When the clinic patient in “97 Seconds” stubbornly insisted he saw something after death, all House's internal fact checkers said nonsense. After all, he's been dead himself. But he still questioned, to the point of being willing to risk his own life. The answer didn’t change. But having confirmed to himself again that this life is all there is, House reached out to Wilson with an “I love you” — I think embedding truth in a joke. The episode suggested that House’s relationship with Wilson is one of the things that make his life worth living — and that falls more on the side of intangibles than facts.

“You Don't Want To Know” gave us more exploration of what value the intangibles have in grounding our lives. From the magician's insistence on the value of wonder over answers and 13's argument that hope empowers her more than knowledge in regard to whether she carries the marker for Huntington’s chorea, House’s own reliance on knowledge got a work-over. I'm not sure that he shifted his own stance much — but he did appear to acknowledge 13's charge that hope makes his own life worth living more than he admits. But hope for what?

The season opened this year with Wilson sure that House would not risk himself emotionally by bonding with a new team. And indeed, we saw House do his best to distance himself from his applicants, to the extent of calling them numbers instead of names. But that distance soon collapsed. Over the course of the arc, House moved from avoiding hiring a new team to scheming to keep as many candidates as possible. Just as “Human Error” suggested at the end of last season, House is in a stronger emotional place than his friends believe.

He appeared to be taking baby steps toward taking risks in relationships, as he hired his new team in “Games,” fell face first into a crush in “Whatever It Takes,” and then allowed himself to connect with admittedly far away Cate in “Frozen.” The first half of the season examined the quest for meaning from a more philosophical point of view. Perhaps the remaining episodes will explore those same questions from a more emotional standpoint with some glimpses into House’s inner life. The focus on his relationship with Wilson, first raised in “97 Seconds” and continued with gusto in “Don’t Ever Change,” offers lots of scope for peeks into the ever fascinating Dr. House. I’ve loved season four so far — bring on the next episodes!