In a lot of ways, "Help Me" is a typical season finale for an established series. The stakes are amped up considerably with a dramatic occurrence, in this case a collapsed building, leaving a huge number of wounded who need tending to. This too, is a familiar set up for medical dramas. But "Help Me" ends up being executed so well that even some of the more predictable beats still hit the mark.
Trapped
There were actually two patients in "Help Me;" the crane operator who caused the collapse in the first place, and Hanna (China Shavers), a woman whom House finds in the demolished parking garage with her leg pinned under the rubble. The first patient is fairly unimportant. House suspects that a neurological problem may have caused the operator to lose control (close, it ended up being a spinal infection). But his diagnosis seemed tacked on to give the rest of the team something to do while House dealt with the crisis at the building.
And a powerful crisis it was. House finds Hanna pinned under rubble. When the emergency crew is unable to break down the debris anymore in order to free her, Cuddy says amputation is the best way to get her out. House immediately interjects (obviously seeing similarities to his own plight years ago), and with Hanah taking his side, they put the amputation in hopes to push the debris up with heavy duty airbags.
The airbags fail, however, and cause a secondary collapse which temporarily cause Hanna's lungs to collapse. With time running out, House finally gives in and helps convince Hanna to let them amputate. The amputation itself goes well, but as they are transporting her to the hospital via ambulance, they find she has a fat embolism from the surgery. With nothing House can do to stop it, Hannah dies before reaching the hospital.
House Collapsing
As stated above, the action could be considered run of the mill for a medical drama. But the emotional level of "Help Me" allowed it to rise above the potentially cliche plot line. Much of it had to do with House and Cuddy. While their will-they-won't-they relationship has been a problem in other episodes, it worked here. House finds out that Cuddy and Lucas are engaged right before Cuddy brings up amputation, which also factors into his decision to try and save Hanna's leg. Cuddy, seeing House is trying to use Hannah to get back at her, berates him for doing so, and goes so far as to say that both she and Wilson are moving on with their lives, while House has no one and nothing.
Hanna's death also rattles House, as he connected with her in a way that he always avoids with his other patients. Blowing up at Foreman's attempt to reassure him it wasn't his fault (which to House makes it worse), he returns home in a zombie state and rips his bathroom mirror of the wall, revealing a hidden stash of Vicodin. Before he can take it, however, Cuddy appears (not a hallucination this time). She tells House she broke things off with Lucas, and asks him if he really thinks they could work. He answers her by dropping the Vicodin and kissing her.
Emotional Depth
"Help Me" was a solid episode, with a fast pace and strong performances all around. The scenes with House and Hanna were particularly moving, if not too on the nose in terms of her being a reflection of House.
And perhaps it was because of the strong performances, but the tension between House and Cuddy did not come across nearly as clunky as it has in past episodes. And while this writer has never been a fan of them getting together, now that it finally has happened perhaps the show can move past the will-they-won't-they awkwardness, and focus on the other possibilities that could be mined from the situation. Mostly, it works because of how the season has built up to this moment, asking whether or not House can change or be happy. It's been a long journey, but the question, it seems, has finally been answered (at least until next season).
Grade: A-
Timothy Gaydos - I attended Ohio University for four years, studying Video Production and Film, earning a BA in Science and Communications from the Scripps ...
