Moving the Chains - Recap

Daryl, college football player #77, is in tryouts as a NFL scout watches from the stand. The woman next to him, Daryl's mother Glenda, comments on how good her son is. As they watch, Daryl suddenly goes berserk, attacks the quarterback, and then rips off his helmet and starts beating himself in the head for it.

Wilson wakes up to find House enjoying a soak in Wilson's bathroom, in Wilson's bathtub. Wilson tells him to get out but House refuses, insisting he needs to soak his leg to ease the pain.

When House arrives in the conference room, the team is watching online video of Daryl's fit. They've admitted him and checked his CT, but there's no evidence of brain damage despite the fact he doesn't remember the incident. House suspects steroids but the tox screens show that Daryl is clean, and Daryl has tested clean of any psychiatric problems. Foreman believes that Daryl is suffering from pituitary damage and House reluctantly tells him to test, but insists that it's steroid rage. As Foreman leaves with the others, House holds him back and tells him he has another job for him. He's to pick up his older brother, Marcus, at the prison as he's released. Foreman refuses and angrily leaves.

Taub runs the tests on Daryl and tells the player and his mother what they're looking for. Mother and son insist that the doctors cure Daryl in time for the game on Saturday, where pro scouts will be choosing players. Taub concedes that if they confirm pituitary damage, they can operate on it through Daryl's nostrils with non-invasive surgery so he can play in the game.

House is working the clinic when a soldier, Jim Dunnagan, comes in. He complains of eye problems but House quickly realizes he's making it up so he can get out of the service. When House accuses him of being a coward, Dunnagan explains that he has already served several times, but has been stop-lossed. However, his wife is pregnant and they weren't expecting Dunnagan to be sent overseas again. Dunnagan came to the clinic because he figured House was a veteran due to his limp. Offended, House half-jokingly notes that draft dodgers used to flee to Canada or shoot themselves in the foot, and walks out. Taub finds him and informs him that the pituitary tests showed no damage. He reluctantly admits that House was right about the steroid rage. Taub confronts Daryl, who insists that he didn't risk steroids and put his pro career on the line. As they talk, Daryl suddenly suffers tachycardia problems.

When Foreman comes to see House, he discovers that Marcus is already there. House has hired Marcus as an assistant as part of his parole. Foreman tells House about Daryl's tachycardia and then pulls Marcus off to the side. He tells Marcus that he can't work there, but Marcus says that he's trying to prove that he's serious about starting a new life. Foreman says that House isn't a philanthropist and is just hiring Marcus to toy with Foreman. Marcus responds by wondering why it's working. Foreman tells his brother to quit but Marcus refuses.

The next morning, Wilson goes into his bathroom and discovers it has a new occupant: an opossum.

The team goes over Daryl's condition and realizes there's nothing to explain the tachycardia. Marcus brings in coffee for House, much to Foreman's disgust. However, he tries to discuss the case instead. When he suggest Daryl has kidney problems, House brings up a childhood story of Foreman supposedly wetting his bed, and admits that Marcus told it to him. Marcus doesn't understand why his younger brother is upset, and remembers a story about a basketball player collapsing in the middle of a game. House bases his new diagnosis on it, suggesting that Daryl has hypertropic cardiomyopathy. Wilson comes in and tells House that the opossum caused hundreds of dollars of damage and he'll bill his roommate. House claims he doesn't know what Wilson is talking about, and Wilson vows revenge. Once he's gone, House tells the team to put Daryl on a treadmill to provoke another tachycardia attack due to the cardiomyopathy.

Foreman tries to get Cuddy to fire Marcus. When she refuses, Foreman explains that Marcus stole money from his parents to pay for his drug habit, and he can't be trusted. Cuddy figures that Marcus needs the job and refuses to fire him.

Wilson tracks down House in the cafeteria and tells him how much the repairs will cost. House tells Wilson that he must have left the window open and done it himself. As they talk, Wilson wonders why House hired Marcus. He suspects that House is actually trying to do someone a favor. Taub and Chase come in and tell House that Daryl seems perfectly fine despite hours on the treadmill. House visits Daryl and gives him a vasodilator to provoke the tachycardia. As he prepares to give him a shot, he notices a new symptom: Daryl's hands are turning white due to poor blood circulation. The team factors in the new symptom while watching as workers bring in Marcus' new desk. Foreman tries not to let it bother him and suggests that Daryl has lymphoma. House orders them to give Daryl an ethanol drop, which will either provoke or eliminate Foreman's diagnosis.

Foreman and Thirteen go to see Daryl, but discover that House has told Marcus to shadow his brother and record everything he says. Marcus still wonders why it bothers Foreman so much and says that he wants to prove himself. Foreman responds by saying he's already had plenty of chances to prove himself.

Wilson and House eat in the cafeteria, and Wilson speculates that House sent Marcus to shadow Foreman to prove that he's not being nice, as cover for the fact he's being nice. House points out how goofy that sounds. Cuddy comes in and tells House that Dunnagan has been admitted after he shot himself in the foot. House visits the soldier and checks the wound. Dunnagan figures it will get him kicked out of the Army but House notes that it's not that serious. Dunnagan says that now that he's married with a child on the way, he's a different way, but House simply walks away, unconcerned.

Foreman watches over Daryl and waits for the expected response from the ethanol drip. Daryl realizes that Marcus is Foreman's brother because of how much Foreman hates him, and then starts itching. The itching confirms lymphoma. Foreman explains that they can remove the spleen quickly and safely and that Daryl can still play in the game.

House uses Wilson's tub again. When he tries to get out using the grab rail he installed, it breaks off and he falls backward, cutting his face. Wilson comes home later and finds House waiting for him in the shadows. House warns that it's war but Wilson denies loosening the rail.

Chase removes the spleen but discovers that Daryl's liver is swollen. The new symptom eliminates lymphoma and team goes back into differential. House brings up more childhood incidents from Foreman's past, but Foreman has no idea what he's talking about. Marcus admits that he lied. The best they can come up with is viral hepatitis and House orders tests. He then takes Marcus to the cafeteria for lunch and explains that if Marcus can't provide him with dirt on Foreman, he's no good to House. He tells Marcus to explain the incident where Foreman got arrested for grand theft auto. Marcus reluctantly tells him that Foreman just came along to be with his older brother, and wasn't directly involved in the theft. Foreman comes in to tell them that the hepatitis test has shown that Daryl's blood is clotting too rapidly when exposed to the air. After he leaves, Marcus tells how after the theft incident, their mother told Foreman she was disappointed in him. After that, Foreman vowed never to disappoint his parents again. When Marcus notes that Foreman never mentioned the incident, even at his mother's recent funeral, House realizes that he had no idea that she was dead. Marcus angrily warns House not to use the story against his brother.

Foreman tells Daryl and Glenda that it will take several weeks for the treatment against the clotting to take effect. Mother and son want to hold off the treatment until after the game, but Foreman warns that it is too dangerously and they reluctantly consent.

House goes to Wilson's office after checking the facts. He explains that they don't have a flat-head screwdriver, and they had to borrow one from their neighbor, Nora. Since they had to borrow the necessary screwdriver, Wilson couldn't have sabotaged the guard rail. Further, House insists that should prove he didn't plant the opossum because he's refusing to escalate the prank war. That means someone else planted the opossum. The two men camp in the kitchen that night and wait for the prankster to return. Wilson begins to wonder if House isn't playing some convoluted game after all. As he goes to bed, the sprinkler system kicks in, ruining their television. House realizes that they're up against a pro.

The next day, House summons Cuddy and the others to the conference room and prepares to reveal who the prankster is. An irritated Cuddy quickly leaves. Everyone else has alibis, but House believes that Foreman is the guilty party. Foreman points out he has no idea where House and Wilson lives, and has no interest in revenge. House accuses him of lying... again. Marcus realizes what he's doing and protests, but House brings up the fact that Foreman's mother died and he didn't tell anyone. The team is shocked but Foreman insists that it's none of their business. Angry, Marcus tells House that he's quitting and leaves. Foreman chooses to go to Daryl's room instead to watch over his treatment. Daryl insists that he's better and the team doctor has given him a clean bill of health. He ignores Foreman and his mother, removes the drip, and leaves. Glenda asks Foreman to go with his son to the game and watch over him.

House checks Jim's foot and warns that the old antibiotics aren't having the desired effect. They'll have to give him a different dosage before the infection spreads.

Foreman and Daryl prepare to go out on the field. When Foreman wonders why the player is risking his life, Daryl says that he's doing it so he can provide for his mother, and nothing is more important than family. However, Daryl suddenly reports that his vision is blurring and within seconds, he has gone blind. He asks Foreman to get him back to the hospital.

Foreman drops off Daryl at the hospital and then goes on an errand. En route he calls the team and tells them that he secretly drugged Daryl's bottle with something that would cause temporary blindness, to convince the player to get back on his treatment. Even House is impressed. He then checks Daryl's readmittance chart and discovers that he's only lost a pound despite all of the tests and hospital food. Chase suggests paraneoplastic syndrome caused by antibodies fighting tumors somewhere in Daryl's body. House tells them to check Daryl for cancer.

Foreman's errand takes him to the halfway house where Marcus is staying. He tells Marcus to get his job with House back, but Marcus figures that House won't hire him back since it doesn't bother Foreman. Marcus promises not to let his brother down, and Foreman tells him not to make empty promises. Marcus steps forward and hugs Foreman, much to the latter's surprise.

In the cafeteria, House and Wilson walking down the aisle and trying to figure out who the prankster is. House suddenly falls down. He looks up and sees Lucas smirking at him. Lucas explains that he wanted something that could top the sprinkler incident, and that he started the pranks to get revenge for Wilson buying Cuddy's dream house. When House insists he's innocent, Lucas figures he's guilty as well just for living there. House warns that they'll get revenge, but Lucas tells them that he's putting an end to his pranks now that he's shown their superiority. If they try anything, he'll tell Cuddy, who thinks of them as friends. Lucas smugly walks away.

The team is unable to find any traces of cancer in Daryl. House gets an epiphany and goes to see Daryl. He checks the player's skin and explains that most black men get skin cancer on the paler parts of their body. Bruises Daryl sustained in play disguised traces elsewhere. House finally finds a tumorous mole on Daryl's big toe. Once it's removed, the antibodies will stop attacking it and Daryl will be fine. Daryl doesn't see the point, noting that he lost his chance in the tryouts. House tells him that he'll just have to be a normal person like all the other people in his class.

Lucas visits Cuddy in her office. She figures that he's the one pranking House and Wilson, but Lucas lies and insists he's innocent. Cuddy already knows that Wilson bought her house, and Lucas wonders why she doesn't want revenge. Cuddy says it's not worth it, but Lucas wonders if she feels guilty about abandoning House or being with Lucas. When she objects, Wilson withdraws his claim.

Later, Wilson tells House that Foreman has reconciled with Marcus. He figures that it's all part of House's plan, and that he attacked Foreman to give the two brothers a common enemy. House insists that's not the case, and then notes that he won't seek revenge on Lucas. Wilson figures that proves his theory that House is trying to be good is true. As they leave for the night, House sees Dunnagan. Due to the infection, he had his foot removed and he can't serve in the military. Dunnagan is leaving with his pregnant wife, and the two will be together.

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