I’m devastated like I’m sure many of you are, but I think season 7’s “Bombshells”, while not a typical House episode AT ALL, was amazingly written and a very cool chance for everyone involved in House MD to branch out a little bit. People are extremely mixed about this episode, some love it and some hate it and a great majority of that has to do with the very eloquent dream sequences that the show decided to explore. This article is going to attempt to break down each dream sequence and get at the message the writers were intending with each dream.

The basic idea of the dreams were a way to have fun and be creative with the characters of the show while at the same time delve into the subconscious thoughts of House and Cuddy and finally to foreshadow the shocking ending. The running theme though out all of the dreams was that Cuddy was going to break up with House because he couldn’t be there for her like she needed him to be.

Two and a Half Men…..House style.
First of all, LOLZ to the max, AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME….all you Hilson shippers out there should have just eaten up this scene. GOD THE LAUGHTRACK/AUDIENCE I about died. Anyhoo, this dream involves House and Wilson raising Rachel on their own and the repercussions of that. This dream swiftly followed the scene in which Cuddy was setting up a trust fund and appointing a guardian for Rachel. We are shown Rachel being dropped off by the police after being caught for shop-lifting….every mother’s dream right? Instead of House disciplining her, we see him joking that next time she won’t be caught and brings her in for a hug. Obviously, we see here that Cuddy doesn’t have faith that House can aptly take care of her child if something happens to her, and Wilson doesn’t seem to be much help either. In other words, this is something that Cuddy cannot depend on House for. But this isn’t so bad, it’s not something to break a relationship up over is it?

Shawn of the House
ZOMBIES….lucky I had my axe cane….OH MY GOODNESS…GOLD. Aside from awesome quotes and special effects, this scene actually had a deeper meaning. House dreams that he’s a hero from some horror movie where he’s trying to save Cuddy from flesh eating zombies. He hears her calling out to him, begging him to help her. He takes out his team, that are all zombies, and rushes to her aid only to find that he’s too late and they’re already feasting on her. I believe that the zombies in these dreams represent his inner demons. He’s fighting them, desperately trying to get to Cuddy only to find that he’s thwarted by those demons and they devour her before he even gets close. FORESHADOWING MUCH!? That’s pretty much exactly what happens in the episode and what eventually leads Cuddy to break up with House, his inability to get past his demons and be there for her.

I Love Cuddy….I mean Lucy!
Again, the 50s spoof….so many LULZ, oh my goodness was it fantastic. This dream is played right after we are shown House avoiding being with Cuddy by playing video games with Foreman. The stark comparison between Cuddy’s dream and the real House are made EXTREMELY obvious with this comparison (as if we really needed that). We get a little window into Cuddy’s “dream” so to speak, or the blind idealized version of what her life could be like (a few scenes earlier we see Cuddy insisting to Chase that House will come to her side because she believes in him, the sad thing is that he does come to her side….but stoned and not really there. A mere shadow of the man in her 50s dream). Her life in this dream seems perfect, House is the ideal husband who now no longer has a limp, Rachel is the perfect child and then Wilson comes in and pops the bubble by trying to celebrate her 29th birthday. The dream Cuddy suddenly realizes that none of this could be real and the real Cuddy wakes up. When Cuddy says, “none of this can be real” it’s further foreshadowing that she will break up with him. If these are the expectations that Cuddy’s subconscious has of House, there’s no way he can compete with those idealizations and therefore inevitably can’t be the person that she both needs and wants.

Butch House and the Sundance Cuddy (crappy title I know)
This scene comes after we learn that House has dropped off the radar and cannot be found and is not at Cuddy’s bedside comforting her at her hour of need. In this dream we are taken literally to the last scene of the movie, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” where Butch and the Kid, unbeknownst to them, are surrounded by the Mexican army who are waiting to take them down. But this time it’s House and Cuddy sitting in the corner, discussing their escape plans. Most of the beginning dialogue is a shout out to the movie, but the second part pertains to the show. Cuddy discusses how she had hoped that House would find a way to get over himself and be there for her, her continued hope in him, and that she warns him that it might be too late. They both then get up and run out, a la “Butch Cassidy” and the scene ends with Cuddy being left alone to fight by herself. Wow, anyone who’s ever had a bitter break up….sound familiar….fighting it out by yourself, alone to fight the world…etc…etc? House disappears on Cuddy, both in the dream and in reality, leaving Cuddy to fend for herself. House is shown to be a lot of talk (Butch’s character is the talker and organizer but the Kid, Cuddy’s character, is the action man and the person whose actions allow Butch’s plans to succeed) but when she really needs him, even in a life and death scenario (as were both in dream and reality), House can’t be there for her. It made my heart ache a little when I thought about how Cuddy says “I knew you’d come” but he’s stoned…..my heart aches 

Forget your troubles come on get happy
OMFG, the musical nerd in me flipped a s%^&. UM if you haven’t heard/seen the original song here you go: link CREEPIEST/COOLEST MUSICAL NUMBER SINCE TIME WARP. Loved the elements of Bob Fosse used in there, I thought they did an amazing job of turning a relatively happy song into a creepy/cynical song, embodying the very feel of the show in the only way the show could have ever done a musical number. Cuddy gives us the answer to what this dream is about, “My subconscious was trying to tell me you could never get through this without drugs” cue wacky/creepy musical scene. Listen to the lyrics “forget your troubles come on get happy” so in other words, House can’t handle pain…..so in order to not feel pain he goes and takes Vicodin hence….forget your troubles and get happy/high. Dream House is telling her exactly what he’s doing and how he’s able to be here with her, while showing her his high state during the wacky part before Cuddy begins to sing. As she and House run up the stairs, the lyrics go “get ready for the judgment day” and House suddenly leaves her as the dream shows her where she has to inevitably end up…..alone (like the dream ends). Her judgment day leads her to break up with him.


I hope all of that made sense because in my mind that was an amazing, AMAZING episode and I just wanted to share some thoughts about it. I ADORED the dream sequences and I thought it was a fun way to play with the characters and ideas the show presents us with week after week. Not only that but an excellent use of foreshadowing and character development that really should have given the ending away :)

Anyways, I know a large majority of us are unhappy with how things worked out, but have faith and enjoy the ride, there’s no point getting upset over it because it won’t change a thing.