THIRTEEN: I heard there might be an opening in the ER.
CAMERON: Foreman's a neurologist. That's not where he —
THIRTEEN: I did an ER rotation in Miami. If I can find another position, I figure House will rehire Foreman.
CHASE: Don't quit.
THIRTEEN: Cuddy wouldn't give Foreman a recommendation. He's not gonna be able to find a decent job.
CHASE: Foreman shouldn't leave either.
CAMERON: You think they should split up?
CHASE: Office romances are a bad idea. [off cameron's look:] We beat some very long odds.
CAMERON: Wow, why don't you save the gushy stuff for the wedding? [to thirteen:] House is playing with you. If you let him get away with it, he's not gonna respect you anyway.
CHASE: Or House is helping you. He knows it probably won't work out. And he's actually doing you a favor.
CAMERON: Yeah, that sounds a lot more like House. [to thirteen:] I know they're looking for someone at Mercy. I'll make a call.
Okay, so. I find this conversation in Unfaithful weirdly fascinating. Not so much for the Thirteen (sorry girl, I love ya), but the Cameron and Chase back and forth about House. Because... boy, do they have different takes.
So, for context, here's what's going on. Thirteen and Foreman are dating, and House has just ordered them to either break up or he's firing Foreman, because House feels like this relationship is making his golden child a worse doctor and interfering with the department. Thirteen considers quitting instead, to let Foreman stay (as he's fairly unhireable), but in the end she and Foreman decide to fake their breakup to appease House. Right? Right.
Cameron's take is that House is playing 5D chess: this is a test, and the correct response is to play the game right back. I'm not sure she's correct in this instance -- House does seem pretty sincere that he wants Foreman back and focused -- but like, of course she has this take! This is what Cameron always thinks, from her pushing Cole in S4 to her anger in Teamwork when she finally stops playing the game. This is how she and House interact, in large part: their relationship is in large part a contest. She's absolutely correct that the best way to handle House is to stand up to him, but we also have seen that her bulldozing can backfire: sure, he respects it, but when she did it on their one date, in a moment he was attempting to be sincere, he shut her down and pushed back on all her insecurities.
We see that pushing back does work in this instance -- Foreman and Thirteen get away with their fake breakup -- but Cameron's approach is very "when all you have is a hammer." Always push back. Always argue. Always chase after House's respect, by playing the game. This, again, is why her refusal to play in Teamwork, and her realization that it's better not to get sucked in to House's vortex, is so devastating and shocking to House: she's finally stopped.
Chase's take is... funny, and seems a bit hypocritical (as Cameron herself points out). He claims that House is, in a harsh way, being kind, doing them a favor by giving them an out; that the correct thing to do is not date coworkers, himself obviously excluded. So in his view, there's no game or 5D chess: House is being pragmatic and in his own way, nice.
And, well... that fits, too. Chase doesn't really play House's games, and never has: he's quite good at provoking honesty from the guy precisely because he doesn't engage with the schemes: see The Jerk, House Divided, The Social Contract, etc. On the other hand, even though Chase is good at getting honesty from House, he doesn't really get sincerity, if that distinction makes sense: there is no emotional connection or vulnerability between them until S8. So Cameron's idea, that by pushing House back you win respect and equality, doesn't really ring true for Chase: the last time he tried that, he got punched out.
Chase's experience with House's meddling is largely confined to The Mistake, when House "hung him out to dry" and let Chase decide on his own what he wanted to do. In a way, that very lack of meddling is honest: here are your options, choose one, I will not interfere. So Chase's view of House actually seems to be that House is more straightforward than he's given credit for: if he wants you to break up, it's for your own good. Tough love, no hidden messages.
And the thing is: they're both right. Not only in the sense that Cameron and Chase have always had starkly different relationships with House, but in terms of this subplot's outcome: House really did just want them to break up, but when they defy him instead... okay. It wasn't a game the way Cameron assumes, but she was correct that he'd respect being played. He really was acting out of cool pragmatism like Chase thinks -- it's for your own good -- but House can be wrong or safely defied, unlike what Chase assumes.
It's just! A very interesting little scene. It says a lot about how Cameron and Chase view House, and how different those relationships are.
