The best episodes of House are often the ones that have House pitted against himself. Partly it's because the structure of the series is so consistent that any change catches our interest (even if that change is ultimately shallow, ala "Locked In"); but mostly it's because House has always been the most compelling character on the show, and any chance to see him struggling with his choices and persona means a chance to see Hugh Laurie be all awesome. That's especially true this season, when one of the biggest problems has been Doctor Savage's apparent detachment from every case he works on. Last week's episode ended with the return of the faux-Amber, a particularly persistent hallucination that we haven't seen since season four; the promise was, this week, we'd be getting some soul-searching, so, goofy promos aside, I was relatively excited.
And for once, I don't feel completely cheated. As usual, the PotW, a deaf teenager named Seth, came off as somewhat obligatory, but at least his predicament, and his feeling that his handicap gives him his identity, were interesting enough so that when he was on screen, it wasn't boring. I guess it's in the contract for a show like this that we can't ever really break free from the PotW crutch, but I wish the writers would do more to make the concept more vital. Remember how the flashbacks on Lost started getting tedious in the third season? And remember how the ending of that season (no spoilers) used that familiarity to blow our minds? I'm not suggesting House has the kind of mythology capable of generating that level of surprise, but as of now, it feels like there's potential being squandered every week that we spend on the same old routine.
Seth collapses at a wrestling meet—he's hearing explosions, for some reason. The team is assigned the case, but House has other things on his mind. For one, Amber; House hasn't slept a full night since Kutner killed himself, and Amber's been hanging around him that whole time, snarking it up and showing off her legs. (Leering aside, it's nice to have Anne Dudek back on the show. She has a certain edge to her that none of the regular cast apart from House can really match.) In the first team meeting, we get the start of a dynamic that lasts nearly the whole episode—as Amber is just a piece of House's subconscious, she has access to all his intuitions, hunches, and every piece of information he's ever learned in his entire life. As Foreman, Taub, and 13 throw out theories, Amber gives clues that House becomes increasingly dependent on.
The Amber/House chats were easily the high point of "Divided," giving us a rare chance to see just how House's mind works, as well as putting him in a position where he actually has to rely on someone else to give him the answers. Admittedly, that someone else is himself, so it's a little complicated, but I enjoyed watching characters interact in a new, engaging way. Another big problem this season has had for me is that everything has become too old hat; at this point in the game, even with the new blood brought in during season four, there aren't a whole lot of surprises available in the backrooms. House will snark, Cuddy will look vaguely concerned, Wilson will be frustrated and concerned, etc. Having House try and second guess himself was a lot of fun, and the dark turn thoses guesses took by the end of the ep were very satisfying.