Saviors

Trigger Warning:
Contains references to suicide.
Saviors is a 5th season episode of House which first aired on April 13, 2009. As the staff recovers from the tragedy of Kutner's suicide, Cameron presents House with the case of Doug Svensen (portrayed by Tim Rock), an environmentalist who collapses during a protest. More surprisingly, she agrees to hang around to help diagnose the patient even though Chase has a romantic weekend planned. As a result, House, Chase and even Cuddy question Cameron's motives - does she still have feelings for House? Cameron's behavior isn't the only thing confusing House - Wilson is suddenly on a health food kick, and House can't figure out why. Eventually, House's Vicodin, his refusal to drop the issue of Kutner's death and insomnia result in a drastic change in his mental health but for the worse.
==Recap==
At an environmental protest, protesters chain themselves to heavy equipment as the state troopers keep the angry workers away from them. All of a sudden, one of the protesters collapses and the police say she doesn't have a pulse and ask her fellow protester to release the chains she's using. However, after she's unchained, it turns out the policeman was lying - she was just dehydrated and it was a ruse. One of her fellow protesters rises to confront the policeman, but is suddenly disoriented. He collapses, conscious, but unable to stand.
Cameron approaches Chase, telling him she has to postpone the seaside getaway they have planned. She says she owes a favor to a referring doctor and needs to bring a case to House. The patient, Doug, is the environmental activist who collapsed during a demonstration. Chase insists that it will only take a few minutes to hand the case over to House, but Cameron says she needs to be sure House doesn't ignore it. As soon as she's sure House is "really on the case", she'll leave with Chase.
When Cameron approaches House and the team, the first thing House says is that Cameron is obviously trying to step into the deceased shoes of Kutner. Thirteen thinks there's no mystery, as the "nutcase" patient spends his time at toxic waste dumps. Cameron tells them that toxins have been ruled out, as have cardiovascular, neurological or muscular abnormalities, and has already mentioned that the patient has been seen by three specialists. Taub and House think the patient is faking, but after Cameron pushes, House decides the patient needs a vestibular caloric test, to confirm balance problems, possibly in the inner ear - but orders Cameron, not his team, to perform it. The patient is single and Taub thinks his environmentalist activities are just a ploy to attract women.
Cameron performs the test, injecting ice water in the patient's ear canal, but not before the patient complains about the flowers in the room. He requests they be removed from every room, as commercial growers use pesticides. Cameron says he can go back to saving the planet once his problem is fixed. The patient then reacts to the test by becoming very dizzy and vomiting on Cameron.
Meanwhile, House approaches Wilson in the cafeteria and tells him that Cameron brought him a case. Wilson insists that Cameron is happy in the emergency room, and there's no way she wants to be back on House's team. Wilson orders a healthy breakfast, which immediately arouses House's curiosity and interrogation. Wilson insists he just doesn't feel like eating bacon all the time. Wilson takes this opportunity to suggest that House is trying to avoid talking about Kutner, and that it's odd, considering they'd worked together for two years. House says Kutner's no longer on the team and that he's sorry about that, but that's all there is to discuss. Wilson then points out that House is wearing the watch Kutner gave him for Christmas, but House deflects by pointing out all the cool functions it has. House doesn't order anything - he says he's not hungry and takes some Vicodin.
While Cameron is on her way back to report the results of the vestibular caloric test, the team discusses House's motives for making Cameron run the test while the rest of them sit around doing nothing. Taub points out that it's weird, Thirteen suggests that maybe House needs mothering, and Foreman says that's not the kind of mothering House is looking for - he prefers prostitutes.
Cameron tells House that although the test made the patient "lose his lunch", his calorics are normal, his inner ear is fine, but he still can't balance himself. Taub asks how many normal test results are needed before it's decided that the guy is faking. House notices that Cameron has changed her shoes, indicating that the patient isn't faking. If he were, he would have vomited on the other side of the bed to avoid hitting Cameron. Foreman suggests the patient is under stress from constant battles with the police and that stress can cause carotid atherosclerosis, which could explain the loss of balance. Cameron notes that this diagnosis would be missed on an MRI and CT Scan. Thirteen points out that this could be a big warning that the patient is about to have a massive stroke. House orders Cameron, not the team, to do a Holter monitor and a carotid doppler to see if the patient's heart has an abnormal rhythm.
During the doppler, the patient has hiccups and tells Cameron he's been hiccupping several hours a day for about a week, which concerns Cameron, although he told his other doctors about it and they weren't worried. She runs into Chase, who asks if they're still leaving the next day, and she says she's not sure. She says the hiccups could indicate something serious. Chase asks if Cameron is avoiding him. She says she's not, but there's a reason she needs to stay with the case and she can't tell him why. Chase asks if she's admitting that she lied to him, and expects him to trust her, and she says yes. After a moment of puzzlement, Chase gives her a hesitant but affirming, "Okay."
Cameron reports to House that there's no sign of heart or arterial problems, but mentions the hiccups, which finally makes House intrigued by the case - or so he says. He tells Cameron that she can go back to the ER, or rather, on the little vacation she's supposed to take. House believes she's ditching Chase, which is why she's sticking to the case. Cameron insists that she just cares about the patient. House maintains it doesn't explain why she ran the tests as she doesn't work for House and doesn't have to follow his orders. He asks her if she still has the "hots" for him. House continues to question her motives for taking this case instead of going away with Chase, although he admits he can't figure out what's going on.
Cameron conducts a differential diagnosis with the team, giving House an opportunity to jab Cameron about Chase in front of the team. Thirteen suggests a brain issue, but House shoots it down, as Cameron has already scanned the patient's head. Cameron suggests organophosphate poisoning, from his crusade against commercial flower growers, but Foreman points out that there's missing symptoms which doesn't make that idea fit. Taub suggests multiple sclerosis, given the patient's Swedish ancestry. House tells Cameron to do a lumbar puncture, alone again, to confirm MS, despite the difficulty of performing this procedure on a patient with hiccups. The team is still left to do nothing.
Cameron gets Foreman to help her hold the patient down during the LP, giving Foreman an opportunity to question Cameron's motives as well. He says he'd be happy to have her back on the team to replace Kutner, but it would destroy her relationship with Chase. Cameron is unable to do the LP because of the patient's hiccups and goes to get a sedative. Foreman reminds her that if it's neurological, it could be dangerous.
Chase asks Cuddy if they are going to replace Kutner. Chase wants to know if Cameron wants the job, but Cuddy tells him she doesn't. He also asks if Cameron is in love with House, and then when Cuddy says Cameron is in love with Chase, he then asks if Cuddy is in love with House. He leaves noting that Cuddy didn't answer either question.
Doug's wife comes to see House. She was under the impression her husband was in jail. House was under the impression that the patient was single. The patient also has a four year old son, which is why the wife was late - she had to arrange child care. House learns Wilson directed the wife to him.
House goes to interrupt the lumbar puncture and accuses Cameron of being a shill for Wilson and staying on the case because Wilson is worried about him. Cameron denies it and says it would have been easier for Wilson to keep an eye on House himself without enlisting her. House has to agree. All of a sudden, Foreman notices the patient has a swollen neck. House examines it and describes it as "crunchy".
They manage to rule out multiple sclerosis. The crunchiness was the result of an air leak between the lungs. Thirteen suggests progressive systemic sclerosis, and House agrees and orders treatment and confirmation. This time he orders his team to do it to see what Cameron will do when she doesn't have to be with House or the patient.
Cameron returns to the ER and Cuddy comes to tell her Chase is concerned about her. Cuddy asks if Cameron loves House, but Cameron thinks that Cuddy is just trying to keep House for herself. Cuddy tells her not to screw it up with Chase.
The patient and his wife are arguing about his environmental activities. The patient says he loves his son, but that he shouldn't care more about his son than any other child.
House goes to see Wilson at his apartment at 10:30 in the evening. He thinks House is looking for something. House is still concerned about Wilson's healthy diet, and House reveals that he's checked Wilson's medical records and he's fine. House thinks Wilson has been affected by Kutner's death into trying to be more healthy. Wilson shows off his ice cream, bacon and chips. The team calls House - the patient is screaming in pain. They do a differential on the phone. House orders antibiotics and leg X-rays to check for osteomyelitis even though they've done leg X-rays before.
They can't find any trace of osteomyelitis on the X-rays. Thirteen asks Taub what he talks about with his wife. Taub realizes Thirteen is upset that Foreman doesn't talk much when they are together. Suddenly, they notice the patient has a huge break to a very strong bone - the femur - that wasn't there before - he must have broken the bone merely by lying in bed.
The only explanation to a broken bone without signs of trauma is cancer. Thirteen notes once again that the patient spends a lot of time in toxic environments. House orders the bone repaired and chemotherapy.
Foreman asks Chase to get a bone biopsy before he repairs the leg with a surgical pin. Chase is surprised that Cameron isn't working on the case any more.
Cameron asks why the patient is being prepared for chemotherapy. House thinks Cameron is trying to drive away Chase. Cameron admits that she found out that Chase had bought an engagement ring and she's trying to dodge the question. Kutner's death has upset her and she doesn't want to make a major decision, although she wants to remain with Chase.
The bone biopsy shows no cancer, but Foreman admits to the patient they still don't know what is wrong. However, the patient is bleeding from his surgical wound. Foreman checks the bandage and finds extensive bleeding from the incision and evidence of other internal bleeding. Foreman orders clotting factor.
Foreman and House argue about cancer. House wants to use total body irradiation because they can't find the cancer. The team points out that if it's not cancer, they will destroy the patient's immune system. Taub suggests the reverse course, giving the patient a drug that will actually make the tumor grow bigger to they can find it and use a targeted approach. House is impressed and agrees to Taub's course of action.
House tells Wilson he's lost his mojo. He couldn't see Kutner's suicide coming, he didn't figure out why Cameron was hanging out with him, and now Taub has just come up with a brilliant idea he should have thought of himself. Wilson tells him that maybe Kutner killed himself for no reason, he hardly ever sees Cameron any more, and he hired Taub because he was smart too. He tells House he's just upset about Kutner and his skills are as good as they ever were. House then points out he still has no idea why Wilson is eating so healthily.
The wife is angry about the treatment, but the patient is resigned to it. All of a sudden, the patient crashes and goes into V-tach and has no pulse. Taub grabs the defibrillator.
Chase finds Cameron in the cafeteria and wonders why Cameron is still not going away with him even though her involvement in the case is over. He also wants to know why she won't tell him why she won't go away with him. She asks for more time, but Chase is reluctant. She tells him it has nothing to do with House, but Chase says that doesn't matter. He asks when he can come to her place to pick up his things.
Taub manages to revive the patient, but none of the tests show anything useful. House goes over the symptoms again but his team is out of ideas. House orders the patient hooked up to a defibrillator to keep him alive while they run more tests.
House goes to Wilson, who is at the vending machine, to say that he's stumped. He also notices that Wilson is hiding what he was going to choose - he's already had chosen before he put his money in. He finally picks gummy bears, which both he and House don't like.
As Wilson smiles smugly, House finally realizes that Wilson who he calls a "manipulative bitch" for playing him is eating healthy to keep House from mooching off of him - House hates healthy food with Wilson admitting that he's screwing with House to get him back into the swing of normal life after grieving over Kutner.
Taub explains to Doug that to keep him alive they need to install a defibrillator, but House come in to interrupt. He asks if they grow plants at their house because he doesn't like commercial flowers, but they deny it - they live in an apartment. House suggests that the marriage is in trouble. The patient finally admits he ditched an anniversary dinner to go to a rally. His wife was furious, so he bought some roses as a peace offering despite his hatred of commercial growers, but his wife had left before he got home, taking her suitcase with her. House diagnoses sporotrichosis, which is transmitted when you're scratched by thorns. They grew lesions which affected the nerves, and then it spread when they gave him steroids. He will recover and go back to his life as an environmentalist now that he knows the problem wasn't caused by his activism, but by the commercial flowers he hated.
House tells Cameron the patient is now fine. He accuses her of using him to make Chase dump her instead of dumping him herself. Cameron goes to Chase and apologizes for putting him off and then tells him she knew about his proposal plans and that Kutner's death scared her off. Cameron then asks Chase to propose to her. He does and she accepts.
The patient's wife kisses him, then leaves the room. House and Wilson share a laugh while House steals Wilson's french fries. Cuddy delights at Cameron's and Chase's engagement, and hugs them. House goes home to play on his piano and his harmonica at the same time.
All of a sudden, House sees a vision of Amber, who congratulates him on solving another case and busting Wilson's healthy eating scheme. She tells him he hasn't lost his skills after all and tells him he's not losing it, after all.
It then cuts to House who sits there, frozen, his features full of disbelief and fear.
==Clinic patient==
A man comes in with his wife who's suffering from exhaustion, headache, fever, and sensitive breasts. House asks about hot tubs, gyms, and spas. Cuddy interrupts, and House allows her to, stepping aside and telling her that Cameron doesn't want back on the team or to date House. Cuddy goes to leave, and House realizes she hasn't pressed enough - she doesn't want the answer, she just wanted to rule out one of the possible answers. House returns to the patient and suggests a STD - he diagnoses a skin disease, pseudomonas folliculitis that she could only have gotten from a hot tub that she didn't share with her husband, or he would have it too.
==Major Events==
*Cameron postpones her holiday with Chase so that she can help House with his current case.
*House soon discovers that Wilson was actually screwing around with him over his new healthy food diet.
*Chase asks Cameron to marry him. She accepts.
*House starts seeing hallucinations of Amber.
==Zebra Factor 8/10==
Sporotrichosis is very rare, with an incidence of only about 1 in 1 million people per year (about 300 cases a year in the United States). Moreover, it usually only affects people who are in constant contact with agricultural products, like farmers, growers, and agricultural workers.
==Trivia & Cultural References==
*The "Single omelet theory", the grassy knoll, the Warren Commission and the "Second Lunch" are all allusions to Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories.
*Chernobyl is a reference to the Chernobyl disaster, a nuclear accident that took place in 1986 and rendered several hundred square miles of land in what is now Ukraine radioactive.
*Foreman's line about House thinking life is "nasty, brutish, and long" is a twist on a famous quote from Leviathan, by the philosopher Thomas Hobbes. Hobbes' quote, relating to his belief that life would be "nasty, brutish, and short" without a social contract to protect people's rights, is one of the base arguments for the necessity of governmental power.
*Vegemite is a popular Australian food.
*Bratwurst is a type of German sausage.
*"It's an infection from the rose that, by any other name, is still a cheap marital aid": that line is a reference to William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The original quote is "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet".
*The song House is playing at the end on the piano and harmonica is Georgia on my Mind by Ray Charles.
==Goofs==
*The Pennsylvania State Police officers at the protest are all wearing badges on the left breast of their uniform, but PA Troopers do not wear badges on their uniforms.
*When Cameron administers the caloric test, she does it completely wrong. First, the test cannot be done by one person alone. Next, she should have had a basin for the water to drain into, otherwise it would have made a gigantic wet mess. During the test, the second medical professional does Alerting Exercises with the patient so that they can't unconsciously cause a misread to happen because they are focused on the test. According to the National Institute of Health, the proper way is:
**Using the irrigation system, deliver 250 cc of either the warm water solution over 25 to 30 seconds to the suspected affected ear. Allow an open system in which the water being delivered can freely dribble out of the external auditory canal and be collected in a basin. The nystagmus beats will occur approximately 30 seconds after the onset of the water delivery and will build in intensity over the ensuing 30 to 45 seconds. The alerting exercise that you have instructed the patient to do will prevent any suppression of nystagmus. Wait five minutes and repeat with the other ear. Repeat with cold water, if indicated.
==Cast==
*Hugh Laurie as Gregory House
*Lisa Edelstein as Lisa Cuddy
*Omar Epps as Eric Foreman
*Robert Sean Leonard as James Wilson
*Jennifer Morrison as Allison Cameron
*Jesse Spencer as Robert Chase
*Peter Jacobson as Chris Taub
*Olivia Wilde as Remy Hadley
*Tim Rock as Doug Svensen
*Lindsey McKeon as Franni Svensen
*Anne Dudek as Amber Volakis
*Parisa Fakhri as Susan
*Bruno Oliver as Paul
*Jill Remez as Sandy
*Grinnell Morris as Mine Employee One
*Paul Benz as Mine Employee Two
*James McAndrew as State Trooper One
*Cory Blevins as State Trooper Two
*Bobbin Bergstrom as Nurse
==Links==
*Episode page at IMDB
*Episode page at TV.com
*A review of the medicine at Polite Dissent
*Episode page at House MD Guide
*Episode page at Aceshowbiz
*Episode review at Blogcritics
*Episode page at The TV IV
*Episode transcript at Wattpad
Category:Episodes
Category:Season 5