Damned If You Do

Elizabeth Mitchell ("Lost", 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story, The Santa Clause 2) plays Sister Mary Augustine, who came in with what looked like a simple allergic reaction.

The whole issue of nuns, belief in God, and belief that House may make mistakes comes up at various times.

What was interesting was the fact that the solution came in the patient's past life. The initial story was not the whole truth as it usually isn't Everybody lies, as House always says. Once the lie is exposed, then a solution is found.

Faith may be a wonderful thing, but reality is what gets us through life.

Every time a nun gets a rash they think its stigmata. Like a moth to a burning bush.

This episode is a taste of House's ongoing battle with religion. As a man of science, he believe in only the empirical evidence of life's cruel nature. However, many of his patients (and coworkers) generally believe in a higher power if not a guiding grace. This makes a lot of sense when you're in a hospital and death pollutes the air while the living are made to grapple with the seemingly random suffering of others. Not to House. So he goes out of his way to not just battle religion undermining science but to just demonize the whole thing.

Again its early days for the show and they haven't had House launch a full on offensive against Christ yet. You get a fun mystery surrounding some nice fake-outs that ends in a Nun suffering for her past.

House Quote: "Pretty much all the drugs I prescribe are addictive and dangerous. The difference with this one (cigarettes) is that it's completely legal."

Another unpleasant and extremely serious episode, as House works on a nun who exhibits a scary bunch of symptoms. She has a secret House must wrest from her in order to save her. But she would rather fly into the arms of her loving God than help House. This is one of those episodes that is so intense, I am amazed the show has any audience. But the truth is, it represents drama of the highest order, as House and the nun go at each other. The acres playing the nun is first-rate and quite believable. This is the kind of episode that makes me flashback to my days as a hospital orderly and nurse's aide, something I would rather not dwell on.

I watched this episode not knowing that in the weirdest way this would be a Christmas episode of sorts. Now, I know it hardly touches the subject, but there is some Christmas aspects about it in a House sort of way. Well, with or without this being about Christmas, this episode has become one of my favorites because I like the way the show talks about faith and spirituality.

I was ready to cringe at this episode. I know there are people out there who look at a TV show and are offended if people act in a perfectly human way. Not everyone is a believer and many who say they are only use religion at their convenience. If God is perfect and pure, then what we do on earth would be in God's name, including wanting to live to make things better. House's character spends so much time wading through deception and subterfuge. He sees his role as the healer. It seems to me that should be enough to be accepted unequivocally. Yes, spouts off disrespectfully (as he does with people who have no religious affiliation), but it is often when they are shortsighted and have done things that are destructive. Instead of sugar coating, he lays it on the line. I have struggled with religion my whole life. I could go on, but this is not the place.