House season 6 opens with Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) checking himself into a psychiatric facility to finally address his Vicodin addiction. House expects to leave as soon as his physical detox is over, but House’s psychiatrist Dr. Darryl Nolan wants him to move to a long-term care facility. House is suddenly surrounded by the Ward 6 patients, including his new roommate, Juan “Alvie” Alvarez (Lin-Manuel Miranda), who plays a brief but important role in the series.
House only seeks help at the end of House season 5 after he starts experiencing hallucinations of his two deceased colleagues for whom he feels responsible. Those deaths were Lawrence Kutner’s shocking suicide in House and Amber Volakis’s bus accident while helping a blacked-out House. While House is away from the usual House main characters, House forms an unexpected yet vital friendship with Alvie during his time at Mayfield. Alvie’s friendship with House is an important part of House’s recovery.
Miranda’s Alvie Is Introduced As House’s Roommate At The Psychiatric Hospital
Alvie Is Bipolar But Refusing To Take His Medication
House has not even opened his suitcase when he hears Alvie approaching, chattering away a million words a minute. Alvie immediately shares that this is not the first time he’s been committed for going off his medication. Alvie, who is bipolar, explains he hates feeling slower while medicated. Alvie immediately bonds with House when he learns that House is also refusing drugs, and Alvie becomes House’s biggest supporter in Ward 6 when House tries to stir up chaos in the Ward. House’s quiet focus is the perfect counterbalance to Alvie’s nonstop hyperactive musings.
Alvie’s adoration of House leads him to go to great lengths to help him rebel against the doctors, from breaking into Dr. Nolan’s office to allowing House to punch him in the face. When House stops fighting Dr. Nolan and begins to take the prescribed antidepressants, Alvie feels betrayed. In one of House‘s most tense episodes, House inadvertently causes another ward patient to nearly die. House finds himself in a fragile mental state and lashes out at Alvie, telling him to stop “worshiping” him and focus on his own “loser life.”
In one of House‘s best episodes, House finds a unique way to apologize to Alvie. Ward 6 has a talent show, and Alvie insists on doing a freestyle rap. When Alvie freezes up and is unable to finish the bar, House saves Alvie by finishing the rhyme from the back of the room. Alvie is overjoyed, “paging Doctor House to the stage,” and as a sign of how far House has progressed, House actually joins him. House’s release from the facility is the impetus for Alvie to start taking his medication and begin getting better.
Alvie Helps House Solve A Case In “Baggage”
Alvie’s Suggestion Leads To Unlocking An Amnesiac Patient’s Identity
After his release from the psychiatric hospital, House stays with Dr. James Wilson for a few weeks. Upon returning to his apartment he is surprised to find Alvie staying there. Alvie is worried immigration services are looking for him, so he is hiding at House’s place. Determined not to be a “freeloader,” Alvie proudly shows House that he is painting the apartment. However, he sheepishly admits he had to pawn some of House’s belongings to pay for the custom color. The gesture is classic Alvie – both endearing and exasperating.
Episodes Of House Featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Juan “Alvie” Alvarez | |
|---|---|
Episode Number | Episode Summary |
Season 6, Episode 1, Part 1 “Broken” | Alvie assists House in his plans to outsmart the Mayfield doctors. |
Season 6, Episode 1, Part 2 “Broken” | Alvie and House fight when House decides to start taking medication. House mends his friendship with Alvie by helping him with his rap at the Mayfield Talent Show. |
Season 6, Episode 20 “Baggage” | Alvie squats at House’s apartment while avoiding Immigration. Alvie helps House identify an amnesiac patient. House breaks the law to solve Alvie’s citizenship status. |
House is rarely generous over all the seasons of House, yet House lets Alvie stay but decides to bring Alvie along on his case, for the sake of his apartment. House’s patient of the week is a woman with amnesia who has no memories and doesn’t even know her name. House follows the trail to the neighborhood where the woman’s heart monitor was purchased, but no one recognizes her.
Alvie notices a donut shop and begs House to stop there, even though it seems irrelevant to the case. The woman agrees that a donut sounds good, and the woman inside recognizes the patient and provides the contact information of her husband. Thanks to Alvie’s unconventional thought process, House is able to obtain the medical history he needs to save his patient.
What Happened To Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Alvie In House
House Lies To The Government For Alvie
Alvie is Puerto Rican but lacks the documents to prove it. Due to his manic tendencies, he never finished the process of requisitioning the paperwork he needs, which is why Alvie is squatting at House’s apartment to avoid ICE. Alvie’s loyalty as a friend is evident when House asks for the belongings Alvie sold to fund the apartment painting. House is able to repurchase everything but one book, and Alvie goes so far as to steal the only book the buyer was not willing to resell.
The medical textbook had emotional significance because it was written by Lisa Cuddy’s grandfather and House had been waiting for a special occasion to gift it to Cuddy.
House tricks Alvie into attending a court appearance where House provides fabricated evidence to establish Alvie’s matriarchal lineage, proving Alvie is an American citizen in the eyes of the law. House can be a complete jerk, but he cares more about his former roommate than he admits. Suddenly a free man, Alvie leaves House’s apartment to live with his cousin in Arizona. In a bittersweet House moment, House looks melancholy while reading Alvie’s goodbye note, because although he did not think Alvie was there indefinitely, he will still miss his chatterbox energy.