Open and Shut (House)
Encyclopedia
"Open and Shut" is the nineteenth episode of the sixth season
of the American medical drama House
and it is the 129th episode overall. It is directed by Greg Yaitanes
and written by Liz Friedman and Sara Hess. It originally aired on April 26, 2010.
House
and the team treat a woman (Sarah Wayne Callies
) in an open marriage
.
and a strong abdominal pain
after a slightly awkward encounter with both her husband Tom and her other sexual partner Damian.
As soon as the team starts the differential diagnosis
, the patient's open marriage
becomes a major discussion topic, with many varying opinions being present. This proves to be so intriguing to House
that he sets out to conduct the first diagnostic test himself. During the test, Julia adamantly claims that they are a perfectly fine and happy couple.
As a contrast to the patient's sex life, we see Taub
subtly flirting with Mia, who works in the hospital. He is immediately confronted by Thirteen
about this, but claims that he is doing nothing wrong. House decides to confront him with the patient and makes him conduct a night-long test, also holding him from going home. Julia still holds on to her opinion, going so far as to claim that exactly the openness of their marriage allows them to be happy. During the test, the patient shows a new symptom: arrythmia. At this point, a parasite
is the leading theory, making it necessary for the team to question both Julia and Tom regarding their sex life, leading to a rather surprising discovery: Tom does not have sex with any other women. He claims that he is doing this for Julia and compares it with other mundane activities (going to a concert with one's spouse even though one hates the music) that one does just to make one's partner happy. House immediately concludes that he is lying and that Tom is somehow betraying his wife, not necessarily sexually.
Taub is shown having dinner with his wife, Rachel. He mentions that his current patient is having an open marriage, and she immediately picks up on that. Her first thought is that he is cheating on her (again), partly due to the recent night that he spent away from home (doing the diagnostic test). Taub is completely honest, mentioning Mia, who people say is attracted to him, but saying that he is not having, and will not have an affair with her. He shortly thereafter leaves after he is called on his pager, with Rachel disapproving.
In the next scene, House deduces that Taub spent the night in the hospital, and he admits to it. Taub later talks to Thirteen who advises him to let himself go and enjoy the part of him that wants to have sex with more women.
Cuddy confronts House with a yet unknown detail: that Julia does not have health insurance
. This leads to the revelation that she and Tom are behind on their premiums, caused by him losing a lot of money, including all of their savings, confirming House's theory that he was somehow betraying her. Julia sends Tom home.
Taub arrives home after staying at work for another night. Rachel says that the part that bothered her the most earlier was not the fact that he had had sex with another woman, but the fact that he had lied so many times to cover it up. She says that she does not want that to happen again, that she loves him and truly believes the he loves her. She allows him to have an affair, with strict limitations, believing that this is her only option if she wants the marriage to stay whole.
The next morning, House immediately deduces what has happened. The team spend some time talking about this. They quickly go back to treating the patient, but continue discussing the issue even while conducting a surgery
. Taub claims that he would not mind his wife also having an affair, saying he'd rather be jealous than a liar.
Right after the surgery, Taub gets paged. He goes to the parking lot where a tearful Rachel apologetically takes back what she had said earlier, saying that all she could help but think all day about him being intimate with another woman and wouldn't be able to stand it. Taub reassures her that nothing happened and that all he needs is her, and goes home with her, relinquishing his "license" to date other women.
Thirteen and Julia have another talk. Thirteen reveals to her that Tom has not actually slept with any other woman in the past year, and has lied to her in order to not make her feel bad. This leads to her calling Tom back. He brings flowers, which are from their personal garden. This new bit of information leads to House developing a new theory, Henoch–Schönlein purpura as a result of a bee sting
, which proves to be correct.
In parallel to the patient-related plot, Wilson's
relationship to his ex-wife Sam continues to develop. Early in the episode, House points out to Wilson that she has left the milk in the door of the fridge instead of in the main body, something Wilson hates. Later, Wilson observes that there are seemingly quite a lot of tiny details around the house to which Sam does not pay attention (placing dishes in the washer improperly, throwing banana peels in the bedroom trash can). He confronts her regarding this, and they conclude that, while Sam was guilty of some of those things, it was mainly House who made it seem like that. Still, this eventually leads to a much bigger argument wherein they both mention details from their past marriage, and that culminates with Wilson calling Sam "a selfish bitch".
Wilson talks to House and accuses him of ruining his relationship with Sam. House, while telling him that he is sorry, denies that his actions had any effect, claiming that if his tiny disturbances have destroyed the relationship, it would have crumbled anyway. Towards the end of the episode, Wilson and Sam reconcile. They both acknowledge that they have changed in the years since they met. They wish they had this argument many years ago, believing it would have saved their marriage. They agree not to let House know about the effect he has had. He figures it out by himself though, and says "you can thank me later" the next time he sees them. As the episode ends, House is seen glancing over at Sam and Wilson, who are laughing and playing a game of poker, and furtively places the milk back into the door of the fridge.
In the final scene of the episode, Taub encounters Mia in the parking ramp by chance, and assists her in loading a cumbersome box into her trunk. Taub ultimately concedes to his desire for an affair, and is shown kissing Mia and getting in her car to "go somewhere".
.
House (season 6)
House entered a sixth season on September 21, 2009 with a two-hour premiere. The season premiere, titled "Broken", was filmed at the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey.Season six featured 22 episodes, two fewer than the usual number...
of the American medical drama House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
and it is the 129th episode overall. It is directed by Greg Yaitanes
Greg Yaitanes
Greg Yaitanes is an American television and film director.-Directing career:*Damages **"Jesus, Mary and Joe Cocker" **"A Pretty Girl in a Leotard" *Lost...
and written by Liz Friedman and Sara Hess. It originally aired on April 26, 2010.
House
Gregory House
Gregory House, M.D., or simply referred to as House, is a fictional antihero and title character of the American television series House, played by Hugh Laurie. He is the Chief of Diagnostic Medicine at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, where he leads a team of diagnosticians...
and the team treat a woman (Sarah Wayne Callies
Sarah Wayne Callies
Sarah Wayne Callies is an American actress who is best known for her role as Sara Tancredi in the American television series Prison Break. She now plays Lori Grimes in The Walking Dead.- Early life :...
) in an open marriage
Open marriage
Open marriage typically refers to a marriage in which the partners agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without this being regarded as infidelity. There are many different styles of open marriage, with the partners having varying levels of input on their spouse's...
.
Plot
35-year-old Julia suddenly feels feverFever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
and a strong abdominal pain
Abdominal pain
Abdominal pain can be one of the symptoms associated with transient disorders or serious disease. Making a definitive diagnosis of the cause of abdominal pain can be difficult, because many diseases can result in this symptom. Abdominal pain is a common problem...
after a slightly awkward encounter with both her husband Tom and her other sexual partner Damian.
As soon as the team starts the differential diagnosis
Differential diagnosis
A differential diagnosis is a systematic diagnostic method used to identify the presence of an entity where multiple alternatives are possible , and may also refer to any of the included candidate alternatives A differential diagnosis (sometimes abbreviated DDx, ddx, DD, D/Dx, or ΔΔ) is a...
, the patient's open marriage
Open marriage
Open marriage typically refers to a marriage in which the partners agree that each may engage in extramarital sexual relationships, without this being regarded as infidelity. There are many different styles of open marriage, with the partners having varying levels of input on their spouse's...
becomes a major discussion topic, with many varying opinions being present. This proves to be so intriguing to House
Gregory House
Gregory House, M.D., or simply referred to as House, is a fictional antihero and title character of the American television series House, played by Hugh Laurie. He is the Chief of Diagnostic Medicine at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, where he leads a team of diagnosticians...
that he sets out to conduct the first diagnostic test himself. During the test, Julia adamantly claims that they are a perfectly fine and happy couple.
As a contrast to the patient's sex life, we see Taub
Chris Taub
Christopher Michael "Chris" Taub, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. He is portrayed by Peter Jacobson. He becomes a member of House's new diagnostic team in the Season 4 episode titled "Games".-Professional life:...
subtly flirting with Mia, who works in the hospital. He is immediately confronted by Thirteen
Thirteen (House)
Remy "Thirteen" Hadley, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House, portrayed by Olivia Wilde. She is part of the new diagnostic team assembled by Dr. Gregory House after the disbanding of his previous team in the third season finale...
about this, but claims that he is doing nothing wrong. House decides to confront him with the patient and makes him conduct a night-long test, also holding him from going home. Julia still holds on to her opinion, going so far as to claim that exactly the openness of their marriage allows them to be happy. During the test, the patient shows a new symptom: arrythmia. At this point, a parasite
Parasitism
Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites...
is the leading theory, making it necessary for the team to question both Julia and Tom regarding their sex life, leading to a rather surprising discovery: Tom does not have sex with any other women. He claims that he is doing this for Julia and compares it with other mundane activities (going to a concert with one's spouse even though one hates the music) that one does just to make one's partner happy. House immediately concludes that he is lying and that Tom is somehow betraying his wife, not necessarily sexually.
Taub is shown having dinner with his wife, Rachel. He mentions that his current patient is having an open marriage, and she immediately picks up on that. Her first thought is that he is cheating on her (again), partly due to the recent night that he spent away from home (doing the diagnostic test). Taub is completely honest, mentioning Mia, who people say is attracted to him, but saying that he is not having, and will not have an affair with her. He shortly thereafter leaves after he is called on his pager, with Rachel disapproving.
In the next scene, House deduces that Taub spent the night in the hospital, and he admits to it. Taub later talks to Thirteen who advises him to let himself go and enjoy the part of him that wants to have sex with more women.
Cuddy confronts House with a yet unknown detail: that Julia does not have health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
. This leads to the revelation that she and Tom are behind on their premiums, caused by him losing a lot of money, including all of their savings, confirming House's theory that he was somehow betraying her. Julia sends Tom home.
Taub arrives home after staying at work for another night. Rachel says that the part that bothered her the most earlier was not the fact that he had had sex with another woman, but the fact that he had lied so many times to cover it up. She says that she does not want that to happen again, that she loves him and truly believes the he loves her. She allows him to have an affair, with strict limitations, believing that this is her only option if she wants the marriage to stay whole.
The next morning, House immediately deduces what has happened. The team spend some time talking about this. They quickly go back to treating the patient, but continue discussing the issue even while conducting a surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
. Taub claims that he would not mind his wife also having an affair, saying he'd rather be jealous than a liar.
Right after the surgery, Taub gets paged. He goes to the parking lot where a tearful Rachel apologetically takes back what she had said earlier, saying that all she could help but think all day about him being intimate with another woman and wouldn't be able to stand it. Taub reassures her that nothing happened and that all he needs is her, and goes home with her, relinquishing his "license" to date other women.
Thirteen and Julia have another talk. Thirteen reveals to her that Tom has not actually slept with any other woman in the past year, and has lied to her in order to not make her feel bad. This leads to her calling Tom back. He brings flowers, which are from their personal garden. This new bit of information leads to House developing a new theory, Henoch–Schönlein purpura as a result of a bee sting
Bee sting
A bee sting is strictly a sting from a bee . In the vernacular it can mean a sting of a bee, wasp, hornet, or yellow jacket. Some people may even call the bite of a horse-fly a bee sting...
, which proves to be correct.
In parallel to the patient-related plot, Wilson's
James Wilson (House)
James Evan Wilson, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. He is played by Robert Sean Leonard. The character first appears in the show's pilot episode when he introduces a medical case to Dr. Gregory House, the protagonist of the show. Wilson is Dr. House's only true friend,...
relationship to his ex-wife Sam continues to develop. Early in the episode, House points out to Wilson that she has left the milk in the door of the fridge instead of in the main body, something Wilson hates. Later, Wilson observes that there are seemingly quite a lot of tiny details around the house to which Sam does not pay attention (placing dishes in the washer improperly, throwing banana peels in the bedroom trash can). He confronts her regarding this, and they conclude that, while Sam was guilty of some of those things, it was mainly House who made it seem like that. Still, this eventually leads to a much bigger argument wherein they both mention details from their past marriage, and that culminates with Wilson calling Sam "a selfish bitch".
Wilson talks to House and accuses him of ruining his relationship with Sam. House, while telling him that he is sorry, denies that his actions had any effect, claiming that if his tiny disturbances have destroyed the relationship, it would have crumbled anyway. Towards the end of the episode, Wilson and Sam reconcile. They both acknowledge that they have changed in the years since they met. They wish they had this argument many years ago, believing it would have saved their marriage. They agree not to let House know about the effect he has had. He figures it out by himself though, and says "you can thank me later" the next time he sees them. As the episode ends, House is seen glancing over at Sam and Wilson, who are laughing and playing a game of poker, and furtively places the milk back into the door of the fridge.
In the final scene of the episode, Taub encounters Mia in the parking ramp by chance, and assists her in loading a cumbersome box into her trunk. Taub ultimately concedes to his desire for an affair, and is shown kissing Mia and getting in her car to "go somewhere".
Music
The song playing during the ending scene is "The Way That You Want Me" by JudeJude (singer)
Jude , is an American singer and songwriter. His music ranges from acoustic to pop, featuring poetic lyrics, Beatles-esque melodies, and memorable vocals.-History:...
.