Think positively. What did "Man of the House" do right? I suppose I was intrigued with House trying to pull one over on the government by faking his marriage to Dominika. 

But I think I was only interested because even though the cited reason for him pretending was money, it seems to me that House wouldn't really do something like that unless he wanted to. Which circles back around to the question of House's motives. 

Why does House want to help Dominika? Does he like her company? Is he lonely? Obviously. Maybe he just wants someone around. Throughout the series, he has lived with Wilson on and off and appeared to take comfort in his pal's presence. Even when he roomed with Alvie during "Broken," he was annoyed at first and then grew quite fond of his roommate.  House needs someone around. He can't be alone. And no, I don't think House is heading for true love with Dominika, at least I hope not, but a companionship for House could be healthy, even if it is dysfunctional.

As far as the patient goes, I liked that he was a man who recognized the value of women. Kind of. Actually, not really. 

Joe, the patient of the week, needed testosterone and was only sensitive and more feminist because he lacked testosterone. Is this really representative of how testosterone works?  That was one of a few medical things that bothered me this week, which is strange since I usually never pay too much attention to the differentials. But I was annoyed by them discussing a Lyme's disease diagnosis without a target rash, which was a huge deal in a season four episode called "Ugly." Picky, I know. 

I also feel like jaundice and liver failure going hand in hand has been used far too many times. Enough times so that each time someone has jaundice on this show, I know it means liver failure. So that must mean that I'm ready to practice fictional medicine, yes?

In the end, the patient chooses his wife and work over his daily dose of health and manhood, a sacrifice that makes him a bigger... man? I'm too turned around. And distracted by Dominika's Amy Grant-ics. 

In team news, House opts for conflict over collegiality, so he forces his team members to vie for second place to his first. At first, everyone seems to be above this clear attempt to create conflict. But then it actually works, despite every team member wanting to remain friendly. I'm sorry, but did Chase's stabbing actually happen? Did House not admit fault to the way he runs things? 

It was my understanding that his apology to Chase at the end of "Nobody's Fault" was such a poignant moment because House finally realized that his system for diagnosing, while effective, may actually be dangerous. So this week, rather than learning from his wisdom, we see him fall right back into the patterns we've seen so many times before. 

It's not like I expected a complete turn around, but some mention of his methodology and the scrutiny he was just under might have been nice. Instead, the only mentions of the stabbing were when Chase walking in to the outer office, barely limping, and when Taub talked to House about the team being brought together by the stabbing. With nine episodes left, can this series really afford to just coast into one last dramatic story arc?