As one of television’s greatest medical mystery series of all time, normal House episode formula by toying with the audience’s perspective, while others were filled with intense drama that challenged everything we knew about beloved characters like Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie), Dr. James Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard), and the team of expert doctors at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.

While it was always entertaining to watch the diagnostic team at Princeton-Plainsboro solve some of the most bizarre medical mysteries, the best House episodes offered some truly mind-bending moments, along with shocking twists and turns. Although the House's divisive series finale is still debated, these nearly perfect episodes hold up even decades later.

12 “One Day, One Room”

Season 3, Episode 12

"One Day, One Room" is a House masterpiece that doesn't get the attention it deserves. While taking care of his clinic duties, House meets a young woman named Eve (played by Vikings star Katheryn Winnick) who is a victim of rape. Although he refers her to the hospital therapist, Eve will only speak to House. Naturally, this presents a challenge for the antisocial diagnostician, as there is no medical mystery to be solved, and he is not one for personal conversation.

Despite his less-than-sympathetic demeanor, House manages to get Eve to open up about what happened to her. As the two spend time debating about life, morality, and past trauma, we also learn more about House’s personal history. “One Day, One Room” is a deeply poignant episode that goes against House’s normal formula, with spectacular performances from both Laurie and Winnick.

11 "Euphoria Part 1"

Season 2, Episode 20

In one of House’s toughest cases, a police officer is brought into the hospital with a bizarre symptom: inappropriate laughter. As the man’s illness gets worse, House sends Foreman to the patient’s apartment to check for an environmental source. Unfortunately, Foreman returns without any answers, but he does come down with a strange case of the giggles. It’s no laughing matter when Foreman is placed in quarantine alongside the patient, and his own symptoms continue to worsen.

As House and the rest of the team race against the clock to find out what is killing Foreman and the officer, Foreman must come to grips with his helplessness in this dire situation. Omar Epps gets his time to shine in this episode with his superb acting, which ends on a cliffhanger, with the patient dying and no cure in sight.

10 "Euphoria Part 2"

Season 2, Episode 21

The continuation of “Euphoria Part 1” begins with House wanting to autopsy the dead police officer so he can diagnose Foreman, but he cannot get Cuddy’s consent. The team is forced to find another way to save Foreman’s life, who is getting worse by the minute, and at a much faster rate than the original patient. Foreman demands that the team perform a dangerous brain biopsy, and as his proxy, Cameron agrees. House, however, isn’t willing to take the risk, and goes back to the officer’s apartment once again to find the source of the disease.

Hugh Laurie's American accent was so convincing in his audition for House that executive producer Bryan Singer mistook him for an American, but Laurie is actually British.

The conclusion of this two-part episode is a rollercoaster ride of emotions, as the team and Foreman work under constant fear of his imminent death. Strangely, House just sort of forgot about an important aspect of this Foreman storyline, since Foreman ended up with side effects following his brain biopsy. Even so, there are some amazing scenes between Foreman and his father, Rodney (Charles S. Dutton), who both give stellar performances, along with the rest of the cast, in this intense, suspenseful episode.

9 “Under My Skin”

Season 5, Episode 23

In the aftermath of the death of his colleague, Amber, House begins to have hallucinations of Amber speaking to him. He finally confesses the hallucinations to Wilson, and asks him to keep an eye on him during his current case. As Wilson and House do a series of tests to find out why House is having hallucinations, the true explanation becomes clear: they are caused by the Vicodin. House doesn’t trust himself to go to rehab, so he asks Cuddy to supervise him while he detoxes at home.

Cuddy agrees to help House, and goes to his home that evening. House continues to hallucinate about Amber as he goes through withdrawal symptoms, but luckily, Cuddy is there to keep him from taking any Vicodin. House miraculously makes it through the night, and he and Cuddy finally it their feelings for each other and have sex. It was a moment that many House fans had waited years for — though, unfortunately, it would turn out to be yet another hallucination.

8 “Everybody Dies”

Season 8, Episode 22

The finale of House may have had some fans divided, but that didn’t stop it from being a TV masterpiece. The episode begins with House waking up in a burning building, where he sees a hallucination of Kutner. He continues to hallucinate various friends and colleagues, including Amber, Cameron, and his ex, Stacy (Sela Ward), who question his motives as he looks back on the choices he’s made. With pending jail time and the loss of everything and everyone he cares about, it looks as though House has given up on life.

"Though some argue that the show's finale failed to please longtime fans, it was still a deeply moving examination of the friendship between House and Wilson."

Wilson (who is dying of cancer) and Foreman arrive just in time to see the burning building collapse with House inside. However, it’s later revealed that House faked his death so that he can spend time with Wilson during his final days. The final episode ends as the two friends ride off into the sunset on a pair of motorcycles. Though some argue that the show's finale failed to please longtime fans, it was still a deeply moving examination of the friendship between House and Wilson.

7 “No Reason”

Season 2, Episode 24

Like the previous finale of House, the season 2 finale once again had fans asking what was real and what wasn’t. The episode starts with a literal bang when House is shot by the disgruntled husband of a previous patient, played by Elias Koteas. Things get awkward when the shooter ends up as House’s roommate in the ICU after security shoots him.

During his recovery, House continues to work on an unusual case. Yet as things start to make less and less sense (both within the case and outside of it), House starts to realize that he can’t tell the difference between what’s real and what’s not. Like other episodes that go against the normal House formula, “No Reason” is a surreal mind-bender with a powerfully dramatic storyline. The scenes between Laurie and Koteas are especially thoughtful and well-acted.

6 “Help Me”

Season 6, Episode 22

Continuing the trend of explosive finales, season 6 of House concluded with a masterpiece of drama and suspense. When a crane falls and causes many injuries, House and Cuddy the first responders to help. As House’s team takes the crane operator’s case to find out what went wrong, House discovers a woman named Hanna who is trapped under the debris. He tries to help her out, but her leg is stuck, yet she refuses to let them amputate. House stays with her to keep her company and comfort her, as he reevaluates his own life choices.

“Help Me” once again shows Hugh Laurie doing some of his best acting, as House opens up to Hanna about his leg injury and his regret at being too stubborn to amputate. Meanwhile, he also tries to accept the fact that Cuddy is moving on with someone else. The episode ends in an emotional climax, with the two characters finally itting their true feelings for one another.

5 “Both Sides Now”

Season 5, Episode 24

In the follow-up episode to “Under My Skin,” House is in a rare good mood the day after he and Cuddy spent the night together following his detox. When he approaches her at the hospital, Cuddy seemingly wants to forget it ever happened, and insists that they should keep things professional. Not willing to let things go so easily, House responds by attempting to humiliate her, going so far as to announce to a room of people that they slept together. Furious, Cuddy fires him.

It isn’t until afterward that House realizes he had hallucinated the entire thing: he never stopped taking Vicodin, and he and Cuddy did not have sex. It’s the breaking point where House finally decides to do something about his addiction, as Wilson escorts him to a mental health facility. This was a major turning point for House, and one that would change the entire course of the series.

4 “Broken”

Season 6, Episode 1

The feature-length season 6 premiere of House is a personal favorite of mine, and one I’ve watched on its own many times. After checking himself into a psychiatric facility to detox, House tries to leave the hospital and go back to work. However, the resident psychiatrist, Dr. Darryl Nolan (Andre Braugher), refuses to sign the papers that would allow House to continue practicing medicine. In retaliation, House does his best to make the hospital’s staff, doctors, and fellow patients’ lives miserable.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Hugh Laurie became good friends after shooting "Broken," and Miranda credits Laurie with helping him write "You'll Be Back" from the hit Broadway musical, Hamilton.

With a modern twist similar to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, “Broken” is a fantastic blend of humor and drama with amazing performances from the cast. Hugh Laurie is ed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who gives a charming and heartfelt portrayal of House’s bipolar roommate, Alvie. Braugher, who would continue to have a recurring role as Dr. Nolan, was also a huge highlight of the episode.

3 “Three Stories”

Season 1, Episode 21

Still considered one of the best House episodes ever made, the season 1 finale was so well done that even creator David Shore didn’t think he could top it. “Three Stories” begins with House reluctantly filling in to give a lecture to a class of med students. He presents them with three similar cases: all patients with leg injuries. To make things interesting, House offers a unique perspective in his retelling of the events — such as having Carmen Electra as one of the patients.

“Three Stories” is a masterpiece of storytelling, playing with perspective in a way that not only brings the laughs but also offers surprising twists and turns. It was the episode that the writers of House would later aspire to match, and eventually, perhaps, even outdo.