Monday, May 28, 2012

Final(e) Thoughts: Everybody dies...eventually

A lot of the TV shows I'm following (or used to follow) will have big endings this season. Since I am big fan of TV shows, making lists and making my opinions known (all for posterity's sake), I will write about various TV shows' season finales, and what I think about them. 


Today I will write about House's series finale titled "Everybody Dies".



Why This Ending is Big:

1. It is the series finale.

2. Its title is "Everybody Dies". Our curious selves want to know if everybody will, indeed, die.

House, close to giving up

3. Olivia Wilde and Kal Penn, my favorites in the show, will be back to guest-star. Lisa Edelstein won't.

She appreciates House for his willingness to kill her.


My Thoughts on "Everybody Dies":

1. House can't get enough of hallucinations. Hallucinations are (a) a good way to get into House's brilliant but twisted mind, (b) a good narrative tool, and (c) a perfect opportunity for House to interact with all characters from his past--whether living or dead.

1.1 Kurtner comes in to start the hallucination. His point was: House is thinking of killing himself despite the fact that death is not interesting because life does not interest him as well.

House's first hallucination: Kutner

1.2 Amber's point: Although finding meaning or thrill in solving puzzles (read: people's medical conditions) was shallow, it was enough reason for House to keep living.

House's second hallucination (and Wilson's nth wife): Amber

1.3 House's ex-girlfriend's (who I didn't know; maybe she was a Season 7 or 8 character) point: Cuddy and I are not the only ones who could love you. Props to House and this ex for mentioning the "C" word.

1.4 Cameron's point: Death can be a reward; a chance to just give up. House is too much of a coward to admit that he's taking the cowardly way out by arguing with himself long enough to take the decision to live out of his hands.

House's fourth hallucination (and possibly, the first person he loved--or close to loving): Cameron

2. House's funeral provided an opportunity for everyone to come back and say a few things about how this man, this jerk, has affected their lives. Some were thankful (Foreman, Thirteen, Taub, Dr. Asian Girl, Dr. Tough Girl, another doctor/intern I'm not familiar with), some were appreciative of how he was as a person (his mother, his foreigner wife, his ex-girlfriend, Cameron), one was nonchalant (Chase) and one was bitter (Wilson). I would have loved for Cuddy to have said a few things, a few words, about House at his funeral. Her being there was, like, putting an end to everything that needed ending; leaving no stone unturned. But her absence highlights two things: (a) Life is not always fair. Not everyone you know or whose life you touched/affected will show up at your funeral to say good (or bad) things about you; and (b) The departure of the show's characters--the ones we have grown to love or hate--have contributed to the show's decline.

2.1 When Cameron, Foreman and Chase left Princeton-Plainsboro because House was being too much of a jerk after three seasons, some stopped watching the show. Most stayed because Cuddy and House remained.

House's original team: Dr. Chase, Dr. Cameron and Dr. Foreman

2.2 When Kutner and Thirteen and left, I lost interest. I stopped watching the show. Others stayed because House, Cuddy, Foreman and Chase were there.

2.3 When I found out that Cuddy left, because Lisa Edelstein refused to do another season, all hopes and possibility of me re-acquiring my habit of watching House vanished. House without Cuddy is like, for me, Bones without Booth. It's pointless. 

3. When watching a TV series, I try to figure out what the point of the whole story is. This is important so I know what to expect from the series, and to have something to go back to when the show's writing has gone array. How I Met Your Mother and Chuck have always been clear with what they want to achieve with their stories. Glee got lost in its multiple, confusing story lines. Bones skipped parts which I thought to be essential in their story. The Big Bang Theory is, sort of, at the crossroads.

With House, its goal was, for me, making him a better person. Or at least, a little less of jerk compared to what/how he was a few seasons back. With everyone who can steer House to the less-jerkier-path gone,  House writers turned to Wilson--the only constant thing in House's life. No matter how big and stubborn a jerk House got, he was, in the end, a good friend. He was willing to take his own life, figuratively, to help his best friend live his remaining five months the way his friend wanted. It was heartwarming. It was an act of selfless sacrifice worthy to be commended. Loyalty was House's best trait, after all.

HILSON: Bro-mance at its finest.

4. Everybody dies... eventually. If How I Met Your Mother teaches us that, it's not the end that matters but how we got there,  House teaches us that it's not the end that matters but why we got there. House became a loyal (almost selfless) friend to Wilson because of the fights they had, the battles they went through, the victories they achieved, the people they lost, the friends they gained, the secrets they shared, the sacrifices they made for each other and the experiences they had. Who knows what will happen to him after five months.


Note: Did anyone else, aside from me, noticed (and loved) how the edited screen shots turned out like paintings?

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You may want to check:

Final(e) Thoughts: How I Met Your Mother
Final(e) Thoughts: Chuck
Final(e) Thoughts: Glee
Final(e) Thoughts: The Big Bang Theory
Final(e) Thoughts: Community


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