Unless...

[deelaundry]

OK, had a different thought on that smile at the end.

What if Wilson saw Foreman's thinly veiled request for the boxing tickets for what it was (a thinly veiled request for the boxing tickets), and remembered his conversation from last week with Foreman (Continuity? Really? Maybe so...) about wanting Foreman to deal with his own issues with House instead of dumping them on Wilson? Could it be that Wilson gave Foreman the tickets deliberately for the purpose of Foreman taking House to the fight, so the two of them could build a better relationship?

That would explain the "passivity" Wilson showed in handing over the tickets, and explain the smile at the end: Wilson was happy his plan worked.

...Obviously, if that was the intent of TPTB, they did rather a crappy job of executing it, given that it took this obsessed fan over twelve hours to realize that could've been the intent. BUT STILL.

And I am more convinced than ever that, relationship-wise, House is Wilson's son. You just don't get that level of enmeshment and entitlement in a peer relationship, but parents of toddlers recognize it all too well.

Comments

[remydoodle.livejournal.com]

I love your interpretation! I feel so much better about the episode now!

Not that I didn't like it, I just felt bad that they messed with Wilson that way!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I felt bad too!

(Love your icon)

[cuddyclothes.livejournal.com]

I know what you're saying, but my take is far too cynical to repeat here.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

If you don't have anything nice to say here... PM me.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

What they do to Wilson agonizes me so much.

[srsly-yes.livejournal.com]

Admittedly, I'm flying blind here. My live stream video cut out halfway through and all I had was the audio. I need to watch the episode again and observe Wilson's expressions. I like your interpretation very much (I want to believe!), but why would Wilson go over to House's place and call his name as if expecting him to be there?

I think the show is trying to get back to its roots where it would mislead the audience until the "aha!" reveal at the end. That was and is very cool. But the execution could do with improvement. For example, fandom spent a lot of time discussing the rising wall (did Wilson know about it?), and trying to decipher what happened with the car repair. Was it Park or House's?

[xayeidemon.livejournal.com]

but why would Wilson go over to House's place and call his name as if expecting him to be there?

I'm guessing it's because Wilson didn't expect Foreman to actually go through with it. I don't think Wilson would have been dumb enough to hand over both tickets to Foreman if he didn't think Foreman would put them to good use, namely giving House the authorized supervision needed so he could go watch the fight. Also, it's pretty clear that Foreman's feeling kinda stifled in his new job. He can't hang out with his old friends, he can't do awesome stuff like breaking into people's houses, he can't risk his career to save patients anymore, AND on top of all that, he has to keep a close eye on House and his antics.

Here's what I think happened: Wilson knew both House and Foreman needed some time to spend doing stuff that had absolutely nothing to do with work. Also, since Foreman wants House to behave, and since Wilson's pretty much stated that's no longer in his job description, why not send them both off on a fun field trip to bond or whatever? House had the perfect set up with the conference, Foreman actually wanted to see the fight, and Wilson wanted those two to get closer so maybe House wouldn't be tempted to do something Housian and risk his probation. Wilson wasn't mad because he, once again, out-manipulated everybody involved. Wilson's mask has been slipping quite a bit over these past few episodes, and that self-satisfied smirk tells me that Wilson knew exactly what the hell he was doing.

These are the conclusions I came to at the end of the ep last night, and I was pretty pleased with the ending. So imagine my shock when I head over to h_w and see people were upset over the ending. I didn't see what the big deal was. Wilson did something that was incredibly selfless and self-sacrificing so House could be happy without breaking any rules. I thought that was awesome and really sweet. :(

[srsly-yes.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thank you. Your explanation clicks everything into place. I especially love when Wilson has a reason to display his self-satisfied smirk.

[flywoman.livejournal.com]

I feel like you're giving the writers too much credit here, but I definitely would like to believe this explanation! It makes perfect sense and would be a Wilsonian thing to do.

I didn't get to see the ending. Maybe when I do, RSL's expression will clarify his role for me.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I didn't see what the big deal was. Wilson did something that was incredibly selfless and self-sacrificing so House could be happy without breaking any rules. I thought that was awesome and really sweet. :(

I was upset last night because my first reaction was that it wasn't Wilson's doing, and Wilson just got screwed over by both House and Foreman. We had one episode of House trying to be a little more fair in his relationship with Wilson, and now we're back to "House does whatever he wants, whenever he wants."

If it was set up by Wilson, then I feel better... except the execution of it didn't make it clear that it was Wilson's doing. We have had many other episodes where the editing and direction make it clear that we're supposed to cheer because House got his way, regardless of who else is hurt/disappointed/upset. My first reaction was that this was another one of those episodes.

(I'm also bothered by the notion by some fans that Wilson deserved to get cheated out of the tickets because he was "mean." I guess by wanting to keep a present he had been given for himself instead of giving it away to House.)

[xayeidemon.livejournal.com]

Wait, wait, wait...Wilson was mean because he wanted to enjoy his gift? The hell? I don't even understand how that's supposed to work.

Oh, and just to clarify, I wasn't trying to belittle y'all's reactions or anything. I just saw it differently the first time around, but I can definitely see why people are upset, and you all make some excellent points.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I didn't think you were belittling anyone; you were just sharing a viewpoint. One which I and most of my f-list certainly want to be true!

Wilson was mean because he wanted to enjoy his gift? The hell?

Yes. House was planning to watch TV with Wilson, therefore Wilson was mean for attempting to do something else, and thus it's OK for House to bail on Wilson and go do the thing Wilson had wanted to do.

PLEASE PICTURE ME ROLLING MY EYES.

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

I couldn't resist using your comment as fic prompt. It improved my mood greatly :).

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

I think if you substitute "an absolutely horrible job" for "a crappy job" that might work. I don't know ... I saw Wilson's expression at the end as rueful/wry. Not necessarily a "ha, my cunning manipulation worked," but more of a "well, fuck" smile, with wryness but no real humor behind it. But that's just me -- everybody sees something different.

:-)

[cuddyclothes.livejournal.com]

That's exactly what I saw. You don't bang on someone's door yelling about "the bell's starting!" or whatever, settle everything down on the table, run around looking for House, then sit down and see him on the big screen...and smile. Rueful or "well, fuck" works for me. And I usually don't read much into moments like that.

[ixquic.livejournal.com]

I think this is just another in a long line of "look how awesome House is when he screws over his only friend" with a sprinkle of "How dare Wilson hurt House's delicate feelings by wanting to do something on his own", I am fed up with both of these tropes.

And House is 52 years old, let's stop pretending he is a delicate toddler that needs to get his way every single time, or he'll hurt you. Screw that, let Wilson go to the fight on his own, let Wilson have a life.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

You know that I am right there with you. I only came up with the above because I was so horribly bothered by the end of the episode.

Have you seen sentiment from earlier this fall by some fans that Wilson abandoned House by not visiting House in prison? Interesting, in that House was the one who walked off humming a merry tune, having left a gigantic mess for Wilson to clean up.

The writers for this ep were Attie and Shore, who have never given two beans of care for Wilson.

[ixquic.livejournal.com]

I saw it, I deleted so many comments late summer/early fall because they were just too angry, plus they always end up being read as "House bashing" when you just do not empathize with House Epic Manpain, and dare to suggest that Wilson has feelings and needs too.

I also acknowledge that after last season, I just want Wilson to survive the series or at least get a decent death. I do not really care for House anymore, if Wilson could walk away, I would be happy. I just do not see why he needs House in his life, not after last season when Wilson seemed to be OK without having House around, and House showed his true feelings about Wilson (a plaything, a tool to be discarded once he got what he really wanted).

[taiga13.livejournal.com]

What others said - he showed up at House's clearly expecting him to be there, was surprised when he saw Foreman and House at the "game". The recap also makes it clear that Foreman and House fucked him over.
It drives me nuts because 1) it makes him look not only weak but stupid too and 2) he's fucked over BECAUSE he was trying to be a good friend, choosing to stay at home with House and giving the tickets to Foreman. I mean, when an obsessive fangirl like myself no longer believes that Wilson could want House as a friend, they're doing something wrong.
And House is 52 years old, let's stop pretending he is a delicate toddler that needs to get his way every single time, or he'll hurt you. Screw that, let Wilson go to the fight on his own, let Wilson have a life.
Beautifully put.