House 1-12, and the definition of the woobie-fied character

[timepiececlock]

Now up to "Sports Medicine", minus episode 8 (all the links for episode 1.8 on the episode comm aren't working for me). So far, I am delighted. It's a surprisingly easy show to watch-- it's got seriousness, but it's not terribly heavy. Since medical dramas aren't my usual cuppa, the light-hearted-ness is a good thing.

As is wont with a new show, I am pondering ship possibilities. So far, mixed reactions. On the one hand, I love everyone with the relationships they have right now. I like the college kids to cranky professor/uncle relationship between House and his staff, and I like the snappy, slightly USTific professionalism between House and Cutty. I definitely don't want the trio to sleep together, or any of them to sleep with anyone else. I want the other guy (whatshisface from Dead Poets Society) to be happy, but I don't think he'd be happy with any of them.

I love how everyone's friends. I love Whatshisface's friendship with House and I don't want it to go slashy at all the same way I don't want any of the professional relationships to go romantic or sexual (het or slash). They're all so awesome as they are... which makes this about as close to noromo that I've come for a series for a long time.

On the other hand, there are possibilities. Whatshername/House could go from this weird father/daughter thing to an illicit younger woman/older man affair, which might be hot under the right circumstances. I think she's certainly mildly attracted to him, and he's admitted he finds her hot (though I don't believe he really hired her because she was pretty--- that's too boring.)

I could also ship House with Cutty, because let's face it, they've got a bit of a thing.

On the other hand... why muck up these perfect working dynamics with romantic entanglements? That'd be a shame, from an academic/ingellicencia standpoint.

Also, there's the fact that House is a downhill rolling stone of pain and misery that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Addicts? Not so fun to be in a relationship with when you're sober.

Still, House is a woobie inside and part of me wants him to have healthy relationships and be happy.


I want a crossover where he meets the mean doctor from Scrubs. The one who jerks the main character around but manages to be the coolest person on the show. Haven't watched that series enough to remember his name, though. But you know who I mean! The tall one. He and Dr. House are, like, bedside manner soulmates.


EDIT: I recently tried to explain the term "woobie" to my housemate. It involved references to Fox Mulder (ultimate woobie), and the deeply-deeply buried woobieness in Christian from Nip/Tuck, and some comparison to "emo" (her comparison, not mine, but I worked with it.) So, to you guys: What's the simplest and clearest definition of "woobie"?

EDIT 2: Have clarified for housemate using mswyrr's useful definition:
A woobie is someone who's been wounded and is vulnerable because of it, even if only way down deep inside

Comments

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

Whatshisface = Dr. James Wilson. :)

[mswyrr]

On the other hand, there are possibilities. Whatshername/House could go from this weird father/daughter thing to an illicit younger woman/older man affair, which might be hot under the right circumstances. I think she's certainly mildly attracted to him, and he's admitted he finds her hot (though I don't believe he really hired her because she was pretty--- that's too boring.)

I have some good Cameron/House fic recs, if you want them. They were mostly written after later episodes, so they'd be spoilery for you right now, but if you want them after you've seen past, say, ep 1x20, they're yours.

Also, there's the fact that House is a downhill rolling stone of pain and misery that I wouldn't wish on anyone. Addicts? Not so fun to be in a relationship with when you're sober.

Still, House is a woobie inside and part of me wants him to have healthy relationships and be happy.

In canon, the man is poison, imho. But I think fanon can tweak things just enough to write stories that can satisfy the desire to see him, if not happy, at least reasonably content. At least, that's what I'm trying to do. It's damn hard, though.

What's the simplest and clearest definition of "woobie"?

A woobie is someone who's been wounded and is vulnerable because of it, even if only way down deep inside.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

A woobie is someone who's been wounded and is vulnerable because of it, even if only way down deep inside.

That's perfect! I told my housemate that definition, and she instantly understood, like a light going off. Then we had various dicussions to compare and clarify (like how Mal is a woobie whereas Jayne is the complete opposite of a woobie). We even went a bit into discussion of how to conjugate it: "to woobify"/"woobified" as the verb for becoming a "woobie."

I was going to give her an example of Doctor Who for how a character can be "woobified" in the middle of canon instead of having it be part of his pre-series existing characterization, but I didn't get a chance to get the explanation out as she swore that if I so much as said a thing she'd never watch the DVD of episodes I'd given her to try. So I held my tongue, and she'll watch the first two episodes together sometime by or during spring break.

We've now settled on "wounded and vulnerable b/c of it" and "secret inner man pain" to specify the fact that a woobie is always a man. I'm not sure why it's always a man, except that that seems to be the case.

In canon, the man is poison, imho. But I think fanon can tweak things just enough to write stories that can satisfy the desire to see him, if not happy, at least reasonably content.

That sounds good. I agree-- he would be a poison in canon. But I don't mind a bit of tweaking for the sake of fic.

I have some good Cameron/House fic recs, if you want them. They were mostly written after later episodes, so they'd be spoilery for you right now, but if you want them after you've seen past, say, ep 1x20, they're yours.

I'll take them! I'm up to 1.13, about to watch 14. Do you have episode 8 by any chance?

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I brought up Big from Sex & The City as an example of a male character who's not a woobie, and though she disagreed at first, we eventually settled on the fact that he might have been vulnerable at times but as far as we know he wasn't wounded in the deeper specific sense.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I had to explain why Mulder was the poster boy of woobies, but only b/c she hadn't seen that much of the X Files in order enough to get a continuous detailed sense of his character.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Yup, that's the one! Like the volley ball.

[flouritephoenix.livejournal.com]

Whereas on Sex & the City, Aidan is a woobie.

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

Now that I've managed to catch up with at least two episodes, I can comment on some of your comments. :)

I agree with you about not bringing romantic ties into the dynamics. As you'll see in the eps you're coming up on, it started to border on soap operatic. Once they back away from it again, it improves the quality of the show. I hate it when you have a show about one thing, and they change the focus.

House is basically Sherlock Holmes if he were a doctor. If the writers want to expand on the characters in ways that flesh them out, great. Focusing on a romance when the show isn't exactly ABOUT that, it kills it. That's why Homicide started to tank in the fifth season. The focus turned away from cops and cases and onto cops' personal lives.

I like all of the characters on the show on some level. For most of the first season, I couldn't stand Chase. I hated Cameron with a fervent passion until a couple of episodes into the current one.

I tend to identify quite a bit with House, which is why he is my favorite character, not just because he verbally assaults everyone around him, so I understand where he's coming from. Most of that empathy contributed to my annoyance with Cameron in later season one eps. I may not have had an infarction in my leg, leaving me lame, but I know what kind of headspace he's in where other people are concerned.

I love Foreman because he is on par with House and doesn't take his shit.

Cuddy is pure love because she's the same way.

I'm dying for more background on Wilson/House's friendship.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I thought about that, and my only guess was that Carrie woobified him by not marrying him and a terribly heartbreaking breakup. But S&tC is not my strongest canon-knowledge show (watched it erratically), so I'm not sure if that's it, or if there's other deep inner woundedness he has that you are referring to?

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

"Everyone likes you."
"Do you?" ... "I have to know."

Okay, that was kinda hot. I could be on board with this pairing.

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

Carrie cheated on him with Big, he found out. I don't know that Aiden was very secretive about his hurt. He was that guy. You know, the one who LIKED talking about his feelings and being in touch with his inner-selfness.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I also love that Foreman doesn't take House's shit nearly as much as the other two. He trusts House but also checks up on him because he's skeptical of trusting that any person can be right all the time, every time. That's an attitude I'd like to encourage in doctors & their ilk.

I like all of the characters on the show on some level. For most of the first season, I couldn't stand Chase. I hated Cameron with a fervent passion until a couple of episodes into the current one.

I'm taking the longest to bond with Chase's character, though I'm not sure that there's anything specific I don't like about him. Except possibly that he's boring, as a tv character? He's a whitebread upper-society lapsed-Catholic male who's well-educated and intelligent and distanced from his father and who seems a relatively nice Ken doll who'll probably grow up to be a wealthy man who votes conservative. Blegh.

I don't really empathize with House's "Hell is other people" ideology, because I for the most part like other people, but I do empathize heavily with his practical and straightforward way of looking at people. I guess the difference is that he assumes people are lying from the get-go and works from there; I take people at exactly their word and go from there, and though I don't assume that they're telling the truth I figure I'll operate under that assumption till proven otherwise or they tell me otherwise. Maybe that means I'll be like him in 20 years after my idealism wears off. Though not as genius, unfortunately. Or fortunately, perhaps--- he geniusness certainly hasn't made him any happier.

Cuddy I like, though at this point we don't know anything about her personally, so I really just like how we see her operating as a boss. She always looks busy and capable and, though she does allow House too many eccentricities, she's not afraid to call him to task on the big stuff. Actually, she and Wilson work very well together (or at least in separate synchronization) as two forces pulling House unwillingly along the path of...um... I want to say improvement but that's not the right word. How to say it... Ah! ---pulling House away from self-destructiveness and keeping him in line.

[flouritephoenix.livejournal.com]

You know, I don't think we learned of any, but that doesn't mean there wasn't one. He seemed to exude wounded woobiness from the get go. And it's not the actor, because as much as Chris-in-the-Morning had gone through in his life, he never struck me as a woobie.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

By the random way, the music for this series is really good. I've noticed that a few times--- I usually really like their choices for end-of-episode songs

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

I'm taking the longest to bond with Chase's character, though I'm not sure that there's anything specific I don't like about him. Except possibly that he's boring, as a tv character? He's a whitebread upper-society lapsed-Catholic male who's well-educated and intelligent and distanced from his father and who seems a relatively nice Ken doll who'll probably grow up to be a wealthy man who votes conservative. Blegh.

Chase has a pretty good character-building episode in the second season. He and Cameron are the two characters I like the least, but they're gradually growing on me. The guy has his own disdain for people, which you'll notice at various points throughout the series, which stems from the fact he really doesn't want to be a doctor. He's been better about things this season, but they've been focusing more on House because of a particular arc with his character that ended in last week's episode.

I don't really empathize with House's "Hell is other people" ideology, because I for the most part like other people,

Actually, that's not how I see House at all. Not so much "Hell is other people" but "other people are Hell".

In my mind, House's theme song is "I Am A Rock" by Simon & Garfunkel. This passage is probably the most relevant:

"I’ve built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain.
It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.."

They haven't shown too much of House before the infarction or even discussed him so much, but there's definitely something in his past, that goes beyond Stacey, which has caused him to shut other people out. I would say that Stacey is the first he's let get so close to him in years, then it tanked on him, but that was mostly his fault to begin with. Now, he's back to being closed off. The best way to avoid pain from other people is to avoid people altogether. I even wonder exactly how close he is with Wilson. Which is why I'd like to know more about their history together.

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

So do I. I love that they use Massive Attack's "Teardrop" as the theme song.

"Love, love is a verb
Love is a doing word ..."

Of course, they never get that far into the song where you hear the actual lyrics.

[mswyrr]

Love among the socially inept -- he can't admit anything unless it's couched in misdirection("everybody likes you" was a big step for him, imho), and she's so giddy she jumps ahead asking for wayyyyy more than he can give-- so endearing.

*huggles socially intept little geeks*

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Actually, that's not how I see House at all. Not so much "Hell is other people" but "other people are Hell".

You'll have to elaborate on that one. I read those two statements as the same.

I'm afraid this Stacey talk is beyond me. I'm still middle of the first season. Up through episode 14 now.

[donna-c-punk.livejournal.com]

I think I meant to write "other people create Hell". I shouldn't be trying to post at this hour of the day. :/

Stacey shows up near the end of season one. You see a side of House that he hasn't exposed when she's in the picture.

[mswyrr]

That's perfect! I told my housemate that definition, and she instantly understood, like a light going off. Then we had various dicussions to compare and clarify (like how Mal is a woobie whereas Jayne is the complete opposite of a woobie).

Jayne is an interesting case. He may have wounds, but you're right, he's no woobie. Would a storyline that revealed his inner pain have woobified(thanks for the conjugation!) him, or was it his particular way of dealing with things that kept him from woobidom?

*peers over half-moon glasses* The deeper sociological question being: do woobies react to their suffering in ways unique to their subspecies? ;)

Personally, I think woobidom requires a glimmer of kindness. The hint that what the woobie really wants is to reach out, loved & be loved. In House, it's much more discreet, whereas in someone like the Doctor, it's the yawning gulf of need and caring and a fierce hope in people(*takes a moment to hug the Doctor*), but in both cases, it's definitely there.


We've now settled on "wounded and vulnerable b/c of it" and "secret inner man pain" to specify the fact that a woobie is always a man. I'm not sure why it's always a man, except that that seems to be the case.

Hmm. *strokes chin* I the vague notion that the vulnerable male figure woobie is a byproduct of gendered socialization in a patriarchy--i.e. men are expected to be strong, and emotionally detached, so attachment and vulnerability take on the significance of a Victorian lady sliding a white glove off her pale wrist--but no proof.

Do you have episode 8 by any chance?

Sure. I'll upload it tomorrow.

[mswyrr]

*love & be loved

[mswyrr]

*woobiedom

*And, er, my vague notion was that the *attraction* of the woobie is some kink of gendered socialization. (Finally, something to thank oppressive gender expectations for!) For some reason, words have started disappearing from my sentences. I reckon they're off to join the matchless socks and keychains and suchlike. :)

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

Hmm. *strokes chin* I the vague notion that the vulnerable male figure woobie is a byproduct of gendered socialization in a patriarchy--i.e. men are expected to be strong, and emotionally detached, so attachment and vulnerability take on the significance of a Victorian lady sliding a white glove off her pale wrist--but no proof.

*And, er, my vague notion was that the *attraction* of the woobie is some kink of gendered socialization.

The back of my brain was whispering something like that, but I didn't want to think too hard. I'll go with your theory, since you put it so nicely.

Sure. I'll upload it tomorrow.

Arigatou!


Jayne is an interesting case. He may have wounds, but you're right, he's no woobie. Would a storyline that revealed his inner pain have woobified(thanks for the conjugation!) him, or was it his particular way of dealing with things that kept him from woobidom?

*peers over half-moon glasses* The deeper sociological question being: do woobies react to their suffering in ways unique to their subspecies? ;)

::pushes glasses up like Giles:: Hm... The answer to your inquiry is affirmative, I believe. Not only must there be a deep wound in the woobie's canonical history, but there must be a continued vulnerability of character somehow tied to the damage, or it will not induce woobiedom. Be it excessive brooding, sarcastic humor as a self-defense mechanism, emotional self-ostracism, or other forms of coping behavior, it must be somehow evident in the subject if he is to be properly judged a woobie. As my housemate pointed out, Captain Reynolds fits the definition of woobieism with his deep emotional trauma (war, religious disenchantment), but he almost escapes woobiedom by the mere fact that he's busy all the time running around shooting people and kicking thugs into jet engines instead of brooding.

Personally, I think woobidom requires a glimmer of kindness.

I concurr. I definitely concurr. I also like your analysis of the two doctors.

a final thought before bed...

[mswyrr]

Taking a moment to be silly. A woobie is a lot like a unicorn, in a way. A furtive, majestic creature that is hunted and wounded by the loss of its kin, and unlikely to trust, but that possesses marvelous qualities that make a young lady willing to go to much trouble to draw them out. Only I think woobies are much better. I mean, I've wanted Mr. Darcy to lay his weary, noble, orphaned head on my lap for *years*. Horned equines somewhat pale in comparison. :)

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

For some reason, words have started disappearing from my sentences. I reckon they're off to join the matchless socks and keychains and suchlike.

I really like how you said that. metaquotes time!

[mswyrr]

*jaw drops*

No way!

*clicks link*

Duude. Wow. My very own half-second of fame! *dances* Thank you! :)