House

After a warm-hearted Gregory House in the season premiere and a transitional House in last week's episode, we are finally presented back to our beloved Dr. House. By picking up his cane and bringing it back into the light (previous episode), he accepted his own fate and returned to being the man he has always been.



And to top it off, this week he must treat a dying elder doctor whom he admires. Baffled by the mysterious disease that is slowly filling the patient's lungs with fluid, House is obviously not going to give in to Dr. Ezra Powell's pledge of assisted suicide. House must do what he does best. He must run against time to prevent this disease from killing the patient. Not because he truly cares about the patient's health; not because he is seeking recognition; but simply because that's what he does. That's what defines him. He is a doctor. The best there is at what he does. And euthanasia just takes away all the fun of his job.



House shows he is once more (after the existential questioning he went through during this season's first two episodes) willing to lie, steal and cheat in order to do what he believes is necessary. And to do what is necessary, he will ignore moral issues of right or wrong. He crossed that line long ago. Foreman understand this decision, but is not inclined to follow that path - yet. Cameron simply does not understand it; she abominates it. Her morality drives her actions as a doctor, and giving up her ethics is unthinkable. Chase, on the other hand, is the most loyal member of House's team; he doesn't have the guts to act like his boss, but he doesn't question House's biddings. He accepts them. His confidence in House knows no limits at all.



So House will go as far as he can to do what he judges necessary. We've seen this before, and we want to see it again. He won't quit, he won't give up, he won't back off. Not until the truth leads him to something terminal, something incurable, or both.



And as for Cameron, she refuses to see the world through House's point of view. She struggles to follow a standard medical moral code, trying and saving every patient's life alike. That is why she believes she is so different from House: that while he follows no rules at all, she guides herself throughout her life according to her personal ethics. What she fails to perceive, though, is that House does follow a very particular moral code, which I described above. And by her final act in this episode, Cameron unnoticedly crosses path with House. She puts her moral code above her medical ethics. That's what House does. And that's why he said he is proud of her.



P.S.: Please God, bring that blonde girl again for the next few episodes.

This episode was a lot better than I remembered. I certainly didn't rate Season 3 as highly until I started rewatching them!



I thought the awareness of assisted suicide was a very interesting debate. I somehow didn't see Foreman taking the stance he did, but I think the writers needed to have a contrast to Chase, whilst leaving Cameron dithering in the middle. It worked- but only barely.



The patient himself was a very sympathetic character, and we developed the idea of not only assisted suicide, but of ethics of whether it is right or wrong to kill hundreds to save millions.



It was also great to see House's determination to solve the puzzle again, as well as him telling Cameron he was proud of her. I think Camerons decision at the end and House telling her he was proud made the episode score of 9.5 to me, because there were a lot of minor irriations, such as the deliberant clashes between Foreman and Chase were far too forced, and the patient congratulating Cameron on taking a stance was a little far fetched.



Nevertheless, the actings and twists and turns were very interesing, if a little dark. There was definately much needed light humour in the hot clinic patient girl fancying House- made for very entertaining viewing!



Overall, another great episode- my Season 3 DVDs are so underplayed- mistake on me it seems!

Dr. House walks into the office with two things that are both old and new: his cane and a case. The 71 year-old Ezra Powell (Oscar-winning Cabaret star Joel Grey) has been a very influential doctor for decades - and now he is dying and is under the care of Dr. House. When House and his team do not figure out what is wrong with Powell right away, he informs them that he wants to just die.



"Informed Consent" sends a katana careening down the dividing line of the audience. Is physician-assisted suicide acceptable? The audience will debate this as the characters on screen do. But even those, like me, who find physician-assisted suicide completely unacceptable, can find "Informed Consent" highly entertaining. House is absolutely hilarious (and you thought he couldn't work humor into wanting to die), Cameron has a particularly hard time dealing with Powell's case, and after living for many cane-free months House again needs something to lean on.

This episode was so sad in the beginning when that mean old guy killed the rats, they were just chillin', minding their own business and that guy kills him, Cameron says no to the case which was surprising, I would of fired her but whatever. Anyways the guy ends up dying at the end which I think he deserved since he was being a jerk towards the whole episode. And I like how House lied to him saying how he was going to kill him but he actually just puts him in a comma. Everyone still thinking Cuddy is pregnant, everything is chaotic, a great episode.

These first few episodes of the third season have been amazing. House's painfree existence slowly evaporates, adding a new dimension to his condition. Whereas he used to be a grouchy nitpicker with no social skills, the disappointment turns him into a more melancholic character. Faced with a patient who is possibly House's equal and who wishes to end it all, the sarcasm takes a step back. I don't think we have seen many episodes in which House had a personal connection with the patient. (Sometimes it takes half an episode before he actually meets the subject of his investigation.)



The euthanasia plot provided the three assistants a chance to show their moral backbone, though I found it a bit easy to give the female assistant the more emotional reaction.

Wasn't as funny as most of the House episodes are and the case seemed to be pretty slow from the start. there was really no point to the episode to have the patient die at the end. I guess the writers went with devoloping Cameron, as she is the one that killed the man and ended his suffering in the end. Other then that - the case was pretty average, with a couple of highlight scenes but nothing amazing. Cuddy and Wilson continue to be underused and Houses team should take an episode off every now and again though it would defeat the purpose of the show - where these characters learn under him. Overall, the episode had some highlight points and made me laugh once or twice but in the end the humor did not met my expectation level, nor did the case in the episode in question. I did like the actor playing the guy who was dying - his quote back at House was a great scene...best of the episode I think.

This episode was awesome. Part Suggestive, Part Tearjerker, Part Character Development, it was a WINNER! House is back in pain, with his cane (I rhymed) when two wonderful things fall into a lap: A hot blonde with a crush on him and an interesting case. The case was 71-year-old Ezra Powell, who passed out in his lab from fluid in his lungs, and wants to end his life b/c he knows he is terminally ill. House bargains with him: give him 1 more day (and 12 hours after that, lol)and if he doesn't find out what was wrong, he will help him die. In the end, after House tricks him, he finds that the poor man really is terminal and he helps him die in the end. Meanwhile, the hot blonde is the 17-year-old daughter of one of House's clinic patients who is not only pretty, but very pushy, reminding House that in 6 months, she will be 18 (giving him a calendar to mark the days). Great Episode! Just a Great Episode!

When a prominent doctor collapses in his own lab. Ezra Powell, the doctor asks for Doctor House to treat him. The reason that he asks for doctoe House is because he knows that if he wants to die doctor house is willing to kill him through most likely morphine. But that is not how it turns out. Doctor House is just too curiose and when the patient, Ezra Powell asks him to do it. House puts him in a coma and does various test to see a diagnosis through to make sure that there is no way to keep the good doctor safe. and alive.

I have begun to like House a lot. I think he is absolutely intelligent, kind-hearted, and not to mention, hilariously humorous! He is indeed one of kind of a doctor. The patient in this episode creeps me out. No test, no examination, no thing! He just wants to die. House's struggle with whether he should grant this guy his wish or not is the best part of the movie, in my opinion. It certainly redefines what it means to be a "good" doctor. The female doctor, I forgot her name, the one who refuses to help in the beginning. She's got a very interesting character there, I must say. She believes in something that is very wonderful itself, but at the same time, it is holding her back from committing something that's also wonderful, which is to help save a patient's life. This tension makes this episode worth watching!

This was just another great example why I watch this show. True ths show sometimes seems repetitive in the fact that its always the same outline. I mean someone gets sick, then they are taken to the hospital. Then House cant find out whats wrong, then the patient gets worse. House gives his life a very short deadline (not even long enough to pick out a grave stone). Then he magically finds a cure. This episode was different though. They had a patient that could be fixed. And more importantly there was a 17 girl that stalks House. Overall great episode.

Doesn't that say it all?



We've finally gotten of the lunacy of the first episode, and now hardly even remember what we were mad about in the first place. House is back on the cane, back on the Vicodin, and just back in general.



The plot was excellent, and nothing the team has ever dealt with before, but because the plot held some level of controversy it forced the character out of everyone other than House. Chase and Foreman acted exactly how you'd expect them to based on their character. The standout in this one was Cameron. I, for one, am extremly excited to see some defenition coming out of Cameron's character. Yay! Still can't wait to see where they take that.



Cuddy and Wilson seem to have taken a back seat (was Wilson even in this episode?), which is more or less fine by me, seeing as Wilson's character was starting to irk me to no end. Cuddy seems to have mellowed out somewhat, and I wouldn't mind seeing more of her.



The development of a crush/stalker is also something I can't wait to see develop. I would almost go as far to say that it's about time they had a storyline like this.



Summary: Great episode, watched it more than once, will probably watch it again.

House is okay with killing him AFTER he finds out whether the paitent is terminal. Seems to make sense. After all House has killed terminal patients before as we learn from his one of two very brief conversations with Wilson. But House doesn\'t explore the patient\'s wishes privately - with the patient. House brings his team into the dialogue and then it\'s downhill from there. The real storyline is Cameron\'s flip-flopping and annoying and whiny self-righteousness. Very, very old. Of course most of the episode with close-ups of Cameron shocked, Cameron annoyed, Cameron whiny, Cameron judging, Cameron confronting, etc. We see very little of how Foreman and Chase are struggling with same issues. It would have been nice for House to sit with patient as he\'s done in the past and sort through what it is they really want. What we got instead was Cameron taking a skin sample in the vicious way possible, forgetting once again that people do not have to follow her moral code to be treated with dignity and compassion. In the end when Cameron felt morally justified she granted his wish for assisted suicide. Cameron\'s metamorphosis this season has esentially robbed the other characters of what made them interesting to watch. For the past two seasons, Foreman has always challenged House on the merits of a particular diagnosis. Now we have Foreman being petty, insensitive, and silent - probably because Cameron got most of his lines. There\'s one thing that the writers need to work on and that is gratutious racism - House to Foreman \"Foreman you need to steal one of these (large screen TV).\" I can just see it now some well-intentioned white doctor in the real world thinks it would be funny to say something to a black colleague.\" We have Chase supporting House and House treating him like a idiot. While Cameron was being outfitted with her new attitude, what happened to Chase. He was not only silent but pretty much absent. I\'d like to see more of him and Foreman. Also, the complete destruction of the House/Wilson friendship has really made the show for me much less interesting and funny.



The only light moment in the show was the appearance of the Ali, whom House referred to as Cameron\'s protege. She made a really bad episode tolerable.



Finally, I wanted to mention a couple of things that seemd totally unbelievable to me. Cameron is a fellow working under House\'s supervison. The cases in the Diagnostic department are his responsibility. How could his junior kill his patient? Finally, I am hoping that it is not over since Cuddy spoke to House about the patient\'s untimely death and the fact that a nurse charted patient as stable 30 minutes before. I hope the writers did deep on this one. I hope the writers and producers return to what made the show great. Medical mysteries, unusual and bizarre clinic patients, House/Wilson banter, House/Duckling banter, and Cuddy running around trying to keep House in check and the hosptial from being sued. Well while I await the return of the REAL House MD show, I will have my season 1 and 2 DVDs to comfort me.

A doctor who wants to die rather than suffer. House makes a deal with him that if he can\\\'t find out what\\\'s wrong woth him in a certain amount of time he\\\'d help him die. When time runs out house puts him in a coma to do more tests. He finds the answer but the doctor was sufering so Cameron helped him kill himself. I didn\\\'t expect that.

So we have the team dealing with the issue of assisted suicide. As a bit of a sub-plot, we also have the issue of patients\' rights against scientific discovery with the one guy ignoring the rights of others, but then complaining that his wishes be honored.



To top it all off, we gained major insight into almost every character on the show. Teenager ogling aside, House showed how his top priority was doing the work and saving lives when he berated Cameron\'s indecisiveness on a very tough issue. By comparison, I like how Chase was willing to stay in the room with House when he thought he was going to give the lethal morphine dose. Without being pushed into it, he took a stand and it was not an easy thing to do. Cuddy showed a surprisingly supportive side when House pulled his bait & switch. While not as dynamic a stand as Chase\'s, it was damn good for her. I loved how both Ezra and House made essentially the same comment to Cameron about being proud of her for finally showing conviction. Despite being separate, it was a shining moment for Cameron amidst a very tragic event.

Top show just keeps getting better by the episode. The characters are always spot on and each episode brings the series forward.



The subject of Euthanasia and illegal experimentation were handled excellently and all the arguments for and against (I Think) were covered. As usual all the principals actors were brilliant and in this episode I believe Jennifer Morrison ( Dr Cameron )was outstanding.



All in all one of the best episoeds of House and this series always leaves me with the biggest problem I have! Having to wait another week for the next episode!



Big thumbs up from me and roll on the next show!

this episode was very interesting. honestly, until the end of the episode, i felt that the patient _deserves_ to die. i kinda hate experiements on animals, and, well.. the radiation story, not too nice.



I liked how Cameron stood up at the end and cut that piece of skin. lovely.



Now, is it me, or Chase is the only one whos with House all the time? Chase never leaves House behind. Heh.



Wilson and Cuddy only had brief appearances in the episode, which is, for a change, not a problem. The 17 year old girl storyline was lame, and even more lamer if we consider the promo for next episode. I hope they wont drag this. Its disgusting IMHO.

This episode was interesting. The beginning was a little disgusting and sad. Because the guy is using animals and is causing them cancer. Then we learn that he also does that to babies, which is very very very sad. It was intersting to watch how House first put the guy in a comma to see what was wrong with him because the guy wanted to die. Then whe he finds out what is wrong with himi he can not fix it because it is not treatable. So at the end the guy gets his wish because he wanted to die. We saw a new side of House at the end because he told Cameron that he was proud of her. BEST SHOW EVER!

Critics and others can say what they want about house. How it is extremely cliched and formulaic, but they can not deny that it is one of if not THE best written and acted shows on television. All that aside, I found this episode to be far less formulaic than previous episodes. Sure like every other episode it involves House and his team struggling to find out what is causing the illness, but those that are fans of the show watch this show because they like the mystery surrounding it. That aside, this episode really rose the bar when it comes to the writing and acting for this show. Everything about this episode was nearly flawless. The entire episode is truly emotional, and really brings the viewer in.

A very good episode – back to the House we know and love. Don't get me wrong - I'm all for changing the routine every once and a while. House can't be a 2 dimensional character and it's great when the writers take him to places he's never been before, even if it means being nice for an episode or two… but he still needs to be House – with the sarcasm, the wit and yes, it's cruel, with the pain. He's just so much more complex, deep and interesting when he suffers a bit. The case was quite interesting and intense. Joel Gray was very good. It was great to see the team struggling with moral and ethical issues where they have to take a stand. I wasn't too thrilled about how Cameron dealt with it at the beginig, and it was great to see that House made her do her job. It was time for her to realize she can't have it all and he made her grow up in this sense. She got a real compliment - House is finally proud of her… Wilson is becoming more and more annoying and I'm glad he was only there for a brief moment. Same goes for Cuddy. These guys don't show any character development but just keep on going with the same boring mantras about how House should live and act. It's time for both of them to re-think their life. They're not as perfect as neither of them believes they are.



Great to see House back in the clinic but a bit too creepy with the teenager having a crush on him… that was a bit too much, but o.k., let the poor guy enjoy it in theory, but please let's not see it in action. That would be a bit too sick even for this show. Get him another call girl I say! Or get him romantically involved again with someone as smart and as annoying as him….

My prediction of Informed Consent was that it was going to be preachy about patient rights and whether they can end their own life in a hospital. I was proved half right by the subordinates. But, like House himself, I was annoyed that their beliefs were stopping them from properly treating the patient.



Speaking of the subordinates, there was a lot of Cameron hate in the beginning of the episode, but by the end I was cheering "You go girl! You finally grew a spine!"



And now, the return of the clinic patients. I am not liking this 17-year-old having a crush on House. I especially don't like the fact it was a big part of the "Lines in the Sand" promo, although House's "you can\'t stop our love" line was pretty funny.



And finally, regarding Ezra himself, the radition poisoned babies freaked me out. Just getting that out there.

I loved it, I mean it was so great, The guy wanted to die and no one wanted to kill him, It was totally scary weird when he was "going to give him a lethal amount of morphine" and he really just knocked him out, I knew house wouldnt kill him right then, I felt so sorry for the girl student (sorry I forgot her name right now I drew a blank ) She was so pitiful in the end but she did what she had to do. I dont like that little girl though, I dont know why she just bothers me!

It's been a while since I reviewed an episode, but I'm still watching obsessively.



This episode was amazing, it took on an extremelly controversial issue "doctor assisted euthanasia". It did it with the same ambiguity and discord that exists in real life. Every character stood for a different viewpoint, and it was up to the viewer to choose whose side they were on.



The character of Cameron was focussed on, as she was as on the fence as most people are. It truly being a "situational based problem". By that I mean, you can't have the same philosophy in every situation...each one needs to be taken individually, because no situation is the same, with the same set of variables.



Joel Gray did an amazing job as Ezra Powell, POTW. He made me sympathize with him. To make you feel for a character is the job of a truly great actor....for example Hugh Laurie!!



Laura Innes of ER fame, did a great job of directing and should definitely be invited back for more.



The clinic, which normally produces great moments, had a meh moment this week. The 17 year old stalker was not becoming and I do not look forward to see the conclusion next week.



The ending... I can honestly say it took me a few moments to realize Cameron had "helped" Ezra, but it was a very prophetic scene between her and House. It was portrayed as a great mentor and his student, furthering their relationship of friendship(and more) and equality. But it still has a long way to go. I look forward to seeing it develop further in the coming year.

I did not really like the patient, but it was still a good episode! Would have liked to see more of Cuddy, but the 2 scenes that she was in were really good.



And the look on every ones face when they sought that he had his cane! It was funny, but also sad at the same time.



Cameron was a bit overdrammatic at some times but i understand what she ment, she was mad at the patient (who was a scientist/doctor) for doing expiriments on babies without the parents consent! She had every right to be mad, but they pushed it a little to far.



The best scene thought, would have to be at the end, when Cameron is in the church crying, and House come up dehind her and puts a hand on her shoulder and says "im proud of you". It was so cute! I almost cried, it was so good!

Excellent episode with further character development on all fronts, never a dull moment, just quick delivery, marvelous acting and writing and a true joy to behold. The guest performance by Joel Grey was an award winning one that will leave you to question your own thoughts about euthanasia and what is right and wrong. Brought home alot of painful memories of loved ones who have suffered.

The show was a good House episode but, as a person with a wife with the disease it was not realistic. The diagnosis/prognosis was incorrect. Amyloidosis AA does not have to be terminal. I do understand the gereral theme of the show was assisted suicide. I may have taken this to personal but in all fairness it was a good show but the prognosis made me mad.

This episode had a lot of good devlopment of character, especially with Cameron. The moral dilemma of the situation was portrayed nicely, and especially at the end with House stating he was proud of Cameron. This was definitely a change of pace from last week, in which this was a more serious episode compared to the aliens of last week. It almost brought back the same sort of emotion and development as we saw in \\\"Euphoria\\\". Overall, great episode.



P.S. I have noticed a few reviews on here comparing this episode with \\\"DNR\\\" of season 1. I am sad to see people even comparing the two episodes. A DNR and euthanasia are not the same. This is like comparing \\\"Autoposy\\\" and \\\"Cane and Able\\\"...both were young kids experiencing hallucinations. As you know, those two episodes were not even close. \\\"Informed consent\\\" was definitely more deep then \\\"DNR\\\" ever could have been..we are talking about not reviving someone if something happens and they fall into a coma, compared to a terminal patient asking the doctor to end his life so he doesn\\\'t die consciously with pain. Also, IMHO, I don\\\'t think this had anything to do with House needing to solve the puzzle, but more teaching, especially with Ezra giving babies radiation without their consent. It was more of a taste of your own medicine.

House is a great character, and as usual he carries the show. But, come on, this episode was nothing special. So there's a guy who wants to die because of his condition and House tricks him into allowing him to diagnose the condition only in the end to find out he is terminal after all. I could have written this plot in 15 minutes. And the supporting cast was allowed to contribute nothing to this show. Was this the best they could do for a season premiere? I'm hoping I missed last week and this wasn't the season premiere. I'd rather watch the character of House just take calls from the audience.

Wow I must say this episode hit home in a way that not many would ever understand until faced with it themselves....

have you ever sat by and watched your father die? watched him be mis-diagnosed, mis-treated, and mis-informed? apparently not if you thought the episode was of dule content. My father passed away from Amyloidsis in 2000. During his fight the Dr.s & specialists in our had no clue of what had, cancer, leukemia, nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and the list goes on. This is a rare disease and there is no cause no cure or treatment. Trust me I went through 6 years of pain and torture with my father. he finally diagnosed himself after a few years online and there was nothing that could have been done by then.

When watching the episode I knew from the beginning what the patient had, all the signs and symptoms aligned. Even down to the final test with the Congo Red blood stain. I give writters credit for the rarity of the disease.

Cameron really grew in this episode. I started to notice when she took the skin biopsy. Though I'm still debating if she was just angry at him for what he had done in the past. What really got me was that she was willing to help the man die even if it went against what she believed. Even more surprising was House who was able to say that he was proud of her. Have to say, got me a little teary eyed. Good writing and acting to everyone.



I'm also interested in that teen girl. Before the end I wondered if we would see her again. Then I saw the preview for next week... guess that answered my question!

First off Yay House is using his cane again and has become more like himself. I hated how House kept mentioning that he was a criple because that is not something that House would do. I enjoyed House and Cameron's remarks to each other too.



I loved how Cameron was in this one too. House actually admiring another doctor well I didn't see that one coming but it was good. When House Morphined the guy I thought he was gonna pull a Cuddy meaning not really give him morphine like Cuddy did to House in that one episode last season.



It was a pretty interesting case and I can't wait for next week's episode hopefully House will make more comments to Cuddy about her being pregnant cause I just love those!