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This is an article I posted on another site just after the showing of Joy. I apologize that I do kinda ramble in this one, but it's my first real article examining something like this.

"I have decided one of the main things I want to see in this series is I want House to be happy. Some would argue that a happy House wouldn't be as sarcastic or rude and would take away from the character. I can see where this could be an argument, but I think a happier House would still be just as sarcastic and socially awkward as an unhappy House.

At the end of season four, when House is on the "heavenly bus" with Amber, there is (what I feel) a very important conversation that brings up a few things that deserve some speculation and further exploration. House expresses his feeling that "lonely, misanthropic drug addicts should die in bus crashes" and not people like Amber, who are happy and in love. This obviously indicates some feelings of guilt that House has and in my opinion, shows that he doesn't feel like he deserves to continue to live an unhappy life. House indicates that he wants to stay on the bus with Amber, which we can deduce would mean House dies. Amber insists that he gets off the bus, returning to life.

When Amber asks why House doesn't want to get off the bus, he says "because it doesn't hurt here. I let it... I don't wanna be in pain. I don't wanna be miserable." This has been one of the most powerful lines from House in the whole series, as far as I'm concerned. Of course nobody WANTS to be miserable, but a recurring theme throughout the series is House's self-induced misery and how he doesn't seem keen on changing that. The verbal admittance that he does not want to be miserable kind of has me hopeful that we will see a few changes in House in the fifth season as a character.

And then there's one last point we are left with at the end of season four. House has (yet) another near-death experience, and has the point where he can choose life or death. Despite being miserable and not wanting to be in physical pain anymore, House (once again) chooses to continue living. I don't know about anyone else, but if I was utterly miserable and had no intention or desire to change that, when given a choice between life and death, I would choose death.

Now I don't want a fuzzy, warm House (that really would ruin the character), but I think a few key things have already happened this season that show maybe a desire to improve life for House, and I would love for that to happen.

House makes himself vulnerable when it comes to trying to get Wilson to stay at the beginning of this season, something we don't see often from House. Though House always seems to drive people away and almost always chooses to be alone, this appeal to Wilson shows that House wants to keep this friendship intact and not lose one of the few human connections he actually has in his life. Seems like House isn't as willing to be completely alone as alot of people seem to think.

Another thing that I think shows a desire to make or hold on to connections with other people is House's reaction to Cuddy's adoption approval. At the end of Lucky Thirteen, when Cuddy tells House she's been approved for adoption, he is visibly hurt. In an interview I've read with Lisa Edelstein (you can find the link on Fox's House page), she mentions House is jealous at the thought of Cuddy having a child because it would mean her attention would be divided. According to Edelstein, "I don't think House wants the competition of another baby in Cuddy's life. He's hers, already." It's always been obvious that there's something different about House and Cuddy's relationship versus House's relationships with everyone else, but this is another moment where we see some actual emotion from House, something we haven't seen a whole lot of in previous seasons. His desire to hold Cuddy's full attention, to me, indicates a need to feel taken care of (let's be honest...Cuddy's always looking out for House and vice versa, and she was there holding his hand at the end of season 4) and another example of House's desire to atleast maintain a personal connection with someone. Actually WANTING to keep personal connections with other characters is not something that has been made blatantly obvious in previous seasons, so I feel like the two examples above are pretty significant.

Another thing I feel deserves to be mentioned is what happens at the end of Joy. Yes, I was one of the many Huddy fans that nearly peed herself with excitement when the now infamous kiss finally happened, but there are a couple of other points that need to be examined here. One thing that is atleast mentioned in the promo for Itch is that House didn't take advantage of Cuddy in her moment of vulnerability after losing the adoption. I plan on posting a blog about Huddy eventually, so this will be explored in more detail there, but normally House is just like any other guy trying to get laid. This time, however, he stops at a kiss. Part of this I think is because House seemed surprised that he actually kissed her (just look at his expression immediately following the kiss), and another part is he doesn't want to damage the relationship he already has with Cuddy. There is consideration for another person's feelings, yet another rare occurance from House. I'm a Huddy fan, and I think at this point, if a romantic relationship is possible between anyone and House, Cuddy is that person (note I said "at this point"...things change).

I realize I've started rambling and I feel like I haven't communicated my points quite as fully as I would like to, but hopefully this entry will atleast put a notion in your mind that'll lead you to make your own conclusions about where House is heading. My bottom line is, I want to see House happy. He is my absolute favorite character on the show, and although he is callous and generally unemotional (atleast visibly), I want him to end up in a successful romantic relationship with someone. It's pretty obvious that he was happy with Stacy, and I would love to see him find that kind of happiness again. I would also love it if there were some kind of medical breakthrough made that would help the condition of his leg because I think the poor guy needs to catch a break, but I'm doubtful of that happening.

Anyway, I'd like to hear your thought about what I've discussed."