I laughed. I cried. And being the sappy sucker I am was stoked it all wrapped up nicely. An amazing 2 hours. Fantastic performances all around. The first few minutes were heartbreaking. Loved Alvie. House and Lydia's relationship was so sweet and lovely. Dr. Nolan was awesome. WOW. I loved so much about this episode I'm not sure where to start. And since I remember the last scene the most... who wants that smiley face tee? I know I do.

Wow...that was amazing! In fact, I think it was so good that I'm not sure I even want to watch next week because it will be a letdown to go back to the same old routine at PPTH. Although DH and I never could quite figure out why House needed to be in a mental hospital. The guy has issues (depression was the only thing I heard them discuss) but I doubt they required inpatient care, especially today when it is virtually impossible to get your insurance to cover inpatient psychiatric care.

There were certain elements that *were* predictable - I mean, like Hitchcock's gun, if you've got a catatonic woman in the first act, she'd better be talking by the fourth act, yes? So I think they had to rely on craftsmanship to make things work, and there, they excelled. HL's portrayal of the struggle was vibrant, and despite some weirdness, things worked. Alvie was both intensely irritating and charming, Lydia was passionately devoted, and Nolan was very much the doctor House needed. (And, yes, LightMyCandle, I was so psyched to see Derek Richardson, too! House, what do you have against cute blonde guys? :lol: ) Anyway, seeing House find his compassion and start to remember what happy was like, as well as really feeling his pain again - very touching,and I can't wait to see what happens next. (So now the ending of this episode was to get *on* the bus? Heh.)

I kept a tally of the errors I saw. I got to 20. That's not counting the mental health errors leading up to Broken. I am SO glad we are done with Mayfield. And if we're not--if he goes back--PLEASE don't tell me.

I definitely had some boo-hoo moments myself.

shadowcat please elaborate. Every hospital is different, but other than the smoking--I really didn't see much that I would consider too egregious. ETA: vitawash, I was not at all surprised about that. I've seen similar happen. Maybe not so boldly-but, yeah, it happens.

I liked the episode, especially Dr. Nolan. Loved Alvie. I guess that so far, I'm the only one who didn't care for Lydia. She started something with a patient while knowing that she wouldn't leave her husband and children. She didn't say good-bye because she thought it had "ended perfectly" - she came across as selfish to me.

It was an amazing episode and 2 hours that flew by. So many things to think about and process. Loved Alvie! Lin Manuel Miranda and Andre Braugher were brilliant. Both had such great chemistry with HL. And Hugh Laurie, well there just are no words. Just when you think he's done everything possible with this role, he takes it to new unimaginable heights. Brilliant, and breathtaking and heartbreaking. For me the only thiing that felt cheesy was the music box thing, but other than that, just a stunning amazing incomparable episode. Oh, and the detox at the beginning? If Hugh doesn't get an Emmy after those first five minutes alone, then the Academy doesn't know what good is. After last night, and the previous 4 years, we know they don't. ;)

Kerry the episode took place over MONTHS. We have a limited amount of time in a season to see these things. It wasn't quick, if it was quick he would've been back to work this episode with everything back to normal (possibly after a quick jog).

Man, I really, really wanted to love this. I was excited. But IMO this was not worthy of the end of S5. That was dark and scary, this was a standard-issue feel-good mental health storyline. Sorry to be a downer, but that's how I feel. Not that the acting was bad, but there were just too many pat or mind-boggling or heavily telegraphed moments. The thing with Freedom Master, who didn't see that coming a mile away? And what kind of idiot lets one patient in a mental institution take another out in her car? Because it was "nice" of him? Come on! Forced, I think, is the word Kerry used, and it's 100% accurate. The romance plot - sorry, it bugged me that there has to be a woman who is sooo attracted to House, even in this situation. The romance took away from what could have been more meaningful steps in relationships, such as House and Alvy, or even House and Dr. Nolan. Then the music box moment and its aftermath, as hokey as you get. Really almost demeaning in its shorthand approach. I hated that. How much better if House had said his apology to Steve, and never really known if it had any effect? And still had to try to move on. After the sex scene with Lydia, I found myself hoping for the voice of Anne Dudek. Really. Only thing that would have redeemed the episode from Patch Adams-itis. So it was all just the Vicodin? House's collapse of last season was so brushed aside that I wasn't quite sure.

(So now the ending of this episode was to get *on* the bus? Heh.) Hee. Interesting music choices, by the way. (And does anyone know the last song? It sure sounded like Lin Manuel Miranda, but I've only heard bits of "The Heights" so I can't say for sure.) (Oh, and if anyone's interested, you can find LMM's rapping acceptance speech for his Tony here.) And I loved KJ's directing. As I've said before, she's not a technical wizard (though less with the herky jerky stuff this time) but I think she's got a great hand on emotional scenes. A lot of the magic to making emotional scenes work is in creating the right comfort level and helping the actors achieve the right feel. And I also think she's managed to bring out sexy Hugh better than a lot of others -- consider just the sex scene here with Lydia or the flirty Amber "electricity" in "Wilson's Heart." ETA: Apparently the final song is The Frames' "Seven Day Mile."

I guess that so far, I'm the only one who didn't care for Lydia. She started something with a patient while knowing that she wouldn't leave her husband and children. She didn't say good-bye because she thought it had "ended perfectly" - she came across as selfish to me. Well, you're right. I do think she was selfish, but it was just so refreshing to see a woman be interested in House without resorting to whining and desperation, that I let it slide. House, what do you have against cute blonde guys? There does seem to be a pattern developing. :shock: