Exactly. thought that was pretty obvious.
The POTW issue is negligible. In his conversation with House, we find out he has lost everything, incl all family and friends, to his drug addiction. His disappearance will end up being just one more cold case for the butthurt cop guy.
Great point about Homes. I hadn’t even thought about that. I wonder if the writers intended that?
Good thing House is too high-minded to obtain Vicodin illegally! I like the “left everything to Wilson” theory, and they spend some time in Mexico where nobody checks gringo papers too closely.
The appearance of the Russian wife made me suspect that his funeral was an hallucination, bu it was not to be.
Your confusion confuses me. I never said that House or Wilson talked to the patient (although obviously House did), but what would that have to do with it?
The man died, but his body will be buried in House’s grave. His family will never know what happened to him. They’ll never know that he’s dead. That means no closure. That means putting their lives on hold. Any life insurance he had, that they may be depending on, will be unavailable to them (maybe after 7 years or whatever the time is to be declared dead). Would Wilson tolerate this possibility? He cares about others even above himself. He’s the guy who stayed with the demented lady at the bus stop rather than pursue his only chance at his lifelong dream. Would he really just accept that a family could be destroyed emotionally? Would he really just accept that a family may be destroyed financially? Just so he can go on a highway trip for a few months (the cancer will probably debilitate him too much for riding before 5 months time).
What life insurance? In his House visit, we learn the man has lost everything. Family, friends, job. Since this is a (TV version of a) teaching hospital, there didn’t have to be insurance involved in his treatment. I’m pretty sure that the issue of covering treatment costs was covered in some previous eps.
So, no family looking for him. No insurance payouts in limbo. No murder investigation left open. It really does wrap up. Not totally clean, but clean enough.
POTW is actually now a missing person. One body was found, it was ID’ed as House (and it makes sense that they checked that, since House was the only person they knew for certain was there). There is no need for House to put his dental records in POTWs file, since there isn’t another body to identify.
I missed a couple minutes; did we ever see another body in the warehouse, or was it said that the drug-addicted patient was the person who died in the fire? I thought that was how Wilson and Foreman found the warehouse; they figured out what House was going to do, found the patient’s name and address in the hospital records, and then they were at the scene (one of them said something like “this is the address he gave us.”).
However, if there’s one thing that seven seasons of the show should have made clear, it’s that House could have found a way to switch the dental records. Whatever plot hole you think you’ve found, the answer is “he would have thought of that in advance.”
Now, what’s this about Homes faking his death at Reichenbach Falls?
I figured House got to the ME whose life he saved a few eps ago. “You owe me one. You’re going to have a body come through the morgue. It’s me.” A lot easier than fudging dental records. And I actually didn’t hear a comment about dental records, although I saw it on the closed captioning. I heard Foreman come out and say “The coroner confirms it’s House.”
StG
Ah, got it. I misunderstood. Maybe Wilson finally decided to let go and have some fun with the last few months he has with his best friend instead of dealing with red tape, bureaucracy and trying to get someone else’s affairs in order that ultimately won’t make any difference in his life.
I think the writers didn’t want us to think about that kind of stuff and instead wanted us to see a great send off for the ultimate happy go lucky prankster.
Also, I know someone up thread said they were disappointed that he never atoned for everything he did, but you know what, some people really do just get away with everything. Some people really do just skate through life. We all know people who do everything ‘wrong’, having nothing but fun, and it never seems to catch up with them. House is one of them. I’m sure after Wilson dies, House will find a way to land on his feet.
House will bury Wilson in a field somewhere and take his license and practice medicine in Mexico as Dr. James E. Wilson.
What surprised me was, a lot of people - myself included - read a lot into the title of the episode, when all along it was a play on the title of the pilot, “Everybody Lies.” (Then again, I think most TV listings list the title as just “Pilot,” which would explain why nobody said anything.)
What was it that (I assume it was) David Shore said over his “Shore Z Productions” logo at the end? Something about a burger?
I don’t think I heard “lupus” or “sarcoidisis” mentioned once, either in the retrospective or the episode.
Speaking of the retrospective:
The studio they use had previously been used for three other TV series - Swiss Family Robinson, Emerald Point NAS, and 9 to 5; only the latter lasted more than one season (and House lasted twice as long as the three of them put together).
I wonder how many of the other $5 Friday pool winners are thinking, “Good thing I won before the last one - I didn’t have my win broadcast nationwide, so the IRS has no proof of my unreported gambling winnings”?
I was a little surprised they didn’t get the Emmy winners together - then again, I was slightly more surprised that the show has only won five Emmys so far (one each for writing (drama series), directing (drama series), and prosthetic makeup, and two for sound mixing (hour-long series)).
Omar Epps claimed that he were in every episode, but was he in “Broken” (the 2-hour episode with House in the mental institution)?
Speaking of being in episodes, did they mention Bobbin Bergstrom, who is in just about every episode of the past few seasons as an unnamed nurse? Apparently, she’s also one of the show’s medical experts.
Well, I was almost right. 
Absolutely. No doubt whatsoever. They’ve stated it on numerous occasions throughout the series.
I hadn’t thought of that. The question is, will Foreman vouch for him if he tries to work at a big hospital that calls for references? And will the hospital let Dr Wilson make the jump from Oncology to diagnostics…a division that the hospital likely doesn’t even have a specific need for. Hopefully, Foreman would understand what’s going on and play ball or maybe Chase will get the call.
House will go to work as a janitor in a hospital somewhere, and the medical staff will find the patients’ diagnoses written on the wall outside their rooms every morning in Sharpie marker.
Actually, that’s a sort of interesting idea. I remember one ep where House talked about living in Japan as a kid, and the doctors at the local hospital would consult with the janitor, who had House-like talents. It’s why House started in medicine, I think.
StG
We’ll call it Good Greg House.
I disagree that House has had “nothing but fun”, skating through life. He’s skated because of his intellect, and he’s had his “happy go lucky prankster” moments, but he has suffered greatly. Not only physical but mental pain, he was never cured, rejected the possibility of happiness at every turn, and sabotaged his romantic relationships. I am positive that after Wilson dies, House will land on his feet, though.
No, no, no. Just no. It was “the plan” the whole time.
He switched the dental records days ago.
He knew POTW was going to die horribly, and he did the same for him as he’d offered to do for 13. “He’s happy.” Half the episode was House dealing with killing instead of saving.
He then got to the end game and was hit with a strong suicidal urge which his subconscious talked him out of.
He now has POTW’s identity, and will find a way to make a living just fine.
In the mean time they will live off of responsible Wilson’s savings and anything House left to Wilson in his will (probably just the year’s salary from an accidental D&M policy that comes with the hospital’s benefits package).
I will admit I had stopped watching midway through last season and came back just for the finale. I found the finale confusing (which was my fault I am sure)and really kind of ridiculous (which is theirs). That said, it is certainly an ending so there’s that.
Also the fact that they brought back literally every character both live and dead who had ever appeared in more than one episode other than Cuddy made her very conspicuous in her absence. Lisa Edelstein must have really been unhappy with the show to not even make a cameo.
I guess this finale really wasn’t for me. I drifted into House in the middle of its run and drifted back out again. I never really cared much about the characters. I was always more interested in the medical stories but eventually the sameness of it all made me leave and now it is over. Thanks, House, for the entertainment and making me paranoid I will breath in a small tree branch.