House: Ignorance is Bliss

House cannot seem to sit still during this week’s Thanksgiving-themed episode. Is the sweet smell of turkey and pecan pie putting him in a holiday mood? As if. No, House has a plan up his sleeve and boy, is he having fun with it! And when House has fun, the viewers are having fun watching.

This week’s patient is what I would like to call a “retired” genius. Jimmy was one of those wiz kids who went to college early and published scientific books by the time he was in his early 20s. Now, though, he’s grown a beard, looks as if he hasn’t showered in days, and works as a delivery man. When a bookstore owner recognizes Jimmy, he asks for his autograph. Only Jimmy can’t remember how to write!  Oh, sweet irony. Shortly thereafter, he collapses and finds himself in the hospital under the care of House’s team.

House is not about to let his feelings for Cuddy linger into nothing, and he wants to get Lucas out of the picture. So as he giddily confides to Wilson, House plans on inviting himself to Cuddy’s Thanksgiving dinner at her sister’s house. After all, sitting on the sidelines and not doing anything is not House’s style. According to him, testing the limits of Cuddy and Lucas’s relationship gives him a purpose in life. How charming!

Lucky for him, House manages to score himself an invite from Cuddy for Thanksgiving. She’s impressed with his new found willingness to do clinic duty, however she’s extremely suspicious all the same. Although, it’s really not even suspicion anymore; Cuddy really does not trust House. She provides him with a false address for Thanksgiving, completely fooling him. And that was just cold. House tries a few more antics to break-up Cuddy and Lucas, but to no avail.

In other relationship news, Chase is inwardly dealing with the effects of Cameron leaving him. Everyone wants to try and help him out: Foreman tries talking to him, Taub invites him over for Thanksgiving dinner, and Thirteen suggests he start seeing a therapist.  Chase ignores everyone’s suggestions, however, and prefers to deal with his problems alone. Well, to each his own, but clearly Chase is harboring a lot of anger inside him which he chooses to take out on House with one hell of a punch.

This episode also finally saw more of Taub. After a brief, unceremonious leave from the show, he’s back and finally getting some action story-wise. Taub’s wife has a problem with him working for House and in her eyes, it’s like he’s back to being an intern and it makes him wimpy. I would think working for House was anything BUT wimpy, but it would seem this woman has pretty high standards. In a little funny moment, Taub takes a photo of House’s bruised and battered face to show his wife and take credit for the damage.

Back to our patient – Jimmy admits to abusing cough syrup and alcohol in order to dumb down his IQ level. He would rather be happy than smart. At the end of the day, though, his deteriorating condition was the result of a spleen which split into several pieces after Jimmy attempted to commit suicide several years earlier by jumping off a building.

For another take on this episode, read Why It’s Better To Be A Stupid Person by Cameron Cubbison.

Season 6, Episode 8:  Ignorance is Bliss (originally aired November 23, 2009)

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Tuesdays 8/7c on FOX

Photographs courtesy of NBC Universal and IMDbPro