House M.D. Speculative Synopsis (Spoilers)

[flywoman]

A quick-and-dirty recap of Season 7 so far*

"Now What?": Patient hallucinates after consuming toads' eggs

"Selfish": Patient's brother sacrifices his lung to save her

"Unwritten": Patient hallucinates her secret son who died in car crash

"Massage Therapy": Schizophrenic patient off her meds hallucinates. Wilson goes with House to buy a new motorcycle - why? Because he crashed the old one?

"Unplanned Parenthood": Woman delays treatment and dies to save her baby

"A Pox on Our House": House risks his life for his patient

"Office Politics" : Campaign manager sacrifices his job for his boss/secret lover's political career

"Small Sacrifices": Patient has delusions and feels one emotion while expressing another; imitates Jesus as a sacrifice to save his daughter from brain cancer

"Larger than Life": Patient risks his life to save a stranger in the subway

"Carrot or Stick": Patient keeps his fatherhood secret from his son

"Family Practice": Mama Cuddy doesn't recognize sarcasm because of a problem in her hippocampus

"You Must Remember This": Patient has what appears to be a perfect memory due to OCD

"Two Stories": Let's just forget this one ever happened. Except that House hits someone with his car, and "The Princess and the Pea" could refer to sleeping/coma? And it's career day at the school... and next week we'll meet a patient who is working all kinds of lousy jobs because his career has gotten derailed.

"Recession Proof": Patient hallucinates and is sacrificing his health to keep up appearances for his wife. Wilson won't let House drive drunk. House is willing to sacrifice his medical success for Cuddy. He taste-tests a Vicodin... and next week he'll swallow.

"Bombshells": Vivid dreams resemble hallucinations. House sacrifices his hard-earned sobriety to see Cuddy.

"Out of the Chute": Patient sacrifices his thrilling career to save his own life. References to Masters' prefrontal cortex. Also to House having sex with Wilson and eating him... and next week the patient is a cannibal serial killer.

"Fall from Grace": Patient has dysosmia (sniffs one thing and smells another). Secret identity/parentage. He's wanted for 13 unsolved murders in 10 states... and next week 13 returns, having killed her brother.

"The Dig": Haven't seen this one, but as I understand it, the patient has had three secret miscarriages.

Okay. I grant you that this could all be a series of coincidences, writers' collective unconscious, or what have you. But it seems to me that we're seeing three main themes over and over again this season: 1) hallucinations and other examples of brain/memory issues and being misled by the senses, 2) secret pregancy/parentage, and 3) sacrifice. There are also some references to vehicular crashes that might be setting us up for the reportedly filmed accident in front of Cuddy's house in the season finale.

Maybe we can't trust the evidence of our eyes - perhaps House has been dreaming/hallucinating this entire season, because he's in a coma after the accident sustained in the alternate version of "Now What?" (which would also explain GY's references to "dreams within dreams" in "Bombshells"). Maybe the "Gone with the Wind" spoiler refers to Cuddy having gotten pregnant just before the break-up and being put in a situation (accident or illness) that forces her to choose between treatment and saving her baby - and House tricking/forcing her into treatment and losing the baby, which she can never forgive.

Am I crazy? Am I dreaming? Am I marrying a demon forgetting something important?


*This post made possible by the awesome folks over at Clinic Duty who have done such a great job of transcribing the episodes over the years.

Comments

[petitecuriosity.livejournal.com]

Wow. I didn't realize the three main themes until I looked at everything listed. Thanks so much for compiling this list! The "dreams within dreams" might indicate that everything this season has been a hallucination (and it's certainly been a main theme throughout the episodes.) Have we seen House driving a motorcycle at all this season?

And I'm definitely starting to think Rachel might be involved somehow in the finale. Cuddy's mother is supposed to appear in the finale I think...perhaps she's comforting Cuddy following a car crash that leaves Rachel injured or dead? Or maybe Cuddy's mother was drunk and driving the car in the first place? I think Cuddy's sister is also in that episode. Is it possible that she could have been babysitting Rachel and ends up crashing the car, leaving Cuddy earning her mother's comfort, and Julia earning her mother's disapproval? Maybe Cuddy was driving the car and crashes it? Perhaps she was on her cellphone with House at the time and blames him for Rachel's death? And was it said that House's car or motorcycle was seen outside of Cuddy's house?

There really does seem to be an emphasis on secret parentage. Is it possible that Wilson realized that Cuddy was pregnant during her ultrasound while she was ill, but both agreed not to tell House? Is it possible that Wilson realized Cuddy was pregnant during her ultrasound but didn't tell her? (That seems less believable to me.) Maybe the reason Cuddy broke up with House in "Bombshells" wasn't merely because of the Vicodin use, but because she realized that she was pregnant and didn't want House around when she had the baby because of the relapse.

I'm not really sure what to think, but there are certainly a lot of possibilities.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

I don't think we've seen House driving a motorcycle (or anything actually until the road trip with 13) this season.

I think it's possible that Cuddy's mom or sister could be involved in the accident, but it seems to me that it's just as likely that they show up afterwards to help out, or to comfort Cuddy, or something like that (as Julia does in "Bombshells"). And it was definitely reported that House's car was seen outside of Cuddy's house.

The earliest you can see pregnancy in an ultrasound is at about 4 weeks (yolk sac only). I was SO SURE when I saw the promos that Wilson was doing the ultrasound for that reason, but I was wrong! It might just have been too soon to see anything at that point, though.

I'm not sure what to think either, but it amazed me how many examples from these themes came up once I started going through the episodes.

[srsly-yes.livejournal.com]

I noticed a lot of hallucinations this season, but there have been clusters of them in the past. I don't know what to think. Is it possible that House's car crash is a flashback and precipitated a coma? However, I'm not sure where it would fit into the timeline.

OT--I was mulling over House's missing watch. Someone said it was Hugh Laurie's idea. Not speculating on the symbolism (it might be wrapped up with the finale), but it did bracket the Huddy arc. In that case we can rest assured that sooner or later Huddy was foreordained to end from the beginning. Ratings or fan opinions had nothing to do with it. Maybe everybody already reached this conclusion, but it takes me a while to process these things, duh.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

Yes, there have certainly been hallucinations in the past as well. There was, though, a spoiler or speculation in which someone mentioned paying attention to all of the references to, and images of, brains this season.

My thought was that House has been in a coma since an accident near the end of the alternative version of "Now What?" and that the crash at the end of the season would effectively bring the real and coma timelines back into register - that is, he would regain consciousness after the dream crash and find himself back in the real timeline.

I'm confused about the watch now - I was convinced for a while that it would show up once the two timelines got back in sync, and not only was that not the case, but he didn't start wearing a watch again right after the break-up - it took several more episodes. Why do you think that was? (I do think, though, that the end of Huddy was planned from the beginning.)

[srsly-yes.livejournal.com]

My thought was that House has been in a coma since an accident near the end of the alternative version of "Now What?"
--A definite possibility, but then that means Huddy was a hallucination. I thought DS said they didn't want to do that to fans again--do a repeat of Both Sides Now. That's why I was spinning an alternative. I did hear that a woman is taken away in an ambulance, so House may be okay.

As to the watch, I had forgotten, House didn't wear the watch until The Dig. We had the arc, then House going to extremes with the dive into the pool and the green card marriage. I didn't watch The Dig, but it sounds like he may have reached acceptance about losing Cuddy. The watch could mean "it's time" to return to his regular life. Or how about eternal love can't be measured? ;-)

Should have said earlier that I'm impressed and intrigued with the thought you put into finding the three themes. It appears too deliberate to be a coincidence. In previous seasons there were little hints leading up to the finale, but they were salted into conversations. House saying, "I don't sacrifice self," and the reference to Dark Victory in 4x12 Don't Ever Change foreshadowed his decision to try DBS and Amber's death. TPTB could have approached the reveal differently this time. It takes into account GY's cryptic tweet.

Whoops! Pardon me. Commented in the wrong place. Fixed it

[petitecuriosity.livejournal.com]

I tweeted the writers about the watch and they said to think back to when House got the watch. The watch House was wearing up until "Now What," was the watch that Kutner gave him for Christmas, which I believe he started wearing after Kutner died. The one he is wearing in "The Dig" is a different watch. Is it possible that there are multiple timelines going on?

Thirteen did mention Lucas in "The Dig." That might have just been to illustrate how long she had been gone (because she leaves in "Now What" and House's team doesn't find out until the following episode that House and Cuddy are dating), or to increase the shock value of her finding out that House was dating Cuddy. I'm unsure of what it could mean though. It's possible that the mention of him was more significant, maybe indicating some sort of discrepancy in the timeline.

Also, last episode, was Cuddy mentioned by anyone other than House? Or was the relationship between House and Cuddy mentioned at all by anyone other then House?

I'm wondering about what all have been hallucinations this season and what haven't...

I'm wondering if the new watch is indicative of the start of a new timeline...

Random thought, but is it possible that instead of Cuddy finding House in "Help Me," he actually took a bunch of Vicodin, hopped on his motorcycle, drove to Cuddy's house and crashed in front of it?

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

Is it possible that there are multiple timelines going on?
I was wondering that too... but then my brain hurt so I stopped.

It's possible that the mention of him was more significant, maybe indicating some sort of discrepancy in the timeline.
I was wondering about that, which is why I asked you about it on Tuesday. One speculation (for which I've seen no evidence) is that the rumored wedding will actually be between Cuddy and Lucas when we're restored to the original timeline.

Also, last episode, was Cuddy mentioned by anyone other than House? Or was the relationship between House and Cuddy mentioned at all by anyone other then House?
I haven't seen it yet...

Random thought, but is it possible that instead of Cuddy finding House in "Help Me," he actually took a bunch of Vicodin, hopped on his motorcycle, drove to Cuddy's house and crashed in front of it?
Based on everything I've read, I think that "Help Me" happened and that House and Cuddy slept together. I think that if there are multiple timelines, they separated in "Now What?"

[barefootpuddles.livejournal.com]

Is it possible that there are multiple timelines going on?


The multiple timelines idea is a really interesting one. Or perhaps multiple 'realities'. Too far fetched? Another possible thing I have been wondering is if there is sort of a reverse hallucination or reverse flashbacks. If House is injured in the final, maybe some of the story that happened in this season were things he had been dreaming/hallucinating/whatever but we don't see the crash until the season is over.

Didn't at one point someone tell the Huddy people to keep an eye out for the beach scenes, that that wasn't a fakeout? maybe that will feature as a dream/hallucination sequence.

Everyone has really interesting ideas and I love the list in this post but I still doubt the season was any kind of hallucination. There might be some little mind games going on though.

[petitecuriosity.livejournal.com]

What sorts of little mind games do you think might be going on?

[barefootpuddles.livejournal.com]

What sorts of little mind games do you think might be going on?

I don't really have anything specific. Just stuff like the watch could be meant as a hint of something (most likely something like that House knew from the beginning his time with Cuddy would be limited). The introduction of Rachel into the viewer's lives is a worry since if they didn't make us like her then killing her would be less meaningful. Like what they did with Amber. So i do worry that might harm her in some way. Flywoman is right that there has been an awful lot of dream/hallucination references this season so maybe there will be something that deals with dreams again in the final. The only other thing that really stands out for me is leg pain. House has had practically none of it. Is that all due to his getting off vicodin? Now that he is clean the leg pain is gone? I wonder if that will show up somewhere as having been a clue of something.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

Well, whenever House has dreamed or hallucinated in earlier seasons, he's walked around without leg pain (as Cuddy points out in her 1950's dream in "Bombshells"). So in that context, it could be a big clue!

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

The reverse hallucination idea is also possible.

Yes, we were told that the beach scenes were real. They were filmed for the alternate version of "Now What?" That's another reason that I think what we have been seeing is the "unreal" version.

[pgrabia.livejournal.com]

My thought was that House has been in a coma since an accident near the end of the alternative version of "Now What?" and that the crash at the end of the season would effectively bring the real and coma timelines back into register

There was an alternative version of "Now What?" I hadn't heard anything about that? If so, where can I see it or read it or whatever?

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

I haven't been able to find the script again, but here's a post about it that might help:
http://blogcritics.org/video/article/house-the-mystery-of-thunder-roadtrip/

[pgrabia.livejournal.com]

Okay, I read the blog but it doesn't say anything about a car crash at the end of 'Thunder Roadtrip'. It stops at them being unable to get in to a club to see The Boss.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

In the script, they have an accident on House's motorcycle coming home. No one is seriously hurt... supposedly.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

Well, technically Huddy would have still happened in that House and Cuddy slept together for real before the accident. But frankly, if I were a Huddy fan, I would probably prefer that this season be fake in the hopes that the real thing might be better! (Actually one thing that does make me laugh is the speculation on the Cuddy comms that the relationship must have been real in the first few episodes when it was going well, but then somehow became a hallucination later when it started going downhill!)

I haven't seen "The Dig" yet, but that's a good point - maybe he doesn't start wearing the watch until after he's bared his broken heart to 13 (gag me) and come to terms with it?

The hallucination and pregnancy themes have been suggested elsewhere - I just wanted to tabulate them. That was when it occurred to me that sacrifice has appeared over and over again this season too.

[srsly-yes.livejournal.com]

The accident--are we talking about the future car accident? That's why I think it could be a revealed as a flashback to around the time of Now What? Not that I'm willing to bet money on it.

lol. I afraid I'm hopelessly confused.

The Cuddy comms spin things in ways I could never imagine, but I can appreciate their desire for a do-over. I never saw a couple who were in love play out so sadly and uncomfortably as the House and Cuddy's romance did.

Another OT weird observation. Not only was this season Cuddy-centric, but it was female-centric. At the hospital several episodes focused on finding a female replacement for Thirteen with Masters getting the position. A lot of attention was lavished on her. Then we had 7x18 The Dig--a showcase for Thirteen, and next week we're back to 3M.

Even Wilson was kept busy with Sam and the delectable Sarah. And for good measure, Cuddy's mom appeared a couple of times, once as the POTW. Both Rachels--Cuddy and Taub had 'B' story lines.

Unfortunately, TPTB can't write women as anything but two-dimensional characters.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

I was referring to the motorcycle accident in the alternate version of "Now What?"

Maybe Masters is all a hallucination too ;).

I agree with you that TPTB are terrible at writing women.

[srsly-yes.livejournal.com]

Okay, I went to Blog Critic's and read the synopsis. I don't see anything about a motorcycle crash. Maybe I'm just thick in the head. :\

I'm not convinced that script sounds genuine. It seems too frenetic for a House episode. Also, it's a rather euphoric prelude to the rest of the arc. Maybe that's why it was scrapped.

No matter how much GY wants to play with our heads, I quite agree there were alternate scenes shot. It's too costly to have those set ups with the crew just to fool the public. So maybe they're going to work some of it into the finale, and slip in the motorcycle crash.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

Blog Critic doesn't mention the crash - I remember it from reading the script, and from speculations on the Cuddy comms about the motorcycle shopping.

The script I saw looked genuine. However, maybe they just decided that the episode didn't work and asked for a major rewrite.

[petitecuriosity.livejournal.com]

One speculation (for which I've seen no evidence) is that the rumored wedding will actually be between Cuddy and Lucas when we're restored to the original timeline.

I haven't seen any evidence of this either.

I haven't seen it yet...

*facepalm* You mentioned that in the entry too. Lol sorry. My brain was running rampant with ideas and I forgot.

Based on everything I've read, I think that "Help Me" happened and that House and Cuddy slept together. I think that if there are multiple timelines, they separated in "Now What?"

I agree. It's most likely that House and Cuddy slept together. I have to wonder at what point the timelines separated. The first time we see House with the watch off is when he's woken up the next morning and is in bed with Cuddy, right?

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

The first time we see House with the watch off is when he's woken up the next morning and is in bed with Cuddy, right?

Yes, exactly. And from what I recall, their "day off together" diverges from what was aired almost immediately after they wake up.

[pgrabia.livejournal.com]

So, let me see if I have it correctly--are you speculating that the alternate version of 'Now What' was real and the version they showed in the season opener was not real after House and Cuddy woke up? So, House and Cuddy will end up still together at the end of this season and their break-up in Bombshells wasn't real? So we'll be forced to swallow another season of Huddy if there's a season eight? Wilson will still be with Sam? And then there are two car crashes? I am so freaking confused now. I have no idea what's going on.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

Yes, my speculation is that the crash in the alternate version put House in a coma and that the version they aired (and everything else) was not real. Then the (dreamed) second car crash would wake House up and put him back in this reality. However, I don't think that necessarily means that House and Cuddy will end up together - maybe the vision of this season would convince them that it isn't worth it? It would mean that Sam and Wilson could still be together - hard to say, depending on how much "real time" has elapsed.

[pgrabia.livejournal.com]

It would mean that Sam and Wilson could still be together

I thought I read a while back that the Sam arc was done and she wasn't coming back? I hope that Wilson dumps her after she makes a fuss about his worry for House. If there's a season 8. According to Variety yesterday, NBC Universal and Fox had to come to an agreement by midnight last night or NBCU could begin shopping the show to other interested buyers. This worries me. Hopefully NBC would gobble it up but who knows?

[pgrabia.livejournal.com]

Oops! Got my day wrong! The negotiation deadline is tonight, not last night.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

Belated addition: I checked imdb, and neither Michael Weston nor Cynthia Watros are listed as appearing at the end of S7. However, neither is Candice Bergen, and we know that she was filmed. So we can't trust the imdb listings for cast/plot info... which surprised me quite a lot. OW is listed for "The Last Temptation" but nothing after that.

[justjuly4.livejournal.com]

Flywoman, you've done great job, compiling the list. I was reading it, saying WOW and OMG every two sentences (or even more often). I've found out a few things I never noticed watching the episodes. You're very attentive (I mean careful) to noticing the details and making conclusions!
*really I'm sending your virtual applauds*

Your theories are complicated and very-very impressive, unfortunately, I don't have any theory, but I hope Huddy won't reunite at the end of 7S. I think it might be possible that the relationship and the break-up were real, but the jump from the balcony didn't end well, leading to a coma. So Dominica never happened, 13's story was in House's had (explaining his own attitude to euthanasia and so on)... Thinking about that, the car crash in the last episode would wake him up.

Also, I support the idea that the car crash might be a flashback. It is possible, but I hope it wouldn't come to be true, because if it was a flashback, Huddy would still be together...

Lack of leg pain bothers me very much during the whole season! I'm trying to find an explanation, apart from "Cuddy's love/sex cured him", but fail. May be it's just nothing but a bad script?!

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

Thank you, although believe me when I say that I am probably one of the least observant mortals on the planet. And I actually should give the awesome folks over at Clinic Duty their due for letting me read through the transcripts and compile this list in MUCH less time than it would have taken me to rewatch the episodes.

[pgrabia.livejournal.com]

It just occurred to me (you all have already noticed this already but I'm not very bright) that in the video interview with RSL talking about the chickens, his hair was cut short like it was at the end of season six. Now, I realize that it may simply be due to his Broadway part but maybe it's because, as Flywoman said, the timeline we're seeing will meet up again with the 'real' one. Or I'm totally out to lunch...that's a possibility, too.

All I can say is I cannot bear having Huddy all over again, not for the finale and not for another season if there is one, and if there isn't one then House ends pathetically with House and Cuddy in love 4ever and we have to put up with the Huddies and their victory taunts and jeers. I think I'm literally going to cry.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

OMG - I did notice the haircut, but all I thought was, "Meh, I hate his hair short" - I didn't make the connection with the beginning of S7 at all! That's a great point!

But please don't cry! I don't think that we're going to get House+Cuddy=4evah no matter what the status of S7 turns out to be. DS and the other writers have been very firm about their position that even if the characters love each other, it's not going to work out long term.

[pgrabia.livejournal.com]

Yeah...but three Huddy finales in a row? It seems like everybody in charge of that show is blind to the fact that the reason they are down 18% in thje ratings and ahving trouble with getting the show picked up is because of Huddy? If they want people to show up and watch an eighth season they need to end it with Huddy completely a history, not starting up again the first day of the 'honeymoon' period. I know I won't show up to watch any more of that. Do they not have brains in their heads?

[dissonata.livejournal.com]

From what I understand, his hair was short in that interview because it was done after "The Last Temptation", which is a good few episodes before the finale. So I imagine Wilson's hair will be short in that episode. It won't coincide with the finale, and thus, it doesn't mean anything. Thank God.

[petitecuriosity.livejournal.com]

I went back and watched the sex scene in "Now What?" House actually has his watch off toward the end of the sex scene; he seems to be wearing it when he places Cuddy on the bed and then we can't see it for awhile during the sex...but then when there is a scene of Cuddy on top of House...he isn't wearing the watch. I had initially thought that he hadn't removed it until the next day...so I wonder if the fact that it is on during part of the sex scene is significant in anyway.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

Speaking of sacrifices, thanks for taking one for the team ;).

I wonder if that's where the two scripts start to deviate (I can't remember the exact details). Or it might be symbolic of House's thoughts/feelings about the likely ephemerality of their relationship.