(Before you read further, be warned, there will be some spoilers. However, nothing beyond what you could have reasonably figured out yourself from the last series).
Season 8 kicks off with House in prison and awaiting parole. After crashing his car through into Cuddy's dining room and fleeing the country for 3 months, House was arrested and put under lock and key. It is an interesting setting, one in which House is no longer top dog and surprisingly, it works. House can longer act rude, irrationally and irresponsibly without much in the way of reprimand. Here, he must obey a clear pecking order, bargain for what he wants and generally keep a lower profile. It is a welcome refresh for the series. Seeing a slightly different dimension to House, with his more abrasive qualities repressed but clearly wanting to burst out, is actually very enjoyable to watch. In many ways it is reminiscent of the season 6 opener where House is in rehab and that is no bad thing.
It is too early to judge from one episode, but once again the series feels like it has some emotion back. Bizarrely, for the majority of the House-Cuddy relationship, the show seemed to be lacking it. As interesting and spectacular as House's resulting post breakup meltdown was, it felt as impersonal and detached as the liaisons we were watching House partake in. Suddenly the connection to the main characters seemed lost. In this episode, you again feel for House. You also get some insights into House's current state of mind, why he did what he did and how he ended up in prison.
The episode bodes well for the rest of the series but undoubtedly leaves some serious questions about the direction it will take. Firstly, what happens when, or perhaps if, House gets out of prison. One has to presume that House returning to Princeton‑Plainsboro Teaching Hospital is out of the question. Apart from Cuddy announcing she never wanted to see House again after the car incident, Lisa Edelstein (who plays Dr. Lisa Cuddy) has stated she isn't returning to the series. The majority of the rest of the cast will be back however, so seeing how the writers fit them into the mix will be very interesting. Whatever happens, getting stuck in the rut of last series will undoubtedly leave many fans disappointed. If this first episode is anything to go by, this seems unlikely to happen.
