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sick_wilson2012-06-13 08:40 am
srsly-yes.livejournal.com) wrote in sick_wilson2012-06-13 08:40 am
Entry tags:
Campfire Chat #1
Howdy Campers!
Do you know what time it is?! Why it's time to break out the graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars, and raise our conversation to an all-time sugar high.
Today's topic: The Saddest Man in New Jersey
That's what RSL called Wilson during the series. Now that it's over let's revisit the concept. What is it about Wilson that makes him sick!fic fodder? Is it built into the character or does RSL bring that "certain something"? What makes us pick up on it? With the finale we know even tptb saw and wanted to exploit it. Is it because Wilson is House’s sole support system, and the key to House’s vulnerability, or is it intrinsic to Wilson?
Bonus questions:
And don't forget to pass the bag of marshmallows to your neighbor.
Do you know what time it is?! Why it's time to break out the graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars, and raise our conversation to an all-time sugar high.
Today's topic: The Saddest Man in New Jersey
That's what RSL called Wilson during the series. Now that it's over let's revisit the concept. What is it about Wilson that makes him sick!fic fodder? Is it built into the character or does RSL bring that "certain something"? What makes us pick up on it? With the finale we know even tptb saw and wanted to exploit it. Is it because Wilson is House’s sole support system, and the key to House’s vulnerability, or is it intrinsic to Wilson?
Bonus questions:
- When did you first discover Wilson was a prime candidate for suffering?
- Was it unfair what tptb did to Wilson?
And don't forget to pass the bag of marshmallows to your neighbor.
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I posted Leaving New Jersey on FF.net back in 2008! It was loosely based on a story I read on FF.net where Wilson sort of turns into House after House died (AU fic obviously) but I have no idea who wrote that story or when. I moved my story to LJ in 2010. Here's a link. http://mnstrtruckslash.livejournal.com/1064.html (http://mnstrtruckslash.livejournal.com/1064.html) It is a story where House and Wilson are in a terrible car accident at the end of season 4 but there is a lot of crazy stuff going on there. Hallucinations, major character death, Wilson has injuries to his leg and is permanently disabled... However it wasn't until a year later (during the break between seasons 5 and 6) which is around the time that I discovered the true joys of Sick!Wilson.
I'm still looking for the first S!W story I ever read but it could take all day to search through the SW archives. My page only had the entries I wrote, so it took me five minutes. I think that Wilson makes a good candidate for suffering because he is always suffering. Wilson tries to act tough and brave but he's the kind of person who struggles with every decision he makes; he feels for his patients, loves them and when they die that makes him feel even worse. Plus, he feels things very deeply (as evidenced by stuff on the show). Plus, he strikes me as a slightly klutzy person who might very well end up getting physically injured or sick all the time in his "real" life.
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I'd be interested to hear from you and other members which sick!Wilson fic was the first they ever read. I can't recall mine. I do remember being in hog heaven when I discovered the sick_wilson archive.
I think that Wilson makes a good candidate for suffering because he is always suffering.
Absolutely! His angst over choosing a mattress comes to mind.
he feels for his patients, loves them and when they die that makes him feel even worse.
I was impressed how he could reel off the names and dates of his patients that died from less fatal cancers. Could this be a sore spot for him, or does he have bins of souvenirs hidden away in cabinets for all the patients he lost? ;-)
Plus, he strikes me as a slightly klutzy person who might very well end up getting physically injured or sick all the time in his "real" life.
This is something, IMO that changed in the later years. Definitely, by season 6 he was capable of tripping over the shoelaces on his fine French leather shoes. ;-)
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That really struck me too - the man must have had a *lot* of patients over the years, but remembers (and keeps sourvenirs from) the ones who got the short end of the odds - and then immediately assumes he's going to be one of those people (as it turns out of course he was right).
Maybe Wilson keeps his memories of his 'failures' much like House keeps that drawer of files of cases he couldn't solve (although Wilson probably cares more about the actual patients while House cares more about the puzzle).
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Such a dark side to his nature. I felt so bad for him in "Post Mortem" when everything he wanted to do didn't quite work out.
Maybe Wilson keeps his memories of his 'failures' much like House keeps that drawer of files of cases he couldn't solve
Indeed! I love the parallel between the two men: House has his Esther/Moby Dick and Wilson has his.
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I'm wondering about that. He certainly wants us to believe that, but is it really true? I can remember him lying at the transplant committee during the Vogler arc to save the life of a young woman. He had already diagnosed her, there was no puzzle anymore. And he was risking his career.
In two big cases (Esther and the dead boy in S8) he does solve an old puzzle, but it's always a puzzle with a name and a face, and the final aim is always to save further lives, to make for those which were lost. Everyone knows about Wilson's "thank you for the death sentence" skills, but House's ability to find kind words describing to describe to a grieving father the corpse of his son have staid with me.
To me, this caring for patients in an insane way is a large part of the bond between House and Wilson. In this respect, the turning point in Transplant, the moment when Wilson starts going back to liking House, is when House pushes him to have a Wilson epiphany on how to convince the patient to accept treatment. Only House can do that.
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Oh yeah, I don't mean to imply that he *only* cares about the puzzle - although that is what he'd like people to think. Especially in the first three years he did form attachements to some of the patients and clearly cared about them. He was the sort of doctor who would do *anything* for his patients.
But I think in the case of Esther tweleve (or whatever it was) years later he only remembers that he failed her, failed to find the solution. Whereas Wilson would remember that she was a grandmother who left seventeen grandchildren, two dogs, a fish and a bird behind, and never got to make that trip to Paris that she always wanted. House has the file in his drawer, Wilson would have the jumper she knit for him while she was dying.
Houses failures are also in diagnosis whereas Wilson's are in treatment which might also illustrate the difference between them. House wants to find out why people are sick, Wilson wants to cure them once he knows why they're sick. Wilson's own illness is in that way a turn around for House who has never cared much about treatment before. Now he has nothing to diagnose he has to focus on the treatment.
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So true. [It read like a bonus minific, LOL.]
And I like your comparison, in that Wilson carries the responsibility of both diagnosis (if usually an easier one) and treatment, plus he tends to be more involved with the human side of his patients - which is why in Transplant he knows that female-Biff can be convinced to accept treatment only by male-Biff.
a turn around for House
That's true. A pity that they had Wilson refuse treatment, since it's clear that House was more than willing to deal with that (down to the more humble services, as we both know). But then, fanfic is there to fix canon ;).
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together with (petitecuriosity, above)
Wilson has proven to be proficient at hiding things from House
This. I actually don't get unflappable vibes from Wilson, rather a longtime sufferer of the slow, insidious form of depression. The one that becomes a long fight, just a little bit harder every day; then there are the good moments, when you think it's over, and even ask yourself if you ever were sick to begin with... and then bad things happen and all comes back, worst than ever.
He's also solitary despite having a number of acquaintances; we see no close friends, his marriages are disastrous pretense (think of him preferring House's company to Julie's), he never mentions his own family; Danny is the only exception and even him rarely. The moment when Wilson first talks to House about him in Season 1 is one of the most poignant in the series, when Wilson for once allows House to see him as suffering and needy for comfort - and it's clear it wouldn't have happened without the triggering effect of the POTW. Even his attempt at a reconciliation with Sam goes wrong because it's clear he still doesn't really know her; the only person, besides House, he's really close to in a consistent way is Amber.
That's what is to me the charm of sick_wilson: physical ailments are a bonus, because they're a clearcut reason to take some time to take care of oneself. Which is precisely what Wilson doesn't do: he fills up his life, with the triple duties of husband, doctor, and department head, adds on top of it needy lovers and a six foot two cripple with an ability to get into trouble, so that he doesn't have to face the problems or just the desires within him.
In this sense, I did appreciate tptb's idea of giving him a potentially lethal disease, thus forcing him to face his own needs - first the superficial one to take a few days off and have fun with House, then the deeper ones, such as the need to be cared for, to be the center of House's attention and love. His cancer, after all, is about him. House's answer is everything he could have hoped for, and then some. I just wish they hadn't thrown all logic and most chances of a new begin elsewhere overboard.
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When I take a meta view, I feel the writers were groping around the first two years to get a sense of the character. There were also some marvelous subtext acted out by RSL and HL to round out their characters. However, looking at the series as a whole, it's hard not to take into account Wilson's underlying emotions. I think it's fair to believe we first meet Wilson in a better state of mind. Maybe his breakup with Julie eroded his confidence. After all, it was his third marriage as well, which had to take an emotional toll.
he fills up his life, with the triple duties of husband, doctor, and department head, adds on top of it needy lovers and a six foot two cripple with an ability to get into trouble, so that he doesn't have to face the problems or just the desires within him.
He's the poster boy for codependency.
...thus forcing him to face his own needs - first the superficial one to take a few days off and have fun with House...
I thought it was very endearing of Wilson to insist House come along. It was the first sign in the finale arc showing how much House meant to him.
...then the deeper ones, such as the need to be cared for, to be the center of House's attention and love.
This was such an amazing turn of events. I loved it and am still overwhelmed.
eta: Oops! forgot to add:
I just wish they hadn't thrown all logic and most chances of a new begin elsewhere overboard.
Logic notwithstanding, I see the ending as the start of a new chapter.
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It is. However, in all probability Wilson's next chapter will be very short.
And life without documents isn't fun. How will House get health insurance? Can he even get health insurance at all? What about retirement plan? It's all so dark, unless you throw logic and probability out of the window (something that the show did long ago).
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I hope I don't come across as trivializing your concerns. I just want to cheer you up by offering alternatives--fictional and in real life. It's amazing what people can accomplish if they have ambition. There was a family friend who became a millionaire during a downturn in the economy. He collected rags, cotton rags and sold them as industrial cloths. Cotton had become a scarce commodity when synthetic fabrics became popular. You don't need to be a genius or even a degree to come up with that idea. Building a financial empire might even be a puzzle House would enjoy. Or take my uncle--please! He barely worked a day in his life, but found himself a wealthy woman to marry.
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Surprisingly enough, I also have an uncle who did the same. [He's my father's cousin, actually.]
Thank you for your valiant attempt at cheering me up!
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yes, exactly. And I've noticed that a majority of S!W stories include House taking care of Wilson or trying to help in his own way.
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I agree with you completely. This, I think, describes Wilson's depression perfectly.
That's what is to me the charm of sick_wilson: physical ailments are a bonus, because they're a clearcut reason to take some time to take care of oneself. Which is precisely what Wilson doesn't do: he fills up his life, with the triple duties of husband, doctor, and department head, adds on top of it needy lovers and a six foot two cripple with an ability to get into trouble, so that he doesn't have to face the problems or just the desires within him.
THIS. Exactly.
In this sense, I did appreciate tptb's idea of giving him a potentially lethal disease, thus forcing him to face his own needs - first the superficial one to take a few days off and have fun with House, then the deeper ones, such as the need to be cared for, to be the center of House's attention and love. His cancer, after all, is about him. House's answer is everything he could have hoped for, and then some.
I agree.
I just wish they hadn't thrown all logic and most chances of a new begin elsewhere overboard.
I did feel that way at one point as well...but because the show doesn't end with him dead, but dying, IMO, there is hope for a cure, especially with a statement like "cancer's boring." But of course, we'll never know for sure, unless they do come out with a House movie or something, which DS did say would be hard because he said that Wilson was dying in five months...but this is also coming from the man who said that he wouldn't end the show with House and Wilson riding off into the sunset...
I apologize for quoting 2/3rds of your comment, but your thoughts are always so insightful. I did actually end up agreeing with all of your comment though.
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I wonder whether it's just a different cultural background. I was taught never ever to trust luck, always expect and prepare for the worst.
You're right though, that it's more hope than if he were already dead. An dthanks for the kind words!