Summary

• House assumes that patients lie and uses this assumption as a defense mechanism to avoid being hurt or wrong.
• House's worldview is pragmatic and analytical, and he values taking risks and acknowledging greatness even if the outcome is wrong.
• House is a realist who believes that love and happiness are distractions and that everything is conditional. He values evidence and is skeptical of faith.

House is a show that prides itself on quality writing and well-designed characters, with many of the best lines being delivered by the titular lead, Gregory House. House ran from 2004 to 2012, and during that time, the series successfully delivered eight seasons with 176 episodes and continued to enjoy high viewing numbers throughout its run. As a medical drama show, with an emphasis on diagnosing and uncovering the mysteries of what makes people sick, it stands out from other medical sitcoms with its drier humor and highly intelligent protagonists.

In order to effectively deliver a show like this, the writers had a lot of work to do in portraying a high degree of medical accuracy, while also building character relationships and weaving in comedy. Fortunately, the writers, David Shore, and the entire team did a spectacular job and made the characters vibrant, clever, and complex with their dialogue. The standout character among them is Gregory House, who is incredibly intelligent and cynical, medically gifted and irreparably damaged. This duality of the character makes him a great lead, and his dialogue helps to solidify that image.

10 “I don't ask why patients lie, I just assume they all do."

House Season 1, Episode 7, "Fidelity"

House lives by a strict set of rules which often dictate the way he works. Early in the show's run, House tells his team about his beliefs about patients' proclivity to lie, and how he responds to this perceived truth by starting with the assumption that they are lying. While this shows the character's profound cynicism and distrust of people, it also appears to be a defense mechanism that allows him to avoid getting hurt, or being wrong.

Many patients will lie about the details of their lives to try and appear like they are doing more for their health than they are, so House expects this and acts on what he sees, rather than what he is told. This same theme is presented throughout the show, as House looks for clues and relies on the things that he can see, rather than what he hears. It also translates to House ignoring much of what people say, as he assumes they are lying or being dishonest anyway.

9 “People don't get what they deserve. They just get what they get. There's nothing any of us can do about it.”

House Season 6, Episode 4, "Instant Karma"

Over the course of the show, House does soften to many new truths and points of view as his team helps him to see brighter spots in humanity. However, that doesn't ever alter who he is at his core. In season 6, House has a heated debate with a patient's father, who believes his son is dying as a way to balance the karma in his life from his extreme success.

Of course, House believes this to be utter nonsense and responds with the above to talk Roy out of g away his business. However, Roy does it anyway, and his son recovers. Whether the two events are linked or not is impossible to prove, but it's enough to give House a moment of pause. This challenging the character is a brilliant moment that proves House isn't always right, despite what he may think.

8 “You took a chance, you did something great. You were wrong, but it was still great. You should feel great that it was great. You should feel like crap that it was wrong.”

House Season 1, Episode 9, "DNR"

House's view of the world is also very clearly defined in black-and-white absolutes. House sees and responds to moments pragmatically and analytically, so when he is advising one of his team who made an error of judgment, House responds by breaking the decision into two parts. Despite their efforts not delivering the intended results, House respects the willingness to be fearless and try something despite the odds of it being wrong.

7 “It's normal to be screwed up, but it's really screwed up to romanticize it.”

House Season 8, Episode 6, "Parents"

While speaking with a newer team member in House season 8, Dr. Jessica Adams reveals details about her leaving home when she was young in an effort to find some deeper meaning. Having had a fairly stable home life, she believed her friends with trauma or unhappy homes to be more interesting or inspiring, and so she set out to find her own trouble. House responds by calling her out on her actions, and how it reveals that she got what she wanted. This is a perfect example of House's sharp wit and relentless analysis of his team.

6 “Makes us both wrong. Not equally wrong. You were at least six wronger.”

House Season 4, Episode 11, "Frozen"

In a compelling episode where House is required to help a patient remotely as they are located on a research base at the South Pole, the patient, who is the doctor for the site, attempts to help diagnose and treat herself. House goes through differentials to determine what is wrong, but after assessing and wrongly trying methods of treatment, the patient states that they were both wrong. Revealing his character again, House struggles with being wrong, or even equal with others, and so he makes it clear that even if he's wrong, they are "wronger."

5 “I am not warm and fuzzy and you are basically a stuffed animal made by grandma.”

House Season 1, Episode 17, "Role Model"

House's Dr. Cameron is one of the people who could frequently get through House's tough outer layers and see him for who he is. This can be seen when House questions her about why she likes him, due to his lack of warmth, and he eloquently describes his character as above. This shows a high level of self-awareness from House, who acts in this way very intentionally. House's tendency to push people away is often detrimental, but with good friends like Cameron, it makes House a little more human.

4 “Love and happiness are nothing but distractions.”

House Season 7, Episode 14, "Recession Proof"

However, his happiness can only last so long. House spends most of the show alone, without any romantic attachments, although he flirts frequently. In season 7, House develops a relationship with Cuddy, the Dean of Medicine at Princeton Plainsboro, but their relationship is stunted due to House's tendency to self-sabotage. Due to the lack of love in his life, House typically resigns himself to the belief that love and happiness don't serve his needs to diagnose and be the best doctor.

3 “Everything is conditional. We just don't know what the conditions are.”

House Season 3, Episode 7, "Son Of Coma Guy"

When discussing philosophical concepts with House's best friend, James Wilson, Wilson often focuses on the good and hopeful things in life, while House keeps the conversation grounded and always feels a need to highlight the negatives. In discussing how people are essentially good, House brings the idea crashing down by discussing people who aren't and makes a point that "everything is conditional." This is a perfect example of his mindset and helps define the character.

2 “You talk to God, you're religious; God talks to you, you're psychotic.”

House Season 2, Episode 19, "House Vs God"

As mentioned previously, House is not someone who believes things without seeing evidence. The show likes to force House to question his core beliefs by adding moments that seem conclusively to come from a higher power, but House must reconcile these moments with his own logic. His cynicism and low opinions of faith can be seen in the above quote when House makes the point that people are inconsistent in how they view and believe truths from slightly different perspectives. This kind of inconsistency is opposite to House's core beliefs as someone who believes in definitive truth.

1 “It is in the nature of medicine, that you are gonna screw up. You are gonna kill someone. If you can't handle that reality, pick another profession or finish medical school and teach.”

House Season 1, Episode 21, "Three Stories"

One of the best episodes of House comes in season 1. "Three Stories" is a cleverly written episode that does a lot to introduce House and tell his history through clever plot devices. This clever writing is also seen in the script, as House teaches a group of medical students and makes it crystal clear what to expect in their job as medical practitioners. House does not muddle the truth, and he is incredibly direct when telling the students that the job is likely not right for all of them.