Wilson stops chemo; House refuses to let him die
Wilson says five good months beat a year of agony in hospital. House says two weeks on, two off could buy years, and won't accept it.
S8E21 · Holding On
20 moments · 29 min of essential viewing in a 44-minute episode.
Moments, in order
Foreman offers season tickets; House pitches a new patient: Wilson
House calls the tickets an audition to be the new Wilson, then interrupts his team with a new case: a 46-year-old oncologist refusing treatment.
A hidden photo reveals Derrick's dead brother
Searching the dorm, the team finds a boy's photo in Derrick's sock drawer. In front of his girlfriend he admits it's his brother, dead ten years.
House knocks Wilson out to prove death is nothing
House sedates Wilson to show him nothing times infinity. Wilson says he doesn't believe we're just a bag of chemicals.
Derrick pushes his girlfriend away, then explains why
Derrick tells his girlfriend not to come back. Later he says his father drank and his mother erased every trace of his brother, then loses his sight.
House stages a tribute of patients Wilson saved
A young man says Wilson saved him as a boy, and diners stand to thank him. House admits none were real patients, but the real ones exist.
House flushes Foreman's season tickets
A letter of recommendation hints the team expects House to implode. Foreman finds his tickets in the toilets; House says it's what being Wilson means.
Wilson asks a terminally ill friend what dying is like
Over drinks, Wilson asks whether it ever stops being surreal and why no one says anything that helps. The talk turns to chemo and friends.
House calls Wilson's parents and runs a ddx from a stall
House leaves a third message for Wilson's parents, then takes the team to the bathroom where he argues repression beats dwelling in misery.
An old fellow calls out House on loyalty
A former team member tells House friends respect decisions, and that firing her was the most selfless thing anyone has done for her.
House surrenders and invites Wilson to dinner
House apologizes for being a disloyal jerk and books a table for two at Carmine's: no tricks, just two friends.
Derrick asks his mother to tell him about Christopher
Derrick admits he no longer knows what his brother was really like. His mother can't answer and leaves for coffee.
Nostalgic dinner ends with Wilson calling it a con
Memories of a bear and Oreos move Wilson to try more chemo, then he decides it's a con. House says he needs him; Wilson says his dying is about him.
Wilson asks House to say he loves him
Wilson says he's dying, it's not fair, and he needs a friend who'll tell him his life mattered. House won't say it unless Wilson fights.
House needles the patient's eardrum and finds the voice
House turns a needle into a quiz and draws red air: an artery pressing on the temporal lobe. Then he snaps that life is pain.
House tests whether Wilson really wants to die
After hearing the patient tried to kill himself, House goes after Wilson to show he wants to live. Wilson tells him the truth sometimes just sucks.
Wilson is told he's responsible for House
Wilson plans to leave early and says House is not his child. He's told he kept one best friend for 20 years, and caring is what life is.
House accepts Wilson's five months
Wilson offers to restart chemo because House needs him. House declines: Wilson is smarter than he is, and five months beats nothing.
Euphoria plays as the voice goes quiet
After surgery, Derrick says the treatment worked because Christopher is gone. Wilson plans a hike to the peak and House says to add another day.
House's flushed tickets send him back to jail
The tickets wrecked the MRI and bear his name. The hospital lawyer says his parole is revoked and he must serve six more months.
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