Recap: Wilson lies to House about not liking monster trucks because he has plans to see his brother Daniel for the first time in years and he doesn't want House to find out. House inevitably finds out anyway and offers to go with him. Wilson and House discuss how they don't have a social contract–they don't tell each other lies to make the other person feel better.

The Social Contract

So that's why Wilson likes me.

He's always gotta be Wilson, he's always gotta be perfect, the guy everyone loves. But that's not really who he is, he has to work to be that person. It's who he wants to be, because the one time he did act like a normal human being it ended up hurting his brother and he doesn't want to let something like that happen again. But it's not really who he is.

With me, he doesn't have to pretend to be perfect and happy. He doesn't have to feed me platitudes. He doesn't have to lie to me to make me feel better because he knows that's not what I want.

I'm...refreshing.

Even if the truth hurts me, it's better than a lie.

And it's not worth it to try to lie because I always find out the truth anyway. Sometimes it takes seconds, sometimes weeks or even months, but I find out. I either sneak around and snoop or I push him until he snaps and just tells me, but I find out. So he knows it's not worth it to lie, even when he's trying to protect me, because I won't let myself be protected by lies.

And it's his...calling...to try and protect people. Help them. Fix them. But it's different with me.

I'm unfixable. Lying to me isn't going to help me. Telling the truth doesn't change anything. It is what it is.

It's like monster trucks.

He didn't want to tell me about Danny, so he pretended not to like monster trucks so he wouldn't have to go with me and he'd be free to go see his brother. But if he really didn't like monster trucks, then he would have been lying to me all these years to make me feel better. Just doing it because I want to do it. Like going to see a ballet with a wife.

No. It's not like that with me. I don't want him to lie to me to make me feel better. And he knows that. If he really didn't like monster trucks, he should have told me the first time I suggested it. Because that's how we work. That's our social contract.

And it works both ways. I don't lie to him to make him feel better. I tell the truth to make him feel better. I can lie to him to mess with him or keep secrets from him, or I can lie to preserve my own self-interests. But I can't give him false comfort. If that's the guy he needs, I'm done.

But I don't think he does. He gets that from everyone else. Everyone else loves him, or loves his persona, who they think he is. They follow the social contract, they do what they think they're supposed to do, what they think helps.

I'm different. Wilson needs that. So I'm good for him. And he actually sees that. Maybe he'll keep me around. I can't give him everything, but I can give him stuff no one else can. I can be me. He needs me. I'm a tether to reality.

It's good to know I serve a purpose in his life.