Count on House to come through in the clutch. 

Famously, House coasts through most of mid-season episodes with fans scratching their heads wondering when a story arc may kick in. A couple of weeks ago, Wilson's cancer diagnosis provided the final story arc and moved the series into high gear, finally providing some high stakes episodes and making me care about the series again, just in time for it to end.

"Post Mortem" sold me. Famously, House road trip episodes are epically awesome - think season 3's "Son of a Coma Guy," season 5's "Birthmarks" and last season's "The Dig" - there's something incredibly dynamic about getting House and one other person together for an extended time together outside of the hospital. 

This episode was no exception and was a gift for anyone that loves House and Wilson. Admittedly, it was the first time since the announcement of the series' ending that I actually felt some read sadness, and that's due to the fact that tonight's episode was a great one!

Let's start with the teaser, which is the first one I've liked in a long while. Typically the teaser of the episode could be watched as a separate entity than the rest of the episode, but this one felt different. I liked the bird's eye view of the deceased patient and what her body went through after she died from her being pronounced dead, repositioned, a family visit, and finally being taken apart from the autopsy. 

Viewing this while thinking of how close Wilson might be to death seems especially purposeful and was a great way to hook the audience. While the slitting of the patient's (Dr. Treiber) head was a bit over the top for me, the rest of the teaser made up for it and set the tone for an episode that needed to deal with Wilson's potentially impending death.

Rather than deal with meaning in life, Wilson opts to go for the shallow and adopts a persona he names Kyle Calloway. Kyle doesn't think, he just does. Kyle wants to end up on the "Wall of Pain" of a diner after eating an 80 oz. steak. Kyle wants to have a threesome with prostitutes in a fake bald cap. And Kyle wants to stare down a funeral procession, not face what it actually means, and speed irrationally past it, out of control, into a field with his friend House.

That funeral procession scene was powerful, albeit a little on the nose. It very quickly made Wilson's flashy Corvette look very silly and shallow. And since Wilson did not want to face that yet, he hit the gas and sped away from reality as quickly as possible. 

As House finds a way to complete the last leg of their journey, they find themselves on a bus stop. An interesting choice considering how significant buses have been on the series. Amber died on a bus. House nearly did as well. House had to get off the bus when he was unconscious in order to continue living his life. And finally, after House completed his treatment at Mayfield, he gets on a bus wearing a smiley face t-shirt, on his way back to civilization, ready to cope with his bad habits. 

So here they are at a bus stop. Kyle disappears as Wilson realizes that he can't leave an older woman with Alzheimer's on the bus stop waiting for a bus that will never come. It's Wilson's nature to help others and he can't sweep the best part of his personality under the rug. House and Wilson miss seeing Julie Christie and Wilson finally confesses the real reason for the road trip; he just wants to try Kyle on for size. House replies, "I can live without Kyle," implicitly stating that he can't live without Wilson. 

Grab the kleenex.

But before those two get back to PPTH, let's get back to Chase and the patient's journey. I've never held back on how I feel about Chase as a character and this episode solidified my feelings about his character's story throughout the years. Dr. Treiber's diagnosis of Chase is incredibly and frustratingly accurate.  Why hasn't Chase taken off on his own yet?

After Cameron left him, he decided to stay on House's team. While Chase's resignation happened quickly, I actually buy it because I strongly believe Chase would do something like this. If he's presented with a logical argument and can apply it to himself, he'll act on it. And act he does. His character deserves the best and I'm thrilled to see that the series is giving him and us some hope for his future, perhaps with Cameron? Jennifer Morrison is coming back, so it would make sense.

So good for Chase. That last scene between him and House was stellar. House nearly fell off his chair when Chase said humbly that he just wanted to thank House. And then we're left with Wilson looking dramatically at House, who is looking dramatically at the MRI. Next week we find out Wilson's diagnosis.

I'm not sure I'd be happy with either direction the show takes. If he's cured, why give him cancer to begin with? If it's fatal, I'll be devastated. Does the show really need to kill Wilson off for one last test of House's will? 

What do we think? Is Wilson going to die?

Hit the comments below to share your thoughts on tonight's episode. Only two episodes left of the series. Hold tight.