My Thoughts - House MD: Deception (2005)

Synopsis: Foreman's (Omar Epps) supervision over House (Hugh Laurie) is put to the test when House insists on treating Anica (Cynthia Nixon), a woman who had a seizure shortly after meeting him at a horse track. House is confident Anica is sick but faces opposition from the rest of the team, who believe she is suffering from Münchausen syndrome and faking her symptoms to get attention.


My Thoughts:

Having Foreman being House's boss was one of Cuddy's (Lisa Edelstein) worst decisions. Even on a temporary basis, it just didn't make sense. I know the other options were limited, especially since both Cuddy and Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) would also have been bad choices, but there had to be some other doctor from a different department that was knowledgeable enough to look over House's shoulder and report anything that wasn't above board. It's not like his supervisor needed to be able to diagnose people, he/she just needed to make sure he wasn't breaking the law. The only way her plan was a good idea is if it was meant to provide drama for a TV show.

Did Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) seriously not understand why she wasn't the one who was promoted? Chase (Jesse Spencer) said it best when he basically described the situation as a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen. Plus, it's not like she did anything to convince viewers she was leadership material with the way she treated her patient and seemed to ignore House's alternative scenarios seemingly out of spite.

That being said, Cuddy was perfectly OK with House dating Cameron and even possibly sleeping with Cameron to get her to rejoin his team. In that context, I could see how the lines might be a little blurry.

I am going to give a shout-out to Cynthia Nixon's performance in this. As far as fictional patients go, hers is easily one of the more memorable ones and she played Anica in a way that made it difficult to tell whether she really was faking her symptoms or if there was a real cause for them. Plus, her character was just charming enough where a romantic subplot between her and House seemed plausible, at least for a few minutes.

Why did Cuddy give up on her plan so easily? Foreman obviously was a bad choice, especially for the long-term. However, she herself admitted the temporary change was beneficial solely from a paperwork standpoint. Instead of throwing in the towel completely, why not find a role for someone that is more of a compromise position - House still calls the shots as far as medical decisions go but has an "office manager" who makes sure the bookkeeping is done and improves transparency for Cuddy. It solves part of the problem at least.

Final Opinion: The part about Foreman being House's boss is just as stupid when this episode came out as it is today. However, Cynthia Nixon's performance and the doubt about which of Anica's symptoms were self-inflicted made it an interesting episode overall.

My Grade: B+

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