(S03E23) Well, I guess we don't have to worry about Piper Perabo for the moment, at least. But seriously, folks. With revelations (both here in Spoilers Anonymous and in the comments) that Omar Epps' character, Foreman, wouldn't be leaving House next season, combined with what happened this week, are we thinking that he'll actually stay on board as a doc on House's staff, or will he only remain as just a recurring character who works at the same hospital, or elsewhere? Inquiring minds want to know, and cliffhanger or not next week, I'm presuming we'll get the answer to that question. I mean, how long can one show stretch out someone's two weeks' notice?

As for this week's episode, it's great when a character shows up - typically sick in a hospital bed - that will give House a good run for his money. This week, Nate Harrison is the young man who has had a bit of an incident over a chess match that he was the victor in, following that up with a smash or three to the head of his opponent with the chess timer. Anger issues aside, he managed to develop some symptoms that led to not only various treatments that this team is so used to handing out, but House's haranguing of Foreman, who seems disinterested and waiting for the day to end so he can head to one job interview or another. But a little thing happened that is the "minor" character development thing that makes me enjoy this show, actually. Chase started off the diagnosis by writing "Rage" on the marker pad in the office. Sure, it seems simple, but I get a kick out of any of the team taking charge on anything, even if it is a simple thing like that.

After Foreman's job interview was seemingly "canceled" by a member of the team, we knew we'd be in for a fun little inquisition, and we even knew where it would start. What we still don't really know if it were really House that was behind the cancellation, or if Foreman made up the story or just canceled on his own. I'm not sure it absolutely matters either way in the grand scheme of things, as what we were supposed to get out of that was how the fun game of telephone would make its way through the hospital's staff, from House to Cuddy to Wilson to Cameron and back to Chase. Everyone had their suspicions for a good reason, mainly the character traits of those individuals. In some ways, that kind of summed up how everyone feels about the other, but in way too of a roundabout way. And while we're talking about how characters feel about one another, I'm guessing that Chase's standoffish refusal to provide peer feedback to Foreman's potential employer was just a response to Foreman saying how he didn't like Chase anyway. Though i'm not sure the payback there is quite as effective as the initial jab.

As we now have two weeks to mull over what this monster season finale might be trying to get us all up in arms about, I've gotta say that I'm amazed at how quickly it feels like we got through three whole seasons. At the end of the day, not a ton has changed, as loves have come and gone, random one-off guest stars have come and gone, and the biggest difference is that House, Cameron, Chase and Foreman are all, at least a little bit, different because of their working together. This is one of the only shows I watch where I actually care about the characters - still - and am actually interested in what they're thinking and doing, which I think is pretty rare for television these days, or television at all, frankly.

When this week's case came down to it, House almost had the tables turned on him in what he tried to do to solve it all. Getting the kid stressed out playing chess not only proved that the kid was a jerk, but a brilliant one, if not totally on par with House's jerk-ness. After losing the match and dropping his king, he was not only able to save the guy, but was proven to have been outsmarted, as clever as he is. He definitely takes these things in stride, as he's clearly aware that he won't see this kid ever again, but every time one of these little digs takes a piece out of him, it might have a slight change to his overall approach. What it didn't do is change how he approached working with Foreman. Giving his staffer an all-nighter's worth of work after hearing Wilson and Cuddy tell him how he needed to speak to him was a pretty big jerk thing to do, proving that the title isn't just meant for Nate, now was it?

I'm all out of personal predictions at this point, and would much prefer to hear what you all think is coming next. I'm thinking that Foreman will stay on in much the same capacity he currently is in, because House might have been right by saying that the young doctor wasn't ready. Plus, at the end of the day, I'm sure he somehow appreciates what this opportunity means. Oh, and Cuddy potentially offering him a bigger gig at that same hospital probably pays off, too, no? What do you think we'll see, House fans?