TV-Reviewed

With the passing of a patient from the previous show, House and company are faced with another difficult case. A young African-American male is in a clean room, ready to receive his brother’s bone marrow when all of a sudden the “healthy” brother sneezes. The doctors quickly test the young man to see if anything is wrong with him, because any donated bone marrow may very well kill the person receiving the marrow. When it turns out the kid has an enlarged spleen, he’s hospitalized with his brother.

Foreman, the doctor most responsible for the passing of a recent patient, is nowhere to be found when all of this is going on. House tracks him down in the hospital’s church. Trying to move on, Foreman helps House with the patient, but even with Foreman’s help, the doctors cannot find the problem. A scan of the young man’s heart reveals a loose flap or valve in his heart, which they believe may be infectious. A biopsy reveals it’s not infectious and forces them to look elsewhere.

All the while, House is busy dog-sitting for Wilson’s ex-wife. She cannot have pets at her new place, so House is forced to watch after the little dog after being an ass to Wilson and his ex.

There are times in this episode where the parents of the boys are faced with some very difficult choices: do you risk one boy’s life to save the other? These sorts of questions are not easy to deal with for any family.

By the end of the episode, the doctors are able to find out what is causing one of the boy’s ailments and uses this information to save one of the boys. Foreman also gives House his two week notice and Wilson takes his dog back from House.

I didn’t reveal every detail, scene by scene, as I usually do, but I think this recap will suffice. The terrible questions the family in tonight’s episode were faced with aren’t entirely out of the ordinary for this show, but you still wouldn’t have wanted to be in their shoes.

I wasn’t surprised by Foreman’s two week notice to House. I sort of felt that coming as the episode went along. I’m not sure how this storyline will conclude, but I doubt he’ll actually leave.

My major complaint was the lack of Cuddy. She wasn’t shown much, substituting Wilson for much of the show for a change.

My favorite part of this episode was the scene where Wilson took his dog from House. What was so funny was how the dog had spent so much time with House, he “picked up” House’s limp. I found this behavior to be absolutely hilarious and rather cute.

House - Family
Original Air Date: May 01, 2007

Rating: 8