It’s been a long time since we’ve had a fix of House, so it felt pretty damned good to see the damaged diagnostician and his entourage back on the screen again. Even if you felt that the patient(s) of the week story was a little weak, Better Half showed Gregory House doing what he does best: sparring with his colleagues. Whether that be playing mind games with Foreman or making ludicrous bets with Wilson, the ankle-bracelet wearing doc was on top form.

The first patient of the week was an Alzheimer’s patient who’d started vomiting blood during an appointment at Princeton Plainsboro. The Alzheimer’s is a complicating factor for the team, since its not clear what symptoms are being caused by Alzheimer’s and which are being caused by the other disease. To make matters worse, the patient’s wife is being supported by a male friend who’s on the verge of becoming a lover. Predictably, this raises the question between Chase and Adams about what should happen in a marriage when one becomes incapacitated – whether mentally or physically.

Talking point: Chase seems to be suggesting euthanasia or at least suicide if he found out that he was suffering from Alzheimer’s. His rationale being that the person with the disease is not the person their partner met and fell in love with, so it’s unfair to expect them to provide ongoing care indefinitely. It’s a theme that’s come up in House before, and we’re always interested to hear what our readers think on this topic.

Elsewhere, Wilson is dealing with a female patient who declares herself ‘asexual’ – she doesn’t have sex (nor does her husband), but she claims it’s their nature rather than a choice. Of course, when Wilson mentions this to House, it immediately sets House on a mission to prove that there’s a viable medical basis for the condition. And, of course, manages to prove that the husband has a libido-suppressing tumour and the wife is faking her asexuality.

All of this takes places amid a backdrop of House messing with Foreman’s head by placing cue cards with predictions written on them. It seems that House is always several steps ahead of Foreman, mentally speaking, and he’s accurately predicted all of Foreman’s powerplays. Foreman eventually realises that House is manipulating him in order to get his ankle bracelet removed. However, Foreman manages to turn the tables when he is the one to diagnose the Alzheimer’s patient and solve the mystery illness. And, having come out on top for once, he signs the papers to remove House’s ankle bracelet.

What we loved about that was the final scene, where House goes to visit Foreman. You know that House will never express gratitude, especially to Foreman. What he does instead is flick over a container full of pencils, and comically says “Ooops” as he walks out the door. And even though this has all the outward signs of douchebaggery on House’s part, it feels like a very subtle moment of warmth between the two adversaries.

Anyway, for a more thorough recap of Better Half, check out the California Literary Review, while Polite Dissent have a very good review, including some in-depth debunking of the medical storyline!

How would you rate this episode? Tell us in the comments!