While House is widely considered to be one of the best medical dramas of all time, its final season was extremely divisive. The eight seasons of House revolved around the life of perpetually irritable Dr. Gregory House (played by Hugh Laurie.) Almost every episode featured a different patient who arrived in the hospital with bizarre symptoms, while House and his medical team worked around the clock to discover the cause and cure. A common complaint about the show was its formulaic approach, but this was usually offset by the rich dialogue and the performances.
The cast and characters in House changed several times during the show’s run, with each new character shaking up the story and offering new insights into diagnosing patients. One of the more controversial storylines in the show was when House dismissed his original diagnostics team, proposing a series of challenges to find the next prospective team. Far-fetched and comedic plots like this were relatively common in the earlier seasons of House, but as the finale approached, House season 8 took a dark turn in many different ways. This was reflected in some of the cinematography choices.
House Season 8’s Cinematography Choices Reflected The Tone Of The Story
Wilson’s Diagnosis Changed The Possible Fates For Dr. House
House usually had a relatively limited color palette, with much of the show being set in a hospital, but the cinematography for the show grew considerably darker for season 8. Many of the shots appeared to be dimmer, with the colors often feeling desaturated, and this often appeared to reflect House’s world-weary demeanor. Earlier seasons tended to use wider shots, showing House’s dynamic at the center of his team. On the other hand, season 8 made use of long close-up shots, which sometimes gave the show a claustrophobic feel, giving the impression that House’s world was closing in on him.
Without both Cuddy and his best friend, it became clear that House could not end happily.
House‘s finale was its most divisive episode, and watching it back, I feel that the bittersweet tone was the only option for the show. However, at the start of season 8, it appeared that House could have ended in several different ways, including having House still working at the hospital or living elsewhere seeking new diagnostic challenges. Wilson’s cancer diagnosis drastically changed the tone of the show, as House lost the last person who had kept him grounded. As he prepared to face life without both Cuddy and his best friend, it became clear that House could not end happily.
House Season 8 Was Always Meant To Be A Bittersweet Conclusion For The Show
House Became More Concerned With Mortality As The Show Went On
By the time season 8 aired, viewership ratings had dropped for the show, and when House ended, viewers questioned whether the bittersweet ending had been the original plan or not. House’s writers debated several possible endings for the show, including one in which Gregory House dies, but struck a balance between sadness and a last moment of joy. Creator David Shore told Entertainment Weekly that “It’s not too sweet because it’s Wilson dying and House screwing everything up — and yet it’s Wilson and House riding into the sunset,” which felt true to their characters and the spirit of the show.
House‘s final episode, “Everybody Dies,” mirrors a famous Sherlock Holmes story in which Holmes fakes his own death.
The dark color palette of the final season of House reflected the subject matter that was growing increasingly morbid. While the show kept its sense of humor, with House still playing pranks on his team, mortality was on the minds of many of the characters. Amber’s death in season 4 and Kutner’s shocking suicide in season 5 were major storylines in some of House‘s most stressful episodes, but Thirteen’s worsening illness was often referenced too. As House and Thirteen had mutual respect, seeing the changes in her affected him, even before Wilson’s diagnosis added the final tragic twist.
House Season 8 Is Also When House’s Team Changed The Most
The Return To Bright Colors Was The Perfect Way To End The Season
The biggest loss of the show was Gregory House’s boss, verbal sparring partner, and love interest. House was never the same without Cuddy, and the show had a very different tone after she left in the final season. Season 8 was also the first without Foreman, and out of the second generation of House’s doctors, only Taub remained. With many of the long-running characters gone, House lost one of its best features, which was the developing relationships between the doctors. Unfortunately, new characters Adams and Park did not have the charm or depth that the earlier characters did.
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If House were to get rebooted, Hugh Laurie would likely be involved with the new TV show, but there is an interesting way to do it without him.
House changed across its eight seasons, but the cinematography in season 8 showed that the final season was going to be extremely different from the others. That said, with the new characters, House season 8 sometimes felt like a different show altogether. Bringing the focus back to House and Wilson’s friendship was the best move for the series, and the sudden change to full color and greenery was a welcome return to the humor of the first episode. House’s defiant “cancer is boring” was the perfect tone to end the show on.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
House
8/10
- Release Date
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2004 – 2011
- Network
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FOX
- Showrunner
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David Shore
- Directors
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Deran Sarafian
- Writers
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David Shore
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