Directed by: Lesli Glatter
Written by: Sara Hess
Dr. Cole and Dr. Kuttner go to a magic show in their spare time. Kutner volunteers to participate in a magic trick, but the magician (Steve Valentine) picks Cole instead. The magician is lowered into a water tank, handcuffed, and then he will escape somehow. It all seems to be going according to script, but then the trick goes horribly wrong: instead of doing anything to escape, the magician just starts bleeding into the water.
Dr. House sets a challenge to the remaining applicants: get Dr. Cuddy's thong and get immunity, eliminate two applicants. Dr. Cole protests that the challenge is juvenile and unprofessional. Dr. Taub tries to spill a beverage on Cuddy, but instead merely embarrasses himself in front of her. Dr. Volakis uses a cigarette to set off the sprinklers, but Cuddy's in her office at the time.
Kuttner has a theory about the case: the magician has fungus in the lungs, and the MRI will confirm or refute that theory. But before the patient can go in, the magnetic field causes the patient unbearable pain. Kutner cancels the MRI session.
At surgery, House retrieves a key from the patient's innards. House concludes that the magician is a hack. The patient asks House to pick a card; the grumpy doctor refuses at first but then picks 6♠. The magician throws the cards at a glass wall, and then 6♠ sticks to the wall, but then he starts bleeding from his nose like a leaky faucet.
Also, House suspects Dr. Hadley has Huntington's.
Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer are both listed in the opening credits, but neither of their characters appear in the episode, nor are they mentioned.
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- "Eureka!" Moment: Dr. Wilson says that Dr. House has blood type AB - universal recipient - which also describes his personality. House retorts that Wilson has type O - universal donor - which explains why he's paying three alimonies. It could've just been a lucky guess, but Wilson thinks House tested his blood. This leads House to realize that the magician actually has type A blood, not AB.
- Going Commando: Dr. House finds out Cuddy's not wearing any panties after tricking her into bending over to pick up his Vicodin and letting out a Big "OMG!". The fact that she didn't seem too bothered by it also doubles as Foreshadowing of the deal she made with Cole.
- Panty Thief: House challenges his applicants to steal Cuddy's panties, the prize being immunity from elimination.
- Pick a Card: The magician has a few variations on this well-known trick. He can set a wallet on fire, blow out that fire, and show that the chosen card was in the wallet all along. Or he can toss the cards at a wall, and then the chosen card is stuck to the wall after the other cards fall off.
- Running Gagged: In previous seasons, whenever lupus is brought up as a possibly diagnosis, House immediately shoots it down, sometimes without even explaining. Here, he finally has a case of lupus.
- Telepathic Sprinklers: Dr. Volakis sets off the sprinkler system with a cigarette lighter in an attempt to win House's thong-stealing challenge, soaking everyone in the department.
