But it’s irrelevant in a way, because although what he does is shocking and (in some ways) in character—and I even understand it—that final action makes House persona non-grata in the hospital and its universe. Eventually, it will probably make our self-loathing House despise himself even more for having driven away Cuddy, Wilson, and everyone else who’s meaningful to him.
We, as the audience, I believe, are meant to react to House just as Cuddy has; she is shaking and furious. So are we. Whatever demons House possesses, he’s never really been malicious. His most destructive qualities have almost always been aimed at himself (with rare exceptions); House hurts himself, not others. But this House is not our House; he has betrayed us as he's betrayed Cuddy and Wilson. And perhaps that is what we are meant to feel.
We are left stunned and confused at what has driven him (literally). The writers help explain his motivation, although they rightly remind us that all writing is open to layers of interpretation: the director, the actor, and the viewer. House could not emotionally break away from Cuddy, even after all they’d been through. She’s apparently moved on; he cannot, they explained.
Although what he does isn’t rational, it serves to burn his bridges, making it impossible for them ever to be emotionally involved again. (How could she even think about it, given the enormity of what House has done?).
In a way, the ending—House walking calmly away from Wilson and planting himself on some real or imagined tropical island sipping pina coladas—is the culmination of seven years of people telling him to change, to do something other than repress whatever rage of emotion roils inside him. “I expressed my feelings,” he tells Wilson simply. “Screw you all,” is what he’s really saying. “Just leave me the fuck alone.”
We actually don’t know that House ends Season 7 on an unimaginably gorgeous beach in Figi or Rio or Hawaii. It is real enough, and said the writers, there is no reason to believe for now that it’s not real. But I have to wonder.
I suppose it could be real—that House hops a taxi, picks up his passport, and heads to the airport: no suitcase, no change of clothes. On the other hand, it’s just as plausible that House is actually back in his apartment and staring out the window as he had been when Wilson visits him earlier. That all remains to be seen next season.
The creative team at House has never been risk averse. The very notion of House as the hero of a network television series was a risk, even as we first met him years ago. But taking a risk like this—making House unsympathetic and destructive—at the end of Season 7 with the ratings slipping—is a huge gamble. Whatever else happens to House or any of the other characters on the show, they can’t leave him this unsympathetic for very long or the audience will stop caring. And that would be deadly to the show. We need to care about House; we need to be able to be on his side (at least most of the time). And therein lies the challenge.
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - HouseMDFan
We, as the audience, I believe, are meant to react to House just as Cuddy has; she is shaking and furious. So are we. Whatever demons House possesses, he’s never really been malicious. His most destructive qualities have almost always been aimed at himself (with rare exceptions); House hurts himself, not others. But this House is not our House; he has betrayed us as he's betrayed Cuddy and Wilson. And perhaps that is what we are meant to feel.
Just want to say that you are NOT speaking for the whole audience. I realize that a lot of people feel this way, and that this is fine and even wanted, but there are people, like me, who don't. This is still very much MY House, as I know him, still definitely in character, I don't feel betrayed by him, and I can't wait to see where this is going.
2 - eleonora
I agree with HouseMDFan . I don't feel betrayed by the House's reaction , because even if it's an overreaction , I understand him .
He still loves Cuddy, maybe deep in his heart he hopes that she comes back to him.
I guess that after the car crash , House went to a New Jersey beach .
3 - barbara barnett
I am not disagreeing with either of you. I understand where House is coming from. I completely understand why he did what he did, thinking rationally about it. But for me the shock was there. But then again, this is my subjective opinion. (And why it's categorized as an opinion and not a review).
I can't wait to see where this is going either!
4 - TVTherapy
Part of me reads what you wrote and can agree that if you look at it in every way you've proposed, maybe they've done something interesting and risky.
But the part of me that I'm actually listening to is shaking my head and thinking we're just grasping at straws here.
Barbara, you know how much respect I have for this series. But I have been wracking my brain trying to philosophize this ending and twist it so it makes sense and bend around TPTB's intentions, and I come up empty every time. I really don't think that there is anything particularly special or remarkable about House's thought process or his despair, etc. I honestly think that part of the reason this season ended in this way was because they wanted to end with a bang and because they thought this might be an interesting way to do it.
What's disappointed me so much this season is that I feel that the sense of purpose that I watched the show for, all the little nuances that I watched for and appreciated, where I thought the writers and directors and producers were really working hard to create amazingly detailed and complicated stories, is no longer here. I can't read into this ending and give them credit for what I'm projecting as their intentions. Their intentions lacked real thought. And that's the problem.
Just like House, the king of self-sabotage, this show has shot itself in the foot. Like you said, it wasn't clear AT ALL to viewers what House's intentions were in what he did, and of course, we're supposed to figure it out on our own. But it's not okay that one of the options was that he could have physically hurt or killed Cuddy and especially Rachel who there's no way he could have seen when he drove into the house.
I appreciate that you took the time to try and gain some perspective. I did the same thing with "Bombshells" and am still baffled. This season was filled with wasted potential and I'm saddened to think that now we aren't even going to get a deserving ending for Cuddy.
All in all, it was nice to read your perspective, but that's all this is, YOUR perspective. To hope that these are the things that went into the writers' minds when they wrote this ending is wishful thinking.
-Lisa
5 - Gill
Very well said Barbara. Its good that you waited to do your review, and did not get caught up in the instant reaction hysterics that I have seen on other sites. I was not suprised that House snaped, its been coming on for years. Mayfield did not fix him at all, he only got off the drugs, which now he is clearly back to. I do hold Wilson and esp Cuddy responsible for a lot of this. Cuddy knew what he could do if pushed in the wrong direction, thats why I feel she was totally heartless by the way she broke up with him, she I feel destroyed him. He will now have to pick up the pieces, and face up to what he has done. Cuddy wont be there anymore, and I think that is for the best, we will have to see if Wilson will still be there for him as a friend. If the writers and David Shore do this right, they could inject a new spark of engery into the show. I am more excited now for S8 than I was for S7.
6 - Iris
BB, you are a professional line-straddler of the highest degree. Way to take umbrage with the ill-conceived finale but not condemn it. Guess you still need Shore & Co to agree to speak with you though?
Anyway, none of this would be an issue if Shore et al didn't insist on maintaining that they're "in the right." When a fictional TV scenario enters the realm of discussion in actually society--there is NO WAY to defend crashing a car through another's House. Shore is so desperate to defend his finale against nearly universal criticism (on several points) that he's become an abuse apologist. It's all so very wrong.
7 - barbara barnett
Gill--I think what we are seeing in House is Wilson's deepest fears going back to season one. That warning he gives Cameron about getting involved with House?
I believe that we are seeing a parallel to what House (and by extension) Wilson went through after Stacy left him the first time.
Lisa--Yes, this is totally my interpretation. I don't think it's fanwanking, but it is the lens through which I'm understanding House's actions as potentially inevitable. Not everyone's going to agree with me on this. On the other hand I don't agree with others. So fair enough.
8 - barbara barnett
Iris--I'm not defending it. Did you read what I wrote? It is what I feel and believe. And by the way, a lot of viewers that I've spoken with over the last two weeks really, really liked the ending as "perfect." I would disagree with them. Shocking yes; perfect, no.
The criticism isn't actually as universal among the viewers at large as you might think, but there among many of the core of the fandom who hated it.
I think intent might have been made much more clearly. I said that. There was a lot to like about the finale. It was controversial and not universally loved. I understand what they did and were trying to do. I am entitled to my opinion like anyone else.
9 - HalfPastLater
Great, now I have to watch it again :-(
10 - Simon
I'm thinking House was more angry at himself for actually believing that Cuddy is worth the agony he went through. The last eight episodes proved she isn't worth anything.
11 - Nada
"I believe that we are seeing a parallel to what House (and by extension) Wilson went through after Stacy left him the first time."
Ok but so back to square one?
House alone, miserable and stoned?
"I think what we are seeing in House is Wilson's deepest fears going back to season one."
Do you think he tried to commit suicide after Stacy left him?
12 - Gill
Thank you for reminding me of that Barbara. His action here my not be as out of character as it appears. It was never fully explained how he was after Stacy. Even when she came back.
13 - barbara barnett
Nada #11--I don't know. But Wilson witnessed something pretty terrifying in him. Maybe suicidal, but more likely completely self-destructive.
I don't know if we're going to go back to square one where House has to be manipulated into even taking a patient. First and most importantly, he has to work his way out this mess. Criminal charges, destroyed relationships, probably rehab (at least). It's a mess.
14 - Paul.s
Barbara, I have to respectfully disagree with your comment about the writers successfully coming up with a finale that ensnared us (the viewers) into wondering how House might find his way out of this mess.Most of us are simply stunned at the ridiculous route the story line has taken. If some of us are sitting around with our mouth open agape, it's more due to the lack of quality writing and an imagination run amok. I do agree that they have their work cut out for them. They have to prove their worth next season or risk being the best tv show that bombed.
15 - Carotid artery
Guys, it won't be so bad if House goes back to being what he was after Stacy left him, we'll get the House that we all love and miss back. Silver lining etc..
16 - Silvia
We needed a full interview with the writers, and Barbara having to explain to us over two articles to make us finally understand what the finale is all about? I feel like a high school kid who just got an F on a subject I've been taking all year long. I can't decide if the finale was bad due to the writing or the directing
17 - TripleM
@ #15 Cartoid artery: Great idea! Maybe the writers meant for that all along just to save the failing season? That would be a good save and will bring House full circle to the way he was before! YAY
18 - barbara barnett
Silvia--I thought very hard about writing a new article about the episode. I'm not trying to explain it. I just wanted to share my subjective thoughts. Disagree or agree with me. I'm not explaining anything to anyone. I'm trying to understand the episode, and I shared it with my readers.
Whether the finale was bad is a matter of opinion, not fact. I liked it (but was unnerved by the end); you did not. They are both valid opinions. It's not a matter of you're right and I'm wrong -- or the reverse.
I watched the episode with my husband (who knows the show very, very well, but isn't at all part of the fandom). He wondered why I was so shocked by the ending. He wondered why I found it at all out of character for House. He thought it was a well written, well-executed finale. His opinion is one I've found as much as the reverse outside the fandom, interestingly.
19 - Nada
"we'll get the House that we all love and miss back."
Well yes why not (back to powerful medical cases), but the first seasons were the best of this show, I don't know if writers could be again on the same level, I noticed that dialogues are not as great as they were in the first seasons.
20 - KrispyKreme
Barbara, thank you for both pieces. I always love to read your thoughts. I too needed your insight to understand the basis of House's behavior. I watched it with my husband as well, who barely watched five episodes of the entire show in total. He was shocked at the intensity of the violence that House exhibited and asked if house was a disturbed mental patient...That made me pause and think that either the scene was done poorly or House finally snapped. The latter would mean he'll never be able to practice medicine again. It made me sad.
21 - Iris
I suppose "nearly universal" (which is what I said) criticism is too broad? How about "widespread" among entertainment news outlets? These are a few who've passed negative judgments on the finale.
TV Fanatic
TV Guide
Screen Rant
Television Without Pity
Zap2It
E Online
Although, major outlets like EW and TVLine have been diplomatic, it's clear from their targeted questioning and expressed concern that they find the ending problematic as well.
TV Line
Inside TV
But I guess that doesn't matter. And viewers who find the ending disturbing MUST be mere LE supporters. That small, vocal contingent were surely the only people voting in this poll.
EW
All 36,000 of them.
Nevertheless people have their bias; some disliked the finale because LE is gone; some because it was legitimately terrible and sullies the show and character of House. Some will praise the finale just because they dislike Cuddy and applaud her exit.
Regardless, character assassination, shock tactics and controversy don't justify themselves.
22 - Eloise
Well written article, did not agree with it totally as I really enjoyed most of the season and felt the finale fitting. I did not see House trying to hurt anyone but someone who just flipped. I think that its a shame so many people are down on the programme, I for one am really excited for S8.
I think your right too Barbara, not all watchers hated the finale and it may well mean that it has given it a boost. We shall see......
23 - Eloise
A lot of people voting in polls do have a hidden agenda actually and some of those polls can be voted on more than once. It was a shocking end in the finale it was meant to be.
24 - But wait1
Popped my head in to see what Ms. Barnett had to say about the finale.
I respect your opinion as well, but I have to second TVTherapy(#4)'s to...infinity :(
Especially this.
"What's disappointed me so much this season is that I feel that the sense of purpose that I watched the show for, all the little nuances that I watched for and appreciated, where I thought the writers and directors and producers were really working hard to create amazingly detailed and complicated stories, is no longer here. I can't read into this ending and give them credit for what I'm projecting as their intentions. Their intentions lacked real thought. And that's the problem."
This is what I have felt and expressed for S7 as well. I miss the complicated, detailed storylines that were intricately interwoven. I think S7 had too much of an anvil-esque quality in too many respects.
In regards to the finale, if TPTB had put a concerted effort into thinking about what they were actually doing with that crash, they would have edited/shot the scene so that the audience could definitely see that House KNEW nobody (esp. tiny Rachel) was in that room. I don't think it's fair to tell the audience, "Well, if you look really, really closely, you can tell he saw them get up and leave the room, so CLEARLY he wasn't trying to physically hurt/kill anyone." Legally and logically, this reasoning fails on so many levels, least of which is because it illogically excludes the possibility of anyone reentering the room. Also, again, if House's intentions were to swerve out of the way if he saw anyone, that should have been made more clear in the camera-work and/or editing.
You can't tell a significant portion of an audience that their interpretation is misguided when the presentation left ample room for the "misguidance" you talk about.
I think David Shore should stop giving interviews because when he says something like this right after the finale:
"I’ve always thought House was capable of killing people close to him. [Laughs]... I don’t think he wanted to kill anybody. But who knows? Probably part of his mind did. It was a lashing out " a very extreme lashing out. I don’t think it was a murderous lashing out."
He doesn't even make sense. So, he always thought House was capable of killing somebody, and A PART OF HIS MIND PROBABLY DID WANT TO KILL CUDDY, it wasn't a murderous lashing out?
I'd like to see any court, even an imaginary one in fictionland that tries to emulate reality in some way, find in favor of someone whose conduct, circumstance, and result all satisfy AT LEAST a negligently criminal mental state. If anything, TPTB are arguing that House knowingly controlled his actions. Knowledge is a HIGHER criminal standard than negligence or recklessness and makes him MORE liable, not less. I can't believe that they don't know this, so it really does sound like they're trying to backpedal with words and grasping at straws to fix something that they should have put more thought into. (I mean, because, a lot of research goes into all the episodes, right?)
DS then said recently, two weeks later:
"And [House] does feel better, which to me means he got what he wanted out of that. He did intend to lash out. He did intend to hurt her, but not physically. He got what he wanted, which was to strike a blow against her world. Certainly, it was crazy and irresponsible and dangerous, but it wasn’t an attempt to murder her.”
That is a very weak justification. So, H intended to do an act, caused the act which he intended, and Shore is arguing a lower standard of intent to say it wasn't an act geared to by physically harmful or homicidal? "He got what he wanted out of that?" So he knowingly, with a conscious object to cause the result, with an awareness of circumstances, and a conscious objective to engage in conduct of that nature, did what he did? That's the highest standard of criminal conduct. I would really like to tell Shore to stop talking.
It sounds like he's trying to side-step the horror of what House did (Really? He did intend to hurt her but not physically so he perpetuated an act of criminal violence? Excuse me while I laugh.)and trying to make it a not-so-big deal. Well, IMO, his arguments are failing.
IMO, the uproar over the finale has caused TPTB at House and the network execs to give interviews and conduct surveys, polls, send out questionnaires to panelists, conduct a chat between an exec and viewers, and etc. I do believe the uproar was unexpected, and at this I am disappointed because this goes back to the idea that TPTB did not put in a concerted effort into really thinking about what they're doing.
25 - barbara barnett
Thank you Eloise. The one episode this season I really didn't like was "Fall From Grace." House was obnoxious in this episode, and although I saw where they were going, I couldn't tolerate him until the final scene.
There are many reasons people didn't like this season (and some of it had to do with putting House and Cuddy together in the first place, by the way). I liked that they did, wished they'd done it for a bit longer. But the fact that they didn't and chose to end the season like this doesn't make either the show or the writing bad. It does mean that a lot of people disagree with the creative choices made by the producers (and maybe especially David Shore).