House’s Replacement For Wilson Didn’t Make Sense, And That’s Why Everyone Forgot About Them

In House season 5, the show decided to cast a new best friend for House, but it didn't make any sense from the start. House is one of the absolute greatest medical dramas ever to appear on TV, but that doesn't mean the show never had any flaws. As spectacular as the storytelling could be, as compelling as the character arcs were, and as fun as the drama that appeared in each episode, the show made mistakes along the way.

House could be a huge jerk. Being an egotistical monster on occasion, as House could be so prone to be, he often failed to consider the repercussions of his actions, his personal impact on his friends, and whether he was actually behaving in a way that could be defined as decent. House had his mind on higher things, like the puzzles of human disease, which meant that he had very little room in his head to consider the feelings of his friends, which is exactly what led to House and his best friend James Wilson having such a huge fallout at the end of House season 4.

Lucas Was House’s “New Wilson” During Season 5

Lucas Was Supposed To Be A New Best Friend For House

Of course, the fact that his best friend, who so often shouldered the hardship and frustration of being House's friend, was driven to the edge of his sanity, and decided to take time away from his friendship with House drove him to his wits' end. House understood on some levels that he had hurt his friend, but due to a combination of pride, a lack of empathy, and his own enormous ego, House couldn't fully grasp why Wilson wouldn't forgive him, just as he had on every occasion when House crossed the line in their friendship before.

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Instead of reacting like a normal person, and recognizing his mistakes, and apologizing for hurting his friend and not being there for him, House did a very House thing, and he hired a private investigator. However, Lucas, the PI, was quickly positioned to be House's new best friend. Not because they actually liked each other, but because they had some things in common, like an ability to recognize small details others missed, and their identical taste in women.

Lucas’ Role In House Didn’t Make Sense Given The Show’s History

House Had A History Of Bending The Rules

But the thing is, Lucas appearing on the show made no logical sense from a storytelling point of view. House, and all of his team for that matter, were used to breaking into people's homes, snooping around for hidden information, and obeying House's orders, no matter the boundaries that they crossed in doing so. So why did House actually need to hire a PI to do grunt work that he would normally pass off to his team.

House was evidently very hurt about the fact that his friend was rejecting him, but instead of relentlessly pushing the matter until Wilson exploded and House learned something, he decided to seek outside council. House is also extremely adept at gathering clues and making sense of things, but perhaps because he was too close to the situation, he didn't trust his own conclusions. It just felt like a weird move in terms of the story, and ultimately appeared like an effort to expand the franchise and set up a spin-off around the character of Lucas.

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Lucas Looked Set To Lead A Spin-Off From House

There was never any confirmation about whether Lucas was actually intended to set up a spin-off show, but it was certainly a growing rumor when the character appeared in House season 5. On top of that, despite his functionality being used up by the end of the season, they kept Lucas around until the end of season 6 against all logic. This led to the extremely odd relationship between him and Cuddy, which purely existed to incite House to action and force him to confess his feelings for Cuddy.

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Then, once that goal was accomplished, Lucas disappeared, never to be seen or even mentioned again. All in all, it felt very much like Lucas was a character who could have led a spin-off about a goofy, unconventional private investigator who needs to employ unusual methods to get information. All the while, Lucas would pretend to be someone less competent, in order to catch others off guard, and uncover deeper secrets. Ultimately, Lucas was a weird addition in House, and it was a relief when the character was written off the show.