by Courtney Hilden
Enough time has elapsed that most people probably don't remember "Three Stories," which took place in a similar context: House talked to students (that time, the kind getting medical degrees, this time, the kind learning long division) using several medical stories, with the big reveal at the end (what happened to House's leg and, apparently, attitude.)
It's this lack of revelation that made "Two Stories" such a disappointment. The three stories wove around and then showed the audience what was unexpected but necessary to understand; here the stories wove around and the payoff was nonexistent. The actual case (about a young man who had food quite literally go down the wrong pipe), was so clearly the sideline that it could have been absent and unmissed. The storyline that we should have cared about, over Cuddy and House's relationship, was equally lacking. It is hard to believe that Cuddy would only now realize that House's jerkiness extents to petty things like slamming the door and using someone else's toothbrush.
And then he says he's sorry, and that's it. If the payout from this had been better (it wasn't really the toothbrush, it is that he is selfish and uncaring and that maybe those qualities are more problematic because, um, Cuddy needs someone responsible and thoughtful enough to think of her/them/Rachel, and maybe she's pregnant...I'm just brainstorming here, and even on a stomachache in a end-of-the-work-week haze I can come up with more reasonable or sane reactions from her.)
And then he says he's sorry, and that's it. If the payout from this had been better (it wasn't really the toothbrush, it is that he is selfish and uncaring and that maybe those qualities are more problematic because, um, Cuddy needs someone responsible and thoughtful enough to think of her/them/Rachel, and maybe she's pregnant...I'm just brainstorming here, and even on a stomachache in a end-of-the-work-week haze I can come up with more reasonable or sane reactions from her.)House fans have quickly become apathetic about House/Cuddy (and, from what I can tell, even Huddy fans aren't really enjoying the glow). I know I'm apathetic, just because the relationship, which could encourage a certain amount of emotional growth from House has allowed him to plateau all over again. House is always at his best when he's forced to confront himself or being funny. This episode featured none of the former and only some of the latter; it's time to get back to the formula that works and actually has story potential.
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