Sherlock Holmes, a classic detective mystery series of novels by Arthur Conan Doyle.

However, while the entire show is a spectacle, with incredible twists, engaging relationships, and compelling character arcs, the show's final episode, "Everybody Dies," was incredibly controversial upon its release. But the truth is, the finale is a wonderful tribute to the show, that provides a firm ending, and honors everything that came before. But there are several reasons why this masterfully written episode got such a bad reputation when it came out.

Why House’s Final Episode Was So Divisive

House Continued To Be Divisive To The Very End

The thing is, House did struggle in the final two seasons of the series. That isn't to say the quality plummeted, but for a show that was consistently hitting home runs, the quality dropped to being just good, rather than great. This is partially because of the way the relationships that defined the show began falling apart, and the chaos that came with cast changes, but overall, the episodes just didn't hit quite as hard as they used to. And the fact that the show was a procedural, with weekly new mysteries and cases to resolve, helped to keep the series afloat, despite the changes and challenges.

However, this significant tonal shift, and the absence of key , including Cuddy, and even House due to his constantly being outside the hospital, resulted in a challenging setup for the show's final farewell. With all the additional baggage going into the finale, it's hard to maintain focus, and feel like the episode is a strong final piece to the overall puzzle. And yet, when viewed through the larger lens of the show, and without all the challenges of those final seasons, House's finale makes perfect sense for the characters and the show.

House Season 8’s Problems Made The Finale Even Harder To Digest

The Final Season Underwent Some Serious Changes

While House had been working towards delivering a compelling arc for Dr. Gregory House for years, season 7 saw House walk back on that progress. Between his awful breakup with Cuddy, which ended with House driving a car into her home, and House returning to abusing drugs, it felt like the hero of the show, however unlikable he had always made himself, was becoming a real monster. And with Cuddy departing House, and never returning, there was no resolution to their story. Just House, being a monster, and driving into her home, which could have resulted in serious accidents and even deaths.

Then, in season 8, the show brings in a brand-new team. Yes, Dr. Robert Chase, one of the original of the team, is back, and he stands in as the lead for House during his many absences, but this isn't enough to overcome the reality that the people now sending the show-off in the final season are fresh new faces that haven't had time to connect with the audience. On top of that, some of the stories began to feel stale, as the procedural elements of the show fell into a common pattern over time.

After Rewatching House, I Realized The Finale Was Actually Great

House Gets Even Better With A Rewatch

However, House's finale was not cut from the same cloth. The finale features a narrative that sees House confront the ghosts of his past and present. In the middle of a burning building, he sees loved ones and former colleagues, both dead and living, and he struggles to figure out if he can and should get up and survive the burning building he is trapped in, or if he should resign himself and his miserable life to an untimely death. And despite the complex setup, it's brilliant in its approach to exploring House's fractured and broken mind.

And while the show sets up how each of the other characters that were a part of House's life will now continue without the brilliant but damaged man, the conclusion is a perfect send off for such a complex character, and one that is based on the original Sherlock Holmes books. House fakes his death. But not to simply avoid punishment, or get out of trouble, House does this because, after all the pain, suffering and misery he has cost others, he wants to spend the final months of his terminally ill friend's life by his side. Not pursuing his own selfish desires, but doing whatever Wilson wants.

House’s Series Finale Was About The Show’s Most Important Relationship

Wilson Was Always The Most Important Character To House

The thing is, for everything that occurs throughout the show, the romantic flings, the colleagues that come and go, the medical mysteries that are resolved, and the painful deaths that happen, there are two people at the center of everything that make this show what it is. House, and his best friend, James Wilson. Just like the Sherlock stories, these two need each other, and despite the frustrations, challenges, and hurdles they face, they belong together. While House used his friend throughout the show, his final tribute to Wilson, selflessly putting everything in his life aside, is a perfect goodbye to the show.

With his limited time left on Earth, House would stay by Wilson's side, sharing laughter, fun, and adventure wherever he wished to go.

House was already about to lose his medical license due to the various issues he had caused, but by replacing his dental records with a dead patient's, and placing his body in a fire in order to fake his own death, House crossed lines that he could never ever return from. And in this way, he itted to Wilson that he was not going anywhere. With his limited time left on Earth, House would stay by Wilson's side, sharing laughter, fun, and adventure wherever he wished to go. In this way, House delivered the perfect send-off for the show, and wrapped the story up neatly with a happily ever-after that does not require any more episodes to explain and explore.