Wilson's Heart (House)

Last updated
"Wilson's Heart"
House episode
Episode no.Season 4
Episode 16
Directed by Katie Jacobs
Written by Peter Blake
David Foster
Russel Friend
Garrett Lerner
Original air dateMay 19, 2008 (2008-05-19)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"House's Head"
Next 
"Dying Changes Everything"
House season 4
List of episodes

"Wilson's Heart" is the sixteenth episode and season finale of the fourth season of House and the eighty-sixth episode overall. It aired on May 19, 2008, on Fox. It is the second and final part of the two-part fourth season finale, the first part being "House's Head".

Contents

Plot

House remains affected by memory loss due to a bus crash that has also severely injured Amber Volakis, Wilson's girlfriend. Amber is being treated at Princeton General Hospital, where the attending physician says she is experiencing tachycardia that can't be explained as a result of the bus crash. House and Wilson have her moved to Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital. In the ambulance, Amber's tachycardia degenerates into v-fib; Wilson demands she be put into protective hypothermia in order to buy time for a proper diagnosis. during the further testing that follows, Amber develops multisystem organ failure, including liver and neurological damage.

At Wilson's urging, House agrees to undergo deep brain stimulation to recover his memories of the evening of the bus crash and thereby help diagnose Amber. During the stimulation, House remembers that he was at a bar, too drunk to drive home, and called Wilson for a ride, but Amber came instead. When she wouldn't drink with him, House stormed off and boarded a bus; Amber followed to give him his cane.

During the bus ride, Amber complained that she had the flu, and took a heavy dose of amantadine. The crash caused acute kidney injury, making her kidneys unable to adequately filter out the amantadine, which caused all of her unexplained symptoms. House goes into a seizure while still connected to the deep brain stimulation equipment, and falls into a coma.

The team confirms House's diagnosis of Amber, but there is nothing they can do to treat her. Wilson weans Amber off anesthesia in order to spend her last moments alive with him. The team comes in one by one to say goodbye to Amber, and after Wilson himself says goodbye, he shuts off Amber's bypass and she dies peacefully in Wilson's arms. Unconscious, House has a vision of Amber, who persuades him not to give up on life and die, telling him, "You can't always get what you want."

Back at the hospital, Thirteen discovers she has inherited Huntington's disease, and House awakens with Cuddy at his side. Taub crawls into bed with his wife, Kutner watches TV alone, and Chase and Cameron meet Foreman in a restaurant. Wilson visits House, but the two just silently stare at each other. Wilson returns home and finds a note Amber left him in their bedroom saying she went to pick up House, and he breaks down in tears.

Reception

The episode increased ratings from the previous week, with 16.358 million viewers tuning in. [1]

Soundtrack

An acoustic version of Massive Attack's "Teardrop," the show's opening theme, can be heard in the middle of the episode in a short montage, by José González.

The song "Re:Stacks" by Bon Iver is used during Amber and Wilson's final moments together.

The song that plays near the end of the episode when House and Amber are on the bus is "Light for the Deadvine" by People in Planes.

The song that plays as House exits the bus until the end of the episode is "Passing Afternoon" by Iron and Wine.

Notes

  1. Gorman, Bill (May 28, 2008). "Top Fox Primetime Shows, May 19–25". TVbythenumbers.com. Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved June 10, 2011.

Related Research Articles

House is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on the Fox network for eight seasons, from November 16, 2004, to May 21, 2012. Its main character, Dr. Gregory House, is an unconventional, misanthropic medical genius who, despite his dependence on pain medication, leads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton–Plainsboro Teaching Hospital (PPTH) in New Jersey. The series' premise originated with Paul Attanasio, while David Shore, who is credited as creator, was primarily responsible for conceiving the title character.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Cuddy</span> Fictional character

Lisa Cuddy, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. She is portrayed by Lisa Edelstein. Cuddy was the dean of medicine of the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. Cuddy quit her job after the events of season seven's finale "Moving On".

James Wilson (<i>House</i>) Fictional character on House

James Evan Wilson, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. He is played by Robert Sean Leonard. The character first appears in the show's pilot episode when he introduces a medical case to the protagonist, Dr. Gregory House. Wilson is Dr. House's only true friend; he frequently provides him with consultations and aid. Wilson is the head of the Department of Oncology at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Foreman</span> Fictional character

Eric Foreman, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. He is portrayed by Omar Epps, and appeared in all eight seasons of the show.

"Mirror Mirror" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of House and the seventy-fifth episode overall. It aired on October 30, 2007.

Thirteen (<i>House</i>) Fictional character

Remy "Thirteen" Hadley, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House, portrayed by Olivia Wilde. She is part of the new diagnostic team assembled by Dr. Gregory House after the disbanding of his previous team in the third-season finale. The character's nickname derives from the episode "The Right Stuff", when she is assigned the number during a competition for her position at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.

"House's Head" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of House and the eighty-fifth episode overall. It was the first part of the two-part season four finale, the second part being "Wilson's Heart". Co-written by several House producers and directed by Greg Yaitanes, "House's Head" premiered on May 12, 2008 on Fox.

"Not Cancer" is the second episode of the fifth season of House and the eighty-eighth episode overall. It aired on September 23, 2008.

"Last Resort" is the ninth episode of the fifth season of House and the ninety-fifth episode overall. It aired on November 25, 2008. This episode is an "extended episode" as it runs for an extra seven minutes, taking the total episode's length without ads to 50 minutes.

"Locked In" is the nineteenth episode of the fifth season of House. It aired on March 30, 2009. Large portions of the episode are shown from the perspective of the patient, who retains consciousness but lacks the ability to move. After discovering the patient in an emergency room while being treated for injuries related to a motorbike crash, House's team move the patient to Princeton Plainsboro and attempts to diagnose him. During the course of treatment, the team discovers several medically relevant secrets about the patient. Other plot points focus on Wilson's attempts to discover why House was in Middletown, New York when he crashed, Wilson's new relationship, and the resolution of Taub's resignation from the previous episode.

"Both Sides Now" is the twenty-fourth episode and season finale of the fifth season of House. It originally aired on May 11, 2009.

"Known Unknowns" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of House and 117th overall. It aired on November 9, 2009. The team tries to diagnose a teenage girl while House is away at a medical conference with Wilson and Cuddy. At the conference House finds something out about Cuddy.

"The Choice" is the twentieth episode of the sixth season of the American medical drama House and it is the 129th episode overall. It aired on May 3, 2010. It was written by David Hoselton and directed by Juan J. Campanella. This was the first episode of House since the first seven episodes of season one to garner fewer than 10 million viewers for its initial air date.

"Unwritten" is the third episode of the seventh season of the American medical drama House. It originally aired on October 4, 2010.

"Perils of Paranoia" is the eighth episode of the eighth season of the American television medical drama series House and the 163rd overall episode of the series. It aired on Fox on November 28, 2011.

"Finale" is the tenth and final episode of the sixth series of the British teen drama Skins. It premiered on E4 in the UK on 26 March 2012. The episode is told from the point of view of all nine characters of the third generation.

Everybody Dies (<i>House</i>) Final episode of House, M.D.

"Everybody Dies" is the series finale of the American medical drama television series House. It is the 22nd episode of the eighth season and the 177th overall episode of the series. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on May 21, 2012. While treating a drug-addicted patient, House is forced to examine his life and future. The title references the series' first episode and House's mantra "Everybody Lies".

Fear (Of the Unknown) (<i>Greys Anatomy</i>) 24th episode of the 10th season of Greys Anatomy

"Fear (Of the Unknown)" is the twenty-fourth episode and the season finale of the tenth season of the American television medical drama Grey's Anatomy, and is the 220th episode overall. It aired on May 15, 2014, on ABC in the United States. The episode was written by Shonda Rhimes and William Harper and directed by Tony Phelan. On its initial airing, it was watched by 8.92 million viewers. The episode marked the departure of one of the lead characters, Cristina Yang, played by Sandra Oh since the inception of the series. The episode focuses on Yang as she prepares to say her goodbyes to the doctors at Grey-Sloan Memorial hospital, including her "person" Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), her long-time friend and Meredith's husband Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and her love-interest Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) and leave for Zurich for her new job at the Klausman Institute for Medical Research. The episode received widespread critical acclaim with high praise directed towards Oh's performance.

"Perfect Storm" is the twenty-fourth episode and the season finale of the ninth season of the American television medical drama Grey's Anatomy, and is the 196th episode overall. It aired on May 16, 2013 on ABC in the United States. The episode was written by Stacy McKee and directed by Rob Corn. On its initial airing, it was watched by 8.99 million viewers. The episode received widespread critical acclaim upon telecast.