Directed by: David Straiton
Written by: Peter Blake
A process server serves a civil subpoena to President Dibala (James Earl Jones), a brutal African dictator. His advisors tell him he can just ignore that subpoena. At that precise moment, Dibala falls ill.
Dr. Foreman fires Dr. Hadley and asks Dr. Cameron and Dr. Chase to join his team. Cuddy assigns the team to the dictator's case. Cameron is aware of the atrocities Dibala has committed. "I'm not asking you to love him, I'm asking you to do your job." Cuddy says.
Dibala's people bring in a woman to donate plasma. It looks like the woman is being coerced. A man then tries to assassinate Dibala, but his right-hand man prevents it. The walls and the medical equipment are damaged; Dibala seems to be unharmed. However, Chase notices the patient's right eye is bloodshot.
Later, Dibala accuses Cameron of trying to kill him with an air bubble in his intravenous line, which she denies. Chase sees this and threatens Dibala for accusing his wife of murder.
Foreman's convinced blastomycosis is the answer. However, Dibala dies after unsuccessful resuscitation attempts with the defibrillator. Foreman discovers that Chase switched Dibala's blood sample to throw off the diagnosis and cause his death. Chase says the moderates are gaining in Dibala's country, and that Dibala put his life in his doctors' hands; what he was planning to do after recovering doesn't matter.
Foreman burns the evidence that proves Chase's crime.
House figures out that Wilson's downstairs neighbor is a fraud, and kidnaps him to prove it. Once released, Wilson convinces his neighbor not to press charges (and forces House to apologize), but also kicks House out of his apartment.
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Asshole Victim: Dibala.
- Conviction by Counterfactual Clue: House determines that Dr. Wilson's downstairs neighbor is a phony because he's Canadian and Canada didn't send soldiers to the Vietnam War. However, Canada did send peacekeepers to Vietnam in 1973.
- Don't Create a Martyr: Chase tells Foreman Dibala will become a martyr if he reveals the truth, most likely inspiring his followers to continue his ethnic cleansing campaign.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Ethnic cleansing in Africa.
- Status Quo Is God: Although Dr. Foreman's in charge of diagnostics and House doesn't have his medical license back yet, he's back to solving medical mysteries with a team, just like before.
