10 Best ‘House’ Episodes, Ranked
Dr. Gregory House—the most cantankerous genius on television. House became one of the best medical dramas on television by diving into the complexities of medicine, but more than that, the complexities of being human. With a phenomenal 176-episode run, let’s take a look at our top ten.
Much like the character of Sherlock Holmes, whom House is based on, House is a genius with a proclivity for rubbing people up the wrong way as well as a slight drug problem. He gets away with all this by being the absolute best at what he does: diagnostic medicine. His methods and personality often put him at odds with his co-workers and patients, but it creates a series filled with questions of morality and ethics. The medical side of things may be pretty cool, as House diagnoses diseases so rare they aren’t even zebras, they’re unicorns, but at the heart of the series is the complexity of human reasoning.
Let’s dive in, then, to our top ten House episodes!
10. “A Pox on our House” (S7 Ep 7)
After snorkeling around a Dutch shipwreck a daughter is admitted after opening an old disease-filled jar. Initially, her symptoms are written off as smallpox and the CDC arrives to lock down the hospital, with the father also developing symptoms. House goes to extreme measures to prove that it isn’t smallpox, exposing himself to the disease. Now unsure whether he was correct after the father dies right next to him, House’s team goes on a desperate quest to look through the ship’s logs to discover that instead of smallpox, it’s rickettsialpox, easily treated.
With a historical mystery disease, a log being translated by a Dutch webcam model, and House risking his life to prove his theory, it’s a classic episode with all the highs and lows you expect from the series.
9. “Histories” (S1 Ep 10)
A fan favorite is the early series episode “Histories.” One of House’s favorite tools of diagnostics is a medical history, of the patient and the patient’s family, but when a homeless Jane Doe arrives at the hospital, that tool goes out the window. Without a medical history, House must look beyond what’s in a person’s file and focus on what he can see before him.
The episode also looks at compassion, with House initially seeming to take on the case to spite Foreman, who believes the woman is faking to stay in the hospital. In fact, House is using this as a lesson, to teach Foreman to go above his assumptions and bias and to observe only the facts by digging deeper.
8. “Three Stories” (S1 Ep 21)
Considered one of the best episodes of the first season, “Three Stories” gives us more insight into House’s past. During a medical lecture, House gives the students three cases that initially seem similar, three patients all presenting with leg pain. House allows the students to quickly jump to conclusions, only to make them realize they were assuming and not observing and getting them to look at how their views on morality changed how they treated the patients.
We discover that in one of the cases, House is recounting his own experience, having crafted a story about a man in his mid-30s with a drug problem and leg pain. His the leg pain had nothing to do with his drug use, as the students assumed, but an aneurism. This episode won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series and the Humanitas Prize in the “60 minute” category.
7. “Everybody Dies” (S8 Ep 22)
A fantastic finale to the whole series, “Everybody Dies” tied up the show in the most beautiful way. House has come to the end of his rail, his actions are not going to go unpunished no matter how he tries to escape the coming judgment. In this final episode, House looks back at his life, his work, and his relationships wondering what it all means whilst the death looms in the form of a burning building. House has a decision to make, whether to let it all be for naught and to die, or live for the one person that means the most to him.
Much like Sherlock Holmes, House fakes his death allowing him more time with Wilson before the authorities catch on and chooses his friendship above all else.
6. “All In” (S2 Ep 17)
Another fan favorite is “All In,” an episode that shows that House holds onto his past failings. When House overhears the symptoms of one of Cuddy’s patients, a young boy, during an oncology poker benefit he decides to go see for himself. The boy presents similar symptoms to a patient House had 12 years prior, one he failed to diagnose and died quickly after the onset of her symptoms. Whilst those around him think he is paranoid, House is determined to prove it’s the same disease.
Much like the chances of poker, House and his team are left with a limited sample for testing but multiple possibilities to test for. They have to use deductive reasoning to make the best choices, with House risking it all for a diagnosis of Erdheim-Chester.
5. “No Reason” (S2 Ep 24)
After being shot by a former patient, House is whisked to surgery where he also undergoes treatment for his leg. As he wakes up the shooter is in the bed next to him and the two debate on House’s moral failings. House’s leg pain has gone, but he cannot help but feel something is wrong, with things happening that House struggles to comprehend, such as missed time and a patient with odd symptoms.
This is the first episode that really takes us into House’s head, where we see just how self-critical he is. The audience is left wondering what is real and what is not as House wrestles with inner dialogue and faces the consequence of his actions.
4. “Euphoria” (S2 Ep 20)
In this dramatic episode, House is faced with losing one of his own team members, Foreman, to a disease that is progressing fast. This follows on from the latter episode, which dramatically ended with a dead patient who was suffering from the same disease that Foreman has, foreshadowing Foreman’s fate if he goes undiagnosed.
This episode raises the stakes for viewers as a regular character is in jeopardy. It also shows a new side to House as he rushes to save Foreman coming up against red tape and legislation that hinders his work pushing him to take more extreme measures. It’s a gripping episode that is beautifully acted by all involved, especially Hugh Laurie as House.
3. “Broken” (S6 Ep 1)
“Broken” takes us out of the hospital and into a psychiatric ward as House must work through his issues if he wants to continue practicing medicine. The episode sees House lashing out at all around him, hoping to make them miserable enough that they’ll let him leave, but he faces the unmovable force of Dr. Nolan (played by the fantastic Andre Braugher) who forces House to face his issues instead of glossing over them with cynicism and bitterness.
The episode dives into unpacking differing types of mental illness and the power of connection with House openly admitting he needs help. We see a House humbled by his own actions and the actions of those around him. It’s a beautifully told episode with phenomenal acting from all involved.
2. “Wilson’s Heart” (S4 Ep 16)
In the aftermath of a tragic bus crash, Wilson’s girlfriend and fellow doctor, Amber, is found in hospital. Her condition is deteriorating fast, and House thinks that the answer to whatever is wrong with her is trapped in his head. He goes to great lengths to revive the memories of the night before.
Along with the tragedy of what is happening is the complex relationship between House and Wilson, with Wilson unable to trust House and House unable to trust himself as well. This is one of the darker episodes of the series, with Amber’s condition proving fatal. Wilson and Amber get a short time to say goodbye to one another, and her death creates a chasm between Wilson and House.
1. “House’s Head” (S4 Ep 15)
House awakes groggy after having been involved in an incident. He has to piece together the events of the night before knowing that the key to saving a life lies in his memories, the issue is, he doesn’t know who’s life he is trying to save. This is a tactic that has been done before but is executed to perfection in this episode. The stakes are kept so high throughout and the pacing is thrilling.
This may not have been the finale of the season, but it’s consistently pointed out as being one of the best episodes of House. It even won the episode director, Greg Yaitanes, the Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.
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