I thought this episode was among the best.
What was clever about it was that in both House's interaction with the raped girl, and Cameron's interaction with the old man, was that they were forced to face the things that they fear the most.
House always wants to stay away from patients and focus purely on science, analysis, and solving the puzzle. He also avoids, at all costs, talking about anything truly personal and dealing with emotional issues. Imagine him then being placed in a room with a victim of rape, which is about as personal and emotional as it gets. House is clearly out of his element. There have been several comments about the woman continually reminding House that she was raped. I think that she was saying that to House when he tried to shift their discussions and fall back into his logic and analysis mode. She kept House in her zone where he was forced to deal with the personal interaction and her emotions.
Cameron has always had an aversion to dealing with death. From early in the series, she would freeze up when dealing with terminal patients. Her character is one of empathy. She can't bring herself to tell someone that they are dying. When the patient is dying, she goes out of her way to make the patient as comfortable as possible (as any doctor would). In this episode, she is confronted with a patient how demands that he be allowed to suffer until he dies. It is a situation where she has to stare a dying man in the face during his last days and he won't allow her to empathize.
What was clever about it was that in both House's interaction with the raped girl, and Cameron's interaction with the old man, was that they were forced to face the things that they fear the most.
House always wants to stay away from patients and focus purely on science, analysis, and solving the puzzle. He also avoids, at all costs, talking about anything truly personal and dealing with emotional issues. Imagine him then being placed in a room with a victim of rape, which is about as personal and emotional as it gets. House is clearly out of his element. There have been several comments about the woman continually reminding House that she was raped. I think that she was saying that to House when he tried to shift their discussions and fall back into his logic and analysis mode. She kept House in her zone where he was forced to deal with the personal interaction and her emotions.
Cameron has always had an aversion to dealing with death. From early in the series, she would freeze up when dealing with terminal patients. Her character is one of empathy. She can't bring herself to tell someone that they are dying. When the patient is dying, she goes out of her way to make the patient as comfortable as possible (as any doctor would). In this episode, she is confronted with a patient how demands that he be allowed to suffer until he dies. It is a situation where she has to stare a dying man in the face during his last days and he won't allow her to empathize.