So much is going on in last night's 150th episode of FOX's House, that's it's hard to know where to begin. The episode is entitled, appropriately enough, "The Dig." Each of the various stories, some large, some small, many intersecting, deal with layers. There is always something beneath what is being talked about and obviously going on. Many of these layers deal with emotions and relationships. Some deal with disease. Some with morality. All allow serious insight into the characters of House.
Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) and Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) are absent in this episode, strange for a special 150th entry to the series. Yet, there is just no room for them.
Too many stories are happening, and the episode is bursting at the seams as it is. Yet, who they are pervades other storylines, even though at this time, they are not on the journey, so they are present in some abstract way.
Cuddy has broken House (Hugh Laurie), as he has been seen with even more erratic than normal behavior in recent weeks. She also had begun to heal him. House has been in a bad state for the entire run of the series, especially emotionally. This seems to all stem from when he first hurt his leg, and what he went through with Stacy (Sela Ward). He has occasionally shown compassion, mostly for strangers, but rarely lets his team feel valued. This week, House actually expresses some real tenderness for a member of his staff, which will be dealt with more thoroughly later in this review. That shows House is becoming more of a well rounded person. Perhaps it's a slow change, but it's there.
The worrisome thing for friendship is that Wilson does not know how to deal with this new House. Wilson has been able to assist his friend through many issues in the past. Wilson has been shown to have a weakness for women that need fixing, but isn't his friendship with House about the same thing? When House goes off the deep end, jumping from a hotel balcony, Wilson backs off, having reached his limit. Even the always helpful Wilson can only deal with one type of person, not the now baffling House. Wilson tries to get involved again, as House returns to work, and then House gets married. Wilson retreats, siding with Cuddy, who is the type of broken he can deal with. As House takes his road trip to a spud gun competition, he doesn't bring Wilson along. Is this simply because House has ulterior motives for the trip, or is it a sign of a growing chasm?
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