Broken (House)

Plot

House wakes up at Mayfield Psychiatric Hospital, having gone through the painful process of Vicodin withdrawal. He demands to leave, pointing out that since he checked himself in voluntarily, the hospital has no legal right to hold him. Dr. Nolan, however, refuses to sign off on House returning to medical practice. Accepting that he must stay to regain his clearance, House meets his bipolar roommate Alvie and reluctantly joins group therapy led by Dr. Beasley.

He also notices Lydia, a woman who plays piano for her sister-in-law Annie, a former cellist now unresponsive in the ward. Trying to get himself expelled, House makes life difficult for everyone—starting by exposing patients' secrets during group therapy—but this only lands him in solitary confinement. Next, he stirs up a rebellion over the denial of table tennis paddles, but Nolan defuses the situation by handing them out. Spotting Nolan getting into a car with a woman, House persuades Alvie to break into Nolan's office for dirt, but Alvie finds nothing.

House then calls Wilson to enlist his help in blackmailing Nolan, but Wilson refuses, explaining that Nolan anticipated this move and advised Wilson to let Nolan do his job. Gradually, House settles into the institution's routine, finding his only comfort in Lydia's visits, where they talk and discuss music. A new patient, Steve, who insists on being called "Freedom Master," believes he can fly. After doctors sedate him into a catatonic state during an episode, House, with Lydia's help, kidnaps Steve and takes him to a carnival.

They ride a wind tunnel that simulates flight, and Steve is thrilled—but then genuinely believes he can fly and leaps off a parking structure, suffering serious injuries. Dr. Nolan tells House that he cannot work with someone so uncooperative. As Nolan walks away, House quietly calls him back and says, "I need help." He begins therapy with Nolan, stating, "I want to get better."

For the first time, House takes his medication and informs Alvie that his new plan is to cooperate, which Alvie sees as a betrayal.

Reception

Critics responded warmly to the episode. On Metacritic, it earned a 77 out of 100 from eight reviews, indicating generally favorable reception, while TV.com users gave it a 9.5 rating from 983 votes. Entertainment Weekly noted that although a cliched and inaccurate mental-illness plotline undercuts the show's usual intelligence, it does not ruin the premiere's compelling idea: a reformed House can be just as engaging as a rude one. Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times pointed out some overly sentimental moments, especially anything involving a music box, but argued the other characters are so vivid they occasionally outshine House, which benefits him.

Alan Sepinwall of The Newark Star-Ledger praised the episode, calling it the best House and its lead actor had been in a long time, at least for one night. The episode won Best Episodic Drama at the 2009 Writers Guild of America Awards. In its original broadcast, Part One drew an estimated 16.5 million viewers, and Part Two brought in about 17.25 million. These figures made it the highest-rated episode of the sixth season, ahead of "Epic Fail," which had 14.44 million.

The two-hour season premiere also topped Nielsen ratings on the first night of broadcast networks' premiere week, averaging a 6.7/16 with 17.1 million viewers—a significant jump from the previous year's premiere, which averaged a 5.6/16 and 14.4 million. In Canada, 4.43 million viewers watched, making it the most-watched program of the week.

Did You Know?

• Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital was used for exterior shots of the hospital.
• Actors Franka Potente and Derek Richardson, who had one series of scenes together in this episode, started dating afterward and married in 2012.