'House' recap: 'Holding On': Is House going back to jail?
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In what has become a signature move in the last few episodes, House delivered a heck of a curveball at the end of tonight’s episode. And going into its series finale (next week!) I’m not exactly sure how House is going to work his way out of this one.
Let’s dig into this week’s episode:
We picked up by learning the outcome of the tests Wilson took in last week’s episode: They were not good. “I’m not doing any more chemo,” Wilson declared early on in the episode. He’d shot for a cure, a miracle, he said, but missed by a mile. So he was done. But House was determined not to let him just give up, and the rest of the episode played out like a fun tango between Wilson and House, in which House tried to convince Wilson his life was worth fighting for. After all, House told him, he’d helped so many others do the same.
House even tried to make his point by inviting Wilson’s past patients to the hospital for a big, dramatic scene. Of course, this being House and House, there was a catch: None of the people House presented to Wilson were actual former patients. Now, believe me, the moment (while it lasted) was beautiful. And I was blubbering like an idiot. Then when the truth was revealed, I felt like a fool. I’ll add the moment to the long, wonderful list of other times I, like Wilson, have been duped by Gregory House.
And even when House tried to convince Wilson that he was on his side — that he’d let him live out the rest of his time (five months) in peace — Wilson thought it was a trick. (There’s no pleasing him, House would probably say. And there’s no trusting House, Wilson would say. As usual, they’d both be right in their own way.)
But one of the most lovely things about this episode is how the writers took something we’ve all become pretty accustomed to (House’s bad behavior) and threw it in our faces in a really shocking way.
You see, throughout the episode, House was acting out because of what was going on with Wilson. In this case, he took some season tickets that Foreman gave him — a gesture he said was Foreman’s way of trying to replace Wilson (haha!) — and flushed them down the toilet, knowing they’d cause a little backing up in the system. What he probably didn’t count on was the ceiling caving in, ruining an MRI and almost severely injuring two members of his team.
Over the years, I’ve become accustomed to his mischief and — in a very House-like way — I don’t tend to think of the consequences. Also, I was too busy to give it much thought. I was more concerned with what Wilson’s decision would be, Thirteen’s brief return, and whether or not we’d see Chase again. (Side note: We didn’t, but [spoiler alert] he’s back next week.) But in tonight’s episode, House had to face some major ones: In the final minutes, he learned he is heading back to prison for violating his parole. (The damages he caused were considered felony vandalism.) He is set to report back to jail and serve out the remainder of his time: six months.
The look on Wilson and House’s faces when they heard the news was devastating, and I felt my heart sink into my stomach. So is House going back to prison? Can House find a way out of this one in the series finale? Will the series finale be House and Wilson’s last weekend together? Who knows!
And, if I’m being honest, part of me doesn’t want to find out — because then that means it’s truly the end. (Also, that promo? Yeah, I cried.)
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