The theme of the latest House MD episode, entitled, “Unfaithful” dealt with the idea of lost faith and of putting faith in other people. Daniel, a troubled priest is brought in with a bland case that House takes on, thinking that there is really nothing to it, but is suddenly confronted with a case that has more depth to it then he first appreciated.

DANEIL: You want to talk hypocrisy, what about you? You act like you don’t care about anyone, but here you are saving lives.

HOUSE: Solving puzzles, saving lives is just collateral damage.

DANEIL: Nice try. I don’t think you’re looking for someone to prove you right, you’re looking for someone to prove you wrong. To give you hope. You want to believe don’t you?

Unfaithful, Season 5, episode 15

I have always felt that, although the main character of House MD is an atheist and throughout the seasons many arguments have been made against believing in a superior being, House MD tends to sympathesize with the idea of wanting a deity. The series never states that there is a God, and never argues that there definitely is not one. But I think by having a character, who is determined to believe he is an atheist, continually forced to question his own beliefs and go as far to stick a knife in a socket to test them, I think that House MD gives the impression that wanting a divine being looking over us, no matter what religion, is a comfort. “The placebo of the masses”, but never-the-less I do think that House MD values religion in some sense. This episode discusses different views on faith. Each of the characters represents a different stance and type of people related to religion and these feelings are shown through their actions and their faith in those around them.


Kutner- the believer

Kutner’s role in this episode was to be the person who represents a believer. He forms a foil to Taub, by having faith in the priest’s honesty about molesting the teenage boy and continually tries to make the priest re-analyze his loss of faith. Kutner probes the priest for answers for why, after all of the years serving the church, that he has suddenly given up on his god. He tries to defend God’s actions towards the priest with religious rationalizations.

KUTNER: God gave the church and the kid
free will, their exercise of that free will hurt you means you’re a just a victim of God’s gift to mankind.


His actions towards having faith in other people also imply that of a believer. As was explained before, Kutner takes Daniel’s explanation for what happened as the truth and does not feel the need to question it. He senses the honesty in Daniel and that is good enough for him. He also gives his opinion to 13 about her predicament with Foreman and House.

KUTNER: If you find something that could be good you should hang onto it.

Kutner here plays the role of the optimistic, if slightly naïve, believer in relationships and maybe I’m going to far here but love. He doesn’t believe relationships are easy but he understands that sometimes you need to make sacrifices in the name of a relationship he defines as “good”. His faith in love and people transcends to his faith in God and willingness to just believe. Kutner represents the believer.


Taub- The cynic

Taub on the other hand plays a very contrasting
role to Kutner’s belief; he instead plays the cynic towards faith or the unbeliever. Taub and Kutner play every scene together so the juxtaposition of their ideas is more firmly seen, and I believe to further promote the different views on faith. Unlike Kutner’s instant trust in Daniel, Taub’s trust is never won from Daniel until he is absolved by the teenage boy he allegedly molested. Taub believes so strongly in his distrust of Daniel that he sets out and finds the boy to warn him that he might have AIDS.

DANIEL:....on the off chance it’s a false positive, I permanently lose any credibility I have left.

TAUB: I’d say you just lost that

DANEIL: I’d say I lost that with you a long time ago.

Taub firmly believes its AIDS because he doesn’t trust Daniel and assumes he is just lying to him. His distrust represents cynics and atheists’ distrust with the idea of God or of anything religious. He adamantly refuses to believe. His view on relationships also points to that.


Throughout the episode, Taub insists that the solution to 13 and Foreman’s problem is for them to end their romance, saying that eventually it won’t work out and they will inevitably resent each other. I took that as to mean that by believing in a higher being, you will inevitably be disappointed because he does not exist, you’ll end up resenting him and the life you have led because it was based on false hope, just as the Foreteen relationship, in his opinion, is based on false hope. But just as I suggested in the opening passage, I believe that House MD tends to look down on the hard core cynics, because at the end of the episode, it turns out that Daniel had been telling the truth all along as Ryan, the teenager, comes to beg for forgiveness for the lies he told about him. Taub stands by shocked and abashed at learning that his distrust and his firm disgust for the priest had no basis to stand on whatsoever. House MD is generally a show that explores many different opinions about controversial subjects, it tends to show all sides of the conflict and by showing all of these varying arguments I believe it tries to preach an open mind. It comes down on the hard cynics of the show, because of their close-mindedness, and forces them at the end to realize that they were wrong or at least mistaken. Taub represents those cynics and the non-believers of faith.


Foreman and 13- Faith that has been tested and won

Foreman and 13 in my opinion represent people who have had their faith tested and have come off more devoted to their religion than ever before. In this episode, Foreteen deals with the problem of House suddenly issuing the ultimatum of split or leave. This represents their faith being tested, they have been dealt a harsh blow and now they must make the choice of staying together (keeping their faith) or succumbing to the will of House and breaking up in order to keep their jobs (losing it). It is a harsh process as they learn that by staying together it means that Foreman will not find a job at another hospital as Cuddy refuses to write him a recommendation and that 13 is now unhappy in her job after House’s unfair treatment. 13 at one point asks Chase and Cameron for their advice, hoping that the former House fellows will shed some light on House’s thinking and allow her to keep both of the things she loves. They must go through many trials to prove their faith to each other, and rely on the other one in the final performance they give to House. Together they come up with fooling House into thinking they had broken up so that they can remain together despite his former demands. In this sense, Foreman and 13 represent something like born again Christians (lol). They make it through the tests of faith and the hoops House has them jump through only to remain exactly as they were, perhaps even, as Kutner suggests, closer for the effort.


Cuddy- Faith that has been tested and lost….well sort of

Ironically the one character that actually is taking part in a religious ceremony represents the person who has lost their faith along the way. Out of all of the characters in the episode, Cuddy is the most similar to Daniel. Cuddy has been shown time and time again as someone who realizes the harsh realities of life, but always seems to see what life could be like if effort is put in. Surely then her faith should be the same way? Just as the priest has become disillusioned by the church and God, Cuddy has become disillusioned with House. I’m not suggesting in the span of season 5, or even the span of the show. I’m suggesting that over the time Cuddy has known House she has given up on his ability of being human and acting respectfully. But I believe that, typical of Cuddy’s character, and mirroring the patient of the week, she holds out hope that she’s wrong. She wants to be proven wrong, just like House “I detect a stink of leftover faith”.

At first it seems that she desperately wants House to not attend her baby naming ceremony, she tries manipulating him, tricking him, asking Wilson to solve her problem and eventually out right asks House not to come. She is so accustomed to dealing with House the ass that she assumes that’s the only way he can act at her ceremony. But as it turns out, Cuddy can’t quite help herself. After everything she’s been through with House, after the way he’s treated her all of these years, after the way he acts every day, her faith in him can’t quite be broken and deep down she does want him to come.

CAMERON: You want him there tonight. [Pauses and smiles] You should tell him.

That quote was not necessary but I love it so very much

Just as it turns out that Cuddy’s faith is not as broken as it seems, Daniel’s faith is re-installed after examining the coincidences that led to his whole life being turned around in the span of a day. In this way Cuddy represents all of those that have had their faith tested and lost, but still cling to the hope that maybe that faith will be re-installed some day.


House- the confused Atheist

House is a character who is absolutely unyielding in his devotion to Atheism. He preaches the stupidity of religion and the weakness of those that follow it. But his faith in his own religion is often tested by his religious patients, continually he is forced to re-examine what he believes in and why he believes in it. He desperately needs to believe that there is no God, Wilson suggests that it’s because he can’t bear to think that he is not in control of his own life, that maybe the misery he is in, is not by choice, but because he is condemned to it. I think he fears that if there is a deity, then maybe he can never escape his own misery. That’s why his attempts to prove religion as false can go to such as extremes as sticking a knife in an electrical socket. He wouldn’t be so desperate if he didn’t have doubts in his own mind. House’s representation of people confused as to what they believe, is shown through his actions with three different sets of people: Foreman and 13, The Patient and Cuddy.

At the beginning of the episode, House demands that either Foreman and 13 break up, or one of them quits. House firmly believes that Foreman and 13 together are “idiots” and will not help him come up with new ideas and be a source of creativity. Or in other words, that faith is something that is more of a pain in the ass and something that clutters your mind rather than something useful. He aims to get rid of the problem of their relationship by forcing them to choose; or that by getting rid of faith it no longer has to puzzle him and make him question things of that nature. But again like Taub, his skepticism is not rewarded and Foreman and 13 manage to fool him into letting them both keep their jobs while secretly pursuing their relationship. This refers to the doubt in House’s mind. He believes that he has solved his problem (gotten rid of the faith) but in reality it still hides in the background, covered up by lies (or that faith remains but is covered up by self denial).

His actions with the patient also point to this line of thought. He revels in finding a person who shares similar thoughts about religion as he does. He enjoys talking to the patient so much that he even allows him to question him about his current situation with Cuddy. He finds comfort in the shared Atheism, but can't quite understand why Daniel would remain with the Church if he didn’t still believe. He senses the remaining faith in Daniel and asks him if he will return to it once House cures him. But once accused of being a hypocrite in return, House becomes uncomfortable and shies away in a weak sarcastic retort to the questioning. It suggests insecurity with the question and a deliberate avoidance to continue his mask of self denials. The scene that is shown in the beginning of the article reveals the hidden theme of the episode and most directly links House to his representation.

His final relationship drama is with Cuddy. House and Cuddy have been going through a massive change in their lives and their feelings for one and another are beginning to surface and are getting in the way of their lives. It’s been a rather stressful process for House, but I think he believes that he may be getting somewhere with Cuddy, or at least his relationship with her is better than it’s been in the past. I think he is generally flattered and pleased that Cuddy initially asks him to her naming ceremony because it proves his theories about them as correct, and that indeed he does mean something to her.

CUDDY: House, for better or for worse you are a part of my life. It isn’t a ploy, it’s a sincere invitation. I honestly want you to come.

HOUSE: I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Though I believe this scene is House feeling Cuddy out, to try and see if what she is saying is true. I also believe that the last thing he says, though it is a test, is laced with a small hint of the truth. House wants to go. Or at least as Wilson points out to be a part of this baby and its part in Cuddy’s life, or that he wants to be a part of Cuddy’s life. He recognizes how important this moment is and I think when it turns out that in reality she doesn’t want him to come, it truly crushes him. His “have fun” at the end before the gorgeous snow scene shows all. This also references the religious element.

House at once thinks that Cuddy is manipulating him, showing a lack of faith, then when he is slightly convinced that she really has invited him he questions that lack of faith, re-examining it. But returns to it in the end once his initial suscipions are confirmed. He is back on the track of no faith. But the song at the end, entitled “Cuddy’s Serenade” reveals that nagging doubt that pursues his unyielding atheism. He wants to be at the party, he wanted Cuddy to invite him, he wants to have faith.



I personally very much enjoyed this episode and was glad that House MD was pulling its socks up a little bit and delivering another healthy round of 500 different plot lines going on at once, as is typical with it. I loved how each of the characters that were fully explored in this episode (sorry Wilson, Cameron and Chase) represented something different in this episode.

I can only hope for more episodes of this kind of nature in the future, oh and just to add a little shipping note: Yay for the return of proper angsty Huddy!