Person of the Day: Hugh Laurie

As he has done on every episode for the past three seasons, Hugh Laurie managed to reveal even more layers of brilliant, cranky Dr. House on this week's season finale of House. For that, he is the Idol Thoughts Person of the Day.

I could have done without the Cuban refugee story, which was a bit unsubtle and over-the-top for my taste, but the rest of the finale, which found House firing Dr. Chase and watching Dr. Cameron and Dr. Foreman walk out the door, was top-notch, due in no small part to some fantastic acting from Hugh Laurie. He was hurt, he was proud, he was stubborn, and he was angry -- often all at once. If this performance doesn't at least earn him an Emmy nomination (if not the award), there is no television justice.

Watching House grapple with how to get Foreman to stay, only to see him realize that the change he has been resisting for years has been holding him back, made for fascinating television. His seemingly impulsive firing of Chase was shocking, as was his decision to let the Cuban man break down and hug him later in the episode. But as unsettling as the cleaning house (no pun intended) was, the episode ended on a hopeful note, with House unpacking the new guitar he had ordered to replace the guitar he had been using for 15 years. The joy and freedom on Laurie's face was palpable...and even somewhat moving.

Who knows what will happen next season, now that House no longer has a team surrounding him, but for three season's worth of complex characterization, Hugh Laurie is today's Idol Thoughts Person of the Day.

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