When we left our friends at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, House was having trouble grappling with the death of a patient, and as he reached for the Vicodin he had sworn off for a year, Lisa Cuddy, the woman of his dreams, and a figment of his imagination, showed up, looking to finally give it a go (or was it all another dream?).

The show’s 7th season premiere picks up immediately after where the finale left off, with House and Cuddy taking their relationship to the next level.  While they continue to play the “where do we stand” game, Wilson shows up long enough to make sure House is okay and to doubt the Huddy of it all.  House’s team, meanwhile, creates a case out of the vomiting neurosurgeon who needs to be on the premises in order for the hospital to stay a working trauma center.  What follows is a great story of the growing friendships between these characters, complete with a shocking proposition and one moment that I’m counting as the funniest of all the shows I’ve previewed so far this season (comedies included).

The show is great with all of the medical mumbo jumbo but I’m always more invested when we’re learning something about the characters we watch on a weekly basis, and this premiere, combined with next week’s powerful episode (starring Flo the Progressive Insurance woman, no less) prove that after an uneven season of sober-House, underused supporting characters not named 13, and a few too many shaky episodes, the show is back and stronger than ever.

Check out the season premiere of HOUSE at 8/9c on FOX!