Quote Originally Posted by Alhuin View Post
They don't, but:

If he can be shot, and come back,
If he can quit and come back,
If he can overdose and come back,
If he can go to rehab and come back,
If he can leave the country and come back,
If he can go to prison and come back,
Then I find it hard to believe they can justify any other type of physical leave. We all know House loves puzzles, and loves his job... the only way I see for that to permanently end is for him to die. Otherwise, there's always the open possibility of coming back.

Now, the producers may want to leave it open-ended on purpose, for a chance to come back later. But that wouldn't make for an honest series finale. So I wouldn't view it as such.
Does something about the show indicate that the series will end in "something he can't come back from" or is that just your interpretation of the structure of the series?