Carrot or Stick (House)

"Carrot or Stick" is the tenth episode of the seventh season of the American medical drama House. It first aired on January 24, 2011. Sasha Roiz and Tyler James Williams guest star.^[1]

Plot

House and his team must investigate a case of a drill instructor who works in a juvenile offender camp named 'Camp Driscoll' when he collapses due to acute backpain. Throughout the episode, Masters debates on whether or not military-style discipline is necessary for children. When they suspect that one of his students has poisoned him, Foreman and Masters come upon Landon, a student whom Driscoll seems to push harder than the others. Later, Landon ends up in the hospital with the same symptoms. After learning that Landon was put into the camp for a relatively minor offense, further research reveals that Driscoll is Landon's father. It appears they have a genetic disease, and House eventually concludes it's variegate porphyria.

Meanwhile, House tries to help Cuddy's daughter Rachel get into a prestigious preschool by practicing playdates with her in a dog-training manner, unbeknownst to Cuddy. When Rachel's playdate ends, the teachers tell Cuddy that it looks like someone taught Rachel how to play with all the toys. When Cuddy asks Rachel about it she lies and says no, which makes House very proud.

Also, Chase faces some personal troubles after a full-frontal nude photo of him, photoshopped to make his penis look much shorter than it is, is posted on a social networking website. He suspects one of the girls he had sex with after a wedding (episode 8, "Small Sacrifices") had taken the photo out of revenge for his lack of interest the morning after. He tracks down all the girls but each of them professes their innocence. In the end, he remembers that the sister of one of the girls he slept with was in the same room that night. When he goes and looks for her it appears he already chatted with her one time. She tells him that he seemed like a nice guy but when she told him she didn't do sex after one date, he ran. Chase then asks her on a real date without sex, to which she happily declines.

Reception

Critical Response

The AV Club gave this episode a C rating.^[2]

References

External links

• "Carrot or Stick" at Fox.com
• "Carrot or Stick" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Carrot or Stick" at TV.com