Allison—I know. He’s full-on a-hole now.
Paulette—You might not be in the minority. See Hira’s comment below! House’s not caring where Cuddy’s daughter was before plowing his car into her living room made the act more despicable to me.
Hira—That’s a good point about Kutner’s abrupt death. House is no longer just self-destructive, though; he’s potentially harmful to other people. I’ve rooted for him to vanquish his demons for years but it looks like he’s moving backward, not forward. Since next season is rumored to be the show’s last, I’ll probably tune in towards the end to see how everything is wrapped up (though I doubt it’ll be a happy ending) but don’t think I can put up with House every week anymore.
Laura—I’m so lucky and grateful to have such great, smart readers and published authors like you here. I think Hugh Laurie is brilliant, too. Did I tell you I bumped into him at a movie theater? I don’t normally get starstruck but he rendered me speechless. And thank you for understanding the line between an unlikeable character readers can still root for (I like grumpy, prickly characters) and one who’s irredeemable.
]]>I thought that the moment when he told Cuddy that, yes, he felt hurt, was incredibly powerful. Everything that came after was anticlimactic. I found the car/dining room scene incongruent, somehow, and not very effective. It was as if the writers just thought–What crazy thing can we make him do? Perhaps it’s just too much like what an actual person might do. The imitative fallacy kicked in. I want more from my fiction.
I’ve rarely been so personally invested in a fictional character as I have been w/ House. There are times, particularly at the beginning of a season, that I just can’t watch because it’s so painful. I’m not a fan of train wrecks.
I will watch next season, because I think Hugh Laurie is adorable and brilliant. I would watch him cook eggs or make toast. Pretty much anything.
Finally, the Taub storyline w/ the two pregnancies? That’s just dumb.
Terrific post and what great comments. You have the best readers!
P.S. As someone who tends to write some very unlikeable characters, I know for a fact that readers will only let a writer go so far. People avoid unlikeable characters just the way they avoid unpleasant people. It’s a balancing act, trying to go just far enough to keep the story interesting. I hate to give a reader a good reason to stop reading.
]]>Personally, I think they had to make him do something absolutely crazy in order for Lisa Cuddy to give up on him entirely. And for all that she has put up with from him, it had to be something completely drastic. And what’s more drastic than driving your car through someone’s dining room? (Well, other than there ACTUALLY being people in it! lol :P) I think this was just something they’d been building towards for Edelstein’s exit, unlike Kutner’s abrupt demise, which just left a collective “huh? what just happened?” question mark in the minds of millions of fans!
Also, I think that House will finally be able to make a fresh start – and we might witness him rising from his self-destructive behavior. I’m too invested in House to give up on him NOW! 🙂
]]>All the previous aside, I don’t have a clue where the character of Gregory House goes from here based on that last scene in yesterday’s finale. I don’t think they will dumb the next season down any, but it felt it should end there.
]]>le0pard13—There have been some amazing episodes throughout the years but I can see why you wouldn’t spark to it.
Carol—I don’t think they had focus groups for this. Groups can be done for pilots and specials but episodics are produced on a very tight schedule so there’s no time for test screenings. The writers and producers are completely responsible for the ending.
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