House vs. God

House (TV series) episode
episode_name = House vs God
episode_no = HOU-219
airdate = April 25, 2006
writer = Doris Egan
director = John F. Showalter
guest_star = Will Rogers as Pastor
Sandra Marshall as Agnes
Tamara Braun as Grace
William Katt as Walter
Thomas Dekker as Boyd


season = 2
diagnosis = Tuberous sclerosis
herpes encephalitis

House vs. God is the nineteenth episode of the second season of "House", which premiered on the FOX network on April 25, 2006.

Plot

Boyd, a young faith healer, is giving a service in a church and "heals" a woman, allowing her to walk. However, when Boyd is leading the congregation in song, he has spasms and collapses.

When House shows up at work, Wilson approaches him and voices his displeasure of not being invited to House's weekly poker game. Meanwhile, Cameron and Foreman are administering tests when Boyd claims to talk to God about Cameron's feud with Foreman. Cameron and Foreman are shocked, but House is skeptical of every claim of divinity. The tests show low sodium and diluted urine. However, when House goes to talk to Boyd, he notices that he has been drinking water from a previously opened bottle, refilled every few hours.

House meets with Wilson and discusses his patient while Wilson is meeting with a cancer patient, named Grace. However, Boyd suddenly wakes up and starts randomly wandering the halls, singing hymns. Boyd sees Grace, senses that she is sick, and lays his hands on her, performing a "healing." Grace is shocked, but Chase catches up with Boyd and takes him back to his room. House and his team are discussing Boyd's symptoms when Wilson barges in and tells the group that Grace feels better than before, and House suspects that Boyd is talking to Grace.

House notices an abnormal growth called tuberous sclerosis, and claims that it is what is causing all of Boyd's symptoms. Boyd consents to the tubular sclerosis tests after talking to Wilson. Boyd, who seems to have a strange omniscient mind, convinces House to invite Wilson to his poker game. At House's house at night, Wilson barges in and informs House that Grace's tumor has actually shrunk.

House orders Chase to search Grace's house while House, Wilson, and some other unnamed people are playing poker. Chase finds clothes that would suggest that Grace has a boyfriend, and gets very concerned after he hears noises outside of the door. Via phone, House assures Chase that the boyfriend will not come home, while glaring at Wilson. House later points out to Wilson that he already knows that he slept with Grace. Wilson, after commanding House to tell the rest of the poker party that his name is not Wilson, storms out. They have a short, angered conversation, in which later, House realizes that Boyd could have brought a virus into the hospital.

Back at the hospital, Boyd begins to run a fever. House concludes that the tubular sclerosis can not be causing this, and that a lumbar puncture is needed. However, Boyd refuses anymore of "man's medicine", preferring to leave his life "in God's hands." However, House finds out that Boyd has a herpes virus that was acquired through sex, and transmitted to Grace when he touched her. The herpes virus attacked the tumor, making it go into temporary remission.

Goofs

In the scene following the opening credits (when House enters the hospital and is stopped by Wilson), you can clearly see the hanging set backdrop depicting a building in the background. The paint marks on the stage floor in front of the backdrop are also clearly visible.

External links

* [http://www.fox.com/house/ FOX.com-"House" official site]
* [http://televisionwithoutpity.com/show.cgi?show=151/ Television Without Pity-"House" recaps]
* [http://epguides.com/House/ House Episode Guide at epguides.com]
* [http://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/house/100213/ TVGuide's Page: Full list of House Episodes]
* [http://www.housemd-guide.com/ House M.D. Guide]
*imdb title|0774237
* [http://politedissent.com/archives/1210 Medical Reviews of House: House vs. God]