House vs. God

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"House vs. God"
House episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 19
Directed by John F. Showalter
Written by Doris Egan
Original air dateApril 25, 2006 (2006-04-25)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"Sleeping Dogs Lie"
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"Euphoria (Part 1)"
House season 2
List of episodes

"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 several times an hour.

House meets with Wilson and discusses his patient while Wilson is meeting with a cancer patient named Grace Palmieri. However, Boyd suddenly wakes up and starts wandering the halls, singing Go Tell It on the Mountain. Boyd sees Palmieri, senses that she is sick, and lays his hands on her, performing a "healing." Palmieri 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 Palmieri feels better than before, and House suspects that Boyd is talking to Palmieri.

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. Wilson visits House at home and informs him that Palmieri's tumor has actually shrunk.

House orders Chase to search Palmieri's house while House, Wilson, and some unnamed people are playing poker. Chase finds clothes that would suggest that Palmieri has a boyfriend, and gets very concerned after he hears noises outside the door. Via phone, House assures Chase that the boyfriend will not come home, while glaring at Wilson across the poker table. House reasoned that Boyd must have learned of the poker game from Palmieri, and Palmieri from Wilson. House then accuses Wilson of having slept with Palmieri and moved in with her. Wilson, after demanding House tell the rest of the poker party that his name is not Wilson, storms out. They have a short, angry conversation outside.

Back at the hospital, Boyd begins to run a fever. House concludes that the Tuberous Sclerosis cannot be causing this, and that a lumbar puncture is needed. However, Boyd refuses any more of "man's medicine", preferring to leave his life "in God's hands." House believes that Boyd has a herpes virus that was acquired through sex, and transmitted to Palmieri when he touched her. Boyd refuses to strip to reveal a rash on his lower back until his father, putting faith in medicine where "teenage boys" are concerned, tells him to do so. The rash is discovered, confirming the scenario that the herpes virus attacked Palmieri's tumor, making it go into temporary remission.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shingles</span> Viral disease caused by the varicella zoster virus

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, is a viral disease characterized by a painful skin rash with blisters in a localized area. Typically the rash occurs in a single, wide mark either on the left or right side of the body or face. Two to four days before the rash occurs there may be tingling or local pain in the area. Other common symptoms are fever, headache, and tiredness. The rash usually heals within two to four weeks; however, some people develop ongoing nerve pain which can last for months or years, a condition called postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). In those with poor immune function the rash may occur widely. If the rash involves the eye, vision loss may occur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuberous sclerosis</span> Genetic condition causing non-cancerous tumours

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare multisystem autosomal dominant genetic disease that causes non-cancerous tumours to grow in the brain and on other vital organs such as the kidneys, heart, liver, eyes, lungs and skin. A combination of symptoms may include seizures, intellectual disability, developmental delay, behavioral problems, skin abnormalities, lung disease, and kidney disease.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genital herpes</span> Infection by herpes simplex viruses of the genitals

Genital herpes is a herpes infection of the genitals caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). Most people either have no or mild symptoms and thus do not know they are infected. When symptoms do occur, they typically include small blisters that break open to form painful ulcers. Flu-like symptoms, such as fever, aching, or swollen lymph nodes, may also occur. Onset is typically around 4 days after exposure with symptoms lasting up to 4 weeks. Once infected further outbreaks may occur but are generally milder.

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