Even though the writers' strike cut the fourth season of House short, the show didn't lose any momentum, as new doctors arrived, House flirted with pill-popping disaster, and the writers returned to close out the season with a two-part bang. Airing Monday, May 12, the first part of the season finale titled "House Head" sees House losing four hours of his life and he needs to work to piece together the puzzle of another gripping mystery while Dr. Cuddy takes on a more sexy and sultry role with the aid of a stripper pole. When the first part winds down, the second part of the finale picks up on May 19, to close out yet another great season of House, which shouldn't be missed.

Last week The Deadbolt caught up with Dr. Cuddy herself, Lisa Edelstein, to learn more about the end of the season, the dramatic layers in the season finale, and what might be in store next season.

THE DEADBOLT: How would Dr. Cuddy's arc and relationship have been different if the strike didn't happen?

LISA EDELSTEIN: I think they were planning on exploring her relationship with House a little bit in season four and decided to put it off, but I don't really know to what extent because they don't tell me.

THE DEADBOLT: How does House's mental struggle affect Cuddy and the team?

EDELSTEIN: I think they're used to his mental struggle. It causes the same problems every day. They know that these are what to expect with him. Do you mean in terms of the finale, what he's going through?

THE DEADBOLT: Yes, in the finale.

EDELSTEIN: Oh. That's really interesting because he ends up risking his own life in order to access his own mind, and none of the other people can do what he does, so they're all willing to kind of participate in that risk.

THE DEADBOLT: They're all keeping their fingers crossed, I guess.

EDELSTEIN: Yes, holding their breath for a minute and waiting to see if it works. I mean, I don't, for a long time, nobody really knows to what extent he's risking his own life, but even when it becomes apparent, it still goes on.

THE DEADBOLT: There have been rumors about this online, but I don't know how much is accurate. Can we expect the finale to set the stage for a House spin-off?

EDELSTEIN: I've read that online also. No, not the finale. I don't have any idea what they're talking about in those rumors.

THE DEADBOLT: But you've heard the same thing? It's about a private investigator or something to that effect?

EDELSTEIN: Yes, but certainly not this season. I don't know what that is, but then again, we're already starting season five, so maybe something's in the works that I don't know about. Literally, they tell us nothing. We're not allowed to know it until the day we receive the script.

Other Conference Call Highlights:

Lisa Edelstein on how she felt with the new doctors at the start of the season:

"I felt the least affected. I think both Wilson and I felt the least affected by that. Certainly you wonder how they're going to manage to give any of us anything to do with so many characters on a show, but they seem to have managed. It's really the same structure where you have the inner workings of the case and then the B and C stories of what's happening amongst the personalities of the main characters, and it's been great. It's a wonderful new group of people, and they have shown up with lots of excitement and eagerness, and they have great attitudes. So it's been a wonderful experience."

Edelstein on whether so many conditions and illnesses ever play havoc with her mind:

"It does. When anybody I know has any symptoms at all, I have a thousand things that run through my head. A friend of mine has a rash that won't go away, and I'm asking her if she had her immune system tested to make sure it's not an auto-immune problem. It definitely gives you more information than you definitely want most of the time, but most of it goes in and out of our heads because we have to compile so much stuff per episode. We have to let it go."

On how she prepared for the stripper pole sequence in the finale:

"I called Sheila Kelley, who has a company called S Factor. She's actually the wife of Richard Schiff, who I've worked with a bunch of times on The West Wing and on Relativity, and she did a movie a long time ago about strippers and realized that stripping was a great way to stay in shape and also a great way for women to kind of explore their sexual power. And so I went to her, and she helped me choreograph this routine. It was a very interesting experience."

Lisa Edelstein on how she's similar or different to Dr. Cuddy:

"I'm much more playful than she is. I behave younger and I have a different kind of energy, completely. I'm usually ricocheting off the set walls until they say 'action,' and then I'm this serious person. She wears skirts that you can't even take long strides in. But it's great. It's great playing that part of myself with her, but I think most people are surprised when they meet me that we're so completely different."