House Season Finale - "Help Me"

SPOILERS: Tonight's episode

Tonight's House episode was beautiful. That's all there is to say really. Absolutely beautiful, so please don't spoil it for yourself by reading on without watching the episode first. I'm serious, it was a stunning and wonderful episode, totally breathtaking, eventful, and impossible to predict. So last chance. Don't say I didn't warn you.

But first off, thank you roflrazzi.com

Props to Hugh Laurie for this one. Year after year he's delivered one stunning House performance after another, but tonight he showed a side of House I really don't think we've ever seen before, and made it very real. And all this from the guy who originally thought Wilson was supposed to be the main character of the show. 

The plot was simple, the "case" hovered vaguely in the background. Thirteen went through some issues; I didn't particularly care, but, of course, I was more concerned with House and Hannah. Yep, I learned the patient's name - and so did House.

At first, it's simple. House finds woman trapped. House helps woman, House bothers Cuddy, Cuddy reveals she's getting more serious with Lucas, House solves case, House goes back to helping woman. House and woman have philosophical discussions about religion and backstory. Did I mention the woman's name was Hannah? Yeah, I'm still surprised at how I remembered, and House too.

The funny thing is, at first it didn't seem very serious. Early on in the episode, one of my sister's walked over (she hadn't been paying attention - and funnily enough, she was on Vicodin because of some surgery she had today) and remarked something along the lines of Hannah being lucky to get a damn good looking guy like Laurie for company. At the time, I kind of nodded my head, stuck between agreeing and going "shush this is dramatic, don't ruin it for me." Image Source

But then, they finally have to amputate. And for once, Cuddy's repetitive speech of "House, you just see yourself in your patient" did not fall on deaf ears. For once, it didn't seem tiresome, annoying, or like a plot device. So House tells Hannah his story. And she loses the leg. And House meaningfully stops using his cane.

I thought it could end happy. I really did. 

The ambulance seem was so...surreal. I thought, when House hesitates to say what was wrong, it was something like "she was pregnant but she had a miscarriage" or something equally emotionally unexpected. Instead we watch Hannah slip away, and the look on House's face.......all I can say is wow.

And there's no regret. There's no "why did I bother talking to a patient" or "now I've learned my lesson." House suffers real palatable grief. His explosion at Foreman, so common in other medical shows, blew me away. It's not every day you hear House get mad at the science he so believes in. 

And when he tore the mirror off the wall, I was scared. [Warning: Glee reference] It reminded of (in Glee last November) Schuster's outburst at his wife when he found out she wasn't pregnant. An unexpected dose of violence that shocks you down to your bones. [All done]

I knew he might relapse. I thought he really would. I didn't foresee Cuddy's arrival. I'm afraid it's the on part in the episode that felt forced. But they even made a joke of it, referencing his past Vicodin hallucination. And Hugh Laurie brought it home - the look on his face after he kisses Cuddy, and as he reaches for her hand...he looks like for the first time he might believe he could be happy. Or maybe it's the look that for the first time he IS happy. I can't say I could recognize the difference.

An overall excellent end to an excellent season.

~ Sarah