For the second time this season, House leaves the rest of the team to deal with the case themselves while he goes off on his own adventure. Which was a shame, since the case was pretty interesting. After a young girl and her friend sneak into a party to try and hang out with a band the night before, she begins to swell at a terrifyingly alarming rate. After giving his initial diagnosis, House then trucks off to a medical conference with Wilson, but only after he finds out Cuddy will be going too.
Conference Call
There were two stories that played out at the medical conference. The first dealt with the on-going Huddy relationship. As made plain by his change of heart about attending after hearing Cuddy would be there, House is hoping to make some gains in dating Cuddy. The Huddy aspect of the show has always felt forced and awkward, and this episode was no different (though it did deliver House at an 80's party exploiting the fact it didn't specify the 1980's). He admits to Cuddy that he has always been interested in her, in response to which she abruptly leaves the party. Later, House discovers it is because Cuddy has started seeing Lucas, the P.I. from season 5. The creepy obsession he had with Cuddy in that season makes it a little hard to swallow that they would end up together.
Far more interesting was the Wilson story line. He is at the conference to read a paper, which House discovers is about euthanasia. More importantly, it is about Wilson's actual practice with his last patient. House confronts him on the issue, trying to tell Wilson it could cost him his career. Wilson, however, believes his paper just says what everyone is thinking, and says it needs to get out there. Unable to detour him, House resorts to drugging Wilson and reading the paper himself, and claiming it as his own (or, the doctor he is impersonating at the conference to be more precise). Initially furious, it doesn't take long for Wilson to forgive House because all Wilson was to hear from someone else he did the right thing, which House did in a shout out he added to the reading.
The Symptom is Lying
The case the rest of the team was dealing with was interesting, and the most intriguing part of the episode. A young girl comes in with massive swelling, after a reported night out partying with a band. Turns out, the girl and her friend are closet sci-fi geeks, and actually spent the night "discreetly following" the creator of their favorite TV show.
Unfortunately, one of the girl's symptoms prevents her from telling the truth, which means the team has to do even more sleuthing than normal in order to put the events of the night together. This leads to a potential statutory rape scenario with the show creator, no doubt playing off the recent Polanski headlines. In the end, oysters she ate the night before reacted with a condition she already had.
Adding to the drama was Chase and Cameron's marital problem. With Chase still keeping his part in Dibala's death a secret, Cameron suspects his strange behavior is a result of him having an affair. After the case was solved, Chase finally came clean to Cameron, telling her he killed Dibala.
Relationship Heavy
This episode was very much about relationships, with less emphasis on the case itself. For the most part, it was a bit much, with few worthwhile moments (like House catching Wilson's head right after drugging him). Lucas' return also felt a bit strange, especially within the context of being Cuddy's boyfriend.
On the plus side, it was nice to see Chase finally telling Cameron the truth about his actions. Their marital struggles have proven to be a nice addition to the show, more so than it would have seemed at the beginning of the season. Time to see if Cameron can keep her promise of loving Chase no mater what.
Grade: B
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