'House' has a vision of Cutthroat Bitch

It's been a week since Kutner's suicide and House still fears the loss of his mojo, while everyone else wonders who Cameron loves. And you won't believe who shows back up!

The POTW is a environmental protester who has put himself near every harmful carcinogen known to man to prove his point. No one is surprised when he gets sick - although Taub falls back on his favorite diagnosis of 'he's faking it'. However, it's hard to fake a spontaneously broken femur, so the team is thrown for a loop and Taub suggests they find out what type of cancer he has by making him sicker.

Cameron basically joins the team to solve the case, putting her vacation with Chase on hold. This causes House to wonder if she is tossing her relationship away to get back on the team or because she's secretly still in love with him. And Cuddy seems just as anxious to know the answer to that one. In truth, Cameron found out Chase was going to propose and she doesn't want it to be a knee-jerk reaction to tragedy. The scenes between Chase and Cameron are well played, but after nearly 2 years of practically never seeing them in the same scene together, it hardly packs the power it should.

House's big dilemma is his fear that he's lost his mojo. He can't figure out Cameron's angle, Taub had a better idea than him and he doesn't know why Wilson is eating healthy all of the sudden. He spends most of the episode chasing his shadow down one avenue after another, until his banter with Wilson makes him realize his best friend is just manipulating him by faking a sudden life style change. After the death of Amber, Wilson made several major changes in his life but came to realize that getting life back to normal would have been the better path to take. And what is more normal than him and House screwing with each other?

This leads to House's epiphany - which entails people manipulating each other and leads him to conclude that because all marriages suck the POTW's must also have hit some bumps. And despite his adamant belief that commercial plant growers are the ultimate evil, he must have bought his wife roses to make up for some massive screw up. Given that he was already over exposed to so many toxins, a scratch from a rose thorn pushed him over the edge.

The episode seemed to meander quite a bit, with 13 talking to Taub about Foreman not being talkative regards Kutner's death. But would she really talk to Taub about that? Or anyone? She's not known for being open with her emotions herself. There is also the moment where the POTW is ranting about how his son is no more important than any other child, which causes startled looks but then never goes anywhere. And the hot tubbing clinic patient doesn't even provide much amusement. All told, the episode seems to be reaching for pinnacle that it never achieves.

We end with House telling Cameron to stop trying to dump Chase by dumping cases on him, pointing out that she lost her first husband tragically and now she's throwing the second away because she's afraid of going through that again. Recognizing the blunt trust, Cameron goes to Chase and asks him to propose to her. Which he does. However, this is not the shocking end. That comes while House is at home, playing the piano and harmonica, only to have his riffing interrupted by Amber. Yes, THAT Amber!

How do you think Amber's hallucinatory return will affect Wilson and his relationship to House? Will House even tell him? And did you feel any emotional connection to Chase and Cameron getting engaged? How about any concern over Fourteen's lack of communication?