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The Worst Episodes of House

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

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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.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    House Season 8 Episode 15 - Blowing the Whistle
    7.3/10(2576 votes)

    #1 - Blowing the Whistle

    S8:E15

    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

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  2. House Season 8 Episode 16 - Gut Check
    7.5/10(2562 votes)

    #2 - Gut Check

    S8:E16

    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
    Writers:David Hoselton, Jamie Conway

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  3. House Season 2 Episode 23 - Who's Your Daddy?
    7.6/10(3739 votes)

    #3 - Who's Your Daddy?

    S2:E23

    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
    Writers:John Mankiewicz, Lawrence Kaplow

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  4. House Season 7 Episode 8 - Small Sacrifices
    7.6/10(2784 votes)

    #4 - Small Sacrifices

    S7:E8

    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

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  5. House Season 7 Episode 21 - The Fix
    7.6/10(2609 votes)

    #5 - The Fix

    S7:E21

    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

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  6. House Season 8 Episode 10 - Runaways
    7.6/10(2599 votes)

    #6 - Runaways

    S8:E10

    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

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    The 20 BEST Episodes of House

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  7. House Season 2 Episode 6 - Spin
    7.7/10(3898 votes)

    #7 - Spin

    S2:E6

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

    Director:Fred Gerber
    Writer:Sara Hess

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  8. House Season 6 Episode 17 - Knight Fall
    7.7/10(2941 votes)

    #8 - Knight Fall

    S6:E17

    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

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  9. House Season 6 Episode 18 - Open and Shut
    7.7/10(2895 votes)

    #9 - Open and Shut

    S6:E18

    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
    Writers:Liz Friedman, Sara Hess

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  10. House Season 7 Episode 4 - Massage Therapy
    7.7/10(2778 votes)

    #10 - Massage Therapy

    S7:E4

    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

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  11. House Season 7 Episode 12 - You Must Remember This
    7.7/10(2720 votes)

    #11 - You Must Remember This

    S7:E12

    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

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  12. House Season 7 Episode 20 - Changes
    7.7/10(2604 votes)

    #12 - Changes

    S7:E20

    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

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  13. House Season 8 Episode 4 - Risky Business
    7.7/10(2739 votes)

    #13 - Risky Business

    S8:E4

    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

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  14. House Season 8 Episode 8 - Perils of Paranoia
    7.7/10(2629 votes)

    #14 - Perils of Paranoia

    S8:E8

    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

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  15. House Season 8 Episode 17 - We Need the Eggs
    7.7/10(2587 votes)

    #15 - We Need the Eggs

    S8:E17

    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
    Writers:Peter Blake, Sara Hess

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  16. House Season 1 Episode 12 - Sports Medicine
    7.8/10(4475 votes)

    #16 - Sports Medicine

    S1:E12

    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
    Writers:David Shore, John Mankiewicz

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  17. House Season 1 Episode 15 - Mob Rules
    7.8/10(4394 votes)

    #17 - Mob Rules

    S1:E15

    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
    Writers:John Mankiewicz, David Foster

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  18. House Season 2 Episode 3 - Humpty Dumpty
    7.8/10(4122 votes)

    #18 - Humpty Dumpty

    S2:E3

    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:Dan Attias
    Writer:Matt Witten

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  19. House Season 3 Episode 13 - Needle in a Haystack
    7.8/10(3631 votes)

    #19 - Needle in a Haystack

    S3:E13

    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

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  20. House Season 5 Episode 13 - Big Baby
    7.8/10(3023 votes)

    #20 - Big Baby

    S5:E13

    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
    Writers:Lawrence Kaplow, David Foster

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  21. House Season 5 Episode 14 - The Greater Good
    7.8/10(3013 votes)

    #21 - The Greater Good

    S5:E14

    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

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  22. House Season 7 Episode 10 - Carrot or Stick
    7.8/10(2764 votes)

    #22 - Carrot or Stick

    S7:E10

    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

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  23. House Season 7 Episode 14 - Recession Proof
    7.8/10(2755 votes)

    #23 - Recession Proof

    S7:E14

    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

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  24. House Season 8 Episode 6 - Parents
    7.8/10(2625 votes)

    #24 - Parents

    S8:E6

    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

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  25. House Season 8 Episode 14 - Love Is Blind
    7.8/10(2700 votes)

    #25 - Love Is Blind

    S8:E14

    A successful, independent blind man is struck down with a mysterious illness, just prior to him asking for his girlfriend's hand in marriage. Meanwhile, House has a family member visit to inform him of a life change. "Love Is Blind" is the fourteenth episode of season eight of House and the 169th overall. The episode debuted in Canada on Global on February 27, 2012, and aired three weeks later in the United States on Fox on March 19, 2012. The unusual three-week delay was a byproduct of the 2012 Daytona 500 rain delay of 30 hours.

    Director:Tim Southam
    Writer:John C. Kelley

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Blowing the Whistle" is the worst rated episode of "House". It scored 7.3/10 based on 2576 votes. Directed by Julian Higgins and written by Seth Hoffman, it aired on 4/2/2012. This episode scored 0.2 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Gut Check".