tom is a glutton for corporate punishment and he attributes his success in business to doing things he really doesn’t want to do for people he does genuinely seem to fear, and i think taking his journey as a whole this absolutely includes his pursuance of shiv as a romantic partner, his decision to marry her despite every indication that he shouldn’t, and his behaviour throughout their marriage. his consistent attempts to frame it as a business partnership are to rationalise the way being with shiv causes him a private pain and misery that he can’t share with her; he hopes that being the pain sponge will only benefit him in the end.
it’s not unlike his relationship with logan. i mean, it’s exactly like his relationship with logan, but logan is aware of his own role as the arbiter of his courtier’s mental stability and rewards tom, the poor, devoted servant accordingly. shiv meanwhile is never fully cognisant of the extent of tom’s campaign of appeasement towards her. by holding him at arm’s length she simply doesn’t notice she married a man who is obsequious enough to consistently forgo his own dignity and happiness because of what he thinks she can do for him. that’s not to say there is no love there, only that their understanding of each other’s motivations passes like ships in the night. he doesn’t want to jeopardise his life and position and job with honesty towards her, and she has no interest in trying to observe his inner world either to foster his goodwill or use his pain and disappointment as leverage.
ironically, greg does care enough and does both of those things, but only because tom refuses to allow him to get close enough for them to be on equal footing, which forces greg to manage his emotions. what greg would clearly prefer is to be closer to him as a friend and not as a subordinate employee. he really likes tom - he doesn’t always like working for tom.
the undoing of tom’s sorry mess ends up being the threat of prison. jail time is a step too far even for him, and it’s what gives him the opportunity to gain logan’s loyalty, makes it clear to him that shiv is a dead end for his own future, and it’s the catalyst that makes him choose greg over shiv in a very permanent way. he owes much of his success and eventual ascendance to CEO to being the sin eater, to suffering the various injustices of being subordinate to every roy in a business and personal sense. but it’s that moment in all the bells say where tom sets everything in motion by choosing something he actually wants. after, he makes the same mistakes with shiv and greg again to his own detriment, and presumably will continue to do so once he assumes the CEO position. he’s the perpetual melancholy clown, doomed to a painful fate he repeatedly chooses for himself, and yet he is undoubtedly the romantic hero to fellow clown greg. it’s what makes tom so fascinating.
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🧱
(🎼 to the tune of Brick House by The Commodores)
Ow, he is Greg House
He's M.D., M.D., his name is Dr. Greg House
He is Greg House
That leg is whack, and that's a fact
The pain's what holds him back
Ow, he is Greg House
Swell TV show, everybody knows
This is how the story goes
He knows he got everything
That a doctor needs to get a team, yeah-yeah
How can he lose with the stuff he use:
Vicodin, Adderall, straight scotch; oh what a winning hand
'Cause well he's Greg House
He's M.D., M.D., his name is Dr. Greg House
He is Greg House
That leg is whack, and that's a fact
The pain's what holds him back
Ow, he is Greg House
Yeah, he's the one, the only one, allowed to be so mean
The things he says, the way he talk
Make an old man wish.. for diff'rent doc, yeah-yeah
His team is great, they can treat the sick
Sure enough anyways.. he'll be a dick
'Cause well he's Greg House
Yeah, he's M.D., M.D., his name is Dr. Greg House
He is Greg House
That leg is whack, and that's a fact
The pain is holdin'm back
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse now
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse now
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse now
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse now
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse now
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse now
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse now
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse now
Greg House
Yeah, he's M.D., M.D., his name is Dr. Greg House
He is Greg House
Yeah, he's the one, the only one, allowed to be so mean
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse, bite a mouse now
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse, bite a mouse now
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse, bite a mouse now
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse, bite it, bite it
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse, bite a mouse now
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse, bite a mouse now
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse, bite a mouse now
Bite a mouse, bite a mouse, bite it
Ow, he's Greg! House!
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parts of every episode of house md ever that people dont quote nearly enough
- "i have blood dripping from my nose that is dripping"
- "i forbid this!"
- "MORE MOUSE BITES"
- "i am very smart"
honourable mention because its not quotable but i giggle every time: the solid 5 seconds of silence after he needs mouse bites to live, and the last 2 seconds that are just that photo of foreman
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do you guys think i could convince my managers drawing ponies on the clock is prescribed by my doctor the way they prescribe ketamine to people with depression
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