As a rabid, watch-every-episode-more-than-once House fan, I went into Season Seven last fall with a good deal of trepidation. House and Cuddy were finally coming together after six seasons of agonizing foreplay, and I found myself asking the question, do I even care anymore? I had a similar response to the reunion of J.D. and Elliot in Season Eight of Scrubs. The self-referential ridiculousness of the whole fling worked moderately well in "My Happy Place," and at least made it believable that these two could have a romantic relationship in spite of the harm they'd caused each other over the past eight years. "Huddy," as it is reverentially called by those same fans that feel the need to abbreviate every celebrity relationship in order for their short attention spans to come to terms with the dynamic human interaction acted out before them, never attained this level of believability for me. Even during the so-called "happy times" of this season ("Unplanned Parenthood," "Carrot or Stick," the first 50 minutes of "Bombshells"), it never seemed as though the two were going anywhere. This season was ostensibly about House carrying forward the evolution of his character begun throughout the dramatic sixth season ("Broken" remains one of the finest episodes of the series, in my opinion), and I'm not sure he ever did that.
That is to say, until last night's season finale. Checking out the responses across the web this morning, viewers seemed to be split by House's final violent act of the season, either loving the spontaneity and the intrigue his Shawshank-like walk along the beach denoted or deeming it underwhelming in comparison to the shocking final moments of the past few seasons. Put me in the former camp, happy to see House finally acting upon his anger in a real and tangible way rather than the "tricks" and "mind games" he's used to playing (remember, early in the episode, Cuddy practically begs him to act out in a real and human way, which is ultimately what he does) and inflicting pain on someone other than himself. I thought it was brilliant, and in spite of my misgivings about some of the later episodes of the season, I'm actually interested to see where the show goes in its next season premiere.
The other major observation I have is that this show simply cannot stand without 13. She is consistently the most interesting secondary character and the brilliance of the writers in having her survive the recruitment process a few years ago shines through in each episode that unveils just a little bit more of her troubled past. "The Dig" was perhaps the finest example to date of the nuances of both 13 and House's character, and stands with "Two Stories" as two of the finest episodes of an, on-the-whole, moderately disappointing season. The ratings reflect this-House averaged about a 10 rating share this year, down from the 13 average of last season and woefully short of the high 24s it consistently hit in its heyday (Season 3). Masters was an interesting addition to the show, but her schtick wore thin rather quickly and had me breathe a sigh of relief when she was finally written off in favor of 13 again.
If next season truly is the end of House, a couple of things need to happen for the show to leave on the high note its potential in the late 2000s indicated. First, David Shore needs to become more involved in his brain-child again. It's no coincidence that many of the finest episodes of the entire series ("Three Stories," "No Reason," "Alone," and "Broken," among others) are touched in some way by the artistic talent of Shore. Second, if Lisa Edelstein truly isn't returning for the 8th season, the writers need to instigate some kind of new, non-romantic tension between House and the next hospital administrator (or at House's new place of employment, as it seems likely based on the consequences of the season finale). We've had sexual tension for seven years between House and Cuddy. The most interesting foils to House have been men who engage in similar tactical and cerebral ploys to get what they want (David Morse's Detective Tritter and Chi McBride's Edward Vogler come to mind). The writers need to invent some similar conflict for this final season of House in Cuddy's absence.
Finally, the show needs to stick to its formula. In the past couple of seasons, the desire to "break out of the box," so to speak, has taken away the dramatic element of the medical mysteries themselves. Whereas I can find myself remembering diagnoses of patients when I watch reruns of early episodes in syndication, I can honestly say I have no recollection of any of the ailments of the cases from the past two years or so. Such a construction eats away at the whole premise of House in the first place, the modern-day Sherlock Holmes cracking the abnormalities of human physiology every week. Would we want to see the crappy love life of Holmes as a focus in every other publication by Conan Doyle?
This season still had some memorable moments. The revelation of Taub as a multiple-father was perhaps my favorite. But House is going to need to do better than that if it's going to deliver to fans as it fades into the sunset.
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