(S05E21) "You manipulative little bitch ..." House to Wilson.

After last week, we could all use a little breather from epic drama, right? Most of this episode was a complicated and not-too-enlightening game of cat and mouse between various parties that ended up being more amusing than annoying, thankfully. There were a few moments when I felt like I was watching Grey's Anatomy...and no, I'm not talking about the surprise ending.

So, let's start with the patient of the week...a do-gooder environmental activist that loves Mother Earth more than he does his own wife and kid. House is never kind of over-eager idealist, and this was no exception. The patients idealism felt fake and irrational when confronted with his suffering wife and kid.

I mean, it's hard to feel sympathy for anyone who thinks of his wife and child as an afterthought. House writers have also explored this theme before, in an earlier episode starting Ron Livingston...what was it called again? You can't love all humans equally...at some point you have to place your survival or the well being of your family above others. This guy doesn't do that at all. His coldness towards his wife and son had me not caring a whit about whether he lived or died.

Moving on, let's tackle Cameron and Chase! We've seen precious little of Chase this entire season, and he's had zero character development outside his relationship with her. That doesn't change this week, but he does get a ton more screen time, which I'll take, and he does a fantastic job with what he's been giving. Reeling from Kutner's suicide, Chase has decided to propose to Cameron. All her old issues with commitment and co-dependency and unrequited love for House surface once more and are played out in annoying detail.

Thankfully, we don't go down the "does Cameron still love House?" road for too long before discovering that she's just doubting Chase's motivation for proposing, and not her love for him. Chase's heartfelt pleas and resulting break-up speech were very moving. You could see his eyes well up when he dumped Cameron! It's probably Jesse Spencer's best work all season. Of course, we do get a happy ending when they finally get engaged in the end.

Despite all that cuteness, I still prefer the House and Wilson relationship. This time around, it's Wilson who's deliberately screwing with House, as a way to get him "back to normal" after Kutner's death. His sudden love of salads and egg-white omelets are only a way to mess with House. It's brilliant! And it works! And it makes me love Wilson even more. However, I can't believe neither of them like gummy bears! Everyone loves gummy bears.

We go down many wrong roads before House finally catches onto Wilson's game, and there, standing by the vending machine, House bursts into the biggest grin I've ever seen, realizing that Wilson finally got one over on him. It's great, you guys. When House calls Wilson a little bitch, he might as well have been declaring his undying love, it's filled with such adoration.

For the sake of my psyche, I'm going to skip over Cuddy fretting about Cameron's feelings for House. It's totally beneath her to fish for information like that, and just a poor storyline. It makes her insecure and jealous, which I have trouble buying.

For a second, it felt like we were going to get a genuine happy ending as the musical montage started. There were shots of an excited Cameron and Chase telling the good news to Cuddy, House and Wilson happily laughing and eating junk food. But...then comes the kick in the pants. House is back home, playing the piano (what is that song? is it another Hugh Laurie original?) and wham! Amber's ghost appears, in his living room. Now, I have no idea what to make of that. I can't even speculate on it, but I bet it's going to be good. What say you guys?