Hey guys, is it next week already? I just woke up from a turkey coma, so I apologize for the severe tardiness of this recap. I got gravy all over the first draft, then it got tossed out with the Christmas decoration wrapping paper and I had to start all over. Excuses excuses, I know.
This week the previews promised us a hostage situation. I'm betting it's going to be Episode Formula #2: House vs. A Worthy Adversary. Instead of the usual Patient of the Week intro, we open on the hospital. Inside, we're treated to a Slo-Mo Cam of Impending Doom™ shot of people in the clinic. 13 is soothing a typical exasperated ER patient. You know the drill: "I've been sitting here for 56 hours bleeding all over the floor, don't you have any doctors working?" These people should know better than to go to a hospital that only has one surgeon. Seriously.
Foreman comes in for a chat with 13. Remember the drug trial he's working on? Just so happens that it's for Huntington's disease. Shut up! I know, right? He offers 13 a spot in the trial. She says no thanks. Eric, if there's anything I've learned about Dr. Remy Hadley in the last year, it's that a helping hand is not the way into her pants. Anywho, hey, look who else is here--it's Zeljko Ivanek! If you don't recognize the name (because I know you get all your Zeljkos mixed up), you'll recognize the face. His IMDB rap sheet helpfully says "he is frequently cast as political or business middlemen of corrupt, shady natures who often end up stabbing somebody in the back." In other words, any run-of-the-mill baddie on 24. He's doing his shady thing now, peeping through the door of Cuddy's office. Who should be in there but House--up to no good, I bet. Besides, how much fun would a hostage faceoff with Cuddy be? (Something I've always wondered: why does a hospital bigwig like Cuddy have her office down in the clinic?) Zzzyzx goes in and asks to see Cuddy. House, messing with Cuddy's desk drawer, blows him off in typical Housian fashion. Zczrycwz walks out, pulls the gun you knew he was packing, and herds 13 and a bunch of random patients into Cuddy's office. "What seems to be the problem?" House deadpans.
"Doc, I have a bad case of typecast."
While the patients try to calm Zxyezrc down by doing that "hey man take it easy we'll do what you want" thing, House talks down to him, but gently. You can tell House is 1) scared and 2) interested. Probably wants to try and outsmart the guy. Or at least out-creep him.
Zcwercyk gives House his symptoms and medical file as a SWAT team arrives and all the innocent bystanders evacuate the hospital. House doesn't need to look at the file, since the 16 other doctors who looked at it couldn't solve the case. Zcrwzyc has trouble breathing. House Sherlocks a lighter off one of the hostages and tells the POW to hold it at arm's length and blow it out. He can't. Cuddy's phone rings. 'Crime scene!' answers House cheerfully. He's probably having the time of his life. He asks for a syringe full of some drug. Zscwarc the POW wants Cuddy to bring it in, I think because she looks harmless. Cuddy shows up with the syringe, all mooning with worry for her man. Is Zfwjyd really going to be that dumb? No, because then the show would be over. He says give it to someone else first to prove it's legit. House picks a big guy. Probably because he's big and whatever it is shouldn't affect him much. Sure enough, the big guy collapses and Zqasdf points the gun at House. House points out that he's, ow you zay, indispensable?, so the POW shoots a random hostage in the leg instead. Nice move, House.
Outside, Cuddy is all panicky and talking to the SWAT negotiator. "You got a husband or a loved one in there?" "Uh... no," she stammers. Got it in one. This guy's good.
Meanwhile, in the part of the hospital that's NOT on lockdown, the Houseguests are out in the hall, more or less going about their biz. Kumar gets a page from House. Which can only mean...
Name That Disease: The Vandalize Cuddy's Office Round
Chase, whose good mood from last week has entirely evaporated, says he's not going to play the POW's game and walks out. Cameron lies and says he's still there. Today's players: lung infection, cancer, heart palpitations, yada yada. House uses Cuddy's wall as a whiteboard. The kid in back asks why House needs to write down just 4 things.
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Comments (1)
Well - at least it wasn't as formulaic as usual. I did also find myself yelling at House to take the gun from the guy (home alone - I need a life). I was also expecting House to face charges (from the hostage negotiator) for handing the gun back to the perp. Of course, in real life, as soon as the SWAT guys heard the guy was unarmed, they'd have rushed into the room and dragged him out of the CAT scanner. Things like that can irritate me, but I do understand that sometimes the writers can't figure out a better way to advance the story.
I enjoyed when 13 realized that her life was worth fighting for.
1 of 1 | Posted by fire@will | Posted on December 2, 2008 10:36 AM