Few TV characters have walked the fine line between genius and recklessness quite like Dr Gregory House from ‘House M.D‘. Over the years, House has crossed boundaries that most doctors wouldn’t even consider approaching.
While his brilliance saves lives, it also raises an uncomfortable question: how much bad behavior can be justified in the name of being right? Let’s take a closer look at some of the worst things Dr. House did that made us question our choices.
1. Driving His Car Into Cuddy’s House
Season 7, Episode 23 – “Moving On”
One of the most shocking scenes in the series occurs towards the end of Season 7. After his relationship with Lisa Cuddy ends, House struggles to manage his anger. He goes to her place to return a hairbrush and finds her having dinner with another person.
And, House being House, does not simply turn around and leave. Instead, he gets back into his car. In a fit of rage, he drives straight through Cuddy’s dining room wall. The car goes through the table where people had been sitting just a second before. Can you imagine what could have happened if they were still sitting there?
Related: 10 Unbelievable Medical Cases On ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
2. Ignoring a Patient’s Do-Not-Resuscitate Order
Season 1, Episode 9 – “DNR”
In this episode, the hospital comes across a famous jazz musician who thinks he is dying from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. He signs a Do Not Resuscitate order because he does not want to be resuscitated.
House, however, does not believe the diagnosis. He thinks the doctors are wrong. And, when the patient went into respiratory distress, he ignored the DNR orders and resuscitated him. From a medical ethics standpoint, this is a serious infringement of the patient’s rights, as he has clearly expressed his wishes.
House later finds out, however, that his diagnosis was incorrect. The patient is actually suffering from another disease and has been cured of it. However, it is also clear from this episode that House respects authority very little.
3. Testing Dangerous Treatments on Newborn Babies
Season 1, Episode 4 – “Maternity”
In Season 1, episode 4, a mysterious disease is infecting the babies in the hospital nursery. Several of the newborns become seriously ill, and the medical staff cannot determine the cause of the disease.
As expected, House thinks that he has two possible solutions for the disease. Instead of waiting to be sure of the diagnosis, House decides to try two different treatments on two of the babies. One of the treatments could cure the disease. The second treatment could make the disease much worse.
This is similar to using the babies as test subjects. One of the babies is given the potentially harmful drug simply as a test of House’s theory. The gamble pays off and helps the medical staff determine the cause of the disease. However, it also demonstrates the extent to which House is willing to go to solve the puzzle. What if it didn’t work?
In case you missed it: 10 Worst Decisions Meredith Made In ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
4. Revealing an Intersex Diagnosis in a Cruel Way
Season 2, Episode 13 – “Skin Deep”
The team is called to treat a teenage supermodel who collapses during a photo shoot. The situation becomes complicated when tests reveal an unexpected condition.
House eventually discovers that the patient has Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. This means she is genetically male, even though she has been raised female. Instead of trying to break this information to her gently, House simply tells her bluntly in front of other people.
The patient is only fifteen years old, and this is a humiliating experience for her. However, House does not seem to care about this and is simply pleased that he has solved another problem. This is an example of how his blunt honesty has led to cruelty on many occasions.
5. Hiring a Janitor to Pretend to Be a Doctor
Season 4, Episode 1 – “Alone”
House loses his entire diagnostic team at the start of Season 4. Instead of immediately hiring replacements, House decides to run the department himself. At one point, he even convinces a hospital janitor to wear a white coat and pretend he is part of the medical staff. The janitor talks to patients and pretends to be a doctor for a while.
The scene is absurd and very unethical. Hospitals have very specific guidelines on who is and who is not allowed to treat patients. House disregards them without hesitation. If a rule is in House’s way, he simply pretends it does not exist.
6. Interfering With Cuddy’s Mother’s Treatment
Season 7, Episode 11 – “Family Practice”
When Arlene Cuddy is seriously ill, House becomes obsessed with figuring out her illness. Her daughter, Dr. Cuddy, asks him to leave her case alone. House doesn’t listen to Dr. Cuddy. He interferes with her treatment without her knowledge. He also pressures other doctors to comply with his suggestions.
The case puts a lot of pressure on the medical team, especially young Martha Masters. The young doctor is torn between her work and her ethical dilemma over House’s behaviour. Creator David Shore has revealed that the show often employed this kind of case to test House’s relationships with other characters. The episode shows that House’s obsession with solving a case can harm those around him, but he doesn’t care.
7. Strangling a Patient Who Wanted to Die
Season 8, Episode 21 – “Holding On”
In one of the most shocking scenes of the show, House treats a patient who has lost all hope and just wants to die. Instead of dealing with the patient calmly, House grabs the man by the throat and chokes him. He tells the patient that if he really wanted to die, he would not be struggling so hard to live.
The patient is terrified as the medical team tries to stop House from killing him. The scene is quite violent. House says that he was trying to make the man face his own desire to live, but attacking a patient is clearly not something a good doctor would do.
8. Destroying an MRI Machine With a Corpse
Season 2, Episode 19 – “House vs. God”
House once went so far as to destroy an MRI machine in the hospital simply because he wanted to prove a point. A patient comes into the hospital with a gunshot wound and needs an MRI. However, the bullet could potentially react to the MRI’s magnet.
House decides to test out his theory in an unusual way. He shoots a dead body in the head and puts it in the MRI. The test proves that the bullet is indeed magnetic. However, the MRI is severely damaged in the process. The stunt is the perfect example of House’s need to be right. He loves the discovery and proof more than the hospital and the cost of the equipment.
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