"House takes on a teenage faith healer, Wilson desperately wants into a poker game, and tensions escalate between Cameron and Foreman." This is one of those episodes that takes on so much, you'd swear it will blow up in the writers' faces before it's over. Amazingly, all three subplots are deftly handled, and juggled to perfection. Last issue first, Cameron and Foreman are definitely not getting along after Cameron accuses Foreman of stealing and publishing Cameron's paper on something or other. House pours salt in the wound by admitting to having had her paper sit on his desk for four months while Foreman's was only turned in three weeks prior. Some really nice friction develops between these two wonderful actors. Meanwhile, Wilson is hot to trot to play in an upcoming poker game to which House has pointedly not invited him, giving the actor who plays Wilson a grand opportunity to do more than just trade jibes with House. And in the main event, House must deal with a teenage faith healer who is ready to give up the ghost rather than have House perform certain procedures. Like many in his crew an avowed atheist, House is ready to rumble with this holier-than-thou punk -- until a miracle occurs. Or does it? Leave it to House to get to the bottom of things, but even the ending is not so cut and dried as House would like it. Spirituality is definitely put to the test in this zany episode. A very funny but subtle moment that might be easily missed: Absentmindedly noodling on his piano, House is clearly heard playing a popular gospel tune.Watch for an almost unrecognizable William "Greatest American Superhero" Katt as the faith healer's conflicted dad. Katt starred in the movie "House" many years ago. Only his "House" was haunted. If you've never seen it, please do. It's scary and funny, a sort of B-level "Ghostbusters" and "Evil Dead" rolled up into one.
4 Reviews
Faith healers are hypocrisy incarnate.
zachariestp25 September 2023
This show often shows the 2 sides of rational found in naturalism and the irrationality of faith in a magic sky daddy, some show stray a little too close to validating the collective mental disorder which is organized religion, or turn out to be thinly-veil fundamentalist propaganda. This episode didn't fall into the trappings of other early 2000s medical mystery shows like bones where they have Canon episodes where the answers come from unexplain sources. House found the cause of this child's mental problems, yet the influence of his nut case father, who was ready to let his kid die from fever, before openly admitting its all a sham, will keep feeding the boy's delusions.
Child of God
kj_tenneson6 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A 15 yr old faith healer collapses in the midst of his congregation, and he is taken to the hospital. At the same time Wilson is counseling a patient of his own, who is terminal.
As his symptoms worsen, he wanders the halls in a fever state, and comes into contact with Wilson terminal patient, Grace. Later, Wilson discovers that her tumor has shrunk! House and his team ultimately determine that the boy has herpes, and can be treated easily. However, this also means that Grace has not been 'healed', but she remains hopeful once again due to her interaction.
This was done well, but I found both of the patients (or at least the actors portraying them), rather two dimensional. I found it difficult to become invested in the characters, and the cast had to do most of the heavy lifting, if I'm being honest. It was a solid concept, but the delivery was lacking.
As his symptoms worsen, he wanders the halls in a fever state, and comes into contact with Wilson terminal patient, Grace. Later, Wilson discovers that her tumor has shrunk! House and his team ultimately determine that the boy has herpes, and can be treated easily. However, this also means that Grace has not been 'healed', but she remains hopeful once again due to her interaction.
This was done well, but I found both of the patients (or at least the actors portraying them), rather two dimensional. I found it difficult to become invested in the characters, and the cast had to do most of the heavy lifting, if I'm being honest. It was a solid concept, but the delivery was lacking.
recounting the episode is not a review
sandcrab2772 October 2018
Faith healers are bogus but then so is house ... house routinely mistreats his staff and continually pits them against each other ... not a people person but an egotistical ass for sure ... he needs wilson as his crutch to reality while he slogs his way through his trial and error diagnoses ... now foreman is beginning to act like house
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