7x17 Fall from Grace
Mar. 24th, 2011 10:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
damigellaFirst of all, go over to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
readingrat's post Fine Young Cannibals (awesome title btw), especially the analysis on the question "Can people change?" to which all I can add is applause. Read the comments, too.
I will instead rant freely about an issue that readingrat wisely decided to avoid: marriage.
I supposedly view this from the same perspective as House, namely as someone with no religious belief and no need to respect manners or customs.
Everybody mentioned what Chase said, but what I heard even louder was House's description of his agreement with Dominika: he marries her, and she does things for him. The wife as full-time servant of the husband.
In many countries (mine isn't one) being married to a homemaker gives you a tax advantage.
I've pissed off a number of people by saying that the state is financing men to get paid cleaning help, cooks, whores and possibly babysitters. I used almost the same words as House.
Usually the pissed-off people had been raised by stay at home moms, something unheard of when (and where) I was a child - all mothers worked, most of them part-time. I've slowly come to moderate my language, but I still think the state has no business financing coupledom, especially when it's only straight coupledom.
State marriage, as Chase correctly remarks, should have nothing to do with love; it's a free contract between consenting adults. It should cost society zero, giving the couple extra rights and duties at the same time.
If someone is bothered because to them marriage is a sacrament (it is in the Catholic religion at least) I'd be happy to change the name to civil union, and reserve marriage to private ceremonies with no legal value.
To me, House should be free to marry Dominika for purely monetary reasons; it's his business if, some time later, she dumps his sorry ass for someone her age and tries to squeeze as much alimony as possible from him.
And as a subrant, I think that in love physical fidelity is absolutely overrated in comparison to trust. I'm much more upset by Cuddy dumping Lucas so soon after their engagement than by Wilson and/or Taub sleeping around while married. Again, remember this is my militant socialist atheist viewpoint.
While we're talking about sex, I don't get what the point of House not sleeping with Dominika is supposed to be. That he's still in love with Cuddy? Like that stopped him from having all the prostitutes last episode. That he might want a real relationship with his "wife" and so doesn't want to treat her like a whore? She's nice and everything, but she's not a doctor, and the idea of her being around until the end of the season (and possibly in S8) is annoying. Maybe he just finished the Viagra and is too full of Vicodin.
I was only mildly entertained by the toys (sedgway, helicopters, monster truck) and by the pedicure. I did like the tabletennis differential - still not a replacement for my beloved h/w foosball conversations. It was great, if not completely believable, to see Cuddy back to her usual role.
Wilson had a normal season 7 part - which would have been a very minor one in seasons past. This is a Huddy season, in the sense that H/C interaction is the focus even when (now that?) they are not together (anymore?). House may marry Dominika for a number of good reasons, but the only purpose of the wedding ceremony is to piss Cuddy off. Yes, all this has been said better by readingrat and in comments there, including that Cuddy shouldn't be present at all, but it bears repeating.
Some jokes were fine, some dialogs too but overall I'm so not impressed. Even the pill-popping seems more a (Masters-)annoying ritual than a need born from intense physical pain.
As for the POTW, all I can do is recommendcellista_in_c 's "darkish!wilson" hilarious fic Dinner At The Loft.
I think it's high time to roll up our sleeves :-) and contribute to the Kickin' It Old School Challenge. Let the DVDs roar!
PS: The userpic of House with reading glasses comes fromjulefontane. Many thanks!
readingrat's post Fine Young Cannibals (awesome title btw), especially the analysis on the question "Can people change?" to which all I can add is applause. Read the comments, too.I will instead rant freely about an issue that readingrat wisely decided to avoid: marriage.
I supposedly view this from the same perspective as House, namely as someone with no religious belief and no need to respect manners or customs.
Everybody mentioned what Chase said, but what I heard even louder was House's description of his agreement with Dominika: he marries her, and she does things for him. The wife as full-time servant of the husband.
In many countries (mine isn't one) being married to a homemaker gives you a tax advantage.
I've pissed off a number of people by saying that the state is financing men to get paid cleaning help, cooks, whores and possibly babysitters. I used almost the same words as House.
Usually the pissed-off people had been raised by stay at home moms, something unheard of when (and where) I was a child - all mothers worked, most of them part-time. I've slowly come to moderate my language, but I still think the state has no business financing coupledom, especially when it's only straight coupledom.
State marriage, as Chase correctly remarks, should have nothing to do with love; it's a free contract between consenting adults. It should cost society zero, giving the couple extra rights and duties at the same time.
If someone is bothered because to them marriage is a sacrament (it is in the Catholic religion at least) I'd be happy to change the name to civil union, and reserve marriage to private ceremonies with no legal value.
To me, House should be free to marry Dominika for purely monetary reasons; it's his business if, some time later, she dumps his sorry ass for someone her age and tries to squeeze as much alimony as possible from him.
And as a subrant, I think that in love physical fidelity is absolutely overrated in comparison to trust. I'm much more upset by Cuddy dumping Lucas so soon after their engagement than by Wilson and/or Taub sleeping around while married. Again, remember this is my militant socialist atheist viewpoint.
While we're talking about sex, I don't get what the point of House not sleeping with Dominika is supposed to be. That he's still in love with Cuddy? Like that stopped him from having all the prostitutes last episode. That he might want a real relationship with his "wife" and so doesn't want to treat her like a whore? She's nice and everything, but she's not a doctor, and the idea of her being around until the end of the season (and possibly in S8) is annoying. Maybe he just finished the Viagra and is too full of Vicodin.
I was only mildly entertained by the toys (sedgway, helicopters, monster truck) and by the pedicure. I did like the tabletennis differential - still not a replacement for my beloved h/w foosball conversations. It was great, if not completely believable, to see Cuddy back to her usual role.
Wilson had a normal season 7 part - which would have been a very minor one in seasons past. This is a Huddy season, in the sense that H/C interaction is the focus even when (now that?) they are not together (anymore?). House may marry Dominika for a number of good reasons, but the only purpose of the wedding ceremony is to piss Cuddy off. Yes, all this has been said better by readingrat and in comments there, including that Cuddy shouldn't be present at all, but it bears repeating.
Some jokes were fine, some dialogs too but overall I'm so not impressed. Even the pill-popping seems more a (Masters-)annoying ritual than a need born from intense physical pain.
As for the POTW, all I can do is recommend
cellista_in_c 's "darkish!wilson" hilarious fic Dinner At The Loft.I think it's high time to roll up our sleeves :-) and contribute to the Kickin' It Old School Challenge. Let the DVDs roar!
PS: The userpic of House with reading glasses comes from
julefontane. Many thanks!![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-03-24 11:15 pm (UTC)While we're talking about sex, I don't get what the point of House not sleeping with Dominika is supposed to be. probably like House crying when he had sex with Lydia? They wanted it to be some beautiful statement about his character and instead, eh, no.
One of my favourite 13 scenes is the last one from "Lucky 13", after everything she went through in the episode it ends with her sitting on a bed, looking very uninterested as she starts again into another meaningless bout of sex. They should have tried for something more like that perhaps in this last episode. For someone like House who has the physical v emotional split down so well, it was weird he didn't want to sleep with her.
the idea of her being around until the end of the season (and possibly in S8) is annoying. I really don't think she will be though, they don't seem to want to invest too much time into her as an actual character. She's basically a prop, a concept in this last episode. She might as well be called "Mrs Plot Device" (which actually comes from a discussion I was having on twitter with some people over her).
If they're really going to keep her around, I bet she has a very background role. If nothing else, she's a good way of them writing House out of all the prostitutes without having to explain why he's suddenly stopped seeing her. This way they don't have the rest of the season with him sleeping with 100 different women (so they can hopefully get to him sleeping with Wilson? LOL I can hope!)
no subject
Date: 2011-03-25 07:37 am (UTC)"One of my favourite 13 scenes." Mine, too. I think she looked especially alone.
"writing House out of all the prostitutes"
That certainly would already be a big improvement.
"the physical v emotional split down so well"
I must admit I'm intrigued by barefootpuddles's take on this below; that what stops him is the fear that this divide can't be kept anymore.
Thanks for reading what I write.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-25 06:25 am (UTC)I think to most people in that type of relationship, fidelity is a form of trust. Therefore breaking that agreed upon monogamy is breaking that state of trust. I agree with much of what you said otherwise about marriage. I really wish states gave out only civil unions and private groups conferred marriage.
I don't get what the point of House not sleeping with Dominika is supposed to be. That he's still in love with Cuddy? Like that stopped him from having all the prostitutes last episode. That he might want a real relationship with his "wife" and so doesn't want to treat her like a whore?
My interpretation was that the minute she said she liked him and he realized he liked her back, then she was no longer the business associate she was a minute before. Now he has a reason to avoid having sex because there is already a spark of connection and he might get too close to her or have her get too close to him. I suppose this could mean that House still wants Cuddy in his heart, or maybe he is just feeling too vulnerable right now to risk anything with anyone else.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-25 07:32 am (UTC)This is clear, but it's not that many of us _actively_ choose fidelity. It's part of a package deal, together with cohabitation and sharing a bed at night. I just wonder why we should _automatically_ put our trust issues on something so many human beings are not naturally good at.
I see it a bit like the religious prohibitions of eating certain foods; it's okay to me as part of a religion, but it seems to me it should be a free choice otherwise.
"he might get too close to her or have her get too close to him"
That's a good interpretation. Which would fit well with past declaration that she's in series for a long time. I wouldn't put it past tptb to have us wonder for weeks whether he'll fall in love with her, and then ultimately have him go back to Cuddy and/or choose to remain alone.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-25 02:19 pm (UTC)I think it is evolution. Men have a biological desire to prefer monogamy so that they don't waste resources helping children survive that aren't theirs (and if they suspect they aren't, you get House's father at best and infanticide at worst) and women have a desire to ensure their offspring don't have to share limited resources with their spouse's other mate's children. Add in the dangers of sexual transmitted diseases and you have a fidelity = trust equation born. Sadly, I think daytime TV and House shows that modern times hasn't made these issues any less of a concern.
I personally wonder if we just don't live too long to be monogamous and if that isn't the real problem. If half of us died off in our twenties like we were supposed to, maybe we could make love and fidelity last.
Which would fit well with past declaration that she's in series for a long time. I wouldn't put it past tptb to have us wonder for weeks whether he'll fall in love with her, and then ultimately have him go back to Cuddy and/or choose to remain alone.
I remain optimistic here. If they don't play her for either too many laughs or the opposite of too much angst, she could be a good side character. They made her seem playful, kind, and possibly smart (since she managed this deal with House). She could be an entire background arc, but hopefully a better one than Masters whom I don't care for very much. As long as she doesn't end up with Wilson.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-25 02:49 pm (UTC)My personal take is that it's the evolution of our society. In nature, most of our nearest relatives are promiscuous. Plus, humans have this weird property that females are in the mood for sex and attractive even when infertile (yay!). I think we're meant to be like bonobos, raise kids in groups and use sex (het and homo) as a way to keep the group together.
To me, forbidding infidelity is as against nature as forbidding masturbation; if evolution was against solo sex, our arms would be 10 inches shorter.
"if we just don't live too long to be monogamous"
I already was non-monogamous before I turned twenty :-). But it is true that long relationships make it even harder.
[/rant]
"As long as she doesn't end up with Wilson."
[fans self to recover from panic attack.] Otherwise I hope you're right and she will be a nice arc. The difference with Masters is that she's at least a doctoral student, so she can actually contribute to the differentials. The other difference is that she's not dressed and coiffed as to make her look ugly :-).
no subject
Date: 2011-03-25 04:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-25 04:44 pm (UTC)Precisely. Especially while staring at pictures like coconut_ice22's icon above :-).
no subject
Date: 2011-03-25 05:43 pm (UTC)