I just watched the episode and, guys, I'm in tears. What a fantastic episode. I've been getting a bit bored of House, but this changed it all. It was just good from the get-go. Interesting POTW, great dialogue, and I loved the gradual reconciliation. The desire to talk to each other but both too stubborn to say what needed to be said, until the funeral. Wonderful stuff. I also enjoy having a backstory finally! Interesting to know Wilson threw something at the glass and got arrested in Louisiana. *g* And then the parallel of last night's episode, when he threw the bottle into the glass of the church. Just great stuff. However, boo to the fact that I now have MmmBop stuck in my head.

However, boo to the fact that I now have MmmBop stuck in my head. Me too, all day long.

Let me zero in directly on the eulogy. Bear with me. I have never been disappointed by HL's acting on House; not a single second (except for a tiny moment in "Airborne", but let's ignore that). The sob, when it came, was the first time that I thought that he could have done better. It didn't ring true for me. And my mouth hung open, trying to understand how he could have not nailed that scene. And then seconds later I was incredibly relieved to learn, that it was in fact House's acting that didn't convince me and not Hugh's. And House's acting didn't convince Wilson either, that's why got up (the sob made him suspicious, the kiss made him walk up to the coffin). After all, Wilson can read House (most of the time anyway). See the poker game that House didn't want him to participate in. That's why I firmly believe that the sob was not real. Which is not to say that House didn't feel the loss of his Dad at the end. And it's also why I am now even more in awe of HL, who's able to act being not quite 100 % good at acting. Able to convince most, but not all. (I understand that some/a lot/many/few? of you will disagree with this, but that's the way I saw it and it made me happy. :wink: ... Uhm, I'm not saying that any of you, who were convinced it was real, are in any way less observant. It's just different views and all that.)

I completely agree with you on that, to21be. It didn't occur to me until I read that, and it makes complete sense. I do think he started out the eulogy being sincere... but by the time he fake-sobbed, I think he started to back off his feelings and put up the wall again, so he could set up going over to his father, kissing him, and taking the DNA. I just realized that 13 didn't introduce House to the patient! Yay! Hey, incidentally, to21be, I know you specialize in House's t-shirts and sneakers, but do you (or anyone else) happen to know the brand of House's jeans (when Cuddy gave him the shot)? I'm a Levi's and Gap jeans girl, so I'm not familiar with all those uppity fashionista brands for jeans. :lol: The label didn't look familiar. I had always assumed he wore Levi's, but that does not look like a Levi's patch. marykir's screencap of the shot

Must stop thinking about House's underwear... :oops: So I'm watching the police station scene right now. House: Hey, there were 3,000 people at that convention. You were the one I thought wasn’t boring. That says something. Wilson: It also says something that you lied to me about getting the charges dropped. House: I got a lawyer. He cut a deal. You didn’t call the guy? You have to show up at the arraignment. Everybody knows that. Wilson: Everybody with your misdemeanor experience. Is anyone else wondering what House's pre-Wilson misdemeanors were? :)

Looking at that lovely MaryKir screencap again, I just realized that House isn't wearing his black belt with the square silver buckle.

Well, since you forced me to, I took another look. Yes it is a brown belt, I had not noticed. :-)

Maybe Wilson was referring to those mysterious charges that Stacy said would cause House trouble getting his medical license renewed in Spin. But that's exactly what I don't like. :lol: I didn't think it was love or hate for House that was driving him away, but a long-forgotten instinct for self-preservation. I was excited about that. More than anything, actually, I was excited at the prospect of seeing House realize and show that he cares and wants and not just needs. :P I'm just hoping--though no longer expecting; I'm taking after HL and RSL and expecting the worst, lol--the reason Wilson gave for leaving will be addressed somehow. I didn't even think that by this episode the "why" was still up in the air. I thought Wilson explained it eloquently in DCE, and all we needed was the "what next?" I believed Wilson's reason for leaving in DCE, that House was self-destructive and a danger to himself and that those who loved him were inevitably hurt by him because that's what we seen over 4 seasons of the show. It was reinforced by House's behaviour after Amber's death. (The "we were never friends" I thought was Wilson's hurt feelings because House was dismissing his pain.) It also made sense in terms of Wilson's relationship with Amber, who taught him to finally feel that he was worth getting what he wanted rather than always trying to make it better for other people. Now suddenly Wilson left because he couldn't bear the thought of losing House. Huh? What happened to all that lovely personal growth Wilson had during season 4. It and Amber were the only things about last season that I enjoyed and now it suddenly doesn't exist any more. Wilson may want House in his life because he's fun and good company but that doesn't negate what he said in DCE, that House is a destructive force for those who care about him. Will Wilson be able to keep a balance or will he fall back into his old enabling ways? You are always your parents' child and old dynamics rear their heads when families get together. It's why so much drama is centered on family occasions. They do in dysfunctional families but in many families, parents realize their children have grown up and both parent and child adjust to the new relationship. House hasn't lived at home for over 30 years, much longer than the time he lived with his parents. Blythe appears to be functioning 40 years in the past. I think House has taken more responsibility than you suggest--Tritter did find out about the forgery and that didn't go anywhere because Tritter was using his position to get personal revenge for a situation he helped create. Cuddy may have lied for him, but the judge knew she did and threw the case out anyway. House was judged and not found wanting. It was a situation House himself created, both by humiliating Tritter and contributing to his vendetta and by doing illegal things (forging Wilson's name and stealing the dead guy's drugs) that enabled Tritter to take him to court. The judge threw out the case because Cuddy lied for him so the prosecution couldn't prove the case. Cameron broke the MRI machine because she couldn't get the information another way; House broke it because it was cooler to shoot a corpse in the head and see what happens rather than holding the bullet in the machine and seeing if the magnet affects it. It's one thing for Blythe to treat House like a small child who needs to be told what to do and is absolved from responsibility for his actions but it's another for his boss to do it too. It was funny to have the cop tell House to go to the funeral and for Cuddy to force him by drugging him into Wilson's car but neither was really appropriate.

I thought it was fine for the cop to say it. He was just stating an opinion and he had absolutely no power to make House go. In fact, if he continued to hold Wilson, he would have prevented House's attendance. It was not appropriate for House's boss to drug him so that Wilson could kidnap him and force him to attend. Aside from the legal issues (which tend to be ignored by House anyway), how is whether House attends his father's funeral any of her business? This is the woman who complained that House shouldn't interfere with her dates but she slips him a mickey so he'll go to a funeral for a man he hated? Talk about interfering with his personal life!!!

You're probably right and that is how life usually is. But then, I do think they learned that they care about their friendship and part of why they care is that they have fun together. I have always hated Wilson's speeches snarking at House self-righteously when House says he knows something that Wilson can't see. At least this time, when House proved it to him he was duly amazed. I don't think House bothered to do the genetic -*test*-('") all those years because he knew he was right. But Wilson's goading him made him get the actual scientific result, and as it turned out, the fact that it didn't fix anything oddly starts to make a difference to him. So I guess all that self-righteous goading has an effect beyond being annoying, it gets House to -*test*-('") his theories and prove that he is not just lucky: he does have a gift. So the dysfunctional stuff has a function. Cool.