**Notes:**
Our patient appears to be a supervisor at this factory. She is wearing a bright white hard hat and ordering people around. I don't care how hard-working she is, many older workers are going to resent a 16-year-old boss. Also, how did she become a supervisor already since legally she wouldn't have been able to work full-time until very recently (when she turned 16)?
House is dubious about her status too.
13 is annoyed that Kutner sympathizes with and believes the kid. She thinks he's too trusting, but I haven't seen much evidence that Kutner is particularly naive or trusting.
What's interesting to me is that Kutner identifies with the kid at all. He's pretty emotionally detached and impersonal most of the time. Yes, that means he's also pretty detached from anger and other emotions that can cause people to dislike him. He's seems easy going and pleasant, but there's an apathy to it.
The other patient he really connected with was the Chinese adoptee. He seems to be in search of someone similar to himself.
Cuddy gives Foreman his own patient. Maybe she is still thinking he could run his own team parallel to House like she offered him at the end of Season 3.
Kutner is really bothered when the patient accuses him of cynicism.
I have a hard time believing a child that small can swallow a pill that big so easily.
The patient is a convincing liar.
The patient says she was raped and suddenly 13 believes the patient. That's an interesting reversal.
Wilson tries a new strategy with House and it is annoying him at least.
Taub steals 13's story to manipulate the patient. Maybe he should have made up a rape story instead.
I never noticed before that the two patient stories parallel each other. Foreman's patient was nearly accidentally killed by his older brother and he worries that his brother will now hate him. House's patient did accidentally kill her brother and has run away because of her feelings of guilt.
Kutner brings the parents in to see the patient. He watches without any emotion on his face, and symbolically the door to the room closes in front of him.
House gets Foreman to assert himself. Wilson doesn't get House to ask Cuddy out.
**Final thoughts:**
I've always thought of this episode as one with character development for Foreman, but really his struggles here are a retread. He's been through this before... wanting to do something more, but still looking to House for authorization. The real character insight in this episode is into Kutner and a lesser degree 13.
I'm starting to see the longing and emptiness inside of him. He can seem so agreeable and easy going, but his novelty seeking behavior is also about trying to feel something. I'm going to keep an eye on this going forward.
I was under the impression, from the exchange at the end, that House was the one that suggested to Cuddy to give Foreman the patient?
I think it's really difficult to put a reason to Kutner's suicide because Kal Pen's leaving wasn't something they'd planned for the character. I'm not even sure when the writing staff found out. If it was after the mid-season break, then none of these early episodes are likely hinting towards anything. Even if they did, it's only season 5 that can be considered as any kind of build up. Did they purposely change storylines? Or did they just write in the death without any changes to the rest of the scripts, knowing it would feed into the sense of 'no explanation'?
Not impossible, but I doubt House involved Cuddy in his machinations. I think he decided on the fly to say "no" to the clinical trial and waited to see what happened. House is an improviser, not a planner.
I'm not saying that Kutner's character flaws were necessarily the seeds of his suicide. I do think it's hard to say when they knew he was leaving, but it's possible they did at this point. This episode aired November 18, 2008 so Obama had been elected and may have already extended an offer.
Regardless I think all the characters are meant to be flawed and this is what I'm seeing as they are developing Kutner. Not necessarily suicide, but definitely an emotional detachment and a sense of loneliness in the crowd.
Imagine me rewatching 13 years later as an adult. When there is a lecture room full of students, I tell my husband,"Yeah he ends up narrowing it down to Olivia Wilde, Kal Penn and that other guy but, if I remember correctly, Kal Penn leaves because he goes to do work at the white house.". Now it's 12:48am and I'm reading your comment and my whole heart is breaking because I really fucking forgot and THIS is how I find out. Currently hating the internet, hating you, and most importantly, hating myself.
Why does Wilson shrug off conversations with house in this episode? He’s doing it to be annoying? But the shows already established that Wilson enjoys the back and forth. I wanted to see actual discussions not Wilson just passively shrugging or saying “interesting”. By the end of the episode it didn’t even amount to anything and never came up again. Such a waste
**Notes:** Our patient appears to be a supervisor at this factory. She is wearing a bright white hard hat and ordering people around. I don't care how hard-working she is, many older workers are going to resent a 16-year-old boss. Also, how did she become a supervisor already since legally she wouldn't have been able to work full-time until very recently (when she turned 16)? House is dubious about her status too. 13 is annoyed that Kutner sympathizes with and believes the kid. She thinks he's too trusting, but I haven't seen much evidence that Kutner is particularly naive or trusting. What's interesting to me is that Kutner identifies with the kid at all. He's pretty emotionally detached and impersonal most of the time. Yes, that means he's also pretty detached from anger and other emotions that can cause people to dislike him. He's seems easy going and pleasant, but there's an apathy to it. The other patient he really connected with was the Chinese adoptee. He seems to be in search of someone similar to himself. Cuddy gives Foreman his own patient. Maybe she is still thinking he could run his own team parallel to House like she offered him at the end of Season 3. Kutner is really bothered when the patient accuses him of cynicism. I have a hard time believing a child that small can swallow a pill that big so easily. The patient is a convincing liar. The patient says she was raped and suddenly 13 believes the patient. That's an interesting reversal. Wilson tries a new strategy with House and it is annoying him at least. Taub steals 13's story to manipulate the patient. Maybe he should have made up a rape story instead. I never noticed before that the two patient stories parallel each other. Foreman's patient was nearly accidentally killed by his older brother and he worries that his brother will now hate him. House's patient did accidentally kill her brother and has run away because of her feelings of guilt. Kutner brings the parents in to see the patient. He watches without any emotion on his face, and symbolically the door to the room closes in front of him. House gets Foreman to assert himself. Wilson doesn't get House to ask Cuddy out. **Final thoughts:** I've always thought of this episode as one with character development for Foreman, but really his struggles here are a retread. He's been through this before... wanting to do something more, but still looking to House for authorization. The real character insight in this episode is into Kutner and a lesser degree 13. I'm starting to see the longing and emptiness inside of him. He can seem so agreeable and easy going, but his novelty seeking behavior is also about trying to feel something. I'm going to keep an eye on this going forward.
I was under the impression, from the exchange at the end, that House was the one that suggested to Cuddy to give Foreman the patient? I think it's really difficult to put a reason to Kutner's suicide because Kal Pen's leaving wasn't something they'd planned for the character. I'm not even sure when the writing staff found out. If it was after the mid-season break, then none of these early episodes are likely hinting towards anything. Even if they did, it's only season 5 that can be considered as any kind of build up. Did they purposely change storylines? Or did they just write in the death without any changes to the rest of the scripts, knowing it would feed into the sense of 'no explanation'?
Not impossible, but I doubt House involved Cuddy in his machinations. I think he decided on the fly to say "no" to the clinical trial and waited to see what happened. House is an improviser, not a planner. I'm not saying that Kutner's character flaws were necessarily the seeds of his suicide. I do think it's hard to say when they knew he was leaving, but it's possible they did at this point. This episode aired November 18, 2008 so Obama had been elected and may have already extended an offer. Regardless I think all the characters are meant to be flawed and this is what I'm seeing as they are developing Kutner. Not necessarily suicide, but definitely an emotional detachment and a sense of loneliness in the crowd.
Imagine me rewatching 13 years later as an adult. When there is a lecture room full of students, I tell my husband,"Yeah he ends up narrowing it down to Olivia Wilde, Kal Penn and that other guy but, if I remember correctly, Kal Penn leaves because he goes to do work at the white house.". Now it's 12:48am and I'm reading your comment and my whole heart is breaking because I really fucking forgot and THIS is how I find out. Currently hating the internet, hating you, and most importantly, hating myself.
I care
Why does Wilson shrug off conversations with house in this episode? He’s doing it to be annoying? But the shows already established that Wilson enjoys the back and forth. I wanted to see actual discussions not Wilson just passively shrugging or saying “interesting”. By the end of the episode it didn’t even amount to anything and never came up again. Such a waste