8 Harsh Realities 13 Years Later

In many ways, the finale episode of House, M.D. is a fitting farewell to TV’s most brilliantly idiosyncratic medical character. Gregory House treats one last patient, reckons with his demons, and rides off into the sunset with his best friend, Dr. James Wilson, via one of the most memorable twists in the tail of any show in recent memory.

The ending to House season 8 closed out the series with a story which was just what the doctor ordered for many fans, although it certainly divided viewers upon its release. The show’s title character spends much of the episode seemingly trapped in a burning building while out of his mind on heroin.

This conceit gives House a chance to reflect on his past mistakes, those he’s wronged, and what he really wants from life. It can occasionally come across as somewhat contrived and overly sentimental, but there’s still room for the character’s trademark misanthropy. The finale may not rank among House’s masterpiece episodes, but it ends the show fairly convincingly overall.

At the same time, there are several harsh realities we have to face when watching the episode back. It’s far from a wholly satisfying conclusion, which leaves Gregory House in the deepest hole he’s ever dug for himself, while failing to do right by multiple key characters in the series.

Everybody Dies

The name of House’s final episode is an accurate reflection of its plot, which is wholly concerned with death. Gregory House spends much of it contemplating whether he should kill himself, as he lies beside the dead body of Oliver, his final medical patient, who’s overdosed on drugs.

Meanwhile, the impending death of House’s best friend from terminal cancer looms large over the episode. One theory suggests that Wilson may even have been euthanized after House’s ending, as the show’s protagonist sought to alleviate his old pal’s suffering. Regardless, “Everybody Dies” is a fitting episode title that reflects the harsh reality we all have to confront one day.

Gregory House Is Still Using Drugs

What’s more, the episode doesn’t allow us to ignore a tragic element of Gregory House’s character that he just can’t seem to shake. House may have kicked his addiction to the pain medication Vicodin by the series finale – at least, for the time being – but he’s still very much a drug addict.

While he’s treating Oliver, a fellow addict played by James LeGros, Dr. House realizes that heroin might make him feel even better than painkillers do. He decides to score some smack alongside his newfound acquaintance, demonstrating beyond doubt that drug addiction is still a major problem in his life.

Recovering addicts can go off the rails at any moment, but few people spiral towards the abyss quite as quickly as House does in “Everybody Dies”. Even though he survives in the end, he gives us good reason to worry about his next relapse.

House Is A Bad Friend To Wilson

Gregory House is toxic towards best friend James Wilson throughout all eight seasons of the series, and Wilson is no angel himself. But we get one final reminder of just how badly House has abused their friendship down the years in the show’s last episode, for old times’ sake.

Facing further prison time for criminal vandalism as the result of a prank he pulled, House tries to have Wilson take the fall for him. Given the severe consequences of the prank, which include a hospital power outage and sewage block, as well as the destruction of an MRI scanner, Wilson could serve jail if he takes the blame.

House reasons with Wilson that he’ll never be prosecuted for the prank, as someone dying from a terminal illness. But the fact that he’s willing to make Wilson risk prison just to save himself reflects just what a terrible friend House is.

Cuddy Is Missing From The Episode

Lisa Cuddy is notable by her absence in House’s finale, as by far the most significant character in the series who doesn’t appear in the episode. Actor Lisa Edelstein turned down the chance to feature in “Everybody Dies”, feeling that her character’s story in the show was over the moment that Gregory House drove a car into Cuddy’s living room.

Nevertheless, Cuddy was still the love of House’s life at the time, and a formative part of the series from the very beginning. It’s unrealistic to imagine that she wouldn’t at least show her face at his funeral, given how much he meant to her, in spite of everything.

What’s more, even if the real Cuddy shuns House’s funeral, an imaginary version could still appear in his heroin-induced hallucinations, as other key characters in the series do. The House finale just doesn’t feel right without Cuddy in it at all, and misses the opportunity to bring the character some closure after what Gregory House did to her.

House Never Got The Family He Always Wanted

In one of the most tragic moments of “Everybody Dies”, House imagines taking a child in his arms from his first wife, Stacy Warner. He reminds himself that this vision is how his life could have been, and the fact that it isn’t how his life is makes him want to die.

Stacy tries to reason with him that he could still have a family with someone else, but it doesn’t work. We’re left mourning the image of House’s face transformed into a deeply empathetic, fatherly gaze, as we look back across the show’s eight seasons at what could have been.

Despite their divorce, House and Stacy share one of the best relationships in the series, and clearly still want the best for each other. Their imagined baby only makes us feel worse about how their relationship ended up.

Most Characters In The Show Think House Is Dead

Because House went to jail earlier in season 8 for crashing into Cuddy’s living room, he backs himself into a particularly difficult corner to get out of by vandalizing his hospital’s sewage system. He’s still on parole when this incident occurs, so he’s certain to spend a longer period in jail if he’s found guilty.

With neither Wilson nor Dr. Eric Foreman willing to take the fall for him, House executes an even more elaborate escape plan for himself. He fakes his own death in a burning building, by switching the name on the registration documents for the dead body actually found in the building – which belongs to Oliver.

While this daring act is a spectacular way to stay out of jail, it also means that most people who care about House think he’s dead when the series ends. Only Wilson and Foreman know the truth, but everyone else, from Dr. Cameron to House’s own mother, are none the wiser.

House Has To Live On Without Wilson

The main reason why House is so desperate to stay out of prison is that he wants to spend Wilson’s last months alive with him. One especially outlandish theory suggests that House and Wilson are actually the same person, which is really why House is so attached to his best friend.

Leaving this theory aside, the very least we can say about their friendship is that Wilson serves as House’s emotional rock and moral compass throughout the series. House’s finale episode actually makes this point on multiple occasions, begging the question as to how its titular protagonist will be able to carry on without his dearest friend.

The show ends with Wilson still very much alive, and planning to enjoy at least some of his final few months with House. But it leaves us with very little hope for House’s life once Wilson has gone.

Gregory House’s Career As A Doctor Is Over

When all’s said and done, House is just about the perfect medical drama. It may extend far beyond the outer limits of the genre, but it’s still primarily about a doctor and his team practicing diagnostic medicine.

Dr. Gregory House’s decision to fake his own death effectively ends his medical career with immediate effect. Without drastically changing his appearance, he wouldn’t even be able to practice medicine under an assumed name, because medical licenses include photo ID. As House concludes with its title character straddling a motorcycle, the Dr. House we know and love is gone forever.

House

8/10

Release Date

2004 – 2012-00-00

Network

FOX

Showrunner

David Shore

Directors

Deran Sarafian

Writers

David Shore

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