House MD Season 5 Episode 23 Recap

Under My Skin

A ballerina suffers a lung collapse while she is performing onstage. The medicine House gives her causes her skin to fall off.

Meanwhile, House is trying to figure out why he is having hallucinations of Amber. He argues with Wilson over the cause, and Wilson continues to believe that teh problem is too much Vicodin. House wants to undergo electroshock therapy. Wilson says he would rather risk death or worse than go to rehab.

House asks what's worse than death. Double Death? Wilson says losing the only thing that matters, His rational mind. The team stops the heart of the patient to scan it. As this is happening, House calls Wilson and suggests Insulin shock. Wilson argues for a minute and says he'll be there in five minutes. House says, make it two minutes because I'm about to go into insulin shock.

We see House fading out as the team struggles to revive the patient. Just before reviving her, Foreman notices a shadow around the heart. House is fading out while looking at Amber start to blur. We see the patient come back around as Wilson arrives to rescue House and yells for Insulin.

In the next scene, House is trying to figure out what is wrong with the patient, and Amber is there again. His plan to fix himself did not work. He suggests that gonorrhea made it's way to her heart.

Wilson is taking House to some sort of facility around Philadelphia. Amber is still there, while Foreman reports in on how poorly the patient is doing. Wilson says she's okay, and Amber says he's lying. Amber asks House if he really wants to be Amber free again.

House confronts Cuddy. She offers to help him by admitting him anonymously. Amber warns him against what he is doing. He tells Cuddy that he needs her. She says she'll call a babysitter.

The patient is having heart surgery while House and Cuddy are trying to help him detox. She asks where else he would have a stash hidden. Amber keeps imploring him not to come clean. He tells Cuddy about more hiding places. He's having fits and Cuddy offers to hold his hand.

The patient comes back around and Chase informs her that her hands and feet will need to be amputated. The tissue can't be saved. It sounds a lot like what House didn't want to do that screwed up his leg.

Taub says it would be a shame if she died because House has some personal crap to deal through, and Chase points out that it would be a shame if she died because House had some personal crap to work through AND they weren't smart enough to figure it out without him.

Amber continues to egg him on. She taunts him that if he takes the pill he doesn't deserve Cuddy and if he secretly takes the pill, he doesn't deserve anyone. Cuddy rushes back in and flushes the pill just in time.

The team is doing something to the patient and it seems to be revitalizing the vessels in her hands and feet. I assume she's going to be okay.

House says that Cuddy is lying about him getting better and getting back to work. He's her hospital's biggest asset. She says she hasn't lied to him in 20 years. He says that means you lied about something 20 years ago. She tells him that she audited his class and thought he was an interesting lunatic. I guess the point is supposed to be that she like HIM, and that what she does she does for him. House observes that they are alone.

Cameron expresses doubts about being with Chase and so I suppose the wedding is off. Cuddy says goodbye to House and he says Thank you. Then she says, "You want to kiss me, don't you?" He replies, "I always want to kiss you." House and Cuddy kiss, and then they go at it like rabid badgers.

Next week, the supposedly shocking season 5 finale. Cuddy tells House that everyone close to him winds up getting hurt.