"Lucky Thirteen" felt like a bridge to the rest of the season, with several storylines being set up at once. It didn't make for the most cohesive episode, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

 I think if this crowded episode had a theme, it was probably established by the following exchange between House and Lucas: "Things always change." "And that sucks." Yeah, House is suspicious of any kind of change (which is a feeling I'm sympathetic toward) and "Lucky Thirteen" certainly showed a wide variety of things about to change in and around House's life.

Before I get to Thirteen's A-plot, let's take a quick look at everything else that happened. In the space of one hour, we had the return of Wilson to the hospital and his absolutely brilliant playing of House, the return of Lucas (hooray!), the twist of Cuddy adopting a baby, and, well, Foreman.

I love Foreman and I'm fascinated by the ways in which he is and isn't House-lite, so presumably the "Am I boring?" storyline is going to take him somewhere new. (I especially adored the hilarious conversation with Chase at the end, which was a nice reminder that those two have worked together for a long time.)

Wilson playing House was easily one of the most evil things I've ever seen and I loved it. I completely bought the "dating a prostitute" bit but I figured out the drug paraphernalia at the same moment House did. (And how much did I love House's grin when he realized he'd been played? A whole heck of a lot, trust me.) Yeah, House is so terrified of change that almost anything will set him off...and Wilson knows that. Too bad House probably didn't learn a lesson from the experience.

And speaking of change, I'd say that House's reaction to Cuddy adopting a baby was one of the most interesting moments of the episode. Encapsulated in his shocked expression was a whole variety of thoughts we can imagine going through his head. I can't wait to see how he reacts once he's had time to digest the news.

Now, back to our A-plot of Thirteen's one-night stand. Okay, maybe it's a little formulaic to have your character with a terminal illness have to confront another person with a terminal illness, but I thought it worked. Considering how much else was going on in this episode, I was still touched by Thirteen's speech about the stages of denial and anger.

I was also fascinated by House bailing her out of the drug test and then immediately firing her. I have to wonder if Thirteen was right about House firing her in order to make her spend time with the Patient of the Week. It's hard to tell with him whether he truly had a noble motive or if he just chose not to contradict her to keep her guessing. Since House is nearly always about five steps ahead of the rest of us, who knows if that was his motive or if he had something else in mind.

Now we know that not only is Thirteen dying, but she's dying faster than she expected. That's definitely not a change for the better. Here's hoping she manages to deal with the news and get her life back in order (although the episode's ending didn't seem hopeful on that front).

I can't close my review without my usual salute to some fabulous one-liners. I'm especially fond of Thirteen's "You'll have to excuse Dr. House. He mistakes immaturity for edginess." and House's "Another life saved by girl on girl action."

All in all, "Lucky Thirteen" was a worthy followup to last week's brilliance. It may have been a bridge, but it gave us a lot to think about and even more to look forward to.

Things always change. But that can make for mighty good television.