Episode Report Card Sara M: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Need To Go
By Sara M | Season 2 | Episode 11 | Aired on 02.06.2006
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.Even though very little happens in this episode, plot-wise, there are a ton of really great moments to enjoy. A wife and mother with too much on her plate suffers from uncontrollably flailing limbs and then psychotic breaks, which her daughter gets to enjoy since no one has the sense to get her out of the room. House is back from his month-long sojourn in lovely Baltimore to lead his team now that Foreman has effectively given up the reins. They quickly figure out that the perfect mother is actually taking Ritalin to squeeze more hours into her day; they discharge her, telling her that her symptoms will go away once the Ritalin leaves her system. Of course, she isn't even out of the door before she has a stroke, which is not consistent with Ritalin abuse. The culprit is a benign liver tumor, which is a by-product of combining fertility drugs with birth control as part of the perfect mother's plan to make her husband think she wants another baby as much as he does while making sure that no babies will ever be conceived. And she'd rather have an unnecessary and potentially dangerous operation on her liver than tell him the truth, because she is stupid and lies for no good reason. And that's how that couple ends up; the wife is healthy and will live to keep her husband in the dark. Hopefully, their cute daughter will come back a few more times to make House seem more human. He made her a balloon animal, people! And held her hand! Stacy holds a few parts of House's anatomy too, as she and House consummate their overly complicated and underly interesting relationship, much to the chagrin of Wilson, who gets way too concerned for House's mental health and happiness for a male friend, and Cuddy, who does a terrible Stacy impersonation. House forces Stacy to choose between him and Mark, and I was shocked that she chose House, only to have him turn around and dump her because their relationship is just as doomed to fail as it did before, while Mark will always be able to give Stacy everything she wants as soon as he gets over his tendency to drive her away, something House doesn't think he'll ever be able to do. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
A young girl shows her mother her latest work of art. Mom compliments the girl's drawing of a farm and its various animals. Some "supermom" this woman is: you never assume what your child is drawing because, more often than not, what looks like a horse is really supposed to be a bear. SuperMom then hangs out in the kitchen with other not-quite-as-super moms, giving them tips on a dish that involves Haas avocadoes. Ha! Show me people on the East Coast who habitually use Haas avocadoes in their recipes and I'll show you some people who are habitually disappointed in the taste of their food. Last time I was on the East Coast, I had some avocadoes in my sushi that were crunchy like carrots. Never again. SuperMom then gets a phone call about some work project that isn't going well, and takes a minute to admire her friend's pregnant belly. Friend nosily asks SuperMom if she's had any luck in the makin' babies department. "Not for lack of trying!" SuperMom SuperOvershares.
SuperMom heads into the living room, where her husband is watching some kind of sports event on the TV. SuperMom pauses the television to tell her husband about all of the things she'll be doing today while her husband sits on his ass, and then has a weird arm spasm. She brushes it off...
...but has another one as she's on her way into the car, which she also ignores. The third time it strikes, it can't be ignored, as it takes over all her limbs while she's starting her car, throwing a rather humorous chain of events into motion: the flailing leg presses on the gas while her spasm-y arm throws the car into drive. None of her out-of-control limbs sees fit to land on the garage door opener, though, so her plow into the garage is quite destructive indeed. SuperMom sits in her car, twitching and flailing away, until her husband finally gets off his ass to see what's wrong.
Wilson and Cuddy are shocked to see House come to work on time -- early, even -- smiling at people and wearing a clean, ironed shirt. Wilson is assigned to investigate further and follows him to the elevator. House cheerfully greets Wilson and asks how the hospital was while he was gone, since he is apparently just returning from his trip to Baltimore that we saw a month ago. If it's supposed to be the next day, New Jersey must have gotten hit with one hell of a warm front, since all that snow that cancelled airplane flights has melted and everyone's wearing spring clothes. Or maybe House just decided to hang out in Baltimore for a month.