Here be dragons
So, first of all, a little preamble. This week and next I am volunteering to work with autistic children. The boy I've been assigned to help look after has no language, doesn't use Makaton signs and is, for the most part, very disengaged. This got me to thinking about Lines in the Sand, and the whole "oh my God, you really connected with him" thing.
So, in S3, House has gone from being everybody's favourite lovable-misanthrope-with-integrity to being more of an antihero. In the previous two seasons, he may have had unorthodox methods, but House was always basically doing the right thing. Season 3? Not so much. He stole Wilson's prescription pad, stole pills from a dead guy, punched Chase in the mouth, cheated at rehab, etc etc. I don't necessarily think the writers have made a mistake. I think it's a very interesting and bold move, to test the boundaries in that way. My problem is with the fact that they've chosen to mitigate the effect of that by demonstrating that House has a SPESHUL AFFINITY with "damaged people" of various types - autistic children, rape victims, unborn babies and what have you. This has led to some of the worst. Episodes. Ever (ODOR, anyone? And of course Foetal Position, which everybody hated except me - and then I decided that, on further consideration, I hated about half of it myself. I didn't especially mind Lines in the Sand at the time, to the best of my recollection, but it wasn't stellar).
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not leaving House. It's just we've been together for over two years now, and the honeymoon period - when I used to hang on its every word, and it could do no wrong in my eyes - is over. I still love it, but I wish it would pick its dirty socks off the floor, and that it would occasionally do the washing up.
Now, on to the House spoilers, particularly the new cast members (and please correct me if I'm wrong about these, because I'm not any kind of expert). From what I've heard (and don't quote me on this), they are recurring rather than regular, and will have an 8-episode arc. Each season so far has had a story arc towards the beginning, which has then been neatly resolved (a little bit too neatly, sometimes). Here's a summary (I know you know, I just like to organise my thoughts):
S1 - Vogler.
S2 - Stacy.
S3 - Tritter.
S4 - 7-11, Kumar, Claire from The Book Group and that other guy (I'll try find a more concise term later on).
Now, I'm pretty sure that this wasn't the writers' intention, but there's a pattern here. Each of these arcs has been temporarily detrimental to the House/Wilson relationship, which has then managed to repair itself (pace, Huddy shippers - the same can be said of the House/Cuddy relationship, but to a much lesser extent).
So, House has hired new goons, and is possibly hallucinating his old ones, while Wilson is finally getting laid. No, I don't think he's sleeping with a guy (but it's possible, it's possible). I think he's sleeping with Anne Dudek. This would be fine with me, for three reasons:
a) If the characters of Wilson and Claire had met and had a lovechild in their youth, it probably would have been me. I look like both of them (except much less attractive, obviously), and my personality is pretty close to both of theirs too.
b) Again, I might be wrong about this, but I'm pretty sure that Dudek only gets 8 episodes, which means that Wilson's relationship with her would be temporary, which, for obvious reasons, is an outcome that appeals to me.
c) It would be hot. Come on, Wilson deserves to get laid, and if it has to be by somebody other than House, Dudek is a pretty good choice.
As for this "Thirteen" person, I'm pretty sure there'll be some flirtation between her and House (because House gives off a special unique pheromone that makes nubile women throw themselves at him, obviously), but I seriously doubt that it will develop into an actual relationship, because if House "ends up" with anybody, I don't think it will be with one of the new characters. There are three people vying for his affection, and they are Cameron, Cuddy and Wilson - and whether or not the writers originally intended Wilson to be a candidate, he is. The idea is in the open now. The actors have talked about it, the writers have talked about it, and in terms of shipper demographics, there's no denying that he's one of the Big Three.
It seems that House is going to have a one night stand with Cuddy during this season. Some people might see this as vindication of House/Cuddy, but personally I think it rules it out in the long term. Once it happens, any kind of 'will they, won't they' dramatic tension is gone. They might try to establish an on-again off-again thing, but in terms of TV grammar, the fourth season seems late in the day to be introducing that.
My prediction is that if House "ends up" with anybody, it will be Cameron (unless they bring back Stacy, which seems unlikely, but would have a nice symmetry to it). Yes, in terms of real-world psychology, the relationship would almost certainly be doomed. But this isn't the real world, this is TV, and (much as many literary critics try), it's rarely useful to psychoanalyse a fictional character in any real depth, unless that character has been consistently crafted by a person or group with a good understanding of, and commitment to, his or her psychology. Generally speaking, fictional characters exist so that their creator/s can do things and explore ideas with them. While, if the writer/s are any good, they'll usually be consistent and convincing, they won't always act exactly like a real person would, because real people leading real lives do not produce an elegant and consistently engaging narrative. House/Cameron has been around since the beginning, and the fact that it hasn't gone away yet suggests to me that they'll probably persevere with it until the bitter end. Either that, or a romantic relationship with Wilson will be heavily implied (but not made explicit). That is, unless he doesn't "end up" with anybody at all, which is also very plausible.
So those are my predictions, hopes and fears for what is to come. And they come to over 1000 words. One day, I will definitely get a life. I swear.
