TV Review: HOUSE 8.3, "Charity Case"

Today’s question: is it ethically acceptable to receive oral sex from a sex addict?

rating: 4

Today€™s question: is it ethically acceptable to receive oral sex from a sex addict? When is giving away your money a sign of good, charitable decency, and when is it a sign of something larger, like some sort of mental disorder? This is the question that faces Doctor House (Hugh Laurie), and team in the most recent episode. It begins with a man named Benjamin (Wentworth Miller), who pretends to be a man in need. He goes to a charity that helps such people and leaves a million dollar check behind. The woman he was talking to in the charity follows him to find out what€™s going on, only to watch as he falls flat on his face outside the office. House gets wind of this man€™s case and brings him in. Everyone, including what€™s currently comprising his team (Charlene Yi and Odette Annable as Doctors Park and Adams, respectively), assume that it€™s dehydration, but House thinks it€™s something more, or at least he says he thinks that. Foreman (Omar Epps), is convinced that House just wants the man to give a million or two to the hospital so that he can rehire his old team. As the story unfolds we learn that Benjamin has been traveling all over the place giving away his fortune. While doing so, he€™s managed to alienate his wife and family but he€™s ok with that. He just wants to get to a place where he has about $25,000 a year to live on, at which point he€™ll just have a small apartment and a bus pass. Speaking as someone who lives that life, it€™s not that horrible, but I think on the whole I€™d rather be rich. Things reach a tipping point for House and the team when Benjamin gets wind of a patient of Wilson€™s (Robert Sean Leonard), who needs a kidney. Benjamin promptly offers one of his, and Wilson, who had earlier told House it would be unethical to accept money from the man as his altruism might be a symptom of a larger problem, now finds himself in a rather sticky situation. On top of all this, House is constantly trying to get 13 (Olivia Wilde), to come back to the team. She eventually turns up and tells him to bugger off, but soon she€™s back in her usual place. But for how long? I really enjoyed this episode. I just finished taking a bioethics class, and the ethical questions raised are interesting to me (for the record, as long as there was even a chance that the man€™s altruism was caused by any kind of aliment, it would be unethical to accept money or a kidney from him). I was also intrigued by the notion of giving away one€™s money as symptom of disease. Perhaps what really happened to Scrooge on Christmas Eve is that he contracted an illness? I also enjoyed the €œsoap opera€ aspects of the episode, though I€™m a little disappointed that everything seems to be back to normal so quickly between House and Wilson. I was pleased to see Doctor Adams back, and the subplot between her and Park, where Park refuses to accept any kind of gift, despite Adams trying to foist some off onto her, was entertaining. Seeing 13 back again was also nice, though (spoilers), it was just a guest appearance, so she won€™t likely be back. It was also fun to see House really chaffing under the new rules of his parole and Foreman€™s rules as Dean of Medicine. So far season 8 is really off to a good start. There€™s rumors that it might be the last season, and if that€™s the case, I€™m ok with that. It looks like they€™d be going out on a high note, and that€™s something a great many TV series could learn from.
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Chris Swanson is a freelance writer and blogger based in Phoenix, Arizona, where winter happens to other people. His blog is at wilybadger.wordpress.com