I loved the episode. No Cameron, hardly any 13, good Cuddy and Kutner. But I was touched most of all by the way HL delivered the line: "Is there?" Stupid, stupid Emmy voters.

On the subject of Cuddy/Cameron/Foreman/Not!Chase going to visit Wilson... Should we take this as canon now that Wilson has no other friends besides them? I'm both disappointed and a little unsurprised... It looks like his codependent relationship with House really did put a damper on any other friendships he might have built. If that's the case, no wonder Wilson is trying to pull away. I suppose it's possible that Lucas only mentioned the visitors that the viewer -- err, I mean, House -- would recognize. But that seems ridiculously unlikely. I would think that Lucas would give the full report of who visited or called, whether or not House knows them well. Are we really supposed to believe that Wilson is closer to Foreman than he is to someone in his own department? It just seems like sloppy writing to me. I wish the writers had thrown in one or two unfamiliar, generic names to fluff up Wilson's list of friends.

I'm guessing that perhaps the writers and the PI thought we (and House) might not care but I see what you mean.

Loki, you're right. We know Brown from Oncology. Or his parents could have come to see him. It would have taken an extra 2 seconds to throw in a couple more names.

I was kind of turned off of the good elements in the episode by the bad elements. It seemed that this time they kind of went overboard with what they expect us to swallow, concerning the medical procedures (with the exception of Chase not doing the brain surgery). Was it explained why the old guy had to by trached instead of intubating him? There was blood bubbling from the tube, but the tracheotomy didn't change anything about that, as opposed to intubation, did it? I'm not a doctor. I just didn't understand it. And Taub's continuous, too-fast-to-check shocking was a bit much, as well. I wish they would stop trying to top themselves every time. If all the PI did was switch eye-woman's chemo meds to saline, why would she crash? Was it just a coincidence that it happened at exactly that moment? House suggested that she would eventually crash, because the chemo wasn't doing anything. I don't understand. I didn't get Kutner's dead guy colonoscopy idea either, but that was probably me. I really like the teaser though. And I'm usually not that fond of them. It worked well with the music and without dialog, the quick cuts and even the slight overexposure, that hasn't always worked well in the past. (Overexposure is not the word I'm looking for. The light parts are brighter, the dark parts are darker than normal. Whatever that is called. Or is it just my monitor settings? It seemed there in a couple shots, and then it wasn't in others. Oh well. Never mind.) Liked the scene between House and Wilson. I'm undecided about the PI. He's seems too intentionally innocent. But maybe he's just playing that. ETA: I seem to remember someone in the know around here mentioned, that the pink scrub color Foreman wears, is indicative of size. I may be wrong.

*Sighs* Well, I watched it, I don't know if I'm happy about it or not yet. The PI isn't as bad as I feared he would be but maybe that's because I have fond memories of Michael Weston (I haven't seen his darker guest stints that a lot of people remember). I definately don't want him sticking around for long, but they could have done a lot worse. I'm glad they toned down 13 this week. I bet RSL was thrilled when he got the script for this one. Um, nothing else really stood out to me. I loved the H/W scene, it still hurts hearing Wilson say these things but House didn't do a thing to show him that anything had or even could change, so I'm also glad that he's standing his ground. House still made the situation about him. He made a start with the "how are you?" but he quickly blew it, IMHO. Minor note, HL did some fantastic work here (like that's anything new) and I felt his sadness a lot but when the POTW said, "you look sad," he just....didn't to me. Maybe it was the awkward camera angle. Also, It's nice to hear that Foreman is calling Wilson but I never though they were actually close. I could understand the Cuddy and Cameron connections but hearing about Foreman calling him was a bit weird for me. I don't think they're really close, he only called, he didn't visit like Cameron and Cuddy do, but I do think that Foreman respects Wilson, I've always gotten that vibe and it's one of the reasons I never could really hate Foreman. As for Chase, I never got the impression that he didn't like Wilson or that Wilson didn't like him, they just aren't close, not in the sligh-*test*-('"), that doesn't mean they don't like each other. I thought it was nice of the writers to include the three characters that Wilson had any kind of a relationship with instead of just saying he hangs out with everyone except House. I'm glad they left out Chase and added Foreman, that made sense to canon as far as I'm concerned.

I kind of enjoyed the PI and his interactions with House, but it's a -*test*-('")ament to how far this show has fallen for me that I find myself just not caring enough about anyone or anything to even bother arguing/discussing much. Which makes me sad. :(

I've got to say that I'm glad I've gone with the (mostly) unspoiled route. It sounds like a lot of people spent a lot of time discussing/preparing themselves for the PI long before he even appeared. Since I didn't know anything about him or what he'd be doing (other than the fact that he'd appear at some point), I just took the scenes as they came, rather than trying to weigh them against preconceived notions of what to expect. Just my opinion, of course, and the reason I stay out of spoiler speculation, but for me, all the debate and discussion in advance of the episode ruins the enjoyment of just being in the moment and letting the story play out in front of me.

Haven't seen this posted, but I loved the Dave Matthews song that played over House's brooding in wilson's office. "You Might Die Trying" To change the world, Start with one step. However small, The first step is hardest of all. Once you get your gate, You will walk in tall. You said you never did, Cause you might die trying, Cause you might die trying. Cause you--- If you close your eyes, Cause the house is on fire. And think you couldn't move, Until the fire dies. The things you never did, Oh, cause you might die trying, Cause you might die trying. You'd be as good as dead, Cause you might die trying, Cause you might die trying. If you give, you, you begin to live. If you give, you begin to live. You begin, you get the world. If you give, you begin to give You get the world, you get the world. If you give, you begin to live. You might die trying. Oh, you might die trying. Yeah, you might die trying. The things you never did, Cause you might die trying; You'd be as good as dead. You never did.

As for Chase, I never got the impression that he didn't like Wilson or that Wilson didn't like him I had the impression Wilson didn't fully TRUST Chase, a carryover from the Volger arc.

What a perfectly understated and beautifully melancholy episode! It was the perfect combination of dry humor, irony, and sadness as only Kaplow is capable. I'm so glad he's back on the writing team! The scene with House at Wilson's door was, of course, heartbreaking (with Wilson's words once again like punches to the gut), as were House's conversations about Wilson with the PI. And how sad is it that even after the case was solved, House called the PI and asked if he could put him on retainer? You just know it's because what the PI said in the surgery observation area (that House was, in essence, paying someone to listen, to be a friend) is true. *sigh* I really enjoyed the PI/House scenes. I also really liked Kutner's unconventional thinking regarding examining the dead man's colon, and who wouldn't love Foreman getting covered in shit? ;) Cuddy was good, too, though I thought her having guards at the PotW's door was a bit unbelievable because she'd know House would get around them, and she should know by now that he is almost always right, but I think those who think Cuddy's backbone has grown weak must have liked that. :-) I never thought I'd say this, but the medical stuff (brains, blood, etc.) really needn't be quite so realistic, in my humble opinion. Bleck! Of course, the very best part was how House related to the patient (not surprisingly, I think it echoes "Control" and "Autopsy", as others mentioned above). So here's how I see it: House was blind before (before what, I'm not sure; his leg? Wilson? Stacy? Adulthood? Adolescence? No clue. But at some point in time, he was blind. ), but now he thinks he sees, and what he thinks he sees is an ugly, bleary world. Soon, though, he'll get his interpretation repaired and see it for what it is; learn to see the beauty, along with the ugly. And maybe look at Wilson and see just how sad he looks. Also, a thought that occurred to me elsewhere ... how appropriate is it that one of Apple's symptoms was that she didn't see the world as it was -- it was "ugly" -- while House is struggling to see the world as it is without Wilson, and is struggling to overcome that new reality, much as Wilson is supposedly trying to see a world without House at the same time (and just now, with his worldview tainted post-Amber, he's seeing his friendship with House solely as "ugly?") Yes, these are both great insights! This whole exchange was incredibly moving and powerful: House: You're not seeing what everyone else is seeing. PotW: Things will be beautiful? House: Things will be what they are. (PotW opens eyes.) House: How do I look? PotW: You look sad. Does *House* see what everyone else sees when they look at him? Or is he seeing something completely different? We rarely see ourselves as others do, but I think with House there might be a greater disconnect than is typical. He doesn't think he's good looking (Love Hurts); he " know how lucky " (Daddy's Boy), etc. How much of his identity does he base on his pain/limp? His childhood/parents? And clearly he doesn't see himself the way Wilson is seeing him now (not a friend, someone to move on from). The PotW asked if things would be beautiful and House replied that they'll be what they are. To House, then, is nothing, as it is, beautiful? Can things be beautiful as they are, imperfections and all? Shallow House/Hugh love: loved his exaggerated wink to the PotW, loved his raising his eyes expectantly at Chase from the surgery observation area, and I wanted to hug House a million times. Question: Is it significant that the patient is named Apple? I've never heard of anyone with that name, so it struck me as odd.

Question: Is it significant that the patient is named Apple? I've never heard of anyone with that name, so it struck me as odd. Aside from Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin's daughter Apple? It's not common, that's for sure.