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House portrays medicine as devoid of compassion

House and Wilson's B storyline saved this episode of 'House,' which was devoid of compassion on the part of the obstetrics team and devoid of emotion by the well-known guest actress, clearly having an off day.

- Season 7, Episode 5 - "Unplanned Parenthood"

Aw, House. I kinda hate the sick baby episodes. Maybe it’s because I’m the blessed mom of a healthy kid and I can’t imagine adding life-threatening illness to this roller coast ride called parenting. Yeah, it tugs at my heartstrings. Or it would if Jennifer Grey was even mildly convincing as the suffering mom, but she was just so devoid of emotion (no, not understated — devoid) that I couldn’t get on board. If the chemistry between her and her grown daughter was any good, the story line might have worked, but that was lacking too.

And then the ending … really? First of all, waiting nine days was the right choice. And in real life, she would have survived and been fine. Seriously, the fact that she died because the doctors warned her that there was a small risk of clots was so asinine (or as Brett would say, “I call bullshit”) that I’m forced to rant about a House episode, when I so want to rave as I usually do.

So thank goodness for the B story. The whole story line with Rachel and the dime was completely absurd. So why did I enjoy it so much? As always, House and Wilson are awesome together, and so awkward with children. That’s always funny. What other duo would figure out the change from the Chinese food so that they knew how many coins the kid had swallowed? The standoff outside the house was priceless too — you knew neither of them would leave, but they both played a good game.

This and that:

  • Why are there jars of baby food in Cuddy’s fridge? The baby is two and a half years old, for crying out loud. If she can eat a dime, solid foods aren’t  a real stretch.
  • Cancer treating cancer … that was the only cool part of the main storyline this week.
  • “Offer to babysit again, let her have a night out.” – House, in trying to think of a way to get Cuddy out of the house so he could deal with the dime that Rachel swallowed
    “Sure, that won’t be suspicious.” – Wilson
    “I wish I were nicer.” – House
  • I had to disguise more of my rant down here in the bullets so my post wouldn’t be full of the hate — Thank goodness for Taub and his awesome bedside manner, because the way the rest of the hospital staff treated that mother was deplorable. Not allowed to hold her child? Was she even nursing? Pumping? Being supported as a new mother facing a huge challenge that was completely unexpected? Why does medicine have to be devoid of compassion? That was seriously hard to watch, and I don’t think you have to be a mother to understand that.
  • Chang completely castrated Taub … wow. Wow, was she right, I mean. He really is so spineless, and it was a nice reminder because we hadn’t really seen the weaker side of Taub yet this season.
  • “You’re telling me to do the right thing while climbing out a window!” – House to Wilson, who wants House to tell Cuddy that Rachel swallowed a dime on his watch
  • The title was a little touching. I thought it was just referring to House babysitting for Rachel, but when the grown daughter ends up having to raise her newborn sister, it had a new meaning.
  • Loved the ending when Rachel ratted on House to Cuddy … perfect.

Photo Credit: FOX

Categories: | Episode Reviews | Features | General | House | TV Shows |

2 Responses to “House portrays medicine as devoid of compassion”

October 19, 2010 at 11:55 AM

I agree with your review. The House, Wilson, Rachel story was laugh-out-loud funny.

It was hard for me to accept Jennifer Grey as a new mom. I had just watch DWTS and found out she is 50. I know it was supposed to be a story about a woman getting a second chance at motherhood, but 50….

October 19, 2010 at 2:22 PM

The ending was hilarious! “How did you eat a dime, Rachel?!”
“House.”

I think not only was the mom devoid of emotion; the daughter was stiff and unconvincing. Poor acting on her part.

I really liked Dr. Chang. It’s too bad she said no to the job. Considering how many Asians work in medicine, it would make sense that at least one member of House’s team ends up being an Asian (and not a super-model). But whatever. Anything would be better than Thirteen.

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