I wonder what House and Cuddy's relationship is going to be like now. I imagine she'll forgive him for his comment about her child, given the circumstances, but the fact that he hallucinated a sexual encounter between them (and suggested they move in together! daddy House!) has to make things rather uncomfortable at least for a while. I sort of doubt it. If there had been nothing going on with them prior to this episode, maybe so, but they have been sniffing each other's you know what for a while now. As a Huddy, I was sad by the way it ended but I can at least hang my hat on the fact that House hallucinated Cuddy and that is how he wanted his life to be. It is good to read some posters soften up on Cuddy. I had to leave this board a few weeks ago because the Cuddy/Huddy hate was depressing me. Everyone has their favorite and when yours is the one being shot at, boy, it hurts. Great episode. Final scene with House walking up to the institution will stay on my mind for a while. Kind of sick behavior on my part but as messed up as he was, the man looked absolutely gorgeous in his final scene. Is House at the same place as Wilson's brother?

Is House at the same place as Wilson's brother? I guess there is no way of knowing now, but I am willing to bet that it will be the same place next season, since they never told us more about him beyond TSC. I think that they planned to do more about Daniel Wilson but when they decided on this ending they then decided also to save Daniel for next season so they can be at the same place eventually. Yeah, the gay couple was super cool. My nitpick, unless it was completely intentional for the symbolic purposes, but didn't they realize how totally different the weather was in LA and NJ in early April. I am accepting it as intentional symbolism, cause otherwise it makes no sense, but it was jarring that it was so summerlike for the wedding, while the trees were bare and House and Wilson had coats on. But actually I liked the incongruity, even if really made no sense. Also, it is interesting how interpetations differ. I thought the hallucination and Amber and Kutner's line about it "being the story he told himelf, but it wasn't real" clearly meant that House told himself that he was into Cuddy, but only because he was hiding the truth from himself, that he really wasn't into Cuddy at all, and that there really was only person that he ever wanted to be with. Yes, Wilson. But of course I readily admit that I watch the show through House/Wilson tinted glasses.

Daniel Wilson was in a hospital in New York City. But he was brought there by the police so it was an involuntary commitment. That means there's a limit to how long he can be held (45 or 60 days, I think.) After that, he would either face charges (unlikely as he didn't hurt anyone and it was apparently a first offense) or be released. I wouldn't be surprised if Wilson got him into some sort of group home with follow up care. House is in a facility outside Philly. One of the directors was in college with Wilson.

I'm feeling so sad after watching the last scene now. Bright sunshine and the joy at the wedding of Chase and Cameron, House and Wilson arriving at the psychiatric hospital, no words, no hugs, just "As Tears Go By" as the background...it was so sad and beautiful... Reading your insightful posts on the last episode, I was almost convinced that the last scene of Huddy was the hallucination, but it was still thrilling to watch it revealed gradually...the lipstick twirling just as the vicodin, the coffee cup, the probable but emotionally a bit off toned conversations with Wilson and Cuddy, the patient and the right brain/left brain talk...it was like reading a cleverly written mystery...but what I felt was not just the intellectual excitment, there was a huge emotional upheaval at the revelation, and I was stunned. I've been worried about the hallucination story, not because I wanted Cuddy to go with House (I'm rather for House/Wilson), but because in my theory;D, every hallucination makes a lame story. This wasn't. I'm so glad. I'm happy for Chase and Cameron. I thought JM made her Cameron sweet and touching with her (a bit fakey, if you say so) crying. Now I'm worried about House in the institution, and worried how the writers are going to manage to do with the plot. As long as I continue to watch House, I won't be able to released from worries...

I have just re watched, and I still get the same impression I did the first time. I think that it is very difficult to tell what is hallucination and what is reality (just as it was for House, and what drove him to the institution). I really don't think that all of the H/W scenes were real. For instance, the scene in Wilson's office when they discussed making Cuddy angry seems disjointed and out of left field. Go terrorize her??!! That seems like hallucinated advice to me. :? We may never know what was really "real". Just like House. Excellent writing!

Wow, wow, wow, wow. I have no words to describe this episode. Really. I can probably say though that the acting done by HL, LE and RSL blew me away completely, everyone else, Amber, Cameron, Chase, Taub, the patient and even Thirteen were awesome even though I didn't particularly cared at all for them when everything started to fall apart, I see where it was needed so we "the viewers" didn't completely fall apart, IMO. It's very strange how many times I'm so surprised by how much I love this show, this episode managed to make me completely depressed, sad and I admit it, cry more than I thought possible.. but at the same time, I'm completely stunned at how awesome this was :) Excellent acting, directing and writing. Those are the first things that come to my mind, can't really think more right now lol. See you and ty for letting us have a place to vent our feelings :) I think I'd explode if I didn't post this lol

I feel much the same fernanada. I just rewatched and damned if it didn't hit me harder the second time. I've never been this affected by a tv show. Excellent brave writing and great performances and brilliant, jaw-dropping performance from Hugh Laurie. Where do we draw the line between what happened and what is the story we tell ourselves? Lots of relevant dialog leading up to the last ten minutes. My heart is so broken for House right now. Left brain says it's a tv show but right brain says it's an emotionally real story. Wow.

Powerful, wonderful stuff. The look of dread on Cuddy's face as she sat down in a beautiful garden with her perfect baby to watch a glowing wedding between two people who love each other was devastating because she was really with House, in mind if not in body. And poor House. He couldn't find a way to cheat himself or deny and avoid his right-side, sub-conscious anymore. He now has to choose between achieving complete disconnect between his two halves or beginning the long journey to reconnection in the mental hospital. I think the tentative steps toward emotional reawakening this season are what started his overwhelming stress in the first place. The reanimated emotions were as disturbing to him as the shattering noises were to the deaf boy in "House Divided". The finale was an intense ending to an incredible year of tragicomedy. I'm grateful to Hugh Laurie for being so honorable and honest in an interview about this season's finale at the beginning of this month. When he said that he believes House carries the seeds of his own destruction within him, there was really only one way for me to interpret his message, HL sees House as a tragic hero. Given that information and the advice of the brain trust here at HHOW, I've been able to shift my focus and expect, if not enjoy, the continued, permanent misery. This could be the first TV show with a doomed hero, shown in 8 years instead of in 5 acts. Shore says he doesn't know where he's going but I think he's just not sure if the viewers would like the answer.(As Chase said in "Under My Skin", "Don't ask if you don't want to know the answer".) HL was honest and open when he gave us one - seeds of destruction. I still love the show, but despite House being doomed rather than because of it. I think, to keep the interest of viewers who are not attracted to tragedy, TPTB will need to give both Wilson and especially Cuddy a measure of contentment before the bitter end. Baby Rachel is supposed to provide that comfort but I don't think it is enough unless Cuddy is revealed as more of a masochist than we have seen so far. (Has anyone seen the delightfully masochistic film "Secretary"?)

Oh dear Lord!!! Oh my goodness!!! oh my I-don't-know-what!!! What the what was that???? I don't know what to say. I'm just psychologically destroyed beyond belief! They did a great job missleading us. I could never expect that. Oh my God! I just watched it and I just can't think! I am so freaking numb. I'll come back later to tell you my thoughts, cause now I just can't freaking move!

I know I need to rewatch to be certain, but I could have sworn that the posters in Wilson's office switched during the various scenes. At one point, it was the old stuff (the red Hitchcock one, as I recall), but in the other scenes, the posters were different. I was also trying to figure out if the wall paint color (olive green in some scenes) switched as well. That alone made me wonder during the ep if something was wrong -- or it they'd filmed this ep at different times and just had continuity issues. Now I'm trying to figure out whether I actually saw what I saw, whether it was intentional, or whether I'm hallucianting. :? And add me to the list of those who is trying to separate hallucination from reality. Re the wedding scene being different weather from the psych hospital scene . . . do we know the wedding took place in NJ? It could have been in some other location further south and the group just drove/flew there. Also, the events likely weren't on the same day. The timeline would be wrong. Weddings typically occur on Saturdays (unless you're Jewish). You'd have thought Wilson would have taken House to the psych hospital the very day he goes nuts, and that day probably wasn't a Saturday given that everyone was at work at the hospital. When 3 doctors (House, Wilson, Cuddy) all know House has major issues, I can't see them all sitting around for a few days having coffee. Likewise, even though Cameron said she hadn't canceled the wedding plans, I have troubling believing they were the very next day. Finally, I liked the fact that there was no hug, etc. at the end b/t H & W. The "no touching" rule continues.

Great episode! The last scene where House was looking out the of the hospital toward Wilson was heartbreaking. Poor House, he looked so much like a frighten child in that scene. I really hope we get to see some of his recovery in the time.

Just to add a fun bit out of all the angst from last night ... when they were going to do the liver biopsy and first, Taub's reaction to the left hand. "If it does that for a scan, what'll it do when I come at it with a needle?" followed by the air guitar and the patient's comment that the left hand could do that all day. And Taub's question about why the right hand was playing along. Hee Hee

The first thing that clued me in that House was still hallucinating was the lipstick smudge on his face in the opening scene. It wasn't there when he gets out of bed in the opening shot. It suddenly appeared when he looks at himself in mirror. That was the first visual clue. The second clue, as others have noted, was the shaky hand-held camera in the next sequence. I didn't notice the changes in Wilson's office - I'll pay closer attention upon re-watch. Tough to figure out where they're going to go with this. It makes for an interesting Season 6, with House matching wits with the docs at the psych hospital. I hope he's there for more than 1 or 2 episodes, though. If they bring him back too soon, it just says to me that they lack faith in their viewers to stay with a challenging story line. Along that line of thinking, what episode was it where House comments that "some people find me derivitive" (or maybe "contrived", I forget) as something of a comeback to critics of the show?