House

Just finished the last episode of season 8. It was disappointingly meh.

Does House die?

The biggest problem with this ending is that they don't build towards it very well, they have a whole season and spend most of it doing the same thing they did every other season, then suddenly introduce this rather heavy handed final arc. Look to House's Head/Wilson's Heart from series four as an example as to how to do it right.

The new team ended up being a disappointment. Adams was a slightly more 2D Cameron, while Park never really lived up to her great introduction to the team. I like Chase simply because it feels like he has a different relationship with House to everyone else, though this wasn't played on much. Taub never really managed to develop a new issue beyond his played-out marriage arc, though he was sometimes put to good comic relief use, House's attempts to ambush him were fantastic.

It was a better season than seven though, and that's because it was without Cuddy. The House/Cuddy relationship arc has never worked for me, and when it came front and centre in seven it just held a light on how ridiculous the whole thing was. The Dominika arc was a vast improvement because it felt like something which suited House the character rather than House the show.

For me, House's Head remains the best episode of House by far because it relies on the season build-up to really make it work, and that's what makes it so powerful. I think you could safely stop watching House at the end of season six, that's the last really strong season (plenty of House and Wilson stuff) and the show doesn't have much to offer after that point, beyond a couple of strong episodes.