Mob Rules (House)

"Mob Rules" is the fifteenth episode of the first season of House, which premiered on the Fox network on March 22, 2005.

Plot

House treats a man named Joey, serving as a witness in a mob case, who has passed out and entered a coma. Joey's brother, played by Danny Nucci, who is also a lawyer and threatening mobster, wants to prevent his brother from testifying, and so tries to cajole or persuade House to delay diagnosing, treating or releasing him. Joey surprisingly comes out of his coma and doesn't experience worrying symptoms, but House is curious and doesn't want to release him yet (perhaps now aware of the deeper motives in patient care behind this case). Vogler, tipped off anonymously about the situation, decides to have the police remove him.

Two hours later, Joey returns after having collapsed and fallen back into a coma. Dr. Chase thinks the coma was induced by Hepatitis C, but Joey's brother slaps Chase across the face for suggesting it, since Hepatitis C suggests either drug use or homosexuality. House offers to alter the patient's chart so as to protect his reputation, and the treatment (interferon) is allowed. House discovers that his car was replaced by a red 1965 Corvette, a "gift" from the Mafia, that he chooses to keep and take advantage of, much to Wilson's concern and delight.

Joey also has a very high level of estrogen, a symptom not linked to any other. His liver is shutting down, but House's team still doesn't know what the cause is, so they run his blood through a pig to clean it. House suggests that his condition may have been caused by a Chinese herbal supplement designed to help him give up smoking, but his coma returns despite no longer taking the supplement. It turns out that the comas result from Joey's intolerance towards red meat, provided by his brother instead of the hospital food. The mobster's higher levels of estrogen were caused separately by estrogen injections designed to increase libido and used by gay men. Joey is homosexual and was willing to testify in order to join the witness protection program and be able to live his life without the pressure from his homophobic mob family. However, when the brother finds out about Joey's homosexuality, he says Joey should testify and go into witness protection, if this would make him happy. Even though he doesn't understand it, they are brothers first, and that is all that matters.

Throughout the episode, Vogler puts pressure on Dr. Cuddy to justify House's place at the hospital. By the end of the episode, House reveals to Wilson that, under pressure from Vogler, he has to fire one of his staff.

External links

• "Mob Rules" at Fox.com
• "Mob Rules" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Mob Rules" at TV.com