family practice is one of the best huddy episodes ever and we don’t talk about that episode enough house was by her side every step of the way because he knew she was going to break down at any moment
It's even crazier when you think of family practice as a set up for the 7x14 speech (the one where House confesses that he'd choose happiness over his intelligence), especially in relation to Masters who House perceives as another version of Cuddy. But the reason why House is so bugged by Masters is that she is the person he wishes he could be like. House always talks about the importance of truth, distinction between right and wrong, but he never quite lives up to his own beliefs. Indirectly, with Cuddy/Masters similarities in mind, House's relationship with Masters (a strange mix of perpetual distress and admiration) is telling of how much he values some of Cuddy's traits. But the whole episode Cuddy is portrayed as the one who can't make the decisions, the one who is blinded by her feelings for her family, the one who should be kept off the case. As the plot progresses, it's revealed that House is in the exact same position. His decision making is endangered by his feelings for Cuddy, just like hers is endangered by the love she has for her family. And when you calculate the "She's got a family." "I've got a family." exchange between Cuddy and Arlene into the equation, the indication is quite clear: House is Cuddy's family and she is his, in one way or another. I genuinely like that about House M.D. as as show, it does everything to highlight that family and love aren't supposed to fit just one definition, the most common one, but that they exist in so many shapes. Cuddy and Arlene's relationship can be discussed through that lens as well because Arlene claims how family is three kids and a husband in the same episode which is quite ironic, but also quite sad. Arlene believes that, but she has two kids and her husband passed away. In her own eyes: she doesn't have a family and she thinks Cuddy doesn't either. But two daughters and a mother are a family. A team of doctors fighting for the same cause are a family. An oncologist and a diagnostician are a family. And so are Cuddy, Rachel and House. I love love love that Cuddy's "I have a family." line can be interpreted in a wider sense too. Her definition of family can include Wilson and House's team, she might have even thought of Arlene herself when she said that. It's a very beautiful episode and it relies on one of this show's biggest thematic strengths which is: just because something isn't familiar to you, doesn't mean that it's bad. (not that the show only ever portrays this lightly, characters fight against it, refuse to accept change as a natural part of life, but they keep being proven wrong and pushed back into accepting their history which is the only way to create a future that isn't just an echo of the past. it's very well done!)
Oh and there this little moment where that physical aspect of House and Cuddy, the one that goes beyond attraction, is nicely flashed out. mind vs body, fiction vs reality is always an interesting topic with them.
