#house md 1x08

[housemd-archive]

[stark-stiel]

eric foreman we are truly the same

[drhouseoncesaid]

9

Wilson: “The healer with his magic powers… I could rub his gentle brow for hours… His manly chest, his stubble jaw, everything about him leaves me raw-” House: Psych ward’s upstairs. Wilson: “-with joy. Oh House, your very name… will never leave this girl the same.” Not bad for an eighty-two year old. She asked me to give that to her true love. House: What can I say, chicks with no teeth turn me on. Wilson: That’s… fairly disgusting. House: And that’s ageism.

[preacherboyd]

House M.D. | 1x08 Poison

[mar-sibilina]

Wilson: House!

[captainsolocide]

hey fellas, is it gay to memorize poetry written for your best friend so that you can read it to him in front of several of your colleagues?

[kajaono]

Oh hello there Cuddy!

[xionspeed]

Requested by Anonymous!

[lorelaigilmo]

I was tagged by @reputayswift! thanks for this ily 🌈

rules: pick 5 shows, then answer the following questions. don’t cheat. tag 10 (or however many) people.

gilmore girls

castle

house md

zoey’s extraordinary playlist

the bold type

what’s your favourite character from 1? lorelai gilmore. who would’ve guessed???

who’s your least favourite character in 2? vikrum from s08. just... no.

what’s your favourite episode of 4? 1x03. which had lauren graham singing satisfaction. so I mean you really can’t argue with that.

what is your favourite season of 5? of wow I literally binged the whole thing in like 3 days I have no idea what happened in what season! I just went back to look at episode summaries and stuff and I’ll say season 1.

what’s your favourite couple of 3? house x cuddy. with cameron x chase as runner up.

what’s your favourite couple in 2? castle and beckett!!!

what’s your favourite episode in 1? hmm there’s 1x08 love and war and snow, 4x21 last week fights this week tights + 4x22 raincoats and recepies if you exclude any rory and dean scenes this should count as one ep, 5x03 written in the stars with luke and lorelai’s first official date, and lastly 7x22 bon voyage. no I can’t be any more specific.

what’s your favourite episode in 5? I don’t think I really have a favorite ep because I only watched it once in a crazy binge exactly 1 week ago, but I’ll go with 1x10 carry the weight, because I think they handled that difficult subject really well

what’s your favourite season in 2? ahhhh this is really hard but probably season 4!

how long have you been watching 1? since about august of 2019! which is crazy it feels like home you know

how did you get into 3? umm it was on tv and my brother was watching it so that how I knew of it, but I started watching after a few friends told me they really loved it so I was like ah well then I must watch it all

favourite actor in 4? lauren graham! I’m biased towards her, but also jane levy gives an excellent performance!

which do you prefer? 1, 2 or 5? ahhh this is terrible! both castle and gilmore girls are like my home shows, with characters that inspire me and make me laugh and cry and UGH!!! I guess I’ll go with castle because it’s been with me longer and also it has less episodes that make me wanna die (entire season 6 of gilmore girls, I’m looking at you)

which show have you seen more of, 1 or 3? as I said I only watch tbt once, and I think I only watch house all the way through once, with very little specific episode rewatches, so I’ll say gilmore girls because I’ve been rewatching an episode at least once a week for months now. yes I know I’m crazy what of it??

if you could be anyone from 4, who would you be? umm I guess zoey. she’s got a pretty cool superpower and I mean have you SEEN the men that are into her???

would a crossover of 3 and 4 work? asdffgjkhdjkgh house trying to diagnose what is causing zoey to see songs and being very frustrated not being able to prove she’s hallucinating I would pay good money to see that

pair two characters in 1 who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple? I mean I really can’t top taylor’s answer (rory + getting her life together??? I died) but I’ll say... rory and paris??? that would be... interesting...

overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5? house md! they had some pretty brilliant things going there, although I am strongly ignoring season 8.

which has better theme music, 2 or 4? I don’t think zep really has theme music?? but it’s a musical show and all of the songs are good?? but also castle’s theme music is great?? idk how to handle this

I tag @superhero-bastards​, @acaptainandhisrunaway​, @lorelaigilmoure​ + anyone else who sees this! (feel free to ignore)

[mdwatchestv]

American Gods 1x08: Do You Believe?

I feel like we only just began this magical journey together, but here we are at the end of season one of American Gods! You can go ahead and cancel that Starz subscription now, I'll wait here.

This final episode told the stories of two goddesses and how they have learned to adapt in America. And as much as I am enjoying  Laura Moon, there haven't really been any other female characters with meaningful emotional arcs. Similarly the gods we have gotten to know (with the exception of Bilquis) have been overwhelmingly male. So I was v pleased to see that this episode attempted to delve into the power wielded by female icons (ya know just the small stuff like life and creation) and the often violently adverse social (and male) reactions to women who wield that power, as well as their continued attempts to control that power for themselves. 

Like the previous episode about Mad Sweeney, the finale also boasted a more "integrated" Coming to America story where instead of having a vignette separate from the main storyline, the Coming to America tale oozed over to mingle with the main proceedings. Instead of Ibis and his big book o'stories, this week featured a welcome return from Mr. Nancy who took over the storytelling duties. This also marks the first time we have seen Mr. Nancy in the modern world where he a) looks as fly as ever b) is clearly an ally of Mr. Wednesday and c) tailoring bespoke suits for Wednesday and Shadow. (PS Ricky Whittle is a man who can wear. a. suit. and it drove me crazy how wrinkled his jacket was all episode! Could no one have steamed that for him? Sorry. But also, infuriating.) But with a captive, bathrobed audience, Nancy proceeds to weave the story of Bilquis.

After seeing the modern "down on her luck" Bilquis it was pretty fucking fabulous to see her in her hey day bedecked in the golden jewelry she longed for in the museum. This is also a good place to shout out Yetide Badaki, a relative newcomer who has found her breakout on this series. Bilquis is a tricky role, she rarely speaks, doesn't get to play off any of the other heavy hitters in the cast, and often has to act scenes of intense emotional (and physical) vulnerability. She doesn't get to bounce off Ian McShane, or deliver sweeping monologues. Most of her acting is done through physicality or her impervious gaze. So major worship to Yetide who made this character feel like, well, a goddess. No matter how much she is (or isn't) wearing it is impossible to look away from Bilquis' eyes and her unyielding stare that reveals as deep an inner life as any dialogue. This is unique and exceptional acting, and in a show with such a range and breadth of performances, Yetide stands tall. Also I'm sure that role was absolutely batshit to cast, so claps for casting as well. #NeverForgetCasting.

So we finally get to see Bilquis as a Golden Queen, loved, worshipped and equal to any (male) challenger who comes her way. Times change, but passion is immutable and Bilquis continues her reign on the disco dance floors of Tehran in the 1970s. By the way Disco Queen Bilquis was everrryyttthinnng. Everything. But after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Bilquis is forced to travel as a refugee to Hollywood, California just in time for the AIDs crisis of the 1980s. The loss of worship after these two events leads to Bilquis' decline and she finds herself wandering the streets of LA. Bilquis is stripped of her power because nothing is scarier to an American (white) culture than a confident black woman fully in control of her sexuality and power.  But when all seems lost, Tech Boy rolls up on Bilquis, Tinder in hand, and shows her how to use technology to get her groove back. Now, however, it seems that Bilquis is under Tech Boy's thumb, but is she really just a tool for the New Gods, or is this just another misguided King that thinks he can conquer her? Hopefully Bilquis is a character we will get even more of in season two, the entirety of her material from the book has already been exhausted so I am excited for a fresh Bilquis story, especially with such a capable actress at the helm.

So with their new (wrinkly) suits Shadow and Wednesday make a pit stop on their way to Wisconsin in Kentucky. At a palatial estate, during a full swinging Easter Sunday party, we meet Easter herself (human carbonation Kristin Chenowith). Easter (or Ostara) is an old pagan goddess of Spring who has had the good fortune of having her namesake tied to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Even though the masses might not know who she is, her name is widely celebrated (both secularly and liturgically) every year. Like Bilquis she has found a way to adapt and thrive, even if it may not be in the way she is accustomed or would prefer.

In attendance at Easter's fabulously over-the-top Easter blowout is almost every Jesus! Literally 14 unique Jesus. JC doesn't appear in the novel (well he does sort of) but it is impossible to deny his influence in modern (esp American) religion and so it makes sense for the show to utilize him more frequently, or 14 of him. Unlike the other gods on the show, Jesus is pretty chill and doesn’t seem to have any hidden agendas besides spreading the JC love. He's sweetly benevolent and gets drunk and drops things in the pool. Classic Jesus.

Wednesday has come to Easter's party to enlist her help in the war between old and new gods, and hopes she will starve the people into praying for mercy (the goddess of Spring giveth but she can also taketh). He brazenly lies to her about the death of Vulcan, and promises her worship of her own in exchange for her alliance. 

Also crashing are Laura and Sweeney (who I have started to develop weird feelings for after last episode? Ugh I know, I know, I hate it too) who hope that Easter will bring Laura back to life. However no luck for Laura as she has been killed by the will of a god (Wednesday), and that kind of miracle is above Easter's pay grade. So we leave Laura worse for wear, and more than a little maggoty, but she has finally been reunited with Shadow at least.

Also rolling up on what is fast becoming the party of the year is the entire contingent of new gods: Media (as Judy Garland in Easter Parade obvi), Tech Boy and Mr. World, reminding Easter she is in their debt for popularizing the Easter holiday in (you guessed it) Media. As all of our characters converge Mr Wednesday reveals himself to Shadow to be none other than the All Father Odin of Norse mythology (all around viking god and papa of Thor and Loki). Odin/Wednesday does some good old fashioned lightening smiting, which rallies Easter to his cause, and she proceeds to render Kentucky into a barren wasteland (chalking up a temporary win for the OGs.) After witnessing stepping Fred Astaire henchman, a baker’s dozen Jesus’, and a woman made up of flower petals, Shadow finally submits that he believes. In everything.  

The season ends with a procession of various transports journeying to the House on the Rock in Wisconsin, which was the ultimate destination for all of our road trippers this season and honestly where I thought the season would break but I guess they ran out of episodes..

So now that the dust has cleared, what happened this season?

Shadow Moon lost everything, got picked up by an old god on a serious recruiting mission, went on a road trip and learned to believe.

We met a whole bushel of old gods: Mr. Wednesday/Odin, Czernebog, the Zoryas, Anubis/Mr. Jacquel, Ibis/Thoth, Mr. Nancy/Anansi, Bilquis, Vulcan, Easter, and Jesus.

We also met a few new gods: Media, Technical Boy and Mr. World.

Also some mystical creatures: Zombie!Laura, Mad Sweeney, the Djinn and the White Buffalo.

And a couple plain old humans in over their heads: Salim and Audrey.

In conclusion:

American Gods was a breath of fresh air in the jungle of peak TV. It was bold, crazy and naked. It was brazen, unapologetic, and borderline nonsensical. It managed to exceed the promise of its original material and was a frighteningly timely allegory. It had a festival of unique characters backed up by some of the best actors in television. Also it looked gorgeous. While this first season sometimes struggled with pacing and the rate of exposition, there were moments and episodes that were unlike anything else currently on TV.  I was a particular fan of the Coming to American openers across the board, as well as both Laura Moon episodes. So did American Gods make you a believer? Who is your favorite scheming deity? Love it or hate it, you can't say that this wasn't a wild ride.

XO MD

PS. Disco Queen Bilquis forever

[housemd-archive]

[stark-stiel]

the cameron-foreman interaction is everything to me actually, also

house md is actually a comedy??

[misslevel]

I had a dream last night that was just the first two thirds of House MD 1x08, “Poison”

[mar-sibilina]

House: Psych ward’s upstairs.

[mar-sibilina]

House: So, why are you still here? Why aren’t you out there making up with the joyful mother? Foreman: Why would I do that? House: No reason at all, you don’t care about her or her son.

[mar-sibilina]

Chase: [In a fake Southern accent] The CDC is unable to give an opinion at this time, and… we’re gonna have a doctor in your area next week. House: You fooled her with that?