I really don't understand this anger against Wilson by some. I don't think he did anything remotely wrong at all. Wilson was worried about House, so he got the team to go out with him so he wouldn't be alone. I don't believe that it was his idea to pay them to take House out, I think it was more like the team took advantage of Wilson, because surely Chase and Foreman, and even Taub and 13 really do not mind spending time with House. It is just something that they didn't do in the past, because House wouldn't. Not because the team wouldn't spend time with House. I think that the team was just taking advantage of Wilson by making him pay them, when he asked them to spend time with House. We didn't see that of course, but it makes sense to me that the payment was their idea, not Wilson's. Wilson is just caught up in this thing with Sam. I wish that we saw more of it, but we didn't. But we saw Wilson being told what to do by House in ep 16, and told what to do by 13 in ep. 17, so it makes me think that Wilson is now being totally influenced by Sa, and that is why he is spending so much time with her, and seemingly forgeting about House. But he hasn't forgotten House. He admitted he is worried about him. And he feels guilty about spending time away from him. I don't think he is doing anything wrong. He is trying to have a relationship of his own, he is trying to have a life of his own. I don't see why he shoudn't. He's spending time with someone who is attractive to him, what is wrong with that? Why shouldn't Wilson have something of a life of his own, apart from House? I don't see how Wilson could be blamed for any of those things. . Wilson isn't doing anything wrong, and he really has nothing to feel guilty about. Yet of course he does feel guilty because he truly cares about House, and feels bad for spending time away from him, so he did what he thought was a good thing, to get House to spend time with other people, besides himself. He is simply trying to have a life, and he tried to help House too.

Quick notes after rewatch: the lesbian bar was The Foxhole, the liquor he was drinking at the end was Black Fox. There are no coincidences. Is FOX inserting nearly subliminal advertising? Or perhaps House is a fox. ;-> And yes, I thought for a minute they were House's sheets and I was, um, nonplussed. :-) House and Foreman make great Pips. (Woo Wooo!)

Good episode. Made me laugh, made me worry about House, made me wonder if he is going to lose it again. Best thing is, the further down the spiral he goes, the hotter he looks. With his hair just a tad longer he is looking smoking. Cuddy, you're a fool. :D Just as DOB1234 said above. Hugh looks so good, and House's "funny, that's the last thing..." broke my heart. LE was so good in that scene, too. About Taube, I think he invited House for dinner because Wilson paid him to. He's a good fellow. ;) He doesn't want House to get into his life, but he thought he could avoid it. He didn't expect House'd invite Rachel too. So...he's a good fellow, and a big dupe.:D I enjoyed Taub's scenes & the pottery storyline. After the last week's "open marriage", the writer gave Taub a clever sequel. Taub giving the napkin rings as a thank you gift to House was so funny. (I may be pretty fond of Taub.) Karaoke scene was hilarious! The conversion therapy?? :shock: Seriously?! And Wilson. I think he proposed to pay them, as a man who knows well the relationship between House and his employees, but even if so, I don't think that lessens his affection and friendship towards House. What House wanted was Wilson, and not the distractions, but Wilson did his best, and House got the message right that Wilson cares about him so much. ...But I'm really worried how this goes toward the finale...

Given that the last time Wilson got into a serious relationship and House got drunk alone, someone died, I can see why he wants to make sure House has people to hang out with. It's sad that he had to pay them, but I can see why. Most people wouldn't voluntarily ask the boss to hang out, especially a prickly guy like House. We know he's fun on a date, but they probably don't ... except Chase because of the bowling that time, but even then, House bailed without explanation when he got a lightbulb moment. And he figured House wouldn't ask them, because he's done that exactly two times in the past six years: the bowling with Chase, and before that, the monster trucks with Cameron way back in season 1. Of course, there's another solution to this dilemma: Wilson could learn some time management skills and make room in his life for both his woman *and* his best friend. Unrelated note: I'm another who intially thought the spaceship sheets were House's. That would have been so adorable and in sync with the monster truck-loving, prank-playing side of him.

Jury's still out on the directing. The last House/Cuddy scene was powerful yet kinda cheesy w/ those closeups. It felt a little unHousian, but at least I felt something for these two, which is a relief given the way this pairing has been handled as of late. I haven't done a re-watch yet, but was paying attention to the shot selections and directing choices because this was another one directed by Juan Jose Campanella, who won the Oscar this year for best foreign film. I did notice, in particular, his choice in a few scenes, to frame House very tightly along with another member of his team -- say Foreman in the foreground and House caught closely just behind or in front of Foreman's head -- depending on which way Foreman is leaning. This was more than the simple two-shot, over-the-shoulder direction choice. I have the feeling that those choices were made to give House a look like he's being hemmed in -- almost claustrophobic. He's made these decisions to try and change his life, to be more open to other people, to trust other people, and yet (directorically at least) these same people are making him feel trapped. And House is the kind of guy who seeks escape (via drugs or in this case alcohol -- another drug -- or through sarcastic comments or acting like a jerk) whenever someone tries to pin him down. The conversion therapy?? Shocked Seriously?! Unfortunately, yes. That is a very big subset in the U.S., with multiple groups offering to "straighten out" homosexuals.

I was one of those who hoped rather fervently that the body next to Wilson's was House. Oh, cruel reality!

I greatly enjoyed this episode. It had been quite some time since a PoTW had so forcibly grabbed my attention. All the episode through, I went back and forth between supporting him and wanting him to « free » himself, as it were. On the one hand, the idea that he might not feel comfortable with who he truly is, that he would think of his true self as repulsive, made me sick to my stomach; on the other hand, he reminded me of the PoTW in The Social Contract, a man who, too, fought against his inner nature because he really wanted to be happy with his wife and kid. Wilson's behaviour did not bother me one bit. He wants to have it all: he tries to have a happy relationship with Sam without letting it lead House to self-destruction. Had he not cared, he would not have bothered paying people to keep an eye on his friend. It may be questionable but he meant well. It really isn't not easy to be House's only pal. Speaking of which... Cuddy and the final scene. Perhaps it was a bit corny but it worked on me. I felt for them both: for Cuddy who may be led to think « too little, too late » and for House who, once again, is left alone. His final reaction was, of course, very revealing. So far, he has had a relatively (emphasis on « relatively ») easy ride. But he is now faced with something genuinely tough: rejection (from both Wilson and Cuddy). That is the real test for it is relatively « simple » (once again, empasis on « relatively ») not to turn to drugs when everything's ok. But when crisis show their ugly heads...

Wilson's got his own problems. I think he's really, really good at denial. He just wants so much to believe that everything is okay. It's sweet, but it makes me want to shake him until his teeth rattle. Exactly. It's not that people around House don't care, but no one puts him first, he's not anyone's number one, so they all make their efforts and then go home to whatever their life is and he's left alone. Again. I'm not saying it's anyone's fault exactly, but I sure wish some effort was being made beyond one-time paid-off fake dates even if they were fun. He's a real human being (isn't he?) and he needs a real human connection. Where will he get it? I hope he will find someone he can help.

Doesn't he watch the show?! No, Wilson doesn't watch the show. We're the only ones privy to all those moments that House is alone. We're the only ones seeing him sneak a drink. We're the only ones seeing all his struggles with pain. House isn't the type to go to Wilson and confess all of this. He never has been. Wilson sees that House had one night in which House -- when he was lonely -- drank to excess. He sought to remedy one of those issues -- the loneliness -- by trying to help him make new connections, which was one of the same things that Nolan has urged him to do. (Also, having company adds distractions to House's brain, which also is a proven technique with House.) We've already heard the whining when Wilson lectured about Vicodin. Do we really need to withstand lectures about alcohol now? Or is Wilson doing the best he can at this point -- while also living his own life. He's being a friend to House, but to expect him to completely sacrifice his own happiness for something he doesn't even know is necessarily happening is asking too much. That said, House is a big boy. He's perfectly capable of going to someone and saying: Hey, I think I'm losing control. I think I need some help. He's an addict who knows he's an addict, and yet he's falling into that abyss that he knows so well and doesn't take responsibility. I agree that there are mitigating circumstances to House's actions -- and I like the guy over all -- but I have no intention of letting him slip away totally blameless for his own actions. We saw him last year reach the point where he needed and asked for help. We know he's capable of asking for help. He should be even more aware of the signs now. House is not some poor woobie that everyone picks on, and that's one of the things I find endlessly fascinating about this character -- he's both a self-aware jerk and a guy who you sympathize with.

I feel like an ignoramus. Can anyone explain to me what "choice" had to be made in the personal stories. I understand the choice the POTW's fiance made, and the choice that the POTW (supposedly) made, though IMHO sexual orientation is not a choice, but what was the personal choice made? House let Cuddy know that he wanted to be more than friends, but he wasn't forcing her to choose. I can't help thinking that House drinking more and turning to alcohol rather than Ibuprofen in the last scene has something to do with it. Is he choosing something that the writer's aren't letting us in on? The patient made the personal choice to lie. House has chosen to self-medicate through alcohol. Taub chose to give up the affair. Thank you so much for the explanation Namaste. I did actually understand about Taub’s choice. I think that given that “The Choice” was the title of the episode, I was expecting that either House or Cuddy would be making a bigger choice. After watching the episode again and reading other posts, I now get that the big choice was the one made by the POTW. It was a choice that was life changing, the most important choice made in the episode. It could not be overshadowed by other choices made by other characters.

The patient made the personal choice to lie. House has chosen to self-medicate through alcohol. Taub chose to give up the affair.

I'm still on the fence with this episode. On the one hand, I really enjoyed the POTW and felt very involved in the plot (found it really sad, though: that man seriously couldn't accept himself and he hurt his fiancee and his ex-boyfriend pretty badly). I loved the karaoke, too :D on the other, I'm a die-hard H/W fan (be it slash or friendship) so it's difficult for me to watch their relationship get all screwed-up once again. I don't mind Sam and I realize that Wilson probably doesn't know how House feels about this whole situation (we're the ones privileged to watch him all the time) but couldn't he have been more subtle about getting others to 'friend' House? IMO, that's a pretty sad thing to learn someone got paid to spend time with you. And don't get me started on what Wilson says in the promo, I can only hope it won't be as bad as it sounds (very very vague spoiler - is it still spoiler if it's from the promo?) but there are so many good things in this episode: breast milk in the coffee (great facial expressions!), 'I'm as straight as any of you!' :lol: (I loved this scene because IMO House is also bi :) or at least very lax about his sexuality) and yes, count me among those who thought House was sleeping in his own bed :lol: it wasn't until they showed the toys I realized something was wrong :) Mod Note: Yes, promos are spoilers. We count anything that hasn't aired in an episode as a spoiler so thanks for whiting it out. Poeia