Euphoria, Part 1
Encyclopedia
"Euphoria" is the twentieth episode of the second season of House
, which premiered on the Fox
network on May 2, 2006. This episode is the first half of a two-episode story arc
, the second half being "Euphoria (Part 2)". The only other two-part episodes are "House's Head
" and "Wilson's Heart
" in season four
; and "Broken
" in season six
.
. As he is on the ground, bleeding from the face, he still continues to laugh incessantly, proving this is not a character flaw, but a serious disorder.
As the doctors in the ER attempt to stop the bleeding, Joe's giddiness persists, causing House to take interest in the case. The nature of the symptoms lead the team to consider carbon monoxide poisoning
. Chase and Cameron are assigned to tend to the patient while House sets out to investigate Joe's workplace, and he sends Foreman to Joe's apartment to see if he can find anything that would explain the symptoms. Joe's living conditions turn out to be a cesspool, with uneaten food, trash, dirty plumbing facilities, rust, and general disarray. Foreman checks for a gas leak, but finds nothing, until he notices a closed off shed on the roof. Inside is a hydroponic greenhouse Joe is using to grow large quantities of marijuana
.
House's brief investigation of the precinct reveals nothing, mainly because he is there trying to get several speeding tickets reversed "due to his disability". While Joe's partner deals with the paper work, House notices that Joe's desk is next to an air conditioner, and that the stagnant water in it has not been cleaned in sometime. The team then successfully diagnoses Legionnaires' disease
, the bacteria for which were growing in the cooled water in the AC unit, and cures it. As Chase and Foreman check on the treatment, they discover that Joe is going blind despite not being aware of it (Anton–Babinski syndrome), leading the team to believe there is an underlying neurological problem.
After an MRI is ruled out, due to the bullets still lodged in Joe's head, the team run more tests, after which House tells them to meet him in the morgue. As the team continues to discuss symptoms and possibilities, House is searching through the corpses. After finding a suitable one, he puts on rubber gloves, a set of earplugs, and produces a Ruger revolver, shooting the corpse in the head to Chase and Cameron's surprise, but seemingly to Foreman's amusement. As the team goes to test the MRI on the corpse, House begins to suspect that Foreman has contracted the same illness that Joe has. Due to the bullet fragments in the corpse, House's test breaks the MRI machine.
As Officer Luria begins to bleed from his bullet wounds (a side effect of the heparin House gave him), Foreman breaks out into laughter, earning odd looks from Chase and Cameron. House then realizes Foreman is infected, and puts him along with Joe in an isolation chamber. Because Foreman has no bullet fragments in his skull, the team is able to perform an MRI on him, but it is inconclusive. They also perform a grey matter
brain biopsy
on Foreman, but that is inconclusive as well. Joe, in increasing pain, asks Foreman if he is going to die. Foreman responds that he will not die, because if Joe dies, so will he.
As Joe's pain gets progressively worse, Foreman becomes more angry and desperate, culminating in stabbing Cameron with an infected syringe, in the hopes of infecting her so she will have to go back to Joe's apartment in order to save herself, which she does. Meanwhile, Joe develops a new symptom, hyperalgesia
, and must be put under a coma so he will not die from the sheer pain.
House then confronts Cameron at Joe's apartment after realizing where she has gone. After hearing that Joe keeps a large quantity of bread on hand, House deduces that Joe regularly feeds pigeons in order to obtain their stool, which he uses as fertilizer for his illegal marijuana-growing operation. He orders Cameron to bring back some pigeon stool, suspecting it to be harboring cryptococcus
.
Unfortunately, tests prove that it is not cryptococcus. As Cameron is delivering this news, Joe has a heart attack. Foreman, alone in the isolation chamber, desperately tries to save him, but fails. The episode ends with Foreman, still afflicted by the illness that just killed Joe, pumping Joe's chest, attempting to revive him.
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
, which premiered on the Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
network on May 2, 2006. This episode is the first half of a two-episode story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...
, the second half being "Euphoria (Part 2)". The only other two-part episodes are "House's Head
House's Head
"House's Head" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of House and the eighty-fifth episode overall. It was the first part of the two-part season four finale, the second part being "Wilson's Heart". Co-written by several House producers and directed by Greg Yaitanes, "House's Head" premiered...
" and "Wilson's Heart
Wilson's Heart
"Wilson's Heart" is the sixteenth episode and season finale of the fourth season of House and the eighty-sixth episode overall. It aired on May 19, 2008...
" in season four
House (season 4)
The fourth season of House premiered on September 25, 2007 and ended May 19, 2008. Having previously fired Chase, and with Foreman and Cameron quitting, House starts a competition between forty applicants for the vacant positions. He eventually narrows them down to seven, firing one each episode....
; and "Broken
Broken (House)
"Broken" is the joint title for the first and second episodes of the sixth season of the television series House. It is a two-part season premiere, being first broadcast on the Fox network on September 21, 2009...
" in season six
House (season 6)
House entered a sixth season on September 21, 2009 with a two-hour premiere. The season premiere, titled "Broken", was filmed at the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey.Season six featured 22 episodes, two fewer than the usual number...
.
Plot
Officer Joe Luria is shot while pursuing a criminal identified only as "Baby Shoes". The bullet fractures on his bullet-proof vest, sending shards into his skull, and earning him a trip to the ER. Prior to being shot, Joe is acting very strangely, laughing while attempting to apprehend "Baby Shoes" and reading incorrect Miranda RightsMiranda warning
The Miranda warning is a warning given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody before they are interrogated to preserve the admissibility of their statements against them in criminal proceedings. In Miranda v...
. As he is on the ground, bleeding from the face, he still continues to laugh incessantly, proving this is not a character flaw, but a serious disorder.
As the doctors in the ER attempt to stop the bleeding, Joe's giddiness persists, causing House to take interest in the case. The nature of the symptoms lead the team to consider carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide . Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect...
. Chase and Cameron are assigned to tend to the patient while House sets out to investigate Joe's workplace, and he sends Foreman to Joe's apartment to see if he can find anything that would explain the symptoms. Joe's living conditions turn out to be a cesspool, with uneaten food, trash, dirty plumbing facilities, rust, and general disarray. Foreman checks for a gas leak, but finds nothing, until he notices a closed off shed on the roof. Inside is a hydroponic greenhouse Joe is using to grow large quantities of marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
.
House's brief investigation of the precinct reveals nothing, mainly because he is there trying to get several speeding tickets reversed "due to his disability". While Joe's partner deals with the paper work, House notices that Joe's desk is next to an air conditioner, and that the stagnant water in it has not been cleaned in sometime. The team then successfully diagnoses Legionnaires' disease
Legionellosis
Legionellosis is a potentially fatal infectious disease caused by gram negative, aerobic bacteria belonging to the genus Legionella. Over 90% of legionellosis cases are caused by Legionella pneumophila, a ubiquitous aquatic organism that thrives in temperatures between , with an optimum temperature...
, the bacteria for which were growing in the cooled water in the AC unit, and cures it. As Chase and Foreman check on the treatment, they discover that Joe is going blind despite not being aware of it (Anton–Babinski syndrome), leading the team to believe there is an underlying neurological problem.
After an MRI is ruled out, due to the bullets still lodged in Joe's head, the team run more tests, after which House tells them to meet him in the morgue. As the team continues to discuss symptoms and possibilities, House is searching through the corpses. After finding a suitable one, he puts on rubber gloves, a set of earplugs, and produces a Ruger revolver, shooting the corpse in the head to Chase and Cameron's surprise, but seemingly to Foreman's amusement. As the team goes to test the MRI on the corpse, House begins to suspect that Foreman has contracted the same illness that Joe has. Due to the bullet fragments in the corpse, House's test breaks the MRI machine.
As Officer Luria begins to bleed from his bullet wounds (a side effect of the heparin House gave him), Foreman breaks out into laughter, earning odd looks from Chase and Cameron. House then realizes Foreman is infected, and puts him along with Joe in an isolation chamber. Because Foreman has no bullet fragments in his skull, the team is able to perform an MRI on him, but it is inconclusive. They also perform a grey matter
Grey matter
Grey matter is a major component of the central nervous system, consisting of neuronal cell bodies, neuropil , glial cells and capillaries. Grey matter contains neural cell bodies, in contrast to white matter, which does not and mostly contains myelinated axon tracts...
brain biopsy
Brain biopsy
Brain biopsy is the removal of a small piece of brain tissue for the diagnosis of abnormalities of the brain. It is used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, tumors, infection, inflammation, and other brain disorders....
on Foreman, but that is inconclusive as well. Joe, in increasing pain, asks Foreman if he is going to die. Foreman responds that he will not die, because if Joe dies, so will he.
As Joe's pain gets progressively worse, Foreman becomes more angry and desperate, culminating in stabbing Cameron with an infected syringe, in the hopes of infecting her so she will have to go back to Joe's apartment in order to save herself, which she does. Meanwhile, Joe develops a new symptom, hyperalgesia
Hyperalgesia
Hyperalgesia is an increased sensitivity to pain, which may be caused by damage to nociceptors or peripheral nerves. Temporary increased sensitivity to pain also occurs as part of sickness behavior, the evolved response to infection.-Types:...
, and must be put under a coma so he will not die from the sheer pain.
House then confronts Cameron at Joe's apartment after realizing where she has gone. After hearing that Joe keeps a large quantity of bread on hand, House deduces that Joe regularly feeds pigeons in order to obtain their stool, which he uses as fertilizer for his illegal marijuana-growing operation. He orders Cameron to bring back some pigeon stool, suspecting it to be harboring cryptococcus
Cryptococcus
Cryptococcus is a genus of fungus. Species grow in culture as yeasts. The perfect forms or teleomorphs of Cryptococcus species are filamentous fungi in the genus Filobasidiella...
.
Unfortunately, tests prove that it is not cryptococcus. As Cameron is delivering this news, Joe has a heart attack. Foreman, alone in the isolation chamber, desperately tries to save him, but fails. The episode ends with Foreman, still afflicted by the illness that just killed Joe, pumping Joe's chest, attempting to revive him.
External links
- "Euphoria (Part 1)" at Fox.com