House - 7.02 Selfish Review by A.D.Harris

I don't get the feeling I'm alone in thinking that 'Selfish', the second episode from House's seventh season was a totally stunning piece of television. Those nay-sayers from last week should be eating their tongue, they wanted to get back to the 'case-of-the-week' episodes, and that's what it did, and boy did it do it. What a heart-breaker and a corker of a case.
I also felt they really cleverly picked the case to suit the developing House & Cuddy relationship, both stories meshing together to form a very solid whole, and a standard format of an episode that should be in the top ten House episodes of this type.
Dealing with the characters, we begin largely with House waiting for Cuddy in the parking garage, as they prepare (how nervous must Cuddy have been, knowing House) to let loose the news that the pair are now "seeing each other with no clothes on." Of course, Cuddy asks House to wait, he agrees, then even appears to invite Wilson into the room to let everyone know. Loved it. :)
That's everyone barring 'Thirteen' who House appears to know more about than expected. But that really is a story for another day, and for those interested, I'm on a screen-writing course, and that would be a 'Plant & Payoff' technique, so expect that to factor in when Olivia Wilde decides to stop making movies and start making some House. Surprisingly for me though, the team was noticeably lacking the female touch I had expected, all three remaining doing a good job to keep the balance of the team. This was undeniably Taub's week in terms of 'team member who deals with House,' his opposing House's relationship with Cuddy linking into the decisions he made in the case.
It worked very well, the writers using Wilson as usual as House's thought processor, realising what Taub was saying was true when Cuddy agreed to 'Foam the patients Lung' (what is that, i was imagining polyfiller :P) and led to some as always stellar work from Hugh Laurie. The nice touch in the episode was that he was genuinely trying to find a solution that worked, old House would have decided to ditch the relationship. But not anymore, he went to Wilson and was brutally honest about his worries. Wilson was stunned, cue some always entertaining Robert Sean Leonard perplexed looks. :P
The second half of the episode saw Foreman, Wilson and Chase all largely disappear, so the writers could get down to the nitty gritty. The patient's condition worsening, the diagnosis arriving too late, her body badly damaged beyond repair. That is barring the option where her brother, already ill could give bone marrow and half a lung to her. The drawback, that he is likely to cut in half his already shortened life. How beautiful was was the son's speech to his sister, the acting brilliant and had a real depth beyond his age (whoever it was playing him :P). I'd be snapping him up for a new show if I was an American Network exec (which I am not)
Other nice bits in the episode was the always entertaining clinic scenes with the old father and son, and also I felt they really balanced the humour and drama in House's character this week, I laughed and saddened, and it was very well paced.
Was this the episode the haters were hoping for? If it wasn't then I don't think they will ever be happy, as this was vintage House, it was classic House and for me, it was the best House episode of the past two seasons (excluding Broken)

And if that's a sign of things to come, then people better get back in the game.
And if your one of the people who said House was done after last week. Well, House will help you out of that one.
"Everybody Lies."

10/10

Did you enjoy 'Selfish'? Comment away folks :)
Adam