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.
Lowest Rated Episodes Summary
The worst episode of "House" is "Blowing the Whistle", rated 7.3/10 from 2162 user votes. It was directed by Julian Higgins and written by Seth Hoffman. "Blowing the Whistle" aired on 4/2/2012 and is rated 0.3 point(s) lower than the second lowest rated, "Who's Your Daddy?".
7.3/10 2,162 votes#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
7.6/10 3,071 votes#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: John Mankiewicz, Lawrence Kaplow
7.6/10 2,345 votes#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
7.6/10 2,190 votes#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
7.6/10 2,157 votes#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
7.7/10 2,434 votes#6 - 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 polygamous relationship is equally baffling to the team. Meanwhile, House tests Wilson's relationship with Sam.
Director: Greg Yaitanes
Writer: Sara Hess, Liz Friedman
7.7/10 2,279 votes#7 - 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
7.7/10 2,193 votes#8 - 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
7.7/10 2,221 votes#9 - 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
7.8/10 3,379 votes#10 - 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
7.8/10 3,218 votes#11 - 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
7.8/10 2,987 votes#12 - 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
7.8/10 2,521 votes#13 - 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
7.8/10 2,462 votes#14 - 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
7.8/10 2,340 votes#15 - 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
7.8/10 2,308 votes#16 - 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
7.8/10 2,180 votes#17 - 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
7.8/10 2,310 votes#18 - 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
7.8/10 2,200 votes#19 - 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
7.8/10 2,184 votes#20 - 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: Sara Hess, Peter Blake
7.8/10 2,327 votes#21 - 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
7.9/10 3,671 votes#22 - 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
7.9/10 3,614 votes#23 - 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
7.9/10 3,396 votes#24 - TB or Not TB
Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 11/1/2005
House's patient is willing to die in order to further his social cause.
Director: Peter O'Fallon
Writer: David Foster
7.9/10 2,890 votes#25 - Don't Ever Change
Season 4 Episode 12 - Aired 2/5/2008
House and his team must diagnose a Jewish bride who is taken ill at her wedding. However, House is more interested in analyzing Wilson's relationship with his new girlfriend.
Director: Deran Sarafian
Writer: Leonard Dick, Doris Egan