This episode has quite a few engrossing moments, but I wanted to comment on my favourite. The ep is a really good look at too much pain vs too little pain. Are they trying to tell us something?

House finds one of those imaginary cases that happen when he's bored - and turns it into a real case. Hanna has CIPA (Congenital Insensitivity to Pain) - and also a diagnosis. But when things go wrong, the ducklings dive into the tests. Except that trying to force a kid that can't feel pain to do things is kinda hard. Might need to break an arm...

The Game: "Let's go break her arm". The aim: get the patient in the chair.

House: Hi again. I'm sure I can say this without being condescending, but then you'd get the false impression that I respect you so – you're a kid, you're scared, you're stalling. Grow up.

Hannah: I'm not scared. I'm never scared.

House: See? How juvenile was that? You can't feel pain. Nothing left but pleasure. Why don't you tell me how wonderful that is?

Hannah: It sucks.

House: Better than being in pain all the time. Get in the chair.

Hannah: Every morning I have to check my eyes to make sure I didn't scratch a cornea in my sleep.

House: Oh God, stop. I'm in a pool of tears here.

1 to Hanna. (Hanna:1 House:0).

Hannah: I can't cry.

House: Neither can I. Every morning I check my eyes for jaundice in case the Vicodin's finally shot my liver.

1 to House. His liver isn't shot yet? (Hanna:1 House:1).
So, they both have pretty serious issues with their eyes....

Hannah: I can't run anywhere without examining all my toes for swelling.

House: I can't run.

Hmm... Didn't House run quite a bit at one stage? Ha, running beats not running - 1 to House (Hanna:1 House:2).

Hannah: Boys can't hold me for too long because I can overheat.

House: Girls can't hold me for too long because I only pay for an hour.

I'd give a point to House for having to pay, but well... he has to pay. (Hanna:2 House:2).

Hannah: I need an alarm on my watch to remind me to go to the bathroom. You know how many humiliating experiences before I thought of that.

House: The bathroom's 50 feet from my office. Every drink of water I weigh the pros and cons.

Knowing is always better than not knowing. (Hanna:3 House:2).

Hannah: After everything I do, I self-check: Mouth, tongue, gums for cuts. Count teeth, check temperature. Fingers, toes and joints for swelling, skin for bruises.

House: I got shot.

... some would say House brought that on himself. (Hanna:3 House:3). House sedates her when she shows him where she was burnt as a kid.

[...]

Cameron: You weren't shot because of leg pain, you were shot because you're a jerk.

House: Some think the two are connected.

Ah, there it is. So, final score.... 3 all. Hmm... I thought it might come out differently. I guess a lack of pain can be a bad thing. You don't know what pain's like, so nothing to compare it to. Bad for knowing where physical boundaries are. But too much pain is obviously debilitating.

One more Housism before I wrap up:

Wilson: Why are you here?

House: I still haven’t figured out why.

Wilson: No, I meant here. In my office.

Thanks for the transcript Twistv.

Labels: 314, competition, pain, wilson