#waubwatch

So, when Sports Medicine starts, it’s with the preamble of DNR three episodes earlier, so to talk about Sports Medicine I’m going to have to talk about a specific moment in DNR. Foreman is asked by Marty Hamilton at lunch whether he’s dating, and Foreman doesn’t give a real answer. We know contextually by Sports Medicine that he wasn’t neglecting to answer because he was seeing someone but it wasn’t official, or it was complicated, we know that he concretely pretty much can’t have been dating before Sports Medicine because we know that this relationship is new. How do we know that? Because Foreman is late to work for the first time in Sports Medicine and he continues to be late to work throughout that week on the days that he’s been with her. Considering that this is a real consistent thing in Sports Medicine and I don’t think he’d suddenly start showing up late to work after it not at all affecting him previously, he had to have gotten into a relationship as recently as Histories or Detox. Also, considering that there’s been no hint of him hiding anything from the audience and that first scene with him and the pharmaceutical rep doesn’t feel like it’s massively being played for a shock of ‘oh my god Foreman’s been seeing this girl the whole time’, we probably would’ve seen it if he was seriously seeing her earlier. And I think that it’s very interesting that Foreman must’ve gotten into a relationship basically directly after he’s been pulled up on it by someone who represents propriety in such a clear way for Foreman and someone that he very clearly respects. Is Foreman only dating because it’s what he feels he should be doing? Probably! Has Foreman gotten into a relationship with at least the subconscious desire to show off how proper he’s being and how normal he is? Also probably!

Again, before I move onto things that actually happen in the episode, I’m going to keep going with the contextual stuff, a la who Sharon is and her working proximity to Foreman. Sharon is a pharmaceutical representative that works with the hospital, they probably met through work. She’s close, she’s proximate, she probably pursued him first because she wants to get to House meaning that Foreman doesn’t have to try very hard, he’s not on singleballroomdancelovers.com, he’s picked basically the first attractive person he found. And because this seems to be what he’s done, two things are implied: one, that he’s being obvious about it, almost like he wants people to know by picking someone he knows he’s going to be working with, and two, that he’s probably not looking for someone perfect even though he seeks perfection in nearly every aspect of his life, which to me sort of means that he needs her for the role that she fills, not because he genuinely sees this working out or because he thinks he’s her soulmate. It feels weird. And comphet.

Okay, now onto the actual events of the episode. Foreman keeps showing up late to work. He shows up late to work and gives a bad excuse, before sitting down and ddxing. This is odd, because his later relationships never impede his work in such a basic way, Foreman is punctual and proactive. While his relationships DO impede his work later on (e.g trial arc & epic fail) they’re in a much more dramatic way and they’re done because Foreman thinks they’re the right thing to do on a fundamental level/he subconsciously wants to push Thirteen away with his efforts. This lateness isn’t that. It is, arguably, to draw attention to himself. And on that same note, Foreman’s an ex criminal and he’s been working for House for four months now, does he really, genuinely think that House isn’t going to suss such an incredibly obvious lie? House even calls him on it and says that he could’ve just sat down. And, making matters worse, Foreman doesn’t even defend himself, doesn’t lie and say he set off early which is how he was only twenty minutes late. It’s like he wants House to know. And similarly, Foreman keeps asking camchase to cover for him and giving shitty excuses why, could he not just call in fake sick on the day? It’s, again, like he wants Cameron and Chase to know that he’s seeing someone, like he wants them to know that he’s normal. Also, considering that we basically never see a pharmaceutical representative again, did Foreman really have to be doing all that? Did he have to be having dinner dates where he knew he might get caught? Sure, a part of it would’ve been her coaxing him into it because she wanted to get to House, but… Foreman isn’t easily coaxed. He’s stubborn. He probably wanted to in some capacity. Because he wanted to draw attention to himself, because he wanted to be caught.

WILSON: You won’t talk to patients because they lie, but give you a patient with no concept of reality…

HOUSE: If it wasn’t for Socrates, that raving untreated schizophrenic, we wouldn’t have the Socratic method – the best way of teaching everything, apart from juggling chainsaws. Without Isaac Newton, we’d be floating on the ceiling.

In the second episode of the first season, we learn a lot more about each fellow's personality.

Cameron:

Cameron seems to frequently be doing some form of clerical work. We see her several times working at a computer throughout the episode, but more importantly we learn she handles all of House's mail. She does take some liberties with this, however, and uses it to her advantage: she forges House's signature and uses his letterhead to take on a case on House's behalf, much to House's annoyance.

Cameron also shows determination; she is set on convincing House to take on this case, presenting him the case facts plainly. Once he agrees to see the patient, she sits in on House's meeting with the patient. He takes this opportunity to humiliate her, in true House fashion, but she isn't deterred and still continues to convince House to take on the patient. She stands up to him and is assertive! However, Cameron is also incredibly irritated with the way House frequently dismisses her. She wants to be taken seriously, wants to prove her value to the team, and is offended at House's assumption that she's an only child--he sees her behavior as attention seeking, which, in a way, it is.

Cameron's relationship with House is...interesting. She isn't afraid to stand up to him, and doesn't hide her irritation with his antics, but she also clearly admires and respects him. She laughs at his jokes and opens doors for him.

Cameron tends to err on the side of caution when it comes to treating patients. When the fellows are arguing on how to proceed, Cameron doesn't want to start treatment when they can't be sure of the diagnosis. She shows frustration when House decides on a diagnosis and treatment plan without any real evidence.

When the patient goes missing in this episode, Cameron takes action with urgency. She hustles across the hospital (in heels, mind you) in search of the patient when she learns he's disappeared from his room.

Cameron tends to act more seriously than the other fellows. While Chase (and even Foreman, at times) will often make jokes, Cameron is annoyed at any derailing. She may laugh at House's bad jokes occasionally, 90% of the time she simply dismisses his antics and opts to focus on the issue at hand.

Lastly, Cameron appears to truly care about patients. She's always gentle and reassuring with them. In this episode specifically, when it's revealed that the patient was adopted, she checks in with him about it: "Are you sure you're okay?" She's sincere about it.

Chase:

Chase is much more relaxed and seems almost lazy, especially when compared to Cameron. While she's busy dealing with House's clerical work, he's just sitting there doing a crossword puzzle.

Chase's body language and behavior often appear to mirror House's: he sits casually like House does, even dresses like him. When Cameron is arguing for the patient's night terrors to be treated as a legitimate symptom, he says, cheekily: "parents said?", discrediting the history the parents of the patient have given them--everybody lies, after all.

Chase is a major asskisser when it comes to House. If House has posed a question that no one seems to be able to answer, he'll throw out guesses in an effort to gain favor with House. House describes this behavior perfectly: "Clever, but also pathetic." When House asks who thinks there is a third option in regard to treating the patient for potential neurosyphilis, Chase raises his hand--he doesn't know what that third option actually is, but he'll agree with whatever House thinks.

Chase's persona when it comes to dealing with patients is carefully crafted. It's meant to be charming, to put patients at ease, but he keeps his information vague and quite neutral--he doesn't want to worry the patient, but doesn't want to give them false hope either. In this episode, when Chase is explaining their latest diagnosis of MS to the patient and his family, he uses a lot of medical terminology and presents the facts in a very neutral manner; when the patient asks if it's going to hurt, Chase nods, but explains it further in an interesting way: he says "the brain interprets it as pain", rather than "it will be painful." It's also made clear later on that Chase is good at schmoozing--the morning after the patient almost walks off the roof, Cameron says (about the parents): "They're not suing, but I think only because Chase asked them."

To further expand on the previous point, Chase is very good at altering the way he talks to people to fit the situation, even under pressure. When the patient is on the roof, Chase is the one to attempt to talk him down. At first, believing the patient may be suicidal, he speaks to him in a calm and reassuring manner: "there are experimental treatments", "who knows what they'll discover in a year or two?". Then, when realizing the patient is hallucinating, his tone shifts to be more direct and urgent: "Dan, we're standing on the roof of the hospital!"

Once again we see that Chase works well under pressure. In the previously mentioned scenario, not only does Chase know what to say, but also is quick to take action and tackle the patient, preventing him from walking off of the roof.

Foreman:

This episode further demonstrates Foreman's intelligence. At the beginning, when Chase is doing a crossword, Foreman is quick to know the answer (that Chase didn't know). When the team meets for the first DDX, Foreman is the first to give a summary of what they know so far. Later, when discussing treating with penicillin, he's quick to point out the risk of intercranial pressure ("no neurologist in his right mind would recommend that."), and after, even when Chase is the only one to raise his hand to thinking there's a third option (without knowing the actual answer), Foreman is the one to realize that the shunt in the patient's brain will negate the risk of intercranial pressure.

At this point, it's clear Foreman still believes that the most simple explanation is likely the correct one. When House believes the MRI shows something abnormal (which Chase guesses correctly to be bowing), Foreman wants to dismiss this idea, believing the patient could have simply moved during the MRI. When the patient's paternity first comes into question, Foreman's skeptical: "From what I’ve read false paternity is more like 10%." The most simple explanation here would be that the father is, in fact, the patient's biological father (which, of course, we learn later to be untrue).

Foreman demonstrates leadership skills when the team realizes the patient is missing: despite being the newest to the team, he takes the lead, directing Cameron where to search and calling House in. He's also shown to be frustrated with House's level of participation: Foreman expects House to want to be informed, that House would also see the urgency of the situation and take action. Foreman seems to have a certain expectation of what role his boss should take, which implies a level of familiarity with what a leadership role entails. As usual, he's disappointed in House's leadership.

Of the three fellows, Foreman seems to be the best at talking to patients and their families. While Cameron is too attached and Chase is too detached, Foreman strikes the perfect balance: he's reassuring, but in a way that doesn't give false hope, and he speaks to people plainly, giving them the information they need to reassure them. When performing the retinal biopsy, Foreman validates the patient's fears, reassures him, and explains what's going to happen: "Yeah, it’s just scary as hell. See, we go through the pupil. You won’t feel it; the eye’s been paralyzed. The needle travels to the back of the eye which is where we perform the biopsy on your retina." After, when explaining their diagnosis and treatment to the parents, he starts off using medical jargon, but when the panicked parents clearly aren't understanding, he breaks it down for them in an honest way: "Look, I’m sorry, I can explain this as best I can, but the notion that you’re gonna fully understand your son’s treatment and make an informed decision, is, it’s kinda insane. Now, here’s what you need to know, it’s dangerous, it could kill him, you should do it." Foreman, unlike the other fellows, is real with the patients and their families, but in a way that's reassuring. He can empathize with people, in a way that shows he understands them, but is also able to provide the facts about the situation that gives the patients & families reassurances in making the perceived right decision. He displays confidence, expertise, and empathy, all at the same time, which is why I believe Foreman to truly be the "best" with patients, at least as shown in this episode.