[House] 8x02: Transplant

Original Air Date: 10 October 2011

Storyline: A surprising visitor makes House an offer he can't refuse by giving him the opportunity to help the Princeton Plainsboro team treat a unique patient in order to save the life of an organ recipient being treated by Wilson. Although House finds himself back on familiar ground, he quickly realizes that much has changed since he left, and he is forced to work on the case with the timid resident Dr. Chi Park. Meanwhile, House makes an effort to reconnect with Wilson despite a cold reception. Best Quote:

Park: Did you use metaphors for your old team? Or do you just think I'm particularly stupid?
House: No, they were stupid too.

Review: House is out of prison and back at Princeton Plainsboro to help out with an unusual case. The patient: two lungs in a box. "No pulse, no body. No ability to answer questions", as Foreman - incidentally, the new Dean of Medicine - described it. Interesting enough as a case, because this wasn't a real patient House was dealing with, but nothing we haven't seen before. The same theories were brought up (and guess what, lupus and sarcoidosis were both mentioned among those theories), but it's not the actual medical cases why I - and I imagine millions of other people - watch this show. It's the actual puzzle solving process and, of course, the character.

We've been left to speculate for the entire summer about who will be the new Dean of Medicine after Cuddy's departure. Although a lot of names were thrown our way, having Foreman take her place was the most logical decision. Neither Chase, not Taub are administrative material, and Wilson wouldn't have been able to keep House in check no matter how much he would have tried. Also, bringing in two new cast members would have only made sense if one other team member besides Thirteen were leaving.
Speaking of House's team, they're gone. Nothing is the way it was, his office was transformed into an Orthopedic consultation room, Chase, Taub and Thirteen are not on the hospital's payroll anymore, as PPTH cannot afford their salaries anymore and House is left with one awkward shy assistant by the name of Chi Park, who has enough emotional issues to make her head a day on the beach for her new boss. Not good, as House doesn't have people to feed him ideas or do his dirty work anymore, which means he can't do his job properly.
But, seeing how Foreman still respects House as a doctor and managed not only to convince the board to bring him back, but also got him his old office and stuff back, bringing in Chase and Taub is only a matter of time. As for Thirteen, she'll make an appearance next week, but seeing how Olivia Wilde is pursuing her big screen career (who would rather do a fiasco like Cowboys & Aliens over House is beyond my understanding, but she does have about six movies in port or pre-production, so I get that she doesn't have the time), she won't be in for long.
I'm not sold on Chi Park's character just yet, like I wasn't about Jessica Adams' in the season premiere. I haven't seen Charlyne Yi in anything yet (I haven't watched Paper Heart though I've wanted to for a long time) and she says herself she's not really an actress, which shows. I'm all for dorky quirky characters though, so I'll give her a chance to grow.
The best part of the episode, by far, was the relationship between House and Wilson. "We're not friends anymore" is what Wilson says to House when they meet for the first time after crashing his car into Cuddy's living-room and he goes on for the entire episode trying to convince his old buddy - and himself, as it turns out, - of this. But as House does everything in his power to save Wilson's patient, this becomes harder and harder. I would have definitely preferred to see them be on the outs for a while longer, but I must admit, the ending, with Wilson taking House on his suggestion to punch him in the face or kick him in the nuts ("Either or. Both seems excessive."), cracked me up. 
House will never change (why would anyone watching this show want him to change?) and Wilson needs to get on board with that. Maybe he realizes that he was somewhat responsible for putting House and Cuddy together despite all the sings pointing to this being a bad bad bad idea.
I'm glad things are (almost) back to normal and I'm ready now for my weekly dose of Chase, please! If it's one thing I hate above anything else is how this show has given up on some great characters like Cameron and Kutner over the years. A little change is good, too much can alienate viewers, so they need to make sure at least part of the team remains intact.[House] 8x01: Twenty Vicodin Back to Season 8