Stupid, Screwed-Up Friendship: The House & Wilson Thread

We all seem to realize that House and Wilson are in this friendship for the long haul, but do they? Honestly? And specifically, does Wilson? I took his last line in Locked In to mean that he didn't expect to be there until death did them part. I believe House is in it for the long haul without a doubt. All through seasons 4 and 5, I've been seeing just how dedicated House is to Wilson. I think he counts on this relationship and gets scared when it seems to be slipping away. He may not be 100% convinced that Wilson's in it for the long haul, but I don't have any reason to believe that House will up and call it quits one day. Now, Wilson's a little more complicated, especially in the last couple of years. I do think Wilson values romantic love and thinks it is necessary to be truly happy. I think his comment in Locked In just meant that House would end up romantically alone and as far as Wilson's concerned, that's just an awful fate. I don't think he meant that he doesn't plan on sticking around forever. I don't doubt that Wilson loves House. I don't think he intends to leave him. I think he's shown how afraid he is for House's life enough times. I think when he pulls away, it is because of that fear, at least partly. I think any distance that is still there is Wilson trying to be prepared for House's death. It has been said that Wilson likes to be prepared for the worst and he had his world rocked when Amber died out of the blue. Obviously, not nearly as extreme, but he was just caught off guard again with Kutner's suicide and I think that's partly why he wanted to take some time to himself before rushing off to House. We've had two episodes this season that give reasons why Wilson is friends with House. 1) because he has fun with House and 2) House keeps him grounded in reality. I think it's good that Wilson recognizes this and that these qualities are good for him. So, I guess I've just convinced myself that I believe Wilson's in it for the long haul too. I think he tries to prepare himself for the end of their relationship and I think hypothetically it's possible for Wilson to get spooked into running again because I don't think he has really dealt with his fear. Saying all that to say this, I believe they are both in it for the long haul but I think House is in it more and out of the two of them Wilson is more likely to quit, YMMV. And I might feel differently in the morning. I'm very tired right now.

There is a disconnect between what are being shown which is what you mentioned; the most important and longest-lasting relationship in the lives of these two men is with each other. Watch the show and there's no doubt about it. However, sometimes we are told that this relationship is not enough. I wasn’t actually disagreeing with this perception. I was just wondering if this is really what the show wants us to believe. I agree that what they show is not always in sync with what they tell - this season particularly - but then, look who is telling us most of those things: Wilson . Like with so many other things, they hit us over the head with some concept that later is proved wrong - the most blatant was the suicide: all the clues pointing to Taub, the shock came because Kutner was so unlikely to be the kind of person who would take such drastic action. Yet, he wasn't. So they told us one thing, but at the end they showed us another. And like we learned in the first episode, it's not about what people say (because, repeat with me: everybody lies!), but what people do. Wilson may want to convince himself (and House and even the audience) that the only thing that really matter is a romantic partner, but the show proves him wrong almost every time. But it could be taken as the writers telling us that Wilson 's romantic love for Amber was more important that his long-standing love for House I didn’t have this interpretation, personally – though, I’m not saying it was a wrong one. For me it was Wilson saying that Amber was the one, in a long time, he fell in love with, not that she was more important than any other love he may have had (or has) in his life. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that Wilson thinks that romantic love is fundamental for personal happiness – and he is not the only one, a lot of viewers seem to think that what House needs in his life is a romantic partner and his problems will magically disappear. The show tells us that and then shows us the exact opposite. This idea seems more a projection that Wilson repeats ad nauseum but that seems be proven wrong by what is really happening on the screen. Wilson is not a very reliable source about romantic relationships – he fails more often than not, and seems to base them in need and loneliness – the exactly reasons he thinks House has to go to find someone. Let’s face it, Wilson as a matchmaker sucks! His love life proves it! Just because he says something doesn’t make it true. So, for me the show seems to tell us that love is fundamental for happiness, but they show us that not ONLY romantic love can bring happiness.

It was mentioned that this was the thread to discuss the House/Wilson friendship. So, I must say that their friendship is one of my favorite relationships on the show. You can see how much they care for and love each other. Also, what I like about their friendship is that it has stood the test of time. Despite the hurt they have caused each other their friendship remains. It doesn't seem to be conditional. Many people don't get to experience a friendship like that.

In spring 2009, Chipmunk_love asked: We all seem to realize that House and Wilson are in this friendship for the long haul, but do they? Honestly? And specifically, does Wilson? I took his last line in Locked In to mean that he didn't expect to be there until death did them part. It seems to me that this most important issue has been tackled and answered positively through the ups and downs of season 6. Despite still feeling the rough edges of depression from the death of Amber, Wilson was able to open his home and his heart to House in a way he had resisted in previous years. My sense was that at the beginning of the season, Wilson took on the task of looking after House as more of a moral obligation than anything else: Dr. Nolan said House should not be left alone as he moved back into his world after Mayfield and Wilson was the only viable option for taking care of his wounded friend. The early season six confrontation in which Wilson and Cuddy stood like grim parents in front of House to accuse him of perhaps falling back into his addictions symbolized this phase of the relationship I thought. No one, including his best friend, felt that House had it in him to truly kick the addiction and recover his mental and emotional bearings. But as the weeks continued we saw a shift in attitude, I thought. The events of "Known Unknowns" were a critical turning point. There we saw both men confess in undisguised terms how much they cared for each other. After that point, House was able to speak openly about the tremendous pain he felt at seeing Cuddy enter into an affair with Lucas. And House was also able to say plainly and without subterfuge or coded language that he feared he would be alone if Wilson were to die. Wilson used actions as well as words to confirm their more open attachment. He bought the loft as a way of striking back at Cuddy and Lucas because they hurt his friend. Beyond that the loft symbolized that Wilson could now envision House as a long-term member of his own family. I admit that I was not so thrilled by all the fluffy Odd Couple soft-shoe of season six. I was bored by the speed-dating, the faux marriage proposal, the pr0n movie shennigans ("Be Not Afraid," sigh), the furniture shopping montages, the rent-a-friend sequences. Alot of this felt strained and fan-servicey to me. But what I did really appreciate was the comfort established between the two men, the reinforced demonstration that the rift in their relationship after Amber's death was finally healed. This came to a highly satisfying resolution in "Baggage" when House declared definitively that Wilson was not a consolation prize, that he knew as the most solid fact in his life that Wilson would not leave him, no matter what he did. This was such a resounding affirmation of the meaning of their friendship and really brought the entire seasons-long arc of Amber's death and their shared struggle to overcome that tragedy to a powerful conclusion. So now we can answer chippers' question: yes, House and Wilson do realize that they are in their friendship for the long-haul. For me, this is clearly the defining relationship of the show.

From the House/Wilson shipper thread: In "Baggage," House basically left abruptly and moved back to his own apartment after Wilson rather gently suggested that he eventually move out. This was major retconning in my book; I mean, Wilson buys the loft, buys the organ, they go through the pranks, etc. Then we're supposed to believe that all of the angst House is experiencing is because of Cuddy? I'm confused. Why is it ok for Wilson to look elsewhere and get back together with ex-wife no.1, even though he's done all these things for House and is seemingly happily sharing the condo with his soulmate, and even though opting for a girlfriend suggests that living with House wasn't actually fulfilling all his needs, and when Sam came into the picture no one screamed "retcon!" or "OOC" with regard to Wilson's motives and prior actions? Like it's perfectly reasonable and justified that Wilson would be looking for another relationship? But when we find out that House is still pining for Cuddy and doesn't act hurt because of the way Wilson treated him it suddenly negates everything that happened between him and Wilson? I mean, Wilson buys the loft, buys the organ, they go through the pranks, etc. Then we're supposed to believe that all of the angst House is experiencing is because of Cuddy? Er, what? I know they had hinted at that over the season,... Yes, if the leg pain is any indication (and past seasons strongly suggest that it is, because they've used psychosomatic pain as a symptom of House's emotional troubles several times) because the pain started getting worse at a point where everything was alright in House/Wilson land, so obviously House's grief didn't stem from that and there had to be something else bothering him. And imo his feelings for Cuddy were more than hinted at, first there were his hallucinations, then in the beginning of season 6 House started to seriously court Cuddy and later House himself told Wilson that he's not ok with Cuddy being with Lucas. How much more explicit can you get? The drinking had started before Wilson asked him to leave; why Nolan nor anyone else seemed to think that was a MAJOR problem for a drug addict other than an easy plot device astounded me. I'm gonna guess that Nolan didn't know about the drinking because House had kept it from him. He seemed to hear about it in 'Baggage' for the first time, but then he did treat it seriously and tried to get to the bottom of the problem, but he held back on lecturing, probably aware that this wasn't the right way to approach House. Why Wilson would ask House to leave the condo at a time where he's obviously unstable and sliding back still puzzles me, though. To suggest that he could easily hang around the loft that Wilson had asked him to leave and chitchat about Cuddy...that is so out of character for House my head spins. Are we talking about the same character?? This is House, after all. He had no problem with sleeping in the "Amber shrine" or moving into her old apartment, even though her relationship with Wilson led to Wilson breaking off and negating his friendship with House. So I would argue that on the contrary, it's extremely in character for House to be nonchalant about everything, especially now that he's in a relationship himself, so seeing Wilson and Sam together doesn't sting anymore.

And history shows that Wilson's friendship means (almost) everything to House. I am not trying to deny that he has feelings for Cuddy, but as in Season 5, would he have had Lucas spy on her if she left the hospital? I think not. Would he be as ecstatic as he was when Wilson came back? I think not. In addition to the concept referred to on the 'shipper thread that House wouldn't have hired a private detective to follow Cuddy .... House himself followed Cuddy to the coffee shop when she went out on a date in the third season. He was tracking her menstrual cycle at least as early as the second season. Now neither of those things implies that somehow either Cuddy or Wilson are more special or whatever, in my opinion. It means that he had a very strong connection to both of them that he's willing to invest time and money on.

He was tracking her menstrual cycle at least as early as the second season. Are you saying he isn't tracking Wilson's menstrual cycle? ;)

He had no problem with sleeping in the "Amber shrine" or moving into her old apartment, even though her relationship with Wilson led to Wilson breaking off and negating his friendship with House. I think he had some problem sleeping in the "Amber Shrine", if House's face when he was turning his head around looking at all those pictures is anything to go by. What I meant is that, despite his involvement in Amber's death and the rift with Wilson following that, House had no problem confronting Wilson about his "Amber Shrine" and about the fact that he didn't want House to sleep in it. And he obviously didn't have a problem with the idea of sleeping in that room, because he implied during his conversation with Wilson that he preferred to sleep in it instead of on the couch. True, looking at the pictures probably brought back unpleasant memories and feelings of guilt, but I don't think he's the kind of sentimental person who would refrain from using the room (if it weren't for the whispering) or who would admit to himself that it was bothering him. Which is why I don't think visiting Wilson's condo and acting as if nothing happened is retconning or OOC for House, as Cuddyclothes critised. Amber's relationship with Wilson was not what led to the break-off, but House's involvement in her death. Wilson loved Amber, but it wasn't Amber herself the reason of the rift. Wilson broke off the friendship because House's 'limit issues' had a fatal outcome on someone he loved. But Wilson never negated the friendship, since he went back to it and never denied it existed. I didn't say Amber was responsible for the rift, I said her relationship with Wilson led to it, meaning that everything having to do with her must remind House of his involvement in her death and the consequences he suffered. But somehow that never kept him from "easily hanging around" her old apartment. And of course Wilson negated his friendship with House, how can you even deny that? He clearly said "We're not friends anymore House. I'm not sure we ever were." That Wilson came back and changed his mind a few months later doesn't change the fact that Amber's death provoked an, albeit temporary, negation of the friendship. ETA: From the House/Wilson shipper thread Well, one could argue that he's also delivered lines that contradict any romantic potential between H/W, like in 'Hunting' when he said that he and House aren't together, or in 'The Down Low' when he said that House is not his boyfriend. Those lines are not contradicting anything, as they speak the truth. Wilson and House have not been romantically involved so far (or at least during the six seasons of the show *kidding, though we don't know --the writers retconned on House's previous involvement with Cuddy, they could do the same with Wilson*). The quotes I mention are about RSL's position on a potential H/W romantic involvement, not about if he thinks that H/W are currently together. Additionally, Wilson's always looking out for and finding romantic relationships with other people. And the reason behind that is up to interpretation depending on if you are an H/W fan or not, because the writers have not clearly stated it. I got that. What I meant to say is that Wilson's reaction and his words did not only deny a current relationship, but they also strongly suggest that Wilson himself doesn't see romantic potential. Add to that Wilson's various relationships with other partners, which as you say is open to interpretation, and it's not that unreasonable on RSL's part to interpret his character as not having a romantic interest in House. And where did the writers retcon House's previous involvement with Cuddy? I keep reading the same complaint, but I don't know what it's referring to.

And he obviously didn't have a problem with the idea of sleeping in that room, because he implied during his conversation with Wilson that he preferred to sleep in it instead of on the couch. That he preferred to sleep in it instead of on the couch, after Wilson converted Amber's shrine into an actual room. True, looking at the pictures probably brought back unpleasant memories and feelings of guilt, but I don't think he's the kind of sentimental person who would refrain from using the room (if it weren't for the whispering) or who would admit to himself that it was bothering him. Well, I never said that the reason he had a problem with sleeping in Amber's room was because he was being respectful of Amber's memory. I didn't say Amber was responsible for the rift, I said her relationship with Wilson led to it, meaning that everything having to do with her must remind House of his involvement in her death and the consequences he suffered. By saying that Amber was not what led to the rift, I also meant that the relationship per se was not what led to it. And you're mixing two different things here. It's true that anything to do with Amber is painful to House because of the fight he had with Wilson, but that definitely is not equivalent to the relationship leading to the rift. I stand by my previous statement about the cause being House's boundaries issue. And of course Wilson negated his friendship with House, how can you even deny that? He clearly said "We're not friends anymore House. I'm not sure we ever were." You're right, he did negate his friendship with House --in words. Because he was really hurt in that moment. But his actions say otherwise. If he really negated the friendship with House -even temporarily-, he would not have created a plot to take House to his father's funeral, which happened very recently after the rift. He could have easily told House's mom that he and House were no longer in touch (and "sorry, but right now I have my own issues -like the death of my girlfriend in which, by the way, your son was involved- to deal with") and be done with it. But he did take House to the funeral, opening (maybe subconsciously) the door to restore their friendship. ETA: From the House/Wilson shipper thread Back to the shipper thread.

That he preferred to sleep in it instead of on the couch, after Wilson converted Amber's shrine into an actual room. Nope, I just rewatched to be sure, House didn't say or imply that he needed Wilson to change anything so that he would feel comfortable sleeping in that room, he just said that he had waited for Wilson to offer him the "shrine". It was Wilson who said that he was going to convert "the study into a bedroom" by which he probably meant that he was going to put a bed in it. He didn't say that he was going to change the "shrine-like" interior, and as we all could see, he didn't. And House did not complain about the fact that Wilson didn't. You're right, he did negate his friendship with House --in words. Well, of course subconsciously Wilson might have had other feelings that he wasn't admitting to himself, I'm not denying that. But I'm sure he had convinced himself of his words and believed them to be true. And he did break off any contact with House for several months, and that's basically what I was getting at, that it was a painful experience for House, even though he might have rightfully suspected that it was a case of self-denial on Wilson's part. On a related note, Wilson has also said that he didn't blame House and was only leaving because it was the best and healthiest thing to do for himself. And I have always been convinced that Wilson made himself believe that, but in reality he was still subconsciously blaming and punishing House with his actions. (Not that Wilson wasn't right and didn't have good reason to believe his own words, I just think it wasn't actually the determining factor that prompted his decision) By saying that Amber was not what led to the rift, I also meant that the relationship per se was not what led to it... ...I stand by my previous statement about the cause being House's boundaries issue. That's basically how I see it too. I don't equate "leading to" with "causing", more like Wilson/Amber being the beginning of the whole downward spiral that followed. ...................... From the H/W shipper thread: It wouldn't be unreasonable of RSL, had he not been the one to deliver the "we're a couple" line... You keep mentioning that one line, but in which episode was that? Or are you referring to the sarcastically said "We're a couple" in 4x12? The only lines I will buy as killing the H/W possibility, are the ones spoken the moment Wilson or House be honest to the other and seriously say: "I'm not interested in having that kind of relationship with you, I just want to be your friend". Actually, I always took the fact that H and W never addressed it in any serious way (not even in a "H and W are avoiding the subject because it actually is that serious and uncomfortable" way) as an indication that all the ambiguity is just meant to be fun. It actually would be much less ambiguous and "tongue in cheek" if there was in fact seriously a romantic interest between the two, you know? And trust me, I'd be happy if there was, that's the benefit of being a multi-shipper ;). I just don't think that's what the writers are getting at, for the above mentioned reasons, which is why I don't interpret what we're being shown by the writers as being more than an unusually devoted and loyal friendship. The moment they said for the first time that House and Cuddy had 'unfinished romantic business'. ...if House and Cuddy had really been involved before s1, their dynamic and behavior toward each other in said season would have been very different and their relationship would have evidently been a lot closer. ...not to mention that Cuddy would have had also much more screen time that she used to have, I just think it's unfair to accuse the writers of retconning, because it was never said or implied that it was more than just a fling back then between H and C, just two people being intrigued by each other, enough so that they did consider dating, but circumstances got in the way. I don't think it even qualifies as "unfinished" and it was never referred to as "unfinished" on the show either, more a "what might have been" thing. And I don't think it's implausible that H and C would choose to avoid the subject, pretend as if nothing ever happened and treat each other with a certain personal and professional distance, deeming their short flirtation a long-gone infatuation from their youthful days. I certainly would if I ever found myself in an employer-employee relationship with an old crush from 15-20 (!) years ago ;). Especially in House's case. Still heartbroken and pining after Stacy, bitter and withdrawn because of everything else that happened surrounding his leg, lashing out at the people around him and rejecting any human contact except for Wilson, who had been his best friend for (I'm estimating) 10-15 years at that point. Of course the relationship between H and W would be much closer and relevant at that time.

I came back to this thread because I have a friend watching Seasons 1-5 for the first time, and we've been trading emails (he's hopelessly addicted and blames me for "ruining his life" by introducing him to the show). :D He HATED "Meaning." He particularly hated Wilson's lying to House about the patient. His argument was that House was drug-free, happy, healthy, and practicing medicine like nobody's business, clinic duty, etc. So why would Wilson do that to his friend? I never got the logic behind it either, just considered it kind of asshole-iss. I never thought about it before. One thought I had is that Wilson really didn't want House to be that healthy, in the same way that addicts' families tend to be enablers or friends get upset when a fat friend loses a lot of weight. What say you all?

I think Wilson screwed up. House was so "up" compared to his usual self. And he was taking cases just to see if he would care about the patient and he told Wilson he didn't. Wilson might have gotten the feeling that he felt sort of invincible and he was afraid that might lead House to try a treatment that was "out of his mind, radical" and kill a patient. I think it was a rotten thing to do. I'm still more than a little mad at him about it. But I don't think he did it to be mean.

To me, this was maybe the first time in House when I felt something was written to sheerly be a plot device. Wilson's actions in "Meaning" were completely OOC to me compared to everything we'd seen before, but I think TPTB had to set Wilson up as a guy who 1)somehow, after all their years together saw his friend's genius as only luck and then had his eyes magically opened towards the end of the Tritter arc and 2) had a history of deciding what was best for his best friend and going with it. Otherwise, his "betrayal" of House (Foreman's assessment) would've come completely out of nowhere. I can almost buy that Wilson needs House to be less than healthy so that he himself doesn't seem so pathetic, but not quite -- their friendship just wasn't set up that way in the first two seasons to me. And this was one of those times when the medicine just didn't support the dialogue -- Wilson's going on about how House might've killed the patient with a cortisol injection had me shaking my head.

View Full Version: Stupid, Screwed-Up Friendship: The House & Wilson Thread