There comes a point in a television show's life when a change--any change--would be welcome. For House, that episode is "After Hours." It's certainly far from perfect, but it's different and that has to count for something. I know this isn't the greatest endorsement and I'm not sure how I would react to this episode if it were in an earlier season. Still, given the level of boringness that descended on House this season, let's just give the writers credit for effort.
Following the odd rat drug stuff, "After Hours" is a pretty harrowing episode of House. Characters are driving at breakneck speeds, 13 is holding herself back, House is operating on himself to remove tumors--we knew this would all be resolved without major damage but there were some genuinely freaky scene. Ignoring the lame bits of dialogue, the episode was actually quite good.
The whole Taub plot seemed like one big joke, but with a baby in question, it couldn't be one of those funny things we could laugh off at the end. Taub somehow comes to a revelation after a stripper has a gun on him and decides to keep the baby. The whole circumstance is funny and probably not appropriate for the subject, but the writers don't seem to care.
Score: 8.6/10
