House: Wilson’s Heart
By fred | May 20, 2008
(S04E16) Another series ends its season, but this time it started one week ago. Last week we had the first part of this season finale, and it was a very special episode. While usually House is all about the medical mystery - well, when it comes to mystery at least - last week everything medical took a step down as we dived into the mysteries of memory.
Because there was a bus crash, and House had seen a symptom before the crash, he knew someone was sick, someone was dying, but couldn’t remember anything else further than that. So the biggest mystery had become House’s memory, and how to have it revealed who was dying. By the end of the episode we knew, and, sadly for Wilson, it was no other than Amber, once known as Cutthroat Bitch.
And this is where this episode started, and it was once again a very special episode. This time, there was still a bit of medical drama and a bit of memory mystery, but that wasn’t what this was about. It was all about characters, about the people and how they felt. And, being the show that it is, it was all about life and death. Especially death.
And it was with the tone of the episode, but also contradicting what House experienced before : when he almost killed himself in the past, it was to see or feel nothing. No white light, no one to welcome you, or invite you within the light, or to go back as your time hadn’t come yet. This time, there was a bright white light, and a bus within, and inside the bus, a now-dead Amber.
I have to say that back when she was trying to get in the team, I don’t think I cared that much for “CTB”, and had she died then, I wouldn’t have felt much. But things have long changed since then, and this episode was nothing if not emotional. It was a really good episode, and I’m sure many will love it. Quite frankly, I did not love it. I felt it was a bit too much on he drama, but I did enjoy it very much, still.
I know that for years I’ve been complaining about how not only do they always solve the mystery - which I understand because House couldn’t live otherwise - but how they always did do in time. They always found out before the patient died, and in time to save him/her, because there was always a way to save the patient, and it wasn’t too late.
And I could be glad that for once it wasn’t the case, they did figure it out, and it wasn’t really a time issue : she was dead before even reaching the hospital. But, I have to say that should such cases be a lot more often on the show, it would have feel normal. As it is now, one of the very very rare case they can’t save someone, it feels like an overuse of drama.
Of course waking up Amber only to say goodbye, and her explaining Wilson she doesn’t want anger to be the last thing she feels, before she tells him it’s time to sleep, and they’ll always want more time, but won’t be able to have some, was a very touching and beautiful scene. By the way Anne Dudek was pretty amazing in the entire episode, going from very sexy lap dance all in red with House, to saying goodbye to Wilson, or inviting House not to die, because he deserves the pain. Terrific job!
The main theme in this episode was probably grief. There are different stages in grief, and pretty much every team member involved was one : 13 was denial, she could accept this was happening, not to someone she knew, not to her. Wilson, obviously, was anger, refusing to accept this was happening to him. Taub was bargaining, trying to find explanations, other causes, something that could “fix” it, somehow. Kutner, after going through a trauma loosing his parents at a young age, was acceptance, he’s already ready for whatever will come, he knows everyone will die. But before that comes depression, and that would be House.
Much like Wilson, House blames himself for Amber’s death. And he knows Wilson will too, and will hate him, and he doesn’t want that. But you can’t always get what you want, and House had to come back, to the pain, to the loneliness, to the guilt. House never screamed happiness of life, but he’s getting more depressed than ever now.
