Aurora Cormier

I know, it's wonderful that he can understand things won't always go the way he planned, and that even though he's hurting so much with this, he finds the strength to step back and not interfere for once, no matter how much pain that is causing him. Like Wilson said, that's very adult of him. After six years, it was about time we saw a change like this happening

tender looks

Accepting that there's nothing he can do and not interfering like a proper adult is probably the biggest bit of character progression I've ever seen from him A long time coming, as you say.

sam_doc

I liked seeing Hugh playing House in pain


I still think as a person he's not changed that much. And he never will. Maybe the pain is manageable now, but in the last seasons he progressed to much more meaner person. Sure he was always an ass and sarcastic, but now he has become hurtful and mean and that's not a good thing.

In the early seasons he cared about the patients and took risks to save them, now, he all like "oh yeah, we have to save person x, let's just try this or that, it's risky and I'll like putting him in danger"

pinkpaisley

It was certainly like that up until s5, but everything got out of hand: his Vicodin abuse, people dying around him etc. And he became the worst jerk possible. That's why it's so interesting to watch now how House has realized all this and how he tries to change. So far, he's been doing an okay job, but it's a process and he's bound to slip up.

I am also curious how the writers will tackle the addiction. I mean, House is an addict. You don't just get over that.

Me too.

Sunrise at Midnight

It is one of the things that he does best! He can draw you in and make you feel the pain with him!

pinkpaisley

^ So true. Breaks my heart every time.

sam_doc

MIne too!! Didn't Hugh once said in an interview that his leg actually would hurt because he's so in-character at these moments

Sunrise at Midnight

Yes he did. I guess that is how he was able to make it so real.

Aurora Cormier

By "now" you mean season 6? I thought you weren't watching

Also, I don't see how he became a hurtful person now. He's always been like that - saying things that hurt people knowing that it would hurt them, doing crazy procedures knowing how risky they were for the patient, these are all things he did since the very first episode, no news there. In fact, I think this season we've seen him try to do more good to people than ever - Mayfield was an example, and we also had that neighbor he helped just for the sake of helping even when the guy was a jerk to him (and he seemed genuinely happy to be doing that for the guy, which was great to see). His relationship with the people around him (the team, old and new, Wislon, Cuddy) is a lot better now too

tender looks

Exactly. This is nothing new.

Aurora Cormier

Other examples of sweet things he did are his offering to babysit (he had an intention with it, but a great one) and being with Wilson all through his surgery and recovery Also, his seeking all the team to work with him again was awesome - he did it his way, yes, by intruding in their lives as always, but it only shows how much he values their work

Amethyst007

Me too. Sometimes though it looks as though he's having an orgasm.

sam_doc

Kali I agree And that's what made the character so interesting. His struggle with pain and an addiction was just fantastic to watch

I mean in the last season (two seasons)! He was always always a jerk but never to that extend! Season 6, don't know, a House without addiction and without pain is no House for me

pinkpaisley

It was. And now the focus has shifted to him struggle with actual relationships. It's pretty awesome.

He's always been a jerk, not just the last two seasons. It just grew gradually, but it wasn't that he all of a sudden was more of a jerk after his old team left/quit. But I am sure that had an impact on him.

sam_doc

I think it was always a big struggle for him, not just now, remember the Stacey storyline from s2

I didn't say it was because of the team, I think it was just the bad writing