Daddy's Boy

According to House, his father has an “insane moral compass that won't let you lie to anybody about anything. It's a great quality for boy scouts and police witnesses. Crappy quality for a dad."

Revealing words about House’s childhood. Growing up, he probably couldn’t get away with lying. And he probably watched his father call anyone and everyone on their lies. Which makes House a lot like his father, doesn’t it? He’d probably hate to hear me say that.

I thought this episode did a great job showing the juxtaposition between the patient’s family who lied to one and another about anything and everything and House’s family who didn’t let anyone lie about anything.

At the end, the patient’s dad tells his son “he’s going to be all right”, even though we all know he isn’t. The dad lies to his son to protect him from the truth.

When House hears that lie, I wonder what he’s thinking – perhaps that’s why his father’s insane moral compass makes him a crappy dad – even if House was dying, his father wouldn’t lie to him to protect his feelings. I wonder how many times in House’s childhood that he needed to have his feelings protected, but had the truth instead? Were his parents there during his leg infraction trauma?

I’m not saying one parenting way is better than the other. But this episode sure gave us some great insight into House’s personality! I loved it!!

How do you know when House lies?

Did House lie to Cameron when he told her he didn’t like her? I mean, he doesn’t like anyone, right? So how is that a lie? If he’d have told her he liked her, wouldn’t that have been the lie?

So, if you read deeper into the scene (which I love to do) when Cameron asked House if he liked her -- it was the way he hesitated before he told her he didn’t that kind of made me go, hmmm, I wonder what’s going on there.

Anyway, I’ve been wondering -- when does House lie?

Have you noticed any behavioral patterns of House’s when he lies?

Understanding people -- do you?

I don’t understand people. I don’t understand how they don’t understand how their actions affect other people’s actions.

Did you ever know a person who lied so much that they started to believe their own lies? I’ve known a couple of people like this. And they have to surround themselves with people who back up their “stories”. It’s never their fault, of course. It’s everyone else’s. They’re never wrong.

Course, come to think of it, House thinks he’s never wrong, so . . .

Who does House believe in? If not everyone is lying, how does House know the difference between who is lying and who isn’t?

Humpty Dumpty

What are people hiding either knowingly or unknowingly in this episode?

The patient and his family are knowingly hiding things, but is House?

Did Alfredo’s mother know he was working the cockfights on Saturday nights?

Does House lie in this episode?

What do you think?

What makes a patient "House-worthy"?

House is into “the psyche”. I wonder why he didn’t become a psychiatrist. I wonder what made him become a diagnostician.

I watched “Control” over the weekend. I think it’s an interesting study of House’s character. He lied for his patient. He put his career on the line for his patient in this episode. I wonder why he did that? He says it’s because she was his patient. I’m not sure if I believe him.

Perhaps he did it because he doesn’t “believe” his patients, but he “believes in” them.

I ask you this, then:

What makes a patient worthy enough so that House takes a stand for them? What makes a patient “House-worthy”?

What do you think?

Truth about lying. How often do we lie?

The first episode of House I saw was “Cursed”. It hooked me. House hooked me – the way he tried so hard to get Chase and his father “together” and finally, when Chase opened up to him, told him the truth, that’s when House decided not to tell Chase about his father’s cancer. House didn’t lie to Chase, you might say, but still a lie by omission is still a lie. Perhaps it’s truth which makes House lie.

House won’t admit things aren’t the way he wants them to be, so maybe when someone else can face their truths, accept their reality – that’s what gets to House.

Is House a realist or a romantic?

What do you think?

Why do people lie?

Fear, greed, and hate.

Psychologists agree that “lying to protect yourself is the most common sort of lie”. Self-deception is another. For example, ignoring warning signs of a grave illness (as do many of House’s patients).

As fascinated as he is by the “psyche”, I’m sure House studied psychology at some point during his career. He understands, perhaps even empathizes (although I’m sure he’d deny this ), with people who lie.

To me it seems House continually “lies to protect himself”. From what, I wonder? And, does he realize he’s doing it?

Hmmm. I’m not sure. Any ideas?