Awarded To: The best episode in a drama series from June 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010
Last Year's Winner: no award
Place. Character (Show) Points (My Vote)
5. 'Do You Know What It Means' (Treme) 4 points
4. 'Mia Culpa' (Californication) 5 points (2nd)
3. 'The Son' (Friday Night Lights) 10 points (3rd)
Runner-Up
2. 'Shut the Door. Have a Seat' (Mad Men) 12 points (1st)
and the Poolie goes to...
1. 'Broken' (House, MD) 15 points
The season finale of the fifth season of House was a doozy. House experienced a drug induced break from reality and constructed a fantasy where he and Cuddy finally consummated their relationship. Reality was much bleaker, the good doctor had reached the lowest of lows, and was committed to Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital for treatment.
This could have been a game changer, but House is the kind of show that discourages drifts from its formulaic procedural core. Instead, the "House goes crazy" storyline was resolved fairly quickly and thrust into the background for most of season six. Where it was dealt with most effectively was in the season six premiere, Broken - a double episode that played like a movie.
Broken, which owed a tremendous debt to One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, saw House in a novel and intriguing context. Instead of a villainous Nurse Ratched antagonist, House squared off against Dr Nolan, a decent doctor that was looking out for his best interests. House didn’t take kindly to Dr Nolan’s authority and tried to undermine him at every step. He recruited his motor-mouthed roommate Alvie and love interest Lydia, as co-conspirators. Things changed after House was responsible for the injury of Stevie, a patient who was emboldened by a wind tunnel carnival ride to leap into flight but instead leapt into concrete.
Feeling guilty, House decided to give treatment a chance. He bonded with his peers, had a fling with the married Lydia and was there for Dr Nolan during his dying father’s final days. House seemed to not only have made progress with his recovery but also seemed to have made strides as a person. Nolan granted House leave and medical board recommendation following his heartbreak over Lydia’s choice to stay with her husband. In his heartbreak, he had shown Nolan that he was able to connect with people. House left the hospital on the bus with a rare smile of peace and contentment on his face.
The episode had its good and bad beats. On the good side, the Lydia/House relationship was believable and bolstered by good chemistry. Lydia’s choice came off as authentically difficult and House’s reaction of pain rang equally true. It was also a worthy respite from the Huddy relationship, which seems less and less realistic or interesting as time goes on. The characters of Dr Nolan and Alvie were also strong, providing pathos and humor, respectively. On the weaker end was the deus ex machina of the music box. A patient was catapulted out of her catatonia by a random artifact. It was overly sentimental and stupid. It was also a little abrupt for House to be cleared for duty so soon after his breakdown. Nonetheless, this was a standout entry in an over the hill (132 episodes and no end in sight) procedural that has seen better days.
by Jonathan Stuart
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