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The Worst Episodes of House

Every episode of House ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of House!

Dr. Gregory House, a drug-addicted, unconventional, misanthropic medical genius, leads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton–Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey.
Genres:DramaMysteryComedy
Network:FOX

Worst Episodes Summary

"Blowing the Whistle" is the worst rated episode of "House". It scored 7.3/10 based on 2208 votes. Directed by Julian Higgins and written by Seth Hoffman, it aired on 4/2/2012. This episode scored 0.3 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Who's Your Daddy?".

  • Blowing the Whistle
    7.3/102,208 votes
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    #1 - Blowing the Whistle

    Season 8 Episode 15 - Aired 4/2/2012

    The team treats an Army veteran charged with treason after he leaked classified information. But the patient's life is put at risk when he refuses treatment unless he and his brother are given information about their late father, a war veteran, which raises questions about loyalty to one's family and country. Meanwhile, Adams suspects House may be sick, so she recruits Wilson and the other team members to plan an intervention and investigate his illness.

    Director: Julian Higgins

    Writer: Seth Hoffman

  • Who's Your Daddy?
    7.6/103,162 votes
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    #2 - Who's Your Daddy?

    Season 2 Episode 23 - Aired 5/16/2006

    A 16-year-old Hurricane Katrina victim suffering from hallucinations as a result of the tragedy is brought to House by his former bandmate who recently found out the girl is his daughter. Although House fears his friend is being scammed, he takes the case. As he works his way through the girl's lies so he can diagnose and treat her, he's forced to tell a few lies of his own.

    Director: Martha Mitchell

    Writer: Lawrence Kaplow, John Mankiewicz

  • Small Sacrifices
    7.6/102,397 votes
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    #3 - Small Sacrifices

    Season 7 Episode 8 - Aired 11/22/2010

    Science and faith are called into question when a patient is admitted to the hospital following his reenactment of the Crucifixion. Meanwhile, Taub questions his wife about her relationship with an infidelity support group member, and the team attends a co-worker's wedding.

    Director: Greg Yaitanes

    Writer: David Hoselton

  • Runaways
    7.6/102,236 votes
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    #4 - Runaways

    Season 8 Episode 10 - Aired 1/30/2012

    When a runaway teen requires hospitalization, Adams butts heads with House when she insists they contact Social Services. Meanwhile, Taub has trouble forming a personal connection with his baby daughters and Foreman's relationship with a married woman comes out.

    Director: Sanford Bookstaver

    Writer: Marqui Jackson

  • Gut Check
    7.6/102,202 votes
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    #5 - Gut Check

    Season 8 Episode 16 - Aired 4/9/2012

    House and the team take on the case of a 22-year-old minor league hockey player who collapsed while coughing up blood after a fight on the ice. Meanwhile, House drops a bomb on Wilson, and Chase offers to help Park change her living arrangement.

    Director: Miguel Sapochnik

    Writer: David Hoselton, Jamie Conway

  • Spin
    7.7/103,307 votes
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    #6 - Spin

    Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 11/15/2005

    House's wheels start turning when a pro-cyclist admits to taking performance-enhancing drugs.

    Director: Fred Gerber

    Writer: Sara Hess

  • Knight Fall
    7.7/102,515 votes
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    #7 - Knight Fall

    Season 6 Episode 17 - Aired 4/19/2010

    House and the team take on the case of Sir William, a "knight" in a closed-off community of men and women living according to the ideals of the High Renaissance. As the team searches the medieval village for environmental factors contributing to Sir William's rapidly deteriorating health, Thirteen and Sir William debate the acts that define honor and loyalty, especially in regard to the "queen" of the community, one of Sir William's most frequent visitors. Meanwhile, Wilson starts over with an ex.

    Director: Juan José Campanella

    Writer: John C. Kelley

  • Open and Shut
    7.7/102,486 votes
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    #8 - Open and Shut

    Season 6 Episode 18 - Aired 4/26/2010

    House and the team take on the case of a woman Julia, who is in an open marriage and becomes ill during a date with her on-the-side boyfriend. As perplexing as the case is, Julia's happy and healthy, yet polyamorous relationship is equally baffling to the team. Meanwhile, House tests Wilson's relationship with Sam.

    Director: Greg Yaitanes

    Writer: Sara Hess, Liz Friedman

  • You Must Remember This
    7.7/102,329 votes
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    #9 - You Must Remember This

    Season 7 Episode 12 - Aired 2/14/2011

    When a waitress with a perfect memory suffers temporary paralysis, her older sister visits her in the hospital, which triggers high stress levels and even more health complications.

    Director: David Platt

    Writer: Kath Lingenfelter

  • The Fix
    7.7/102,245 votes
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    #10 - The Fix

    Season 7 Episode 21 - Aired 5/9/2011

    After losing a bet with Wilson over a boxing match, House is convinced that his fighter has an underlying medical condition that cost him the fight. While he tries to prove it, he leaves his team alone to help a bomb scientist who suffered a seizure. Meanwhile, House may be experimenting with a new drug to help his leg pain.

    Director: Greg Yaitanes

    Writer: Thomas L. Moran

  • Perils of Paranoia
    7.7/102,269 votes
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    #11 - Perils of Paranoia

    Season 8 Episode 8 - Aired 11/28/2011

    A prosecutor suffers from what he believes to be cardiac arrest during an interrogation at the witness stand. The team's preliminary diagnosis is hyper-anxiety, but when Adams and Park investigate the patient's home and find a hidden arsenal of firearms, they uncover a more alarming and deep-seated psychological disorder.

    Director: David Straiton

    Writer: Thomas L. Moran

  • We Need the Eggs
    7.7/102,231 votes
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    #12 - We Need the Eggs

    Season 8 Episode 17 - Aired 4/16/2012

    House and the team take on the case of a man who starts tearing blood. Meanwhile, House is interviewing for a new favorite hooker, since his current favorite, Emily, has decided to get married and leave the business. Desperate for Emily "companionship," House teams up with his "wife" Dominika to sabotage Emily's budding relationship.

    Director: David Straiton

    Writer: Peter Blake, Sara Hess

  • Sports Medicine
    7.8/103,774 votes
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    #13 - Sports Medicine

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 2/22/2005

    A baseball player's comeback is cut short when he breaks his arm and House and his team have to act fast to figure out what is causing major bone loss that's killing the player and his dreams.

    Director: Keith Gordon

    Writer: David Shore, John Mankiewicz

  • Humpty Dumpty
    7.8/103,472 votes
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    #14 - Humpty Dumpty

    Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 9/27/2005

    Cuddy struggles with a case of guilt when her handyman is injured while at her place, and House and his team have to work fast to save the young man's pursuit of the American Dream.

    Director: Daniel Attias

    Writer: Matt Witten

  • Needle in a Haystack
    7.8/103,077 votes
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    #15 - Needle in a Haystack

    Season 3 Episode 13 - Aired 2/6/2007

    House and his staff must deal with a teenage Gypsy boy suffering from inexplicable respiratory distress. However, House has bigger issues on his mind: Cuddy has given away his handicapped spot.

    Director: Peter O'Fallon

    Writer: David Foster

  • Big Baby
    7.8/102,586 votes
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    #16 - Big Baby

    Season 5 Episode 13 - Aired 1/26/2009

    Cuddy decides to spend more time at home to take care of her newly adopted baby and passes some of her day-to-day responsibilities off to Cameron, including supervising House. Cameron is forced to play House’s games and becomes involved in a power struggle as he and the team take on the case of a Special Education teacher who collapsed after spitting up blood in the middle of class. As House tests Cameron’s tolerance for his extreme measures, the patient continues to fall ill and House insists the teacher’s seemingly inherent goodness is actually a pathology.

    Director: Deran Sarafian

    Writer: Lawrence Kaplow, David Foster

  • The Greater Good
    7.8/102,585 votes
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    #17 - The Greater Good

    Season 5 Episode 14 - Aired 2/2/2009

    House and the team take on the case of a woman who collapsed in the middle of a cooking class, and they soon learn she is a highly-renowned cancer researcher who recently gave up her entire career in order to pursue her own personal happiness. Though the team struggles to understand how the woman could give up saving lives for the sake of her own contentment, each grapple with the pursuit of happiness (or lack thereof) in their own lives. As the patient’s condition continues to worsen, so does Thirteen’s as she begins to suffer serious and life-threatening reactions to the experimental Huntington’s Disease clinical trial. Meanwhile, Cuddy attempts to make House’s life miserable for him in retaliation for his part in her own unhappiness.

    Director: Lesli Linka Glatter

    Writer: Sara Hess

  • Massage Therapy
    7.8/102,390 votes
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    #18 - Massage Therapy

    Season 7 Episode 4 - Aired 10/11/2010

    House and his team make unexpected discoveries about a female patient admitted to the hospital after severe and uncontrollable vomiting; House and Cuddy are forced to face the reservations in their relationship after a visit from a massage therapist.

    Director: David Straiton

    Writer: Peter Blake

  • Carrot or Stick
    7.8/102,366 votes
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    #19 - Carrot or Stick

    Season 7 Episode 10 - Aired 1/24/2011

    House and the team try to link symptoms of a teenage military recruit and his drill sergeant, while House secretly helps Cuddy's daughter get into a prestigious preschool. Someone posted a disparaging photo of Chase on a social-networking site.

    Director: David Straiton

    Writer: Liz Friedman

  • Recession Proof
    7.8/102,361 votes
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    #20 - Recession Proof

    Season 7 Episode 14 - Aired 2/28/2011

    A patient is admitted after breaking out in a severe rash triggered by caustic chemical exposure at his blue-collar job. Meanwhile, Cuddy is honored with an award and needs House to be at the charity event for support, but his attendance is threatened when his patient’s battle to survive forces him to question his practice and his own happiness.

    Director: S.J. Clarkson

    Writer: John C. Kelley

  • Changes
    7.8/102,237 votes
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    #21 - Changes

    Season 7 Episode 20 - Aired 5/2/2011

    The team takes on the case of a lottery winner (Donal Logue) suffering from paralysis and multiple types of cancer, and they must figure out if it his new millionaire lifestyle that is making him sick. Meanwhile, Cuddy's mother threatens to sue the hospital over her treatment, and Foreman and Chase make a bet over who is repressing the uglier side of their personality more.

    Director: David Straiton

    Writer: Eli Attie

  • Risky Business
    7.8/102,360 votes
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    #22 - Risky Business

    Season 8 Episode 4 - Aired 10/31/2011

    A CEO falls mysteriously ill just days before he signs a contract that would relocate his company's entire labor force to China. House attempts to make an underhanded business transaction with his wealthy patient, but when the patient's condition worsens, the team must work around the clock to save his life. Meanwhile, Park prepares for her hearing with the Princeton Plainsboro Disciplinary Committee chaired by Foreman, and Adams' outlook on her patient's business venture reveals her deeper feelings about loyalty.

    Director: Sanford Bookstaver

    Writer: Seth Hoffman

  • Parents
    7.8/102,248 votes
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    #23 - Parents

    Season 8 Episode 6 - Aired 11/14/2011

    A teenage boy attempting to follow in his late father’s footsteps as an entertainer is admitted to Princeton Plainsboro with partial paralysis. As the team searches for a bone marrow match, they uncover a disturbing family secret. Meanwhile, House looks for creative ways to remove his ankle monitor so that he can attend a boxing match in Atlantic City, and he treats a patient who is convinced he is suffering from diabetes. Also, Taub faces a tough decision when his ex-wife Rachel tells him that she wants to move across the country with their infant daughter.

    Director: Greg Yaitanes

    Writer: Eli Attie

  • Body and Soul
    7.8/102,378 votes
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    #24 - Body and Soul

    Season 8 Episode 18 - Aired 4/23/2012

    House and the team take on the case of a young boy who has violent dreams of being choked, and then wakes up but still can't take in air. Meanwhile, Park is having intimate dreams involving co-workers, which causes the team to question whether or not there's significance to what each of them dreams. Dominika discovers House has been keeping a secret from her and Wilson drops a bombshell on him.

    Director: Stefan Schwartz

    Writer: David Shore, Dustin Paddock

  • Mob Rules
    7.9/103,714 votes
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    #25 - Mob Rules

    Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 3/22/2005

    Dr. House and his team race to diagnose a member of the mob and get him well enough to testify and enter the witness protection program while Cuddy works to convince Vogler of House's importance to the hospital.

    Director: Tim Hunter

    Writer: John Mankiewicz, David Foster