Lawrence Kutner (House)

Lawrence Kutner
Diagnostic Medicine Fellow (seasons 4–5)
Birth name	Lawrence Choudhary

Lawrence Kutner (born Lawrence Choudhary),

, the ninth episode of the fourth season. He commits suicide in season 5, episode 20, "Simple Explanation"; he makes a further appearance as a hallucination at the end of season five and season eight.

Characterization

Kutner is shown to be open-minded about any new experience which is the reason he wants to join House's new team. He is originally #6 during the games, but is fired in his first appearance for reporting

's recording of patient information. He continues to work even after being "fired" by House by flipping his #6 into a #9 and refusing to leave, and then coming up with a clever stress test for a patient's liver, using alcohol to intoxicate the patient, which impresses House enough to keep him on, much to Amber's dismay.

Of all the new fellows, Kutner is the most enthusiastic and the one most likely to go along with House in taking risks, including illegal activities. When House is finally forced to pick his new team,

", appoints him the "professional defibrillist", a title of which Kutner seems rather proud.

Kutner is a

).

Early life

Kutner was born in Fremont, California to Karamchand and Niki Baidwan. He reveals that his biological parents ran a small store and he used to help them as a young child. They were killed in an incidence of armed robbery in their store. He further claims that he accepted their deaths after a period of agony, and therefore he is not overly anxious about death. It is not confirmed in the show whether his revelation about his parents and their death is true or if it is a lie he told others. He became a foster child for several years, where Julia and Richard Kutner adopted him.^[3]

Education

Kutner received a scholarship from the

Death

Kutner is found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his apartment by Thirteen and Foreman in "Simple Explanation". House's inability to diagnose Kutner's depression causes House to suspect foul play. The show's producers confirmed that his death was indeed a suicide.^[4]

In "

", the series' final episode, Kutner once again appears in House's hallucinations.

Production

Actor

David Shore, producer of the show, stressed the importance of the unknown reasons behind Kutner's suicide. He successfully intended it to become a mystery, due to his personality.^[6]

Reception

Kutner's death was criticized in

References

1. ^ Fox.com House - Recaps- Simple Explanation Archived April 30, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
2. IMDb.com
   . Retrieved April 8, 2009.
3. ^ ^{a b} "Lawrence Kutner: 1975-2009 (OBITUARY)". Fox Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on April 8, 2009. Retrieved April 8, 2009.
4. ^ Hinckley, David, "Actor Kal Penn's death as 'House' character Dr. Lawrence Kutner shocks fans" New York Daily News, April 7, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-04-08.
5. ^ CBC News, "Actor Kal Penn to join Obama administration" CBC News, April 7, 2009. Retrieved on 2009-04-08.
6. ^ Lysaght, Stephanie (April 7, 2009). "SPOILER ALERT: Why Kal Penn really left 'House'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
7. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (April 6, 2009), House, "Simple Explanation": A shocking episode, The Star-Ledger, retrieved April 6, 2009
8. ^ "'House' exclusive: The shocking story behind last night's big death | House | Ausiello Files | EW.com". ausiellofiles.ew.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
9. ^ "It'll be the White House for Kal Penn now".
10. ^ Tucker, Ken (April 6, 2009), Simple Explanation, Entertainment Weekly, archived from the original on April 11, 2009, retrieved April 6, 2009

External links