a chance. From his doing the dishes to not-so-subtle reminders of their previous sex life, to being adorable with that rat (by the way, naming it Steve McQueen was a stroke of genius--how can you resist a guy who names a rat and tries to give it health care?), House was masterful. Tsk, tsk, tsk. And Wilson thought he needed to give House advice on getting a girl... House knows how to seduce someone, it's just not the same way Wilson goes about it!

Funny line: "Trying to win Stacy back by killing an animal...how very caveman."

Funnier line: "What?" "Is this a bad time? Where are you?" "At your girlfriend's place. Ignore the moaning and squeaking."

Yikes. As a health care worker, let me just say how completely freaky it is knowing that at some point you're probably going to have somewhat questionable contact with someone who's HIV+. Not that any of us should deny care on those grounds, and we should always try to treat every patient exactly the same, but I'm not going to lie--the prospect of accidentally sticking myself freaks me out. Poor Cameron.

Eek. If I were House, I'd have pushed the toilet seat up with the ground-end of my cane, not the hand-end.

Funny exchange: "So you just...show up every time he's at physio?" "Course not. Also when he's at group therapy, or out to dinner with friends..."

House and Stacy were cute as they waited for Steve McQueen. And that was a close call there with Steve's arrival. Another 5 seconds and they would've kissed. Try explaining that to Mark--and Wilson (House's significant other in this scenario).

Okay, I understand they were trying to show that Cameron took drugs and was weird, but I think they over did it, just a tad. Her hair didn't need to be quite so cavewoman, the music didn't need to be so trippy, and the hat + bad hair even the next day were all too much. Her behavior was good enough to sell it, and with the dialogue, you didn't need the mountains of visual clues. That being said... Holy shagging doctors, Batman! Cameron and Chase slept together! And good lord, Cameron, when you jump someone, you really jump them. My only thought was, how does Chase justify having sex with a drugged-out, non-mentally-sound, possibly HIV+ coworker? I kind of wanted to punch him.

Whoa: "I'm not an idiot." "Course not. Who doesn't sleep with a drugged out colleague when they have the chance?" Foreman's face was priceless as he figured out what was going on, and shame on you, Chase, for trying to look confused.

Hugh took the punch well, and did a nice job socking the dad in the stomach with the cane. He walks a fine line between cripple and badass on this show.

Ugh, Stacy's awkward dabbing at House's face with a little cube of ice in a napkin was the dumbest thing I've ever seen. Well, no, that's not true, but it was pretty dumb. You hold ice on a wound to reduce swelling and numb it up a bit, you don't dab lightly at a bruise... This woman bothers me. The only reason I'm putting up with her is because I enjoy her crazy-effect on House.

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2x08: The Mistake

House and Wilson's coin-football match was cute. They're such eight year olds.

I really liked the flashback story feel this episode had in parts, especially the beginning of Chase's narrative when the action freezes and Stacy says, "Don't care about the Vicodin," and the bottle pops out of frame. Very cool.

Funny line: "Chase loves me. And isn't Turkish."

She's blonder... and I still don't like it...

Funny line I'm sure House/Wilson shippers went nuts over: "What are you hiding?" "I'm gay. Oh, that's not what you meant. That would explain a lot, though. No girlfriend, always with Wilson. My obsession with sneakers."

Ugh! Yet another Awful Cuddy Outfit.

Chase's dad died! Nice way of addressing that issue. Poor Chase.

Stacy needs to quit messing with House's head. "It's not all negative"? You can't say that kind of stuff to him and then get angry when he pursues you!

Ooh, House gets a babysitter! He's not going to play well with Foreman as his boss.

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2x09: Deception

Guest star: Cynthia Nixon! She looks nice with long blond hair. I like her this way compared to her Sex and the City look. She was a pretty decent guest star in this episode, although I wasn't overly impressed with any of this storyline.

I love House's reluctance to treat Anica at the OTB.

Foreman ordering House around was fantastic! The crack about Foreman not taking his parking space was great, as was House's reply: "Yeah, well, you'd also need my handicap placard. Bend over." And Foreman's ego swell was nicely done, too. I just didn't like that he stopped wearing his white coat. Like as House's boss he got to assume the role of arrogant ***. He was doing paperwork, getting things done on time, and running the department smoothly--why try to buck the system by not wearing the coat?

Did House really botch that lumbar puncture, or was he trying to prove a point by stressing her out and causing an attack? I tend to think he screwed up and he's trying to cover it by stressing that his actions confirm his diagnosis like he meant for all of this to happen.

House's "please?" face as he pseudo-begs Foreman to do his test was hysterical.

I don't get Foreman. Chase puts up with House for the glamor of his job, Cameron puts up with him because of a crush and her desire to save people, but why is Foreman still there? He hates House, never seems to get along with him, and doesn't tend to seem happy about his job in general. Why is he still there? It can't pay that well.

Oh, oh lord, the Jelly Patient. Creepy. And hysterical. "Okay, we have a neurological problem here." "There's something wrong with my brain?" "Oh yeah." [...] "You probably shouldn't have sex for awhile." "How long?" "On an evolutionary basis, I'd say never."

The trip on House's bike to Anica's apartment was hilarious! There was a time Cameron would've paid money to ride on the back of his bike with her arms around his waist. Cameron/House shippers rejoice! But--problem is, Cameron didn't seem excessively happy about the situation. So, House/Cameron shippers can relax again.

Loved House's compliments of the lab tech to get her to attempt the tests on the small amount of blood. "I could try to look like Salma Hayek, but that's not going to make it happen." "You may not have Salma's ***, but she doesn't have your eyes."

Funny little scene: "Dr. Wilson--can I talk to you in confidence?" "Sure." "It's about House." "Then, no.... Fine! I won't say anything." "Do you think there's any way House would take me seriously as his boss?" "Where is this coming from? Did Cuddy say something?" "We talked, she intimated." "And you want my advice on how to usurp him? It's very ancient Rome--you'll need a toga, of course. A sword...."

I'm so freaked out by House's injection of Anica on the park bench in the snow. He's psychotic. It worked for the episode, but his tactics seriously make me uncomfortable.

Who does Foreman think he is, accepting an offer from Cuddy that she hadn't made yet?

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