"Wilson's Heart" is the sixteenth episode and season finale of the fourth season of ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

'' and the eighty-sixth episode overall. It aired on May 19, 2008, on

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

. It is the second and final part of the two-part fourth season finale, the first part being "

House's Head "House's Head" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of ''House'' and the eighty-fifth episode overall. It was the first part of the two-part season four finale, the second part being " Wilson's Heart". Co-written by several ''House'' pro ...

Plot

remains affected by memory loss due to a bus crash that has also severely injured

Amber Volakis ''House'' (also known as ''House, M.D.'') is an American medical drama television series created by David Shore for Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. It ran for eight seasons from November 16, 2004, to May 21, 2012. It features the life of Dr. G ...

, Wilson's girlfriend. Amber is being treated at Princeton General Hospital, where the

attending physician In the United States and Canada, an attending physician (also known as a staff physician or supervising physician) is a physician (usually an M.D., or D.O. in the United States) who has completed residency and practices medicine in a clinic ...

says she is experiencing

tachycardia Tachycardia, also called tachyarrhythmia, is a heart rate that exceeds the normal resting rate. In general, a resting heart rate over 100 beats per minute is accepted as tachycardia in adults. Heart rates above the resting rate may be normal ...

that can't be explained as a result of the bus crash. House and Wilson have her moved to Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital. In the ambulance, Amber's tachycardia degenerates into v-fib; Wilson demands she be put into protective hypothermia in order to buy time for a proper diagnosis. After further testing, Amber develops multisystem organ failure, including liver and neurological damage. At Wilson's urging, House agrees to undergo

deep brain stimulation Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a type of neurostimulation therapy in which an implantable pulse generator is stereotactic surgery, surgically implanted subcutaneous tissue, below the skin of the chest and connected by Lead (electronics), leads ...

to recover his memories of the evening of the bus crash and thereby help diagnose Amber. During the stimulation, House remembers that he was at a bar, too drunk to drive home, and called Wilson for a ride, but Amber came instead. When she wouldn't drink with him, House stormed off and boarded a bus; Amber followed to give him his cane. During the bus ride, Amber complained that she had the

flu Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

, and took a heavy dose of

amantadine Amantadine, sold under the brand name Gocovri among others, is a medication used to treat dyskinesia associated with parkinsonism and influenza caused by type A influenzavirus, though its use for the latter is no longer recommended because ...

. The crash caused

acute kidney injury Acute kidney injury (AKI), previously called acute renal failure (ARF), is a sudden decrease in renal function, kidney function that develops within seven days, as shown by an increase in serum creatinine or a decrease in urine output, or both. ...

, making her kidneys unable to adequately filter out the amantadine, which caused all of her unexplained symptoms. House goes into a

seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...

while still connected to the deep brain stimulation equipment, and falls into a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

. The team confirms House's diagnosis of Amber, but there is nothing they can do to treat her. Wilson weans Amber off anesthesia in order to spend her last moments alive with him. The team comes in one by one to say goodbye to Amber, and after Wilson himself says goodbye, he shuts off Amber's bypass and she dies peacefully in Wilson's arms. Unconscious, House has a vision of Amber, who persuades him not to give up on life and die, telling him, "

You can't always get what you want "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones from their 1969 album '' Let It Bleed''. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by ''Rolling Sto ...

." Back at the hospital,

Thirteen Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number) * Any of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, or 2013 Music Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ''13'' (Blur album), 1999 * ''13'' (Borgeous album), 2016 * ''13'' (Brian Setzer album), 2006 * ...

discovers she has inherited

Huntington's disease Huntington's disease (HD), also known as Huntington's chorea, is an incurable neurodegenerative disease that is mostly Genetic disorder#Autosomal dominant, inherited. It typically presents as a triad of progressive psychiatric, cognitive, and ...

, and House awakens with Cuddy at his side. Taub crawls into bed with his wife, Kutner watches TV alone, and Chase and Cameron meet Foreman in a restaurant. Wilson visits House, but the two just silently stare at each other. Wilson returns home and finds a note Amber left him in their bedroom saying she went to pick up House, and he breaks down in tears.

Reception

The episode increased ratings from the previous week, with 16.358 million viewers tuning in.

Soundtrack

An acoustic version of

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...

's "

Teardrop Teardrop or Teardrops may refer to: Biology * Tears, a clear liquid secreted by the lacrimal glands in the eyes * Vastus medialis, or teardrop muscle, a muscle in the leg * Dacrocyte, or teardrop cell, that can be found in bone marrow fibrosis ...

," the show's opening theme, can be heard in the middle of the episode in a short montage, by José González. The song "Re:Stacks" by

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Vernon had originally formed Bon Iver as a solo project, but it eventually became a band consisting of Vernon (vocals, guit ...

is used during Amber and Wilson's final moments together. The song that plays near the end of the episode when House and Amber are on the bus is "Light for the Deadvine" by

People in Planes People in Planes were a Welsh alternative rock band from Porthcawl, active from 1998 to 2013. They were signed to Wind-up Records. Prior to 2003, they were known as Tetra Splendour (during which time they moved to Cardiff), and before that, th ...

. The song that plays as House exits the bus until the end of the episode is "Passing Afternoon" by

Iron and Wine Samuel Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live al ...

External links

Notes

{{House (TV series) House season 4 episodes 2008 American television episodes Television episodes about amnesia fr:… Dans le cœur de Wilson it:Episodi di Dr. House - Medical Division (quarta stagione)#Il cuore di Wilson