Well, it's certainly easy to loathe Cuddy here, even though she's a product of a loathsome culture. You make me speculate: how would this kind of society evolve? Especially to the point where someone like Cuddy could casually cause a valued member of her staff to be beaten to a pulp for the entertainment of a crowd, merely as a matter of internal discipline? She is, after all, ostensibly a physician whose philosophy should include "First, do no harm".

That Wilson doesn't hesitate to absolve House of responsibility for Wilson's injuries says so much about them both. Wilson knows that House can't stop being who he is, and that part of who he is sometimes involves going way over the line in order to save a patient. Wilson's fine with that, even when it costs him a high personal price.

It's also fascinating to see how their relationship has "mellowed" House to the point that he's able to exercise a surprising degree of control over himself for Wilson's sake. I get the feeling that this House, while he can be angry and bitter, isn't miserable in this a/u, simply because he has what he wants most deeply: a deep, tight, powerful and permanent relationship with Wilson.