It is a little startling how easily Michael Weston fits in the cast of "House." Last week he guest starred for the first time as Private Investigator Lucas, and this week in "Adverse Events" he solidified his place on the show as House's new friend and confidante. Is Wilson but a fading memory? There have been rumors that Weston could get his own spin-off if Lucas goes over with the fans. If he is as well written on that show as he is on this, it may just be a success.

Breckin Meyer guest stars as an artist who paints grotesque pictures of people thinking they are perfectly normal. Clearly the man has some problems.

Other people who have problems are Kutner, Taub and 13 because House is using his new best friend to look into their private lives. Nothing really serious at first, just 13's payment on a car and Kutner's Guiness World Record, but Taub's wife is under the microscope as well. House taunts him with secret information and then moves on to the case. It quickly becomes clear to him that the artist, Brandon, is likely on drugs. After finding out he has a beautiful girlfriend, House concludes he is allowing himself to be on dangerous clinical trials to get money so he seems like a successful artist. Case closed, says House, but the audience knows better since it is barely 20 minutes into the show.

Sure enough, the patient starts showing dangerous and new symptoms after being on dialysis. One included grabbing 13 and trying to force himself on top of her. He stops breathing and needs his throat to be cut open, and no one can quite get to the bottom of it. House decides to detox him further by forcing the artist to take the drugs again, and then weaning him off of them slowly to see which is effecting him. Once all the drugs are gone, Brandon still shows medical problems so the team writes off the drugs.

Meanwhile, Taub is struggling with the secret he has kept from his wife about his infidelity. He quit his last job to keep it silent, but now House's little jabbing and his conscience make it difficult. House finds out that she has a bank account of her own, and when it turns out she was saving it as a surprise for him ... Taub finally comes clean. What happens between them is unseen, and hopefully next episode an answer will come for that.

Either Kutner and 13 have no really interesting things left, or House just wanted to mess with the unshakeable Taub more. He is also investigating Cuddy, who sees right through Lucas and House's schemes. Lucas develops a crush on her, and they end up having a nice cup of coffee. House shows no jealousy toward this development even though he has gotten downright insane with it before. Perhaps he is finally planning to make his move now that Lucas may steal her away from him.

This episode was much more about personal relationships on the team than the patient himself. His case turned out to be a pretty simple problem, albeit a potentially deadly one, but Brandon was a metaphor for how secrets can kill a relationship. Taub was the one who connected this time. He is an interestingly obtuse character, and it was important to see him more clearly as a character and person.

Cameron was absent this episode, and Chase had one brief scene; they are still "regulars" on this show. Seriously. Michael Weston had more screen time in the past two episodes than they did all last season, and he did marvelously with it. Lucas is creepy, odd, charming, and the perfect combination of Wilson and House. He could be their love child. Lucas has great chemistry with both House and Cuddy, and he may just be better suited to stay on this show rather than get his own. Take out Chase and Cameron, hello Lucas!

Next on "House," a tragedy occurs in the House family: his father dies. House did indicate before that his father abused him growing up, so it will be interesting to see how the malicious doctor handles it. Keep tuned to FOX on Tuesday's at 9 PM EST for more "House."


Story by Chelsea 'Dee' Doyle
Starpulse contributing writer