House Review: Broken

Dr House (Hugh Laurie) is back, but he's in unfamiliar territory. After the events of last season led him to check into a mental institution, he now finds himself amidst many truly insane people. Sure, many of the patients initially seem to be a set of pawns for him to toy with, but an underlying fact remains. House himself knows he needs help. This episode acts as a homage to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and House really is this perfect character to plug into a role of mental ward instigator. He's an elitist asshole (you know it, I know, and he knows it), and he spares no time unleashing himself on the ward. It allows for a great amount of humor, especially from his hilarious roommate Alvie.

As funny as the episode can be, it still is the serious show we love. House knows that he's "broken" and needs help, but it's his futile resistance to let others help him that remains his underlying problem. It's not until he meets Lydia (Franka Potente, The Bourne Identity), a sister-in-law one of the patients, that things start to come together for House. There is immediate chemistry between the two, but she's married and House struggles with knowing how to proceed. His behavior improves, but despite his efforts to help other patients, he's still causing problems. The romantic frustration and growing guilt cause him much turmoil, forcing him to make very uncommon actions that lead him down the path of recovery.

The most frustrating part of this episode has little to to with the episode itself, but more with the season as a whole (mainly because this is only the first episode). One of the most interesting things to this season was House's mental state, and him seeking help was a surprising and very fascinating move for the show. Despite setting these events up for half of last season, House needs only a two-hour episode to be fixed. Yes, his time in the ward was truly great television, but the progression he made should have been spread out over a few more episodes. We're only one episode in and House will be returning to work. Yes, he may be a changed man and things will go differently, but staying in the mental hospital for a bit more would have left a very interesting and welcomed mark on the sixth season.

Verdict: Dr House stirring up the mental hospital would make R.P. McMurphy proud, providing for some very comical moments alongside the deeper struggles of the character, but the quick progression out of the mental hospital is disappointing. ☆☆☆☆