Simple Explanation
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| House episode | |||||||
| "Simple Explanation" | |||||||
| Episode no. | HOU-520 | ||||||
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| Airdate | April 6, 2009 | ||||||
| Writer(s) | Leonard Dick | ||||||
| Director(s) | Greg Yaitanes | ||||||
| Guest star(s) | Colleen Camp (Charlotte) Meat Loaf (Eddie) Ed Brigadier (Mr. Kutner) Mary Jo Deschanel (Mrs. Kutner) |
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| Final diagnosis | Leishmaniasis (Charlotte) Blastomycosis (Eddie) |
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"Simple Explanation" is the twentieth episode of the fifth season of House. It first aired on April 6, 2009. and features a guest appearance by Meat Loaf.
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[edit] Plot summary
As Eddie Novack (Meat Loaf) lies on his deathbed, his wife Charlotte is stricken with respiratory failure. The team takes Charlotte's case and wheels Eddie into her room, as he seems to gain strength when he sees her suffering. Unusually, Kutner does not show up for work, and House dispatches Thirteen and Foreman to check his apartment.
Thirteen finds Kutner's body; he had committed suicide. The team must then try to save Charlotte while struggling to make sense of Kutner's death.
[edit] Kutner's death
Kutner's suicide was scripted due to actor Kal Penn's decision to accept the position of Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison in President Barack Obama's administration.[1]
Kutner leaves no explanation for his suicide, leading House to believe it was foul play. It was later confirmed by the show's staff to have been a suicide.
Kutner had previously described himself (in "Painless") as exactly the sort of person who would not commit suicide: whereas Taub was having marital difficulties and Thirteen had an illness that would eventually kill her, his life was difficult from the start and things could only get better.
[edit] Critical reception
Leading up to the premiere of "Simple Explanation", Fox aired commercials suggesting that the episode would contain a major event, calling the episode, "beyond words".[2] Kutner's death was criticized in The Star-Ledger, with columnist Alan Sepinwall arguing that the death was pointless, and seemingly written only to create a "Very Special Episode."[3] The A. V. Club praised the episode for its surprising twist, but also claimed that the sudden death of a major character for no discernible reason was "a dramatic cheap shot".[4] However, Entertainment Weekly commended the show's handling of the death, believing that it was presented in a dramatically effective and realistic manner.[5]
[edit] Music
"Lose You" by Pete Yorn, played at the end of the episode.
[edit] Allusions and references
- CSI: Miami. While discussing Kutner's death House asks Cameron, "Did you deduce that by taking off your sunglasses to the strains of a Who song?" House is referring to the Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" which is the theme song of CSI: Miami. A typical episode of CSI: Miami starts with Lt. Horatio Caine arriving at a murder scene where he examines a body and then, while taking his sunglasses off, he delivers the punchline that cues the opening theme.
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Meat Loaf's character in The Rocky Horror Picture Show is also called Eddie.
[edit] References
- ^ 'House' exclusive: The shocking story behind last night's big death
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (2009-04-06), An important message about tonight's 'House', Entertainment Weekly, http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/04/an-important-me.html, retrieved 2009-04-06
- ^ Sepinwall, Alan (2009-04-06), House, "Simple Explanation": A shocking episode, The Star-Ledger, http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/04/house_simple_explanation_a_sho.html, retrieved 2009-04-06
- ^ Handlen, Zack (2009-04-06), "Simple Explanation", The A. V. Club, http://www.avclub.com/articles/simple-explanation,26277/, retrieved 2009-04-06
- ^ Tucker, Ken (2009-04-06), "Simple Explanation", Entertainment Weekly, http://watching-tv.ew.com/2009/04/house-kal-penn.html?iid=top25-%27House%27%3A+Suicide+is+painful/, retrieved 2009-04-06
[edit] External links
- "Simple Explanation" at the Internet Movie Database
- "Simple Explanation" at the House M.D. Guide
- Medical review of "Simple Explanation"
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