Remorse (House)
Encyclopedia
"Remorse" is the twelfth episode of the sixth season of House
. It aired on January 25, 2010.
), an attractive business consultant experiencing intermittent episodes of excruciating ear pain. House is intrigued by the fact that she is beautiful while her husband is not and agrees to take the case.
The team establishes the fact that her ear pain was caused by super ventricular tachycardia. While treating her, the men on the team are charmed by Valerie's beauty and personality, with only Thirteen looking beyond the superficial and trying to discover a link to her illness. Thirteen finds out the missing link by spending half an hour asking Valerie about what she loves and hates during an fMRI. During this test, Valerie's brain bypasses the emotional centers and she uses the language sections of the brain to answer the questions. It shows that Valerie is, in fact, a psychopath. After hearing this analysis, House is even more fascinated by Valerie. Valerie admits she drugged her co-worker with Valium to get him fired. She had been sleeping with him every Thursday; in exchange she got credit for his best work. She claims she is the same as other people except she can admit it to herself. Valerie develops brittle bones, and her arm breaks just from Thirteen turning her arm over. Tests show this is caused by kidney failure.
Throughout the differentials, Thirteen and Foreman continuously bicker even after the team has settled on a diagnosis. House tells them to "have sex, quit or fight" as he is tired of their pointless bickering.
After some questioning from Thirteen, Valerie's husband finds out she was not attending landscaping classes on Thursdays as she claimed. Valerie threatens Thirteen with legal action if Thirteen blabs her secret. Cuddy removes Thirteen from all patient contact for her own sake whereupon Valerie accuses Thirteen of sexual harassment
to the Medical Board. Thirteen storms into Valerie's room and yells at her, but Foreman takes her into another room to talk to her. He tells her that either Valerie complained anonymously, in which case it would go away eventually, or she complained under her real name, in which case the team would back Thirteen up and it would go away. He tells her to calm down. He also apologizes for firing, and says he hopes they can work together again. Then he is paged because Valerie develops problems with her liver, causing blood to back up into her esophagus. Taub thinks it's primary hepatic fibrosis, so the team starts her on steroids.
Thirteen confronts Valerie's sister who has come to the hospital to test for an organ transplant match and asks why she is helping her sister when she's so manipulative. Valerie's sister informs Thirteen that as children, Valerie protected her elder sister from their drunken abusive father and it was only as she hit puberty that she started experiencing psychopathy
. This leads Thirteen to realize that Valerie must have Wilson's disease
, which she discusses with House. In Wilson's disease, copper accumulates in brain, liver and heart, leading to Valerie's symptoms. This is confirmed by looking at her fingernails, these having turned blue from copper deposits. She is started on chelation therapy
to remove the excess copper
.
After treatment, Valerie insults her husband, saying that he is pathetic for still loving her, even after learning what she is. The husband, distraught, leaves the hospital. Thirteen reasons that Valerie would not have done that if she was still a psychopath. The treatment has cured her psychopathy, and she begins to feel emotions again. When Thirteen asks her what she feels, she replies that she does not know, but it hurts. Thirteen replies by saying that it will.
House also uncharacteristically attempts to alleviate his conscience by reaching out to Wibberly (Ray Abruzzo
), a former medical school colleague he wronged; the two were taking the same class at medical school, and House exchanged the paper he was submitting for a class with one Wibberly had written. House claims he was just testing a hypothesis that the professor would give him a bad grade regardless of the content of the paper. Much to his surprise, he got an A for the paper. Wibberly tells House that the failing grade he received for House's paper led to him dropping out of medical school, and that he is now working as a bagger at a grocery store, and has to sell his home to pay for his father's medical bills.
House offers Wibberly a cheque to get him back on his feet, which is when Wibberly reveals that he did not drop out of medical school; his present circumstances are the result of a gambling addiction — and he had actually got an A+ with House's paper submitted in his name. House drops the cheque in Wibberly's mailbox at the end of the episode anyway. Wilson
points out that House has chosen to apologize to Wibberly because he has not seen him for years, much easier than saying sorry to himself or Cuddy.
At the end of the episode, Thirteen enters the office to find Foreman trying to decipher Taub's writing for Valerie's discharge summary. The two appear to get along much better, and Thirteen reads what Taub's written while Foreman types. While he's typing, Thirteen looks at him with a much softer expression than what she'd had before. House heads for Cuddy's office and stops in front of the door, clearly plucking up the courage to apologize, but then he spots Lucas and sees him and Cuddy happily looking at something on their laptop. House turns around and leaves.
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...
. It aired on January 25, 2010.
Plot
The team takes on the case of 27-year-old Valerie (Beau GarrettBeau Garrett
Beau Jesse Garrett is an American actress and model.-Career:She was first hired by GUESS in the late 1990s. She is currently a spokesmodel for Revlon cosmetics, along with Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Connelly and Jessica Alba, and has also modeled for Double D Ranch and CosmoGirl...
), an attractive business consultant experiencing intermittent episodes of excruciating ear pain. House is intrigued by the fact that she is beautiful while her husband is not and agrees to take the case.
The team establishes the fact that her ear pain was caused by super ventricular tachycardia. While treating her, the men on the team are charmed by Valerie's beauty and personality, with only Thirteen looking beyond the superficial and trying to discover a link to her illness. Thirteen finds out the missing link by spending half an hour asking Valerie about what she loves and hates during an fMRI. During this test, Valerie's brain bypasses the emotional centers and she uses the language sections of the brain to answer the questions. It shows that Valerie is, in fact, a psychopath. After hearing this analysis, House is even more fascinated by Valerie. Valerie admits she drugged her co-worker with Valium to get him fired. She had been sleeping with him every Thursday; in exchange she got credit for his best work. She claims she is the same as other people except she can admit it to herself. Valerie develops brittle bones, and her arm breaks just from Thirteen turning her arm over. Tests show this is caused by kidney failure.
Throughout the differentials, Thirteen and Foreman continuously bicker even after the team has settled on a diagnosis. House tells them to "have sex, quit or fight" as he is tired of their pointless bickering.
After some questioning from Thirteen, Valerie's husband finds out she was not attending landscaping classes on Thursdays as she claimed. Valerie threatens Thirteen with legal action if Thirteen blabs her secret. Cuddy removes Thirteen from all patient contact for her own sake whereupon Valerie accuses Thirteen of sexual harassment
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
to the Medical Board. Thirteen storms into Valerie's room and yells at her, but Foreman takes her into another room to talk to her. He tells her that either Valerie complained anonymously, in which case it would go away eventually, or she complained under her real name, in which case the team would back Thirteen up and it would go away. He tells her to calm down. He also apologizes for firing, and says he hopes they can work together again. Then he is paged because Valerie develops problems with her liver, causing blood to back up into her esophagus. Taub thinks it's primary hepatic fibrosis, so the team starts her on steroids.
Thirteen confronts Valerie's sister who has come to the hospital to test for an organ transplant match and asks why she is helping her sister when she's so manipulative. Valerie's sister informs Thirteen that as children, Valerie protected her elder sister from their drunken abusive father and it was only as she hit puberty that she started experiencing psychopathy
Psychopathy
Psychopathy is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, and are very disproportionately responsible for violent crime...
. This leads Thirteen to realize that Valerie must have Wilson's disease
Wilson's disease
Wilson's disease or hepatolenticular degeneration is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder in which copper accumulates in tissues; this manifests as neurological or psychiatric symptoms and liver disease...
, which she discusses with House. In Wilson's disease, copper accumulates in brain, liver and heart, leading to Valerie's symptoms. This is confirmed by looking at her fingernails, these having turned blue from copper deposits. She is started on chelation therapy
Chelation therapy
Chelation therapy is the administration of chelating agents to remove heavy metals from the body. For the most common forms of heavy metal intoxication—those involving lead, arsenic or mercury—the standard of care in the United States dictates the use of dimercaptosuccinic acid...
to remove the excess copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
.
After treatment, Valerie insults her husband, saying that he is pathetic for still loving her, even after learning what she is. The husband, distraught, leaves the hospital. Thirteen reasons that Valerie would not have done that if she was still a psychopath. The treatment has cured her psychopathy, and she begins to feel emotions again. When Thirteen asks her what she feels, she replies that she does not know, but it hurts. Thirteen replies by saying that it will.
House also uncharacteristically attempts to alleviate his conscience by reaching out to Wibberly (Ray Abruzzo
Ray Abruzzo
Ray Abruzzo is an Italian-American actor, noted for his appearances on television.He made regular appearances in the following series: Dynasty , The Practice and The Sopranos .Other TV credits include: Falcon Crest, Murder She Wrote, L.A...
), a former medical school colleague he wronged; the two were taking the same class at medical school, and House exchanged the paper he was submitting for a class with one Wibberly had written. House claims he was just testing a hypothesis that the professor would give him a bad grade regardless of the content of the paper. Much to his surprise, he got an A for the paper. Wibberly tells House that the failing grade he received for House's paper led to him dropping out of medical school, and that he is now working as a bagger at a grocery store, and has to sell his home to pay for his father's medical bills.
House offers Wibberly a cheque to get him back on his feet, which is when Wibberly reveals that he did not drop out of medical school; his present circumstances are the result of a gambling addiction — and he had actually got an A+ with House's paper submitted in his name. House drops the cheque in Wibberly's mailbox at the end of the episode anyway. Wilson
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,...
points out that House has chosen to apologize to Wibberly because he has not seen him for years, much easier than saying sorry to himself or Cuddy.
At the end of the episode, Thirteen enters the office to find Foreman trying to decipher Taub's writing for Valerie's discharge summary. The two appear to get along much better, and Thirteen reads what Taub's written while Foreman types. While he's typing, Thirteen looks at him with a much softer expression than what she'd had before. House heads for Cuddy's office and stops in front of the door, clearly plucking up the courage to apologize, but then he spots Lucas and sees him and Cuddy happily looking at something on their laptop. House turns around and leaves.