I do get the distinct impression that this is exactly what will happen. Wilson will blame House. Did House directly cause Amber’s demise? Of course not. Even at his worst and most self-absorbed, House is not someone who would cause harm to another human being intentionally. But has the manner in which House has lived his life — self-destructive, self-absorbed and isolated from most of humanity — finally hurt someone other than himself? And will Wilson, who has for years been trying to get House “to change” in some fundamental way, point to this and say, “See, look what I told you. Your self-destructive selfishness has caused the death of the person who has made me truly happy.” I can easily see Wilson simply washing his hands of House — without considering the impact on House. Or considering it and believing that he has no more time, energy or inclination to waste on trying “to help” his friend, perhaps even dismissing the importance of House’s self-sacrificial gesture to undergo the deep brain stimulation procedure.
Wilson will be understandably grief stricken. Anger is a normal part of the grieving process and House is an easy target as Wilson will want to lash out at someone. All of Wilson’s frustrations from his years of trying to “change House” are going to hit at once. Add to that House’s own state of mind: he’s got a good dose of survivor guilt (which we know based on that last dream sequence) and feels responsible. House will undoubtedly be quite a mess at the season’s start.
I can’t help but think of what Garrett Lerner and Russel Friend said to me when I spoke with them before “Wilson’s Heart.” They told me that House will be “in a place where he will be more reflective.” Amber’s death, Wilson’s ange, and House’s own feelings of guilt (and his own self-image) may provide an impetus for House to try and change his situation, a serious self-accounting.
Of course, one of the series' mantras is “no one ever changes.” It’s not in human nature to make permanent, fundamental change. It’s incredibly hard; just ask anyone who’s tried to lose weight or give up smoking. But that doesn’t prevent people from trying. And I think, for what it’s worth, House will try “to change” — or at least try to make some changes in the way he lives.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - HouseFan
While I enjoyed reading your perspective on House and Wilson, the biggest question I have is, "Will the producers follow through on the claim that Chase and Cameron will back with significant parts?" Their lack of screentime and story line in Season 4 was thoroughly disappointing and the newbies aren't cutting it as interesting or compelling replacements. Kutner has a certain charm, but 13 and Taub both need to be sent packing.
2 - michelle
Nice article. Unfortunately I just can't muster up any excitement for yet another House/Wilson friendship drama.
3 - HL fan
I must agree with HouseFan, the only thing I'm looking forward to in regards to season 5 is what will happen to Chase and Cameron. I love House, Wilson and Cuddy but miss Cam and Chase dearly.
I hope season 5 makes up for their lack of screen time in season 4.
Taub and 13 are utterly boring. I have no interest what so ever in them.
4 - Barbara Barnett
I, too, wonder what will become of the fellows regarding their importance in the story line. I do like the new fellows, finding in Taub the potential a real enemy for House from within--and I'm interested to see where that will take him. Kutner is a good soul. He's a klutz, but he's smart and adds some lightness to the staff. Not sure about 13. I do miss Chase, and we have seen him really internalize all that is good about House, while leaving alone the not-so-good. I like how he's grown and want to see more of him. Cameron, again...not so sure where I see her role, but I am curious as to where she's going (I like her relationship with Chase.)
5 - rtlemurs
Nice summary on this season and and speculation on the coming season. As always, Barb, you provide an interesting read and much food for thought. But, this quote I feeling a slighty inaccurate.
"Even at his worst and most self-absorbed, House is not someone who would cause harm to another human being intentionally. But has the manner in which House has lived his life " self-destructive, self-absorbed and isolated from most of humanity " finally hurt someone other than himself?"
Throughout, House's self-absobsion has harmed other people. And although I agrre that there is no "intent" on his part to cause harm it is harm nonetheless.
The most glaring example is the "Tritter arc". In fact, most of the "arcs" have hit directly on this theme. This is just the first time it has inadvertantly caused a death. And that is the key.
Up until now House may have felt that others suffered the consequences because of their own choices in how they acted and reacted to his action. He could rationalize it because no one really suffered any lasting damage.
The lasting damage is the difference here. Amber is dead and although he did not ask her to come and even tried to avoid her by leaving the bar tab for her to pay and ducking onto the bus. And even though he did not force her to take the cold pills, crash the bus, or damage her kidneys, it is because of his intent to cause disruption that she is dead.
Also, this is the first time we have gotten into House's head and gotten confirmation that he knows his actions cause harm to those around him. Whether you believe this has gone on in his head in prior situations (I choose to believe that it does) or not, we know it has happened here.
The question to me is not necessarily what will happen to House and Wilson's friendship (although that is a close second) but what is House going to do about it? Reflection on how he has chosen to live his life should reveal, if he doesn't know already, that is really was only a matter of time before something disasterous happened. And if he keeps on this path it will happen again.
And, that even when he is only harming himself with hi behavior (his viicodin habit, drinking, physically experimenting on himself...)it hurts those who care about him. He will need to face the fact that there are people who care about him Because I don't think he believes that right now.
He will try to change, I have no doubts, but I still think he will remain fundementally the same. In other words he will try to be less self-absorbed but will still be reckless and self destructive. He will work hard to make sure his actions do not harm anyone else. Which is a nice connective thread back to "No Reason" where Moriarty theorized that he could think and ask but as long as he took no action he could cause no harm. (God I could go on for pages on the themes and thread of that thought in House's head so I'll stop at that)
And in reply to HouseFan, I think the big problem with the Chase/Cameron screen time this season (and the opinion that there is a lack of spark in the new ducklings) was really the strike. They had to develop the new characters in the first third of the season so the audience could get familiar. Not deep development as I think that was planned for later when the new crew had been decided.
I think the second third of the season would have been dedicated to integrating the old team in their new roles and the new team and how they all interact and fit into House's world. Then the final third would have been deeper development once we had figured out how everyone fit.
Unfortunately everyone (writers, producers, actors, crew, etc...)had to scramble to finish the season (Don't know if you know it but House was not scheduled to return after the stike. DS and KJ fought hard to get it back on the air for the remainder of the season). That meant sacrifices in the effort to finish up major storyline at the expense of minor storylines and character development.
I don't think they would have kept Jesse Spencer and Jennifer Mosrrison on the payroll if they did not have more extensive plans for them. And I think Omar got the air time because of the role they had laid out for his character. That's all that was. So take heart HouseFan, I think you will see more of them in the new season.
6 - Cbear
I thought I'd be at some bar with my friends on my 21st birthday, but on 9/2, I WILL BE VERY SOBER! Can't wait for season 5 to start. What a great present:)
7 - Pat
An interesting description on the House/Wilson/Cuddy relationships.
Unfortunately, at end of season 4, I am bored with House and his soap operas with Cuddy and Wilson. They keep going over the same ground again and again, Wilson is his friend, Wilson gets estranged, Wilson make up with him; Cuddy loves House and enables him, wants him but thinks she shouldn't. House becomes even more of a drama queen.
When Chase and Cameron were around, at least House had interactions with them and Wilson with Cameron. Now House seems locked into his relationships with Wilson and Cuddy and everything else is filler. The new team, with the exception of Kutner, is forgettably boring. Foreman has been castrated. The show needs Chase and Cameron for the qualities they bring to storylines and they need to let Foreman Epps do something more than roll his eyes and babysit House.
The acting of HL, RSL and AD (now unfortunately gone) is wonderful but I can find better story lines in fanfiction. Shore really needs to bring back Cameron and Chase, drop the dead weight and bring the show back to what it was.
8 - Sea
I'm tired of reading the strike is to blame for Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer's status on the show. TPTB always plan ahead every season at least two months prior and there was almost a 90% chance of a strike. This quote from writers Garrett Lerner and Russel Friend in sums it up all:
“We know that people are missing some of the old team members (Chase, Cameron, and Foreman " who have been reduced to more marginal roles in most episodes). Frankly, we are as well. It’s a juggling act. We have only 42 minutes to tell a story.” And telling the story becomes paramount. “We have to service the story " the medical mystery. The people circling House and circling the medical mystery are going to get screen time. We’re bending our brains in knots trying to figure out how to get the other people into each episode. We’re still struggling. And it’s something on our minds.”
Being the other people Cameron and Chase they have no idea what to do with their characters. It shouldn't be a struggle writing for them, they're well paid writers on a hit tv show but 16 episodes later they're still struggling to incorporate them into every episode.
I'm not looking forward to next season, I'm looking forward to the day Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer leave the show and start looking for a decent role somewhere else.
9 - Alice Jester
Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer are still on the payroll because they were contracted for five seasons. If that weren't the case, they'd be gone by now. I've read interviews where David Shore has no interest in developing their characters further, and seems to think they aren't what the fans need. It's a waste too, because they really brought something to the show, FAR MORE than Olivia Wilde and Peter Jacobsen.
Anne Dudek brilliantly gave us the only worthwhile and interesting new character, and they killed her off. That's another waste. It should have been Thirteen instead. Even Omar Epps is being wasted, and he's on the team! He's become background noise.
The writers wrote themselves into a corner and I'm not convinced they can get themselves out of it. Sure, a very crappy season was saved by the final two episodes, but I don't want to see more of that melodrama next season. I want to see this show go back to what works.
10 - michelle
"The question to me is not necessarily what will happen to House and Wilson's friendship (although that is a close second) but what is House going to do about it? "
Hmm. I do find that angle of looking at the finale a lot more interesting than looking at it from the "What's going to happen to House and Wilson angle?" that's being pushed by TPTB. I like the idea of House coming to realize that his selfish desire to disrupt people's lives has had consequences and trying to address that issue-even if he fails to change.
Truth be told, I'm suffering from some serious House/ Wilson and Huddy burn out. A little introspective House that doesn't completely center on his fear of losing Wilson as his "nanny" or his sexual fantasies about Cuddy would be a welcome change.
LOL, I think the first interview I see about S5 that doesn't completely revolve around Hilson, Huddy, or Thirteen's sexual preferences is going to get put in a gold frame.
11 - bliffle
If the program gets stuck in the limited lives of a few repetitive characters it will soon fail. The success of long running TV series has depended on the people who enter and leave the scene. This is the very predicate upon which all cop and doc shows are based: their jobs permit them to interfere in other peoples lives and open them up to us. that's what provides the week to week variety. fresh new patients or criminals or victims and their family members are required to bring out new ideas. the permanent characters just provide a framework. The drama is not about them, it is about the people they meet each week and interact with in stress situations.
The proper prototype is "Dragnet", which suppressed the cops personalities and lives so utterly that it became a parody. What we were interested in was the people they met in their jobs, because they might be like us, or people we know. No one cares about Joe Friday. He just stirs things up.
"The Fugitve" was not interesting because it was a simile of "Les Miserables" nor because it was a good chase drama (we knew he'd escape), but because of the fascinating people Kimball would meet as he traveled around on the run.
"Route 66" was not a success because people wanted to look at Martin Milner every week, but because in his travels he met interesting people.
Of course, the success of those programs depended on there being a ready supply of terrific experienced "B" players to play the characters. perhaps that has dried up since then.
12 - londonbridge
It's interesting how much the questions sound like this show has become a soap opera. What about House and his team solving medical cases? I could see all of this House/Wilson angst if they were setting up Hilson, but DS has said he's not doing that. It appears that they had to estrange House and Wilson in order to set up Huddy, which I'm not at all interested in. If the season starts with just cameos by Chase and Cameron, House and Wilson not speaking, and House slowly but surely headed for Cuddy's bed, I'll stick to my Season 1, 2 and 3 DVDs. They should've hired Kutner and Amber, and fired Taub and Thirteen. This is the worst cast shakeup I've ever seen, and Season Four was an absolute mess. Will we ever see another episode like Autopsy or almost any of the quality, balanced, layered episodes that we saw in the first three seasons? This show didn't used to be a soap opera.
13 - Barbara Barnett
Thank you all for your passionate comments.
Rtlemurs said:
And in reply to HouseFan, I think the big problem with the Chase/Cameron screen time this season (and the opinion that there is a lack of spark in the new ducklings) was really the strike. They had to develop the new characters in the first third of the season so the audience could get familiar. Not deep development as I think that was planned for later when the new crew had been decided.
I think you are quite right. As a story arc, the "game" should have been about 1/3 of the season, instead it was half the season. If you think about it, too, the finale was supposed to be the Superbowl episode and the one right after. So the place people were in at that point (although they probably tweaked it to bring some closure to the season) was where they might have been in February or March. You have to consider the impact of the strike. I think next season, back to 24 episodes, will make a huge difference.
The most interesting aspect to next season won't be "Will House and Wilson ever be friends again?" It will be, as some of you have said, "what will be the impact of such a tragedy on House--given his hand in the events?" I agree that he we try (and fail) to change how he lives his life. He will do it in a way that conceals that he trying to do anything at all.
He will get support (or enabling) or the cold shoulder from all of the other characters, and it will be interesting to see all of their reactions to the tragedy and to their feelings about House in the aftermath.
Certainly House's self-destructive life-style (if you can call it that) has had an effect on everyone around him. I still don't think, however, that House was alone to blame in the Tritter storyline. What drove House to forge the scrips? What was Wilson's hand in House's fear? Tritter was the bully in this, and yes, House's refusal to take Tritter's deal or to deal with Tritter had some bad consequences for everyone. But I don't think House was responsible for that. House was being who he was, he neither expected nor wanted anyone to intervene for him. he said himself that he has no sense of self-preservation.
Is he a saint? Far from it. But has his life meant more good than bad? His lack of self=preservation (combined with a rigid sense of right and wrong) has also led to him lying in order to get a heart for a patient, being a strong and fearless patient advocate (for his patients); risking his life and career for others as necessary.
Bliffle--
House is not a conventional procedural, which is what makes the show so intriguing. It is at its essence (in my opinion, anyway) a character drama wrapped in a procedural.
14 - blacktop
Barbara: thank you for this excellent summation of the possible delights we have in store for us in the coming season of "House." I think you are correct to point out that the central puzzle of the show is the character of House himself. The medical mysteries, the procedural plots, clinic patients, even the subsidiary characters such as Chase and Cameron are all developed only to service the core action of the series, which is unpeeling the layers from the tragically flawed character of Greg House.
We are fortunate indeed that Hugh Laurie and David Shore have collaborated to bring to life such a remarkably complex and affecting figure. The fact that "House" continues to be a tremendously popular hit show after four seasons is a tribute to their genius and to the audience which is hungry to be engaged and challenged as the intelligent adults we are.
15 - michelle
"The medical mysteries, the procedural plots, clinic patients, even the subsidiary characters such as Chase and Cameron are all developed only to service the core action of the series, which is unpeeling the layers from the tragically flawed character of Greg House."
This may be true, but it leaves for a lot of hanging threads and unsatisfying conclusions. What about Wilson's LLB and Cuddy's baby arc? Should viewers not be curious about what happened there? Why shouldn't other viewers be curious about Chase and Cam as well? We've spent 3 years with all six of them, why should we only wonder about House?
Hugh is brilliant - no doubt about it- but his character can only be as good as those he's permitted to interact with, be they patients or other regulars. A two dimensional caricature is hardy gonna peel back any of House's deeper layers- though such a character may provide something for House to snark at. When the quality of the characters surrounding House declines, so does his character.
So far, I'm not particularly sold on TTK's layers (thought others certainly may be), both Cuddy and Foreman have been horribly weakened, and I'm still unsure of what function Chase and Cam are supposed to serve in their new roles. I think all these things could stand to be addressed in S5.
16 - gorlicze
Barbara: Thanks for the great reviews, I have read them all after I had found 'Gregory House, Romantic Hero' which is the best description of House and his appeal to me as a character I have ever read. This show is a medical procedural show and character drama with great humour and I love all the three aspects but the biggest attraction to me is the fascinating central character. I am looking forward to the revisited reviews and would love to read your review on Detox, my favourite episode.
I fear that in the next season they will blame House and by they I mean the show and not Wilson or any other characters. I think they will show that it is House's fault because he has always exploited Wilson and now it became serious, but this is not the case. Sure, House has always pushed his friendship with Wilson, it was obvious, but Wilson did pretty dreadful things to him in first half of season three, which are always dismissed because he meant well, and now asked him to risk his life for Amber (essentially, for Wilson) which he did without hesitation. It is easy to see the bad things House did to Wilson but I think their relationship is more balanced in this respect than it looks like.
These two episodes were amongst best so far and I really hope they can continue it in quality.
17 - MIra
I agree that the shortening of season 4 may have had an impact on what TPTB had planned for Cam and Chase so therefore I am still hopeful that they wil be integrated into each episode better next season. Having Chase one week and then Cam the next, personally for me is not good enough.
It seems to me that TPTB have got themselves stuck in a corner in regards to them. And what about Foreman? Give him something to do!! To me his role on the team is non-existent which is a shame because he is a great doctor. And give him some balls! I hated how he was trying to give the new team performance reviews and they just ignored him.
House hiring three new fellows was too much in my opinion. 3 newbies plus Foreman. And Taub and 13...eeuuugghhhh!!! I'm dreaming that somehow they'll be written off the show. But I'm doubtful. I really don't care for their characters or what goes on in their lives. I want to know more about Cam, Chase and Foreman!
I continuously still watch my season 1-3 DVD's and I can't help but be a little saddened at what has happened to my favorite show in season 4. I want medical cases that delve into morals and ethics and ones that make me think. I don't want "bring me the thong of Dr LIsa Cuddy" or "I have a position on my penis".
I have felt that for the most part of this season the medical cases have been pushed into the background. Except for a few, to me they have been unmemorable. I want episodes like Autopsy and All in. Interesting medical cases and patients that in turn reveal more about our characters. And what about the clinic patients? I miss them!! And yes I know the writers strike didn't help.
Barbara, thank you for this little write up on what ifs for next season.
18 - angelcat2865
Thanks Barbara for the wonderful look into next season.
"Certainly House's self-destructive life-style (if you can call it that) has had an effect on everyone around him. I still don't think, however, that House was alone to blame in the Tritter storyline...he neither expected nor wanted anyone to intervene for him. he said himself that he has no sense of self-preservation."
I totally agree with you here. Although House is far from blameless in the Tritter arc the actions of the others around him greatly contributed and may have even outweighed his own in his downfall and near destruction.
"This show is a medical procedural show and character drama with great humour and I love all the three aspects but the biggest attraction to me is the fascinating central character."
This is why I watch the show too, and while I love the other characters House will be the reason I keep watching.
19 - bliffle
Barbara,
I think you've been reading too many Inside TV articles. Describing 'story arcs' and 'procedurals' does not make good drama. It's just Inside Entertainment talk for empty headed TV fools.
Dr. Gregory House has wornout the latitude most of us allow to petulant children.
As another commentor has pointed out, this program was a lot more interesting when we could actually follow the ins and outs of the medical detective stories presented. But now it's just a whirl of mistakes and guesses and improbable hints.
Bah.
20 - sdemar
Barbara, thank you for this little treat. I hate thinking we have 3 months to go before the new season begins. How will they start off? Will it be a continuation as if no time was lost between the end of S4 and beginning of S5? Hopefully so, but we saw how they started S3 after House got shot.
We know from House's hallucinations that he feels a tremendous amount of guilt and worries about losing his best friend. That was such a sad scene on the white bus and think it said everything.
To echo the writers, I believe we will see a more reflective House, which is going to be interesting to watch from a man who is so proud. If ever there is a time to make an effort at changing, this is it.
From Season 1 and in the pilot, we see that Wilson plays a major role in House's life and has been the constant in House's life for a long time. He is who House turns to. They need each other. Like you, I think we will see a closer relationship with Cuddy because I think Wilson will temporarily wash his hands clean of House and Cuddy has shown that she is his replacement. Both Wilson and Cuddy have some serious co-dependents issues, but what I love about it is it is very true to real life. What it did confirm for me is that Cuddy does truly love House and she won't abandon him.
Wilson will be a mess and he is going to blame House regardless of the fact that he was willing to sacrafice his life for Amber. They both will suffer a lot of guilt.
I am one that really enjoyed the old ducklings and I think there has been a lot of uproar over their dimished screentime. Perhaps the shortening of the season resulted in them getting shortened screentime but maybe not. I do think TPTB recognize JS, JM, OE have a loud voice out there from the fandom. I would hope they are able to successfully incorporate all of them to our satisfaction but it is their show so I am willing to sit back and enjoy the ride however it plays out. Having said that, if LE was cut out, I am pretty sure I would not sit idly accepting that.
I think with the way the Season ended, with the 2 best episodes I have ever watched on House, I think TPTB have a lot of material to work with. I'm excited because I think it will keep the plotlines interesting.
Only downer-Anne D is gone. I loved her,that CTB. Damn she can act.
21 - instluzgh
Thanks, Barbara, for all your reviews this season.
The season finales were indeed very good episodes and even after re watching them several times, they still leave strong, emotional impact. Having had time to digest them a bit, I agree that House will be more reflective and introverted than in this past season, due to the profound guilt he obviously feels, and also because of his fear of Wilson hating him. Season 4 showed a rather light version of House for the most part and I for one am looking forward to seeing House dealing with his inner struggle once more. However, I'm not sure, or at least I hope that the writers don't go down the too obvious road of Wilson blaming House for Amber's death, thereby changing their relationship for good. I know, everything was set up for that in the last episode, but all we really saw is what went on in House's mind, not in Wilson's. A lot has been said about how much House needs Wilson but the reverse is also true. Wilson should feel as guilty about having asked House to risk his life, causing the seizure and the still unknown repercussions from the procedure, as House feels about Amber's death. Obviously, Wilson will grieve and who knows what form or shape it will take, but I do hope that the show won't just take the easy road of Wilson being angry at House because they have already shown how Wilson's mind works in regard to House and it is definitely not that simple.
Having said that, the one problem I had with the finale was that I didn't feel that the Amber/Wilson relationship was all that convincing to begin with, and I have some problems believing that all of the sudden she is his big love. So to see how Wilson was willing to sacrifice House for Amber was a bit of a stretch, though I guess the shortened season may have had to do something with the fact that their relationship was stuffed down our throats rather hastily. The only thing that saved this aspect was the truly convincing acting by RSL and to some degree, AD. And HL's overall brilliant acting helped too, of course. Not enough can be said about HL's acting here...
Like many others, I was a bit disappointed that Cameron and Chase were not more involved, at least with House's injuries and during his coma. It was a perfect opportunity to bring them back to the forefront but instead we got to see Kutner eat cereal, Taub hug his sleeping wife and 13 testing positive to Huntington's (did anyone actually believe that she would test negative?!). It has been said again and again that the shortened season was to blame for the lack of Cameron and Chase, but at the same time, the writers did not do a good job with the new members either. They kept them boring, bland, failed to establish any sort of dynamic between them and the old cast, plus we don't even know their first names yet!
I do look forward to season 5 to see how the show deals with not only the questions raised during the finales and the still unanswered ones from S3, but also how they will re-establish and develop characters, if we will see more exiting and intriguing medical cases than some of the ones in S4 and most and foremost, how deep we will be allowed to look into House's mind and soul.
22 - marie
Thank you Barbara for all the episode analysis throughout the season ,they have been great . re: the last two episodes ,my opinion is that House was not to blame for Ambers death , the only thing he was guilty of was calling Wilson to come pick him up , something he evidently was used to doing , he told Amber to find Wilson , he never expected her coming for him and didnt want her to take him home when she did turn up, he tried to leave her and take the bus home himself ,all the rest of it was down to bad luck , not House , I think the most significant act after that was when House asked if he should risk his life to save Ambers and Wilson said yes .the lack of dialogue then the pause , and the nod from House spoke volumes ..... I think it was at that point that House realised...... the one person he had always been able to depend on , was no longer there for him ...... it was then that the dangerous procedure held no fear for House , and why consequently at the end with Amber, House thought his life was much less worthy than Ambers , not only because of his...... LIFESTYLE .....but because SHE was the one that Wilson WANTED to live and be with, that scene and the one I have already mentioned where House just nodded really broke me up , terrific acting by everyone in those two episodes especially Hugh ,(Hugh Lauries acting just gets better, the man is a genius) RSL , and A D.........cant wait for season 5 .
23 - sassydew
Thank you once again for your wonderful analysis and thoughts about season 5, Barbara. I agree with you that, at its core, this is a show about the character of House. No fictional character in literature or film has ever captivated me more, and this is the reason that I watch. I think that it will be House who blames himself for Amber's death more than anyone else will (I think Wilson will blame him for a while in his grief, but will get over it), and I think that it will, indeed, cause House to reevaluate how he lives his life; ultimately, however, I don't think he will change (and I don't see that as necessarily a bad thing at all). I do think that he might end up a bit more self-aware, though, if that makes any sense.
As for the new team and the old, I think it is way past time for the old team to move on; in fact, I think that the Season 3 finale provided a fitting exit for them, and in Season 4 many of the scenes with Cameron and Chase (as much as I adore Chase) seemed shoe-horned in solely for the sake of including them and often distracted me from the rest of the episode. I realize that these characters have fans, but, as someone primarily interested in the character of House, I view them as useful primarily in terms of what they may reveal about House himself - and I feel that the new ducklings have greater potential in this area, simply because they are new people with whom House can interact.
Since Cuddy and Wilson are House's *friends*, I believe that they remain necessary to the show, whereas the fellows *should* rotate, as they are. While there is some talk of a House/Cuddy romance being hinted at, I wouldn't find a longterm relationship very realistic. I view them as very good old friends who care about each other deeply, but I can't see House allowing himself to fall in love with anyone other than Stacy, either because he still loves her or simply because he won't let himself go there again (or both).
In any case, I applaud David Shore and company for keeping this show fresh and exciting as it goes into its fifth season. I can hardly wait for September!
24 - Sea
In my opinion House's one and only friend is and always has been Wilson. The character of Cuddy could be written off the show tomorrow and House would go on with his life as she was never part of it as it happened with Stacy.
As for the new team, what we learned about House didn't come from his interactions with them, but from the original characters. Who are we kidding?
25 - Emma
I learnt nothing about House from his interactions with the new team. In regards to season 4 I learnt more about him from his interactions with the patients.
And Sassydew I agree with you in that no other fictional character
has ever captivated me more either. And although I am not happy with Taub and 13 and dearly, dearly miss Chase and Cameron (and sooo want them back in a bigger capacity) it is because of House (and Hugh Laurie) that I will continue to watch the show. No matter what.