How’s this for a medical show crossover? Last night’s episode of House was directed by Paul McCrane, better known to ER fans as the grumpy, ginger-but-balding Dr. Romano. Such details – it’s all in the details people. Recently House has taken a shift into the romantic lives of the docs, with the on/off shenanigans between Chase and Cameron and the possible whiff of attraction between Wilson and Cuddy. And though this more personal approach remained, it turned less amorous, more interfering.

I have wondered why House is obsessed between what, if anything, is transpiring between chum Wilson and boss Cuddy and last night left us no closer to solving the riddle. By asking Cuddy to the theatre in last week’s episode, I had interpreted this as sexual interest in her from House and I had believed this suspicion to be confirmed in the opening few minutes of last night’s instalment. But those clever writers – they take you in one direction, just to ditch you on the side of the road and race off without you.

House seemed annoyed when Cuddy refused him, as she was busy with plans to attend a gallery exhibition with Wilson. Would this result in a face-off between the two docs? Of course not, but it did become more and more apparent that House wasn’t interested in Cuddy, so much as he was Wilson. He pretended to house-hunt just to score some interesting tit-bits of gossip from Wilson’s ex Bonnie, officially “the worst realtor in New Jersey.” From such nosey goings-on, House surmised that Wilson was interested in Cuddy as he was repeating the courtship rituals he had performed on his ex. Bonnie, not thrilled at House’s meddling, told him what a negative influence he had affected on her marriage to Wilson, information which enabled us, the audience, to achieve a wider view of events. This wasn’t the first time that House had ingratiated himself, however unwanted, in the love life of his friend and it looked like he was about to replicate his old behaviour.

Answers aren’t easily handed out in House, with the writers, thankfully, crediting their viewers with some intelligence. This is always a good thing, and yet, my desperation to know why House is seemingly obsessed with Wilson, mirrors (you’ve guessed it) House’s obsession with Wilson. I do hope that this issue will be addressed with logic and cohesion, rather than blithely dismissed as one of a million eccentric character tics. I guess time will tell – but come on, we don’t have much of it, with only four episodes remaining in this season.

The medical case presented to the docs was one for Foreman. A young, Hispanic woman who seemed devoid of free-will – well, there’s a novel avoidance tactic, might have to use it some time. Foreman was abrupt and hostile towards the patient, believing her to be a junkie and a flunky (sorry, I couldn’t resist the rhyme.) After their usual hunt for the answers, Foreman and co. believed the woman to have cancer and so started her on a massive dose of radiation therapy. This effectively finished off her immune system and left her vulnerable to many horrible conditions later in life, but the doctors continued with their radical treatment.

But, this being House, the patient couldn’t be successfully diagnosed and treated within the first half hour – the saga has to be drawn out until my clock chimes 10pm. And so, the doctors found they had gotten it wrong. The woman had an infection (found to have entered her body through a scratch on her back from her bra clasp), and now, with no immune system, was incapable of fighting it off. Foreman struggled with the knowledge that his decisions had proved so calamitous for his patient and after only a few hours, she died.

By adding a death into the mix, the show deviated from its usual format of a last-minute diagnosis and recovery, and it proved a powerful change. Foreman’s parents, whom he hadn’t seen for years made an appearance, and in the arms of his mother, he showed a fragility and humanity that we don’t often witness.