House-Private Lives

 As the title seems to highlight(Private Lives), the subject of privacy comes into play numerous times during this episode. What first caught my attention was Frankie's level of honesty/dishonesty. Frankie was perceived as someone who likes to post everything on a blog: good or bad, she wanted her readers to know. Yet it was later found, that the one thing that she did not post on her blog was her abnormal bowel movements. Her reasoning for that was "nobody wants to hear about that stuff", which contradicts what she said earlier in response to Taylor's request for her to refrain from posting about her personal life on her blog: "if i start picking and choosing, i'm being dishonest i'm sorry". In this case by choosing not to inform readers of her "pooping problem" she is being dishonest. Is this really simply a matter of hypocrisy as House claims, and if so why do we the very things that we claim we don't do or don't want to do?  This reminds me of a later episode Love Lockdown, in which Wilson stumbles upon the realization that Dr. Hadely appears to be really "liberal" but isn't really at all. Are we more concerned with APPEARING to be "honest" and "liberal" as opposed to BEING "honest" and "liberal"? It's also interesting, to me that immediately after they found out that Frankie no longer had cancer, Taylor immediately handed her the laptop for her to report the good news even though he was so against her informing the public in the first place. Perhaps he was not against reporting "good" news, or he was so relieved that Frankie was no longer under any sever harm, that he was okay with letting her do whatever she wanted. 

As someone who has watched very few episodes of House, and thus knows very little about the characters, I found the dynamic between House and Wilson to be very interesting. Although they are "best friends", they still waste no time in playing pranks and calling bluffs on one another. I also got a sense that there was something deeper than just "revenge" when Wilson wanted to seek revenge for House exposing his "college porno-video" to his collegues. Wilson doesn't just want him to make him seem like fool, but wants to know exactly why he's reading a book of sermons. After finding out that House's father wrote the book, Not only does Wilson realize that he's not reading it for the sake of "spiritual enlightenment", but he also realizes that he's reading it because he wants to find out if his father is anything like him. Wilson states that even though he's his best friend, he still doesn't really understand him, thus acknowledging that House is somewhat of an outcast. For some reason this scene makes me appreciate both characters so much more: Wilson for not giving up until he finally found the truth and House because even though he puts on an arrogant, "ass-hole" like persona, there are rare moments when his "softer", more vulnerable side can be seen. This goes to show that it is not the extent to which House "isolates" himself from others, but the extent to which others are willing to reach out to him. 

They say everyone has a right to their secrets-but should we always give them that "right"? Would giving them that "right" be an indication of how much of a friend we are?

Also regarding the question that was brought up in class earlier: Is House a better problem solver because he does not get emotionally attached to his patients?

Personally, I don't think House comes off as someone who is emotionally detached-even though he may act distant and condescending at times. However, I do think he makes an effort to get as less emotionally involved with his patients as possible. For House, I thinking immersing himself with his patient's suffering and tribulations would only hinder his ability to make clear, rational, decisions,  simply put it would just "mess with his head". House clearly has a "brilliant mind", and I think he understands what works best for him in terms of maximizing his "brain potential", and I think for the majority of the time this is the most efficient manner to approach patients. There are exceptions however, for example in a later episode, House does get emotionally involved and convinces a near-death patient to call his daughter before he died. He also reports regretting not taking him as a patient, a sentimental aside that could not have been helped.