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Lawrence Kutner
House character
First appearance	"The Right Stuff" (4.02)
Last appearance	"Everybody Dies" (8.22)
Portrayed by	Kal Penn
In-universe information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Physician Department of Diagnostic Medicine Fellow (seasons 4–5)
Birth name	Lawrence Choudhary

Lawrence Kutner (born Lawrence Choudhary), M.D. is a fictional character on the medical drama House. He is played by Kal Penn. He becomes a member of House's new diagnostic team in "Games", 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 Amber Volakis'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, Dr. Cuddy suggests he hire Kutner because Kutner "shares philosophy of medicine." He first gets approval from House after successfully reviving a patient with a defibrillator while in a hyperbaric chamber, despite also setting her clothing on fire due to the high-oxygen atmosphere. Similarly, in "Mirror Mirror", he resuscitates a patient using a defibrillator while the patient's skin is wet, inadvertently shocking himself into unconsciousness at the same time. Defibrillators and Kutner become a running joke for House, who, in "Ugly", appoints him the "professional defibrillist", a title of which Kutner seems rather proud.

Kutner is a science fiction fan and seems to be easily distracted by pretty women, having asked out Amber Volakis at the end of the contest. However, at the end of "Wilson's Heart", while other characters are shown to be visibly upset over Amber's death, he spends the night after her death eating cornflakes while watching television. He tends to share a great deal of trivial personal details with others (Taub mentions in "Let Them Eat Cake" that he had informed the team of his subscription renewal to National Geographic).

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.

Education

Kutner received a scholarship from the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated with a degree in Physics. He later joined Sackler Faculty of Medicine, and then the University of Colorado.

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.

In "Both Sides Now", Kutner appears briefly in one of House's hallucinations, along with Amber Volakis (who had previously died in "Wilson's Heart"). In "Everybody Dies", the series' final episode, Kutner once again appears in House's hallucinations.

Production

Actor Kal Penn had accepted a job at the White House as "a liaison connecting the Obama administration with arts and entertainment groups, as well as with the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities". This required that Kutner be written out of the show.

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.

Reception

Kutner's death was criticized in The Star-Ledger, with columnist Alan Sepinwall arguing that the death was pointless, and seemingly written only to create a "Very Special Episode" and/or to write Kutner out of the series so that Kal Penn could accept a job as the Principal Associate Director in the White House Office of Public Engagement. However, Entertainment Weekly commended the show's handling of the death, believing that it was presented in a dramatically effective and realistic manner.

References

1. Fox.com House - Recaps- Simple Explanation Archived April 30, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
2. "Dr. Lawrence Kutner (Character)". IMDb.com. Retrieved April 8, 2009.
3. ^ "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

• Adoptee characters in television
• House (TV series) characters
• Fictional physicians
• Television characters introduced in 2007
• Fictional suicides