Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Okay, hear me out on this...

***Spoiler Alert for House, M.D. episode on May 3, "The Choice"***

The patient on last night's episode of House, M.D. was a "formerly gay" man who collapsed at the altar on his wedding day. Turns out that the electroshock therapy he received to "cure" him of his sexual orientation exacerbated a congenital malformation in his brain. At the end of the episode, he still chose to reject his ex-boyfriend and try to stay with his fiancee - who immediately dropped him like a hot potato.

"Actually, let's just be friends."

The plot brings up some interesting points about sexuality, and I thought it was well done overall. Plus, it gives me the perfect excuse to talk about House's sexuality and make you all uncomfortable by mentioning the HoYay in this show XD For those not familiar with the term "HoYay," here's my fave definition from Urban Dictionary:
Noun, abbreviated from 'Homoeroticism, Yay!' ... used to describe a homoerotic or homoromantic subtext between two characters, generally on a television show. Where one sees HoYay is, of course, extremely subjective, though in some cases it can be canon (as in the episode of Angel wherein Spike says 'Angel and I were never intimate... apart from that one time.').
I'll just put it out there - House/Wilson = OTP (fandom term meaning that they belong together). You could argue that House is based off Sherlock Holmes who, for all intents and purposes, is asexual (Irene Alder aside, he never looked twice at anything - man, woman, vegetable or mineral). Wilson is his devoted Dr. Watson - sidekick, confidant, and friend. They're really just the same old partners in crime-solving, updated for the modern era. And you'd be right... mostly. But I think the creative team realizes that some level of sexual tension between these two characters is not a bad thing. There is both subtext and overt references to House and Wilson being in a relationship. And fangirls everywhere tune in specifically for these little moments of HoYay.

When they moved in together,
a resounding "squee" could be heard across the land.

Do I think they'll ever become a couple? Not a chance. But that's not what HoYay is about. Anyone who wants a show about gay characters in gay relationships can watch Queer as Folk. Half the fun of HoYay, IMHO, is that it's a little subversive. House and Wilson are straight and, like the "formerly gay" patient, they can't really choose to be otherwise. But it's fun (for some) to pretend they are secretly in love with each other. HoYay keeps the fanbase strong.

Also, musical numbers happen. Awesome!

2 comments:

Maggie Cats said...

The karaoke scene was THE reason to watch that episode, IMO. What with the episode concerning "open marriages" last week, House certainly seems to be exploring some interesting relationship questions recently. I wonder what Dan Savage would say...

Also, I love how the producers and writers are so aware of the HoYay on this show and take every opportunity to feed the fire. Hilarious.

Monkey Sri said...

The karaoke was ADORABLE. At the end I was like, "awwww, House and Foreman and Chase are BESTIES!"