After being shot at the end of season 2, House briefly regains the ability to walk without pain and stops taking Vicodin. When the pain eventually returns, he has to confront his addiction again and the way it influences both his behaviour and his relationships. Another thread running through the season involves detective Michael Tritter. During a consultation, House is particularly sarcastic and humiliating toward him. Offended, Tritter decides to take revenge and proceeds to make life very difficult for House, as well as for his colleagues and friends. Among the unusual medical cases featured this season are maternal mirror syndrome, chimerism and MERRF syndrome. By the end of the season, House fires Chase, and Cameron and Foreman decide to quit. For the first time, he finds himself without a team. I still love this series, even though House can sometimes be extremely cruel.
“Dr. Cameron: Is it so wrong for them to want to have a normal child? It’s normal to want to be normal.
Dr. House: Spoken like a true circle queen. See, skinny, socially-privileged white people get to draw this neat little circle. And everyone inside the circle is “normal”. Anyone outside the circle should be beaten, broken and reset so that they can be brought into the circle. Failing that, they should be institutionalized. Or worse – Pitied.
Dr. Cameron: So it’s wrong to feel sorry for this little boy?
Dr. House: Why would you feel sorry for someone that gets to opt out of the inane courteous formalities which are utterly meaningless, insincere and therefore degrading? This kid doesn’t have to pretend to be interested in your back pain, or your excretions or your grandma’s itchy place. Imagine how liberating it would be to live a life free of all the mind-numbing social niceties. I don’t pity this kid – I envy him.”