| abstract | - The Down Low is a 6th season episode of House that first aired on January 11, 2010. House and Wilson have a crush on their new neighbor and they compete for her attention. However, their plans are complicated by a misunderstanding by their new neighbors about the nature of their relationship. A drug dealer mysteriously collapses during a sale and does it again whenever there is a loud noise. Chase, Thirteen and Taub play a practical joke on Foreman. Despite their lengthy and strong friendship, this episode reminds us that House and Wilson also have a strong competitive streak. This is one of a few episodes where they compete, in this case for the affections of a woman. We often think of Wilson as a lesser foe for House - a man with a great intellect which is, nevertheless, often dwarfed by House (and Wilson has often admitted his is the lesser medical mind). However, we are once again reminded that despite House's manipulation and frequent lack of scruples, Wilson can still surprise him and, every once in while (if only for a short time), get the better of House. We also get a little more insight into Foreman. As we learn a few episodes later in Lockdown, Foreman's drive to succeed is primarily due to his fear that he is inadequate. Here, his feelings of inadequacy get to him as, once he starts believing that his teammates are better paid than he is, he must prove himself by getting a raise. However, in the end, he also proves himself to be as insightful and manipulative as his boss. Even though it's clear later in the series that Foreman has learned skills from his boss, he does have them under better control. Lastly, we see a little more into the psyche of Thirteen. Once again, she shows herself to be a little too comfortable dealing with the criminal underworld as she manages to convince a pair of suspicious gangsters that she's merely a prostitute looking for a quiet place to ply her trade. Thirteen appears to either be an actress as good as Olivia Wilde herself, or a person who may have lived the lifestyle and has merely slipped back into it. Thirteen's comfort level with johns and drug dealers often seems higher than her comfort with her medical colleagues. It's a question about the character's history that is never satisfactorily resolved. As for the patient, he appears to represent that part of House that is 100% committed to his job. House has a history of putting both his career and even his life on the line to solve his medical mysteries. The patient has a mystery of his own to unravel, and he realizes that "curing" the problem requires him to stay in character no matter what the personal consequences. House can't reconcile the patient's devotion to his job when it conflicts against House's own personal obsessions.
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