Everybody lies . . . everybody dies

Warning--this is about the series finale to House so it may contain spoilers.

I've always found House to be one of the more consistent quality shows on TV.

It wasn't perfect but it was better than so much of the other stuff that's on these days. The central character was interesting, the other characters were alive and complex, and the cast was amazing. The writing was even more amazing.  Complex, dense stories, multilayered, with subtexts and depth . . . and they never did something just for the sake of being cute. Unlike another show I used to like but which I predict won't last more than one more season *cough*Bones*cough* . . .

It iwas fitting that the final episode ever began in House's demented mind, with cameos from characters who have died during the show's run. It sort of underscores what the entire series has been about--House and his relationships and his self-destructive urges. The love he has for the people closest to him and his destructive way of showing it--in a way he abused those he cared for the most to torture himself.

But he always has an agenda, a plan, and this episode is no different. In that, it was perfect.--his scheme within a scheme to avoid being sent back to prison and thus being unable to spend that time with a dying Wilson. Vintage House.

Overall, what made it perfect for me was the underlying cause for House's problem in the episode--he had decided to accept Wilson's decision to stop his chemotherapy, out of love and respect for his best friend, and the sky almost literally falls in on him.

Throughout the show's run that's how it worked for House--every time he did something selfless or for reasons other than because he stood to benefit from it, something awful happened. Usually that something was the result of something House did himself--like here where he flushed those tickets that caused all the damage to the hospital's plumbing.

It was also a treat to see Andre Braugher reprise his role--the episodes with him and Hugh Laurie are perfect exanples of great writing and great acting. Two great actors performing intense, well-crafted scenes.

The retrospective was fun, too--I especially dug Bryan Singer's saying when he initially watched Hugh Laurie's audition tape he liked his look and the way he delivered his lines, and he finished it by saying, "And . . . he's American." That was too funny.

It wasn't perfect--Lisa Goldstein didn't put in an appearance but to me that was one thing that they sort of misfired on. Cuddy and House should never have gotten together. But Sela Ward returned as Stacy, Jennifer Morrisioin and Olivia Wilde also put in appearances, putting the hot babe quotient for this episode through the roof.

So, all-in-all, I dug it. What did you think?