House - Anatomy of a Relationship: Unwritten 7x03

House – Anatomy of a Relationship
An Episodic Examination Of Huddy In Love

“Unwritten” 7x03

This episode, about a suicidal tween mystery writer, helps us to better understand how House thinks about his relationship with Cuddy and just about any other human. As House tries to solve both the writer’s mysterious illness and the underlying cause of the writer’s depression we see that like just about everything else in his world House has kinda pessimistic view of relationships.

For those fans who feared that Huddy would take over the series, this episode should calm their fears some. We (unfortunately) get no physical affection. All the action takes place out of the bedroom. We get a solid medical mystery, fun interaction with the regulars, humorous exchanges and a bit of Huddy. A perfect episode, in my humble opinion. We also learned a bit more about House.

Fortunately, it looks as though House and Cuddy have figured out how to work together. In a few funny scenes each has two lines of dialogue in their conversations: As your girlfriend I find that impressive, but as your boss I think you’re a jackass, she says after learning that House has used her expensive MRI of Doom to read the used ribbon from his patient’s typewriter. As your boyfriend I thank you. As your employee, I resent you because I need this for my case, he responds as he continues to sort out the printed pages of the novel. This seems to work very well for them as their personal relationship doesn’t ever affect the treatment, diagnoses and outcome for the patient. They can be brutally honest with each other but manage to keep their two relationships separate. It’s pretty inventive. And pretty funny. I’d like to try that in my life: As a human being I understand you might be having a bad day, but as your customer I would really like for you to not be so grumpy when I ask for extra bacon on my sandwich. See, it could work.

Our first bit of Huddy actually only involves House. He’s trying to find flowers for Cuddy…in the room of a woman in a coma. He finds a beautiful bouquet of flowers and decides to steal those. He also adds some flowers from an arrangement in the front reception area. Relationship-wise, House tells Wilson, he’s happy, but worried. He’s trying to be lovable and caring in order to keep Cuddy happy; bringing her stolen flowers and pilfered plush toys. He is convinced that everything is fine now because they are in the “Honeymoon Phase” of their relationship. It’s all about sex and when that gets old House figures Cuddy will realize they have nothing else in common and kick him to the curb. House is determined to find something both he and Cuddy enjoy. Wilson thinks he’s being paranoid, but lets him go. As we learned last episode, and in seasons past, House believes all love to be conditional. He’s seen a bit of unconditional love from Cuddy, but still figures there will be the one thing that pushes her away. House calls Cuddy’s mom, who tells House that Cuddy loves go-carts. House surprises Cuddy with a double date with Wilson and Sam to race go-carts. We learn then that Cuddy loved them when she was twelve. House has such a look of wanting to please Cuddy it breaks my heart when Cuddy disses him after the race goes sour and Cuddy injures her neck. House has failed again to find that common bond. He thinks the story is going to surely play out the way he’s always imagined it to.

Cuddy learns from Wilson of House’s fears and she finally confronts him. She tells him that she doesn’t care about sharing common interests with him. What they have in “uncommon” and she loves it that way. She’s never been happier. She confesses that House makes her a better person and she hopes she makes House want to be better. We know she doesn’t want to change him, but a little improvement in some low-level care areas would probably be appreciated. House seems to take this all in his typical half-empty attitude. But at the very end he has the chance to make sure his beloved character written by his now well patient gets the ending he deserves, yet he gives it up in order to keep his patient happy. He does that to make Cuddy, who happens to be right there, happy. But I think he also wants to do it; wants to be better. For Cuddy.

This episode has House reexamining what his story is when it comes to him and Cuddy. He had a specific idea on how the writer/patient should end her series, but he discovers her actual ending is completely different. “It ends on a cliffhanger?! Who does that?!” (I swear I saw a wink, wink to us loyal House fans who have endured 6 cliffhangers.) He has a specific plotline on how he sees his and Cuddy’s relationship ending and unfortunately, he’s very sure of it ending. His patient explains that she decided to end her series this way so that the reader could decide what he/she wanted the main character to do. The patient didn’t want a definite end. Ending it on a cliffhanger means it doesn’t ever have to end. House is not okay with this in either the book or in the relationship. House only trusts proved facts. He trusts scientific test results and his own research. He trusts that 2 + 2 will equal 4. His genius brain can sort and analyze and use this information. It’s the more abstract ideas, the ones left up to how other people act or react that oft times befuddles our story’s hero.

He’s basing his inevitable relationship breakdown on past experiences, which is the only research he has. And, to be honest, his research is pretty lacking. My AP Literature teacher would have thrown my thesis back on my desk if I had used as little research. So when he comes to this relationship with Cuddy he falls back on what he knows to be true. Relationships fail. House tries to live with a definite beginning, middle and an end. In fact, House tries to sometimes skip all the middle and go straight to the end.

Now Cuddy hasn’t had any better luck than House, but we know she’s able to see “what can be” over “what is.” Cuddy is every bit as smart as House is and likes to use facts and tested theories to come to conclusions, but only when it comes to things that should involve facts and tested theories. And that does not include relationships. Cuddy is well aware of the frailty of human happiness and wants to be in the moment. She lives chapter by chapter. She lets the story evolve and loves it as it goes.

So Cuddy and House have to get on the same page. Oh, you knew that was coming… As Cuddy is reassuring House that having nothing in common won’t break them up, House doesn’t look too reassured. He gives her a small smile. He’s still processing. By the time the episode ends and he’s talking with the patient he’s realized that his gesture at helping his patient overcome the grief of her son’s death may not have been as selfish as he thought. Maybe some of it could be because it’s something his girlfriend would expect or hope he would do. Maybe being with her has made him a better man. Just a tiny bit. Whatever his initial motive was he doesn’t come clean with the patient then. He seems almost mad at himself as he walks past a smiling Cuddy on his way out. She beams as he tells her to “shut up,” and I’m sure he meant that with all the love in the world. House and Cuddy’s book is still unwritten and the two of them are going to have figure it out together.

Thanks again for reading. Until next week!