Shocked

I vaguely remember last week’s preview for this week’s House saying something about it being the kind of episode that changes everything, but I blew it off. I thought that the guest appearance of Meat Loaf (as a guy named Eddie, no less) was going to be the talking point for the episode.

Apparently there had been general rumors about the type of thing that was going to happen, but I’d heard none of them either. So I was very surprised by the turn of events when it happened. I believe that I uttered a bad word. (Look away if you haven’t seen the episode yet.)

I thought they did some very interesting things last night, and I was especially impressed with Olivia Wilde’s performance, from the moment she found the body, to her agonized “he’s cold,” to slipping in the blood, to the way she handled House but most especially her reaction when Foreman just wanted to be alone to work through things. Apparently the actor whose character died left voluntarily because he got a position at the White House, no less.

Bonus points if you can suss out the rather strained relationship between the man pictured to the events on this episode.

The actress who plays Beckett in Castle was also in top form last night. There was a moment when she literally popped a vein in her forehead. I don’t know if she can do that on demand, but if she can, it’s a real skill. I loved her reaction when she was first admitted to Castle’s residence. Her mouth popped open and she quickly recovered before anyone noticed. Castle is an open book to her closed book, though her secrets are slowly being revealed. I liked the approach of the episode, too, where the identity of the killer wasn’t in doubt for long, but Beckett felt compelled to prove it to herself even though there was no justice to be had. I haven’t seen ratings reports, but I hope this show sticks around.

I only got 300 words written this morning, but at least it was a beginning to a new short story.