“Hey, I don’t care where an idea comes from as long as it makes sense and embarrasses someone.” – House

I’ve long wondered if Foreman’s brother Marcus was someone we’d eventually meet on ‘House.’ That being said, it’s been six and a half seasons and even though we’d heard bits and pieces about him, I had reconciled that he just wasn’t going to show up. If anything, the timing felt a little odd.

But if you think about it, the entire plot featuring Marcus (Orlando Jones) was just about as generically evergreen as plots on ‘House’ get — this could’ve fit into any previous season had the writers felt like telling this story sooner. I wish they had, especially if you consider the fact that after all the cast shake-ups this show has been through, Foreman has been one of the few constants. It’s about time we found out more about the guy.

We’ve long known about Marcus’s criminal history, his battle with drugs, and that he and Eric stole a car when they were teenagers. But it took Marcus actually showing up at Princeton Plainsboro (after he got out of jail) to illuminate what that all did, and meant, to Eric. Ever since the grand theft auto charge, Eric’s entire life has been about never disappointing his mother like he did that day.

It’s why he’s a doctor and why for so long he’s held such disdain for his brother’s seedy life. And, as we learned, it’s why when his mother died three months ago, he didn’t even say anything at her service for fear that his eulogy might somehow not be good enough. He’s clearly been going through a lot and he told no one, not even Thirteen, about his mother.

House’s decision to hire Marcus as an assistant was clearly a ploy to force the two brothers to explore their strained relationship, and as Wilson pointed out, it worked once House became the common enemy. It was odd, though, that his blatant attempt to help a family in that instance didn’t translate to his consult with the young soldier trying to get out of duty because his wife was pregnant.

House has always been a fan of shirking responsibility in your own self-interest yet he didn’t extend that belief to the soldier. Yes, it was contradictory to what he did with Eric and Marcus, but it did force the soldier to stop riding the fence and prove he was committed to his family by getting his infected foot amputated.

By far the most interesting plot of the hour, though, was Lucas pulling those pranks on House and Wilson. He and Cuddy found out who they lost their dream condo to and Lucas decided to have a little fun. Once he was done, Cuddy told him to stop to ensure House didn’t retaliate.

Lucas is no fool and he hit the nail on the head even though he won’t admit it — Cuddy cares for House and doesn’t want to see him suffer more than he already has. It’s just a matter of time before that fact becomes a bigger issue. Hopefully, in next week’s episode (it’s entitled “5 to 9″ and presents a day at PPH from Cuddy’s point of view) we’ll get some more clues about her real feelings.

Watch ‘Moving the Chains’ Episode Online

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