One of the best episodes of House seems very strange in retrospect and I think I know why

“Wilson’s Heart” is one of my favorites Home episodes, but there are some things that make it seem very strange in retrospect. Amber and Wilson’s relationship was as surprising to House as it was to the audience. The fact that there was a time jump between the moment House fired Amber and the revelation of his relationship with Wilson it also added to how surprising it was. House discovers that Wilson and Amber are dating in Season 4, Episode 11, just two episodes after Amber was fired and the competition ended.

Home changed a lot in season 4 with the introduction of a new team following the existence of Cameron, Chase, and Foreman, the latter of whom eventually returned to House as a colleague rather than a subordinate. House’s competition to pick a new team was incredibly fun and made what could have been a difficult transition work surprisingly well. However, I felt like the second half of the season was quite rushed, especially when it came to Wilson and Amber’s relationship. This made the events of “House’s Head” and “Wilson’s Heart” feel a bit strange and unearned.

Amber and Wilson’s rushed relationship was likely due to the 2007-08 writers’ strike

House season 4 was interrupted due to the writers’ strike

Home season 4 had 16 episodes instead of the usual 24 because of the 2007-08 writers’ strike. Home was one of many TV shows that had their seasons cut short during the strikes, with other examples including Prison Break, Heroes, Breaking Badand Lost. While HomeThe case of the week formula meant that the show could work really well with fewer episodes than usual, Amber’s storyline took a huge hit. Although there is no confirmation of what Home season 4 would have felt like 24 episodes, I assume Amber and Wilson’s relationship would have been developed better.

Wilson and Amber’s union was a surprising decision in and of itself, although Wilson’s complicated love life has always been a major part of the show. We only have a few episodes where Amber and Wilson are dating before “House’s Head” and “Wilson’s Heart,” which means there hasn’t been enough time to buy into them as a couple. Most of the scenes involving Wilson and Amber are actually about House and how he perceives their relationship, including an entire episode where House and Amber are trying to figure out custody of Wilson.

“Wilson’s Heart” works best if you ignore how rushed Amber and Wilson’s relationship was

Everything happened very quickly between Wilson and Amber

Amber’s death is one of the most tragic Home moments. That being said, I believe “Wilson’s Heart” would have been an even better episode if we had spent more time with the two of them together. It’s very strange how Amber had no family to make decisions on her behalf after the accident, leaving Wilson to make the decision to turn off her life support. Although very well acted and scored, the scene where Wilson wakes Amber up only to turn off life support in front of her seems very strange.

Amber and Wilson were only together for four monthsbut we are asked to believe that Wilson was the only significant relationship in his life at that time and the only person who would experience his death as devastating. Amber’s character has little to no agency during the events of “House’s Head” and “Wilson’s Heart,” which makes it seem like the sole purpose of her death was to create a dramatic moment that would affect Wilson and House in future seasons. The episode is more about Wilson than Amber.

A fourth season of House, with more episodes, would have made Amber’s story much better

Most of Amber and Wilson’s relationship happened off-screen

I’m confident that a 24-episode season would have made “Wilson’s Heart” a much more impactful episode. Wilson and Amber made an interesting couple, especially considering how much of a third wheel House was, but it all happened too quickly. We don’t even know exactly how and when their relationship began. Home season 4 tells us that Wilson cares a lot about Amber and that they complete each other but it doesn’t actually show that. The interactions between Amber, Wilson and House were great, but enough to make that couple believable enough before the end.

Fleshing out Amber and Wilson’s relationship would have also made Home 5th season better. When Season 5 begins, Wilson and House are separated and it looks like their relationship will never be the same. Given how little time we spend with Wilson and Amber, the former’s reaction to her death doesn’t feel as natural as it should. It’s true that Wilson could become attached to people very quickly, so it wasn’t strange for him to behave like this. Still, I can’t help but wonder what Home season 4 would have felt like 24 episodes.