I’ve been clamoring for House to change its direction all season. My dissent has been fairly quiet over the last few weeks as House reminded me that good writing and acting can make a repetitive formula into something worth watching.  This week that was made even more clear.

Kal Penn, who plays Dr. Kutner has taken a job in the Obama White House. That’s not a joke or a typo, he’s joining the Obama administration in the office of public liaison. Thus a speedy exit needed to be made for the loved Dr Kutner. House chose to something messy and unexpected. Dr Kutner commits suicide in the first ten minutes.

At the same time a dieing man (played by Meatloaf *sigh*) and his suddenly dieing wife are admitted. When her condition worsens, his improves. Rather than work on his grief, Taub decides to throw his entire energy into the patient. House, clearly rattled, decides to treat Kutner’s suicide just like he would any other mysterious case. He flails, looking for reasons for the suicide, even going so far as to insinuate that it was a murder. Each of the cast deals with it in their own way.

During all the pain and psychobabble being thrown around, a couple is slowly dieing. The husband has been resigned to his fate for some time. In his last days, it appears as though he regrets all the times he ignored his dutiful wife in their marriage. Her illness is killing her liver and she’ll need a new one to survive. The husband volunteers to donate his liver to save her even though it will certainly kill him. It makes sense until its discovered that the husband isn’t actually terminal. He has a curable illness, but sadly, the wife’s condition is too far gone.

Its never made clear why Kutner kills himself and that’s a powerful message in itself. Suicide is often unclear and it makes sense to throw Kutner’s suicide up as a reminder of the fragility of the psyche. It was terribly sad to see him go, but it could be a catalyst for real change. How the show handles the ripples of the suicide could remake it and remind us why we fell in love to begin with.