I just remembered something: House was drinking what appeared to be champagne at the bar when Chase hypnotized him. Why? Does anyone have a theory on that? It wasn't ever explained.

I tend to give Wilson very little credit because there have been many times when I've really disliked him, but WH has given me no reason to hate him. Yes, he asked something of House he shouldn't have, but he was desperate. After all, it was something House had suggested himself and which Wilson had dismissed the first time, when there was still some hope in his heart Amber might survive. I believe this will be something Wilson will feel guilty about, especially if House comes out damaged or changed, just like House will have to handle his own (unjustified) sense of guilt. I was so relieved they didn't make Wilson shake his head in that scene where he walks away. This way it felt like desperation and not disdain.

I think the champagne morphed into Sherry...name of the bar, and he recognized she was drinking something other than beer or shots. She had a cosmo, not the same, but certainly not what he was drinking either. I like that House and Amber (even if it was in his subconscious...though it did sort of happen on the bus before/during the accident too) sort of made up. She took on part of Wilson's role in taking care of House and House did his best to take care of Amber, both immediately after the accident and in trying to diagnose her. And they kind of reconciled (again, in his subconscious) on the white bus. ETA: I think Taub was also somewhat projecting his own actions (given his adulterous past) on House. And as for 13...I found the idea very sad that here she watched Amber die with so many people surrounding her, especially Wilson, and having watched House go through what he did to help her when 13 herself has discovered her own very scary diagnosis alone. I'm not a big 13 lover or hater...kind of indifferent but just the thought of someone going through such a thing alone is really sad. And I've just come to the conclusion that everyone on House is in serious need of a hug. Wilson, House, Cuddy, Kutner (poor orphan who drowns his woes in cereal), Taub (who finally got what his wife really means to him), 13...

But the suggestion, planted purposefully, that House was off having a wild, drugged up fling with Amber was too stupidly obvious to take seriously. It wasn't "planted purposefully." It was raised as a possibility, and a very valid one considering both House's history and the fact that they were looking for everything, no matter how wild. As mentioned, House has often been the first one to suggest wild, seemingly impossible behavior with POTWs. The mantra of the show is "everybody lies," and don't believe patients. Sometimes he's right, sometimes he's wrong, but part of the diagnostic process of the show is not to dismiss anything that's "too stupid" when they don't know for sure. And the notion that House may use recreational drugs isn't even that stupid or far out there - certainly it's more likely than an urban doctor in Princeton, NJ contracting Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, or at least half the illnesses most POTWs get on the show through obscure means.

Scott's review over at Polite Dissent is up. Among other things, he notes that Amber overdosed herself on the meds she was taking. Instead of taking one 100mg tablets which is the recommended dose she took two. Had she taken just one she wouldn't have had the high levels of toxicity Just a sad confluence of little events that ended so badly. www.politedissent.com

I do think the writers came up with a realistic way for House and Wilson to be estranged without it being impossible for them to reconcile, but I don't see them having consults about buxom clinic patients for a long, long time. Ouch. Yeah, I think you’ve got that right. Why the heck didn’t Amber hand House his cane and get off at the next corner? He doesn’t need her to babysit him all the way home and she left her car at the bar. The only thing that bothered me about Cuddy's behavior is that she seems to suddenly be coming on so strong. I mean, sleeping in a chair next to House's bed? Holding his hand? Where did that behavior come from? I'm not saying I don't like it, I was just surprised by her overt affection for House. Did it seem to anyone else that there were more ads in this episode than we usually see? I thought things were a bit chopped up by all the commercial breaks.

Re: Chase putting his hand on Foreman's shoulder in the pub... what happened to the whole "I never liked you anyway" stuff that was going on? Foreman had just offered Chase his locker a minute before, so I don't think we were ever meant to take that seriously. Foreman just wanted to get out of having a personal conversation with Chase about why he had resigned....Yeah, I miss Chase/Foreman too. I think Wilson is going to resist House's help and concern but House will stick it out anyway That would be an interesting twist on the relationship to have someone like House who avoids personal conversations like the plague be the one to help Wilson through his grief.

I believe this will be something Wilson will feel guilty about, especially if House comes out damaged or changed, just like House will have to handle his own (unjustified) sense of guilt. I was so relieved they didn't make Wilson shake his head in that scene where he walks away. This way it felt like desperation and not disdain. WORD. I think Wilson will feel some guilt over asking House to do the surgery. He was desperate and it didn't look to me (as I've said) that he was demanding it of House, it was hard for him to even ask, I don't think he wanted to ask but he was terrified for Amber. There may have even been some guilt as he walked away, because I saw sadness, defeat, and maybe a little guilt. But anger, hatred, or blame, I did not see. He didn't look disgusted at House (and we've seen how that looks) just that he couldn't deal with it anymore today. Amber has been dead only hours and already people just want Wilson to get over it and help House. Give the man some time to heal, he can't even be over the shock of it all yet.

I liked the ep but, after part 1, almost anything would have been a let-down. A few random thoughts . . . I was happy that H&A weren't having an affair. Just wouldn't have rung true for me and the real explanation made more sense. And, as someone above mentioned, things like this happen in life -- IF ONLY one small thing had happened differently, all would have changed. That is life -- and death. Agree with the many folks who posted above that the new ducklings aren't interesting. I think the fault is twofold: (1) we've only had a few eps to get to know them what with Survivor arc and the shortened season and (2) the old ducklings which we knew & loved are still around, thus not forcing us to deal with the new folks. It's not that I want 13 to die -- I don't care. I really didn't care if she took the Huntington's test nor how it turned out. They say the opposite of love isn't hate, it's apathy. And that's how I feel about the new folks. IMHO, they simply have to reduce the number of ducklings to no more than 4. Thanks to the person who pointed out that Wilson had to tell Amber that she was going to die and that House probably won't be making jokes about that for awhile. I'm trying to decide whether the comment from Amber at the end about not having anger as her final emotion means that Wilson will take the same view or that Wilson, having more time to have more emotions, will be angry for awhile. I think that House being willing to sacrifice himself for Amber goes a long way to making up for being one of the dominoes that led to her death. I think Wilson will realize that, in time. How will all this affect Wilson's depression? Or is that another plot widow? I wish we'd had more eps to get to know the positive side of Amber and to see more of her and Wilson together. Yeah, I was sad, but in a detached sort of way. Up until the last ep or so, the audience wasn't completely sure whether Amber & Wilson were really in love or whether they were using each other as tools to get to/get back at House. Thus, it was hard for me to believe that he was so gaga over her. Sad, yes, but he only dated/lived with the woman for a couple of months. I think the house was Amber's not Wilson's. Didn't we learn that he'd moved in with her? And, finally, I hope this doesn't spell the end of the funloving House & Wilson. Those are really some of the best scenes for me. I HOPE (no spoiler, just an opinion) that the writers show that true friendships (like marriages) must survive some real stresses and that this one will as well. And that next season House will try to find ways to support Wilson that will be awkward at first but eventually demonstrate that they will get through this.

The only thing that bothered me about Cuddy's behavior is that she seems to suddenly be coming on so strong. I mean, sleeping in a chair next to House's bed? Holding his hand? Where did that behavior come from? I'm not saying I don't like it, I was just surprised by her overt affection for House. I believe Cuddy still harbors a lot of guilt for going along with the "middle ground" procedure that left House crippled. And she cares deeply for him despite being exasperated by him on a daily basis. I don't think her actions in this ep. are a new thing; she was probably at his bedside at some point after he electrocuted himself, but the writers went with a Wilson bedside scene instead. In this case, Wilson wasn't available. Full disclosure: I ship Hameron and am totally turned off by the Huddy -- not because of any dislike of the character (I do like her) or perceived threat to my ship, just because I don't think the chemistry they have is in any way romantic. JMO/YMMV.

The fact that Wilson immediately is exasperated that they were wasting their time with that detail is further testament, that she, too, is not the type to be letting it all hang out during happy hour. And the show has hit us over the head, time and again, with the fact that we don't know our loved ones as well as we think we do, that people are in denial about loved ones' behavior. How many times has a relative gotten angry at House and the team for "wasting their time" on what they think is an impossibility, only to have it turn out their loved one was hiding something? So Wilson thought they were wasting their time with that detail - Wilson also didn't know Amber was hiding diet pills in her vitamin bottle. Or that she was popping flu meds. As Kutner said, they couldn't eliminate anything because they didn't know that was relevant.

I agree with people who say that this would have worked as a series finale as well... I loved the evolution to the two themes we got in the first episode-- "Everybody lies" and "You can't always get what you want." I loved (and was heartbroken) by the fact that "Everybody lies" turned to "Everybody dies." And then Amber got to say "You can't always get what you want" when House reveals something about himself to us-- He doesn't want to be in pain. He doesn't want to be miserable, and he doesn't want Wilson to hate him. I also wanted to die during the scene where Wilson asks House to sacrifice himself. The nods were done so well; Wilson gave an unsure, half-nod like he regretted asking as soon as it happened. As soon as the nod was given, however, House gave a sure, "I'm gonna do it" nod. Ohhhh, and the "I don't want anger to be my last emotion" was very sad. I loved the bus scene. Some people on LJ thought it reminded them of Harry Potter, and it totally did! "You're dead. Am I dead?" The dialogue was totally lovely there. P.S. I don't think anyone mentioned this, but Hallucination!Amber coming off the operation table was creepy as all get out. Basically I can't write anything coherently at the moment.