[H]ouse 8x05: The Confession

Original Air Date: 7 November 2011

Storyline: A man who is well-respected in his community suddenly collapses, and in the process of diagnosing his symptoms, the team discovers that the patient has been hiding dark and dishonest secrets about his personal and professional life. But when the patient openly confesses his wrongdoings to his family and community, he compromises his chances of receiving the proper medical treatment. Meanwhile, House will stop at nothing to manipulate Taub into taking a DNA test to prove he is the father of his two six-month-old daughters.Trivia: For the first time since the season premiere, the show begins with the "normal" credits and the Massive Attack theme.

Wilson's "House was like the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" is referencing the supporting villain in the 1968 musical film. Author Roald Dahl created the character for the movie, as he doesn't appear in the original 1964 novel by Ian Fleming. The main villains, Baron and Baroness Bomburst, employ him to abduct the children of Vulgaria.

Best Quote:

Wilson: Sorry about yesterday. House was like the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Taub: Why is he so obsessed with my kids being my kids? [Wilson looks at him meaningfully] Because he sees insecurity, and when House senses weakness, he pounces,and because his insecurity is the fact that other people can have faith and don't have the obsessive need for physical proof.
Wilson: Also, he started a betting pool on which kid is yours and which isn't.
Taub: An entire hospital betting on the legitimacy of my kids? It's great to be back among friends.

Review: Who knew all it would take for House to get back on track would be the return of Chase and Taub? Now I'm wondering why did David Shore waste time with the first four episodes. It's indeed back to basics and I really, really, really hope this is the way it will go from now on. Were there enough "really"s?

The episode also showed just how useless Park is and how much is Adams reminding me of Cameron. Why were these characters created in the first place? Oh yeah, to give House the opportunity to not keep score between his new team and his old team! It's the boys versus the girls now, with him acting as a referee, and for now, the score is 1-0 in favor of Dr. Chase, who benefited from spending an entire year surfing and came back with a new enthusiasm for the "crazy crap" he can do as part of House's team.  
So, why did Chase and Taub return? "Tired of surfing" and "save people's lives instead of just their noses" are answers that would make any boss except for Foreman raise an eyebrow. But despite House not being a changed man and still messing with everybody else's life, working for him beats anything else they could have been doing. 
As I said above, part of the episode was an old fashioned competition between the new and the old team. Chase and Taub have been through the trenches before and already know not only that "everybody lies", but also why and how to do all the crazy stuff House asks from them. But, despite seemingly getting preferential treatment from the boss, because of their status as the prodigal sons, House doesn't mind messing with them either, calling Chase a teenage girl and spending his entire energy on getting DNA samples from Taub and the Taubettes to figure out which kid is his and which isn't.
Taub's daughters were a big part of this week's episode and of course House would not let him come to work a week late just because he happened to have them both at the same time. After all, he had to force Taub to bring them to the hospital in order to put his plan in motion. And, as cute as the Taubettes are, seeing House act as "the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" was hilarious, but probably the best part was not that or even Taub's refusal to find out if he is indeed the father of both, but the fact that Wilson was a willing participant in the pool and didn't mind stealing Taub's fork to get his DNA. He may get mad at his friend at times, but he also knows how to have fun when it's clear that there's nothing that he can do to stop him.
The patient they are treating this week presents with unusual symptoms, and following the diagnostic process was a real treat. But the most interesting of them all was his sudden desire to tell his wife and his friends every little or big mistake he had made during his life - and these ranged from cheating on the wife to stealing money from a scholarship fund or even killing three or four people. This brings back this show's recurring theme - everybody lies. It's something the boys have learned to consider true - especially when you put that together with their own lives - and the girls find appalling, until House proves them wrong using Adams as an example. Adams is so much like Cameron that it makes me yawn sometimes. And if they pair her with Chase, it will be like déja-vu. I hope they don't go there, but the chances of my wish being listened are very slim.
Some other highlights: House making the girls carry the new couch, while the boys were just relaxing. House messing with Foreman by not messing with him. The surprising result of the construction work in the office. I, as Chase, would have thought of a sauna or hot tub as well, but the actual deed was way cooler than anything I've ever seen House do before. And I just kept rewinding those last few minutes over and over again just to see Wilson's face when he realized his privacy - whatever was left of it - would be forever gone. The reference to Chase's former vocation as a priest, when the patient confessed to him about his crimes - albeit imaginary.
So, after four not very good episodes, Chase and Taub manage to bring back the spark to this show, and I couldn't be more happy about it. [H]ouse 8x04: Risky Business Back to Season 8