This was an episode that just wasn't gonna work for everybody. If you didn't like Wilson or Amber or Amber/Wilson, then I suspect "Wilson's Heart" left you cold. But as it happens, I adore Wilson and I was really starting to like Amber, and I found a lot to like here.

It helped that we got a bunch of great performances. Of course Hugh Laurie was fabulous (that sort of goes without saying, since I'm not sure the man knows how to do anything less) but everyone else was excellent as well, no matter how small their parts. Bonus points to Robert Sean Leonard for making me cry at least three separate times.

It helped that they surprised me. Even though I suppose I should have seen it coming, I didn't think they were really going to let Amber die, and from the moment that House said "No, don't do it" until the end, I was fighting tears.

Jaded viewers might not have been affected, but I thought there were some great twists on the death of a recurring character. For instance, the scene where Wilson tells Amber what happened, doctor-to-doctor, was beautifully done. No sugar coating it for the viewers, this was the raw medicine that she deserved and her reaction made me sob. And the note under the pillow...that was a cruel touch, but well done.

Overall, I'm pleased my prediction that I was going to get sick of the Amber/Wilson/House triangle was wrong, wrong, wrong. It lasted just long enough to make me start to really like Amber and then the writers shot me through the heart.

I'm especially glad that the question of whether House and Amber were having an affair wasn't drawn out for too long. (Long enough for the "Philanderers Anonymous" quip and some excellent acting by Hugh Laurie, though.) I didn't buy them having an affair for a minute and if they'd drawn that out, I'd have gotten bored.

I didn't get bored at all, though, with the remaining mystery of why Amber was on the bus and what they were going to do with her. And her reason for being on the bus was so in character. Who else is House going to call if his keys get confiscated? And Amber trying to make a nice gesture by coming to get House works too. It might have made him grateful or it might have pissed him off more...either way, she wins. Perfect Amber!

And the medical mystery made for great drama. Okay, protective hypothermia is apparently bad medicine, but it was an excellent setup for the character aspects of the episode. The arguments over how to treat Amber were fascinating, but they were dwarfed by the shock of House caring too much about the patient and her next-of-kin to make the right decision about thawing her.

Let me say that again, because it bears repeating: House cared too much about Amber and Wilson to make the right decision. I certainly didn't see that coming.

Foreman was underused in this episode, but using him to overrule House's decision not to thaw Amber was absolutely perfect. And that moment where he says "House is going to kill the patient" to Cuddy made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. Sure, House is always close to killing a patient, but that's usually due to his actions, not his inaction.

Cuddy was her usual awesome self, kicking ass and taking names as necessary. ("He's the attending, you're the family. Go spend more time with the patient." Yeah!)

On the other hand, I'm not entirely sure what to make of the B-plot of Thirteen (excuse me, Hadley) and her Huntington's. They tried very hard to tie it into Amber's plot, but it didn't feel right to me. I'm assuming that it will start to make sense next season. Similarly, it was interesting to get a bit of backstory on Kutner, but it felt a bit...shoehorned, even more so than Thirteen's dilemma, which at least we knew about before.

But I feel certain that next season will have enough room to deal with the fallout from Amber's death, Thirteen's impending (someday, at least) death, the break in House and Wilson's love--er, friendship, and whatever other drama the writers can cook up for us.

Speaking of the writers, as always, there was some dialogue that I adored (e.g., "Are you okay?" "Can't really say yes when it's a hallucination asking" and "As long as I’m risking my life, I might as well be watching a talkie."), although this wasn't supposed to be a funny episode.

I loved the hallucinations and the peeks in House's head just as much as I did last week. I wasn't expecting the last hallucination on the bus, with Amber and House talking, and it blew me away with that moment of honesty. Even though House knew he was talking to himself, it seemed as though part of him still felt as if he were giving Amber something important.

And what could be more important than House admitting that he doesn't want to wake up "because it doesn't hurt in here"? Not to mention his admission that he doesn't want to be miserable and he's afraid Wilson will hate him. What did it cost House to admit those things, even to himself?

From the look on Cuddy's face when House woke up to Taub jumping into bed and hugging his wife to the original ducklings together again (in their old booth), I loved the episode. (House holding Cuddy's hand? Made me squeal. Out loud. It's just a good thing my husband is used to me.)

Basically, even though it had more schmaltz than last week's Shabbat dinner (non-Jews: look it up), this episode killed me...but in a good way. Even though I know not everyone will agree, I think it was a fine ending to an interrupted (but generally good) season.

Thanks for hanging out with me for the end of this season. I look forward to seeing you back here again when House returns for season 5!