house m.d. Article: Actions really do have consequences....(please do not read if anda have not watched Wilson's Heart)

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Actions really do have consequences....(please do not read if anda have not watched Wilson's Heart)

posted by oldmovie

Is House to blame for the actions of others?

After watching Wilson's jantung I noticed that the writer's left us with a deep thought about the pertanyaan of whether House is guilty as to the death of Amber. At first my reaction was God NO, House couldn't help that they got into a bus accident but then I noticed something lebih that the writer's were trying to say.
A main theme through House is the way he treats people and how his actions may not directly cause the misery and he 'techinically" is not to blame for a deed done, but indirectly he has caused people pain.

The first example I could think of for this was at the end of the Volger arc in season 1 the episode called "Babies and Bathwater". House stands on his principles and refuses to humble himself to Volger and therefore causes Volger to threaten his job with a vote in a board meeting. The only person to defend House was Wilson who was then fired. House may not be responsible for Volger's actions, but as Wilson put it:

Wilson: I’ve got no kids, my marriage sucks; I’ve only got two things that work for me: this job and this stupid, screwed-up friendship, and neither mattered enough to anda to give one lousy speech.

atau as Cuddy put it at the end of the episode when her job too was threatened:

Cuddy: Well, to the great champion. Saved you, saved Wilson, saved the whole team. [She drinks the entire glass in one go.] Of course, none of them would have needed saving if anda could actually get along with another human being.

This is the first time we explore the fact the House's actions do indeed have consquences and tend to hurt the people who are the closet to him.

The selanjutnya big moment of this I could think of was when he got shot at the end of season 2 in the episode "No Reason." House learns in a hallucination that a prior patient of his committed suicide when House informed her of her husband's adultery. Although House may not have been responsible for the wife's actions, his telling her indirectly makes him guilty of her suicide. This is the first time we as viewers see House questioning himself and taking the blame and realizing his actions have consquences. Season 2 is left with a big cliff-hanger if House will change and care lebih about how he treates other people.

Jack: It’s my fault she’s dead! I know it. But why can’t anda admit it’s maybe just a little bit yours, too? That maybe it’s not just medical mistakes that screw things up?

In season 3 I think this topic is tossed around a lot for discussion. "Meaning" starts off looking like House might have actually changed and started to care about his patients.

House: He's been in that chair for 8 years, his muscles have atrophied. Maybe I can help him with the pain. Isn't that enough of a reason to want to help?

But soon when his leg pain returns....and with it the new arc starts and that is the Tritter arc. The Tritter arc in my opinion epitomizes that House does things without thinking of the consquences not just for himself but for other people. oleh refusing to take the deal from Tritter and continually being an pantat, keledai to him, once again refusing to humble himself he does harm to the ones closet to him. Wilson defends House when Tritter shows him the forged signatures for Vicodin in return his assests are siezed, his car possesed and his practice shut-down, he can't even prescribe medication. House's team's bank accounts are Frozen so they can't get too any money. Finally the arc cultimates in Cuddy purgering herself in court, not only risking going to jail but loosing her job as well as her medical licence. All to keep him from loosing his. Although House was not directly responsible for the way Tritter acted, House never thinks about his actions and everytime he hurts someone. Cuddy somes it up pretty well at the end of the episode ,"Words and Deeds":

CUDDY: [Annoyed] There's nothing to celebrate House, anda made me purger myself - [Which she berkata a little too loudly so she looks around to see if anyone's there and starts to talk a bit softer] fabricate evidence. anda make everyone around anda worse for being there.

So now I finally get to season 4 and the situation that provoked this long rant. "Wilson's Head." I now understand going through the major House moments that the writer's were once again tampilkan the viewers how House's actions may not have directly caused the accident and Amber's death but if he hadn't been out irresponsibly drinking and then expected Wilson to come pick him up and then refused Amber's ride home, Amber wouldn't have died. I personally think the writer's are giving House another chance to think about what he has done and what he has caused. This time is different from the others though because at the end of this mistake, House has to pay the consquences...He looses Wilson his best friend. Maybe the writer's are giving House a small window where he could change, maybe if he feels the consquences of his actions he might think lebih carefully.

Personally I don't know , House wouldn't be House without him going to all ends to save a patient, pushing the boundaries of social neccesities to get the job done, not matter what gets in his way. He may not be directly responsible for the events that take place but he needs to take the responsibility so he understands that actions have consquences. Who knows what is in store for selanjutnya season?

Should House take responbility for his own actions?

kimi_kirtee, kathiria82 and 25 others like this

_lina_ I think you're right, and I think House realized that he was, however indirectly, partly responsible in Amber's death. I think that that's what made him risk his life to save Amber's, and that's why he told Amber he didn't want to go back (in the heavenish scene at the end) - he couldn't face Wilson, knowing that he'd killed Wilson's possibly only true love. Great soapbox, by the way :)

jameswilson I think House is feeling more than just guilt for Amber's death. I think he does realize that, while it was indirectly his fault, he can't be entirely blamed. He does feel some guilt for what happened, but he is also feeling the pain of possibly losing Wilson. He's feeling guilty for everything he's ever done, and not done for Wilson - it's all running through his head at once. And for the first time he's scared that he really might lose Wilson for good.

ineedcoffee great article! but there is one small fact you are missing Amber would have died whether she went to pick up house or not, because it was the pills she took for the flu that killed her, not anything else. That is why they couldn't save her.

jameswilson Well - it was the flu and the crash combined. The pills alone wouldn't have killed her, neither would the crash. The crash destroyed her kidneys and, in turn, they could not properly filter the flu medicine out of her body. She overdosed on the flu meds because her kidneys were destroyed. It was a combination of the two things that killed her.

jecca I think your article is great. I was thinking though reading the comments that isn't it a bit of Wilson's fault also. Wasn't it the fact that they froze her in the ambulance the last straw?? Granted House stood by and let Wilson make that decision but I thought that Foreman said that if they hadn't frozen her the way they did they may have been able to fix everything else.

jameswilson I think it was inevitable. The moment she took the pills - the moment the accident happened. She would have died no matter what. Freezing her only delayed it. So sad :[

PotterGal Fantastic article, oldmovie!

mimika_s That was an excellent article!

bainmoussant Kudos for pointing out this pattern throughout the series, oldmovie! But why is it different this time ? Why is House's guilt so much worse now when he only showed mere glimpses of remorse before ? Of course, there is the fact that this time it caused the death of his best friend's loved one. But I also believe that House has already imperceptibly changed since the beginning of season 4: he may have realized that, whether he likes it or not, he wasn't completely self sufficient and that he did need (a few) people around him. If he admitted to himself that he cared for those people, then he should be affected by the harm he causes them, wittingly or unwittingly. Remember in "Living the Dream", his midnight phone call to Cuddy: if it wasn't guilt she might have lost her job because of him, then what was it? Is House to blame for what happened to Amber? Well, as was pointed out before, this is probably beyond the realm of ethics. After all, it was nothing more than a sad combination of circumstances. The answer to that question rather depends on who you, as viewer, choose to sympathize with the most. Personally, I'm still torn between Wilson's (reproachful?) dismay and Cuddy's protective support. Yes, House has a lot to ponder now: is it possible to remain true to yourself and yet take the feelings of others into account? is it necessary to compromise over who you are and what you do to "actually get along with another human being"? isn't it even too late for that now? By the way, brilliant article, oldmovie! Thanks for sharing your insights!

ineedcoffee ok tell me this though since you pointed me back here from the pick...lol what did house do in this episode to blame him really, he didn't ask for amber to come down to the bar and get him he didn't even want her to get on the bus with him and she didn't have to she drove down so what in this episode did he do personally that he is to be blamed for besides almost killing himself to remember to save her...

oldmovie I do not think House is truly to blame for what happened to Amber because as bainmoussant puts so brilliantly above, "Well, as was pointed out before, this is probably beyond the realm of ethics. After all, it was nothing more than a sad combination of circumstances. The answer to that question rather depends on who you, as viewer, choose to sympathize with the most." (lovely job there by the way) But I think that although House was not reponsible for how Amber acted and how she followed him on the bus, if House hadn't been out late at night drinking to a point where his keys were confiscated and then refused to let Amber drive him home, Amber would have never been at the bar. House's actions indirectly led her to be there and to her death. I think House sides with me on this (bold remark I know) because he is so afriad of going back to reality when he is talking with Amber because he knows it was partly his fault and that Wilson will hate him. But to be fair to House he risked his life to save her before knowing why she was on the bus...so props to him!

hulahoopgoddess House definately thinks its his fault. in that little encounter w/ Amber he said the reason he didn't want to "get off the bus" was because "it doesn't hurt here." hes thinking of consequences directly related to himself, yes, but his woes are: -pain -misery -wilson hating him House thinks (as do i) wilson will hate him, and hes afraid of this because he thinks he deserves it. afterall, even if this was just some mal-formation of reality created by his mind( a hallucination...?), then his mind thinks, as Amber said, "you deserve it", i.e.: house was atleast partially responsible for her death, therefore deserving of wilson's anger and he (possibly)doesn't deserve to be forgiven i think forgiveness is essential and know wilson will eventually, but the ramifications will be felt all next season, and house will never be, as they say, "well-adjusted," because then he would't be house and the show would be boring. its the same reason amber died. wilson couldn't be happy- BOR-RING!

misanthrope86 Excellent article!

Chandlerfan Awesome article. Very brilliantly written. =]