This article discusses topics about suicide.
Maison MD remains one of the most gripping and compelling medical dramas of all time. The series that introduced the cynical Doctor Gregory House kept audiences engaged with intriguing medical mysteries and “puzzles” that House and his team had to solve before it was too late for the patient. But despite their intelligence and medical knowledge, House and his team weren’t always on time. Sometimes patients die before the team reaches their diagnosis, and most of these deaths occur in the series’ most heartbreaking scenes.
While many deaths of patients in Maison MD were upsetting, there were a few other recurring and main character deaths that made more than one fan shed a tear. Maison MD knew how to create a complex interpersonal drama that took nothing away from the medical mysteries while keeping the audience engaged in the characters’ lives. While every death in Maison MD is arguably just as tragic, some of the saddest deaths in Maison MD stayed with the audience long after the show ended.
This article was updated by Christopher Raley on January 22, 2025: Maison MD was one of the reigning medical shows for 8 seasons and won fan loyalty for its medical mysteries and cynical and foul-mouthed main character, Dr. Gregory House. Five more sad episodes have been added to this list and it has been updated to comply with CBR’s current publishing standards.
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15
Home training is a difficult episode for Dr. Foreman
He loses a patient and must forgive himself
By the time the third season of Maison MD success, the creators of the series introduced more and more of the doctors’ personal lives into the series. It’s easy to understand why. The show’s formula of one mystery patient per episode inevitably became stale at some point. Making the mysteries deeper couldn’t go so far as to keep fans interested. But when well-developed mysteries and fascinating characters connected, the series hit big.
In this episode, a woman who collapses on a sidewalk while trying to make a decision is brought to Princeton. Dr. Foreman (Omar Epps) is the main doctor investigate this mystery. He also receives a visit from his father, who alludes to his suspicions that his mother may have Alzheimer’s disease. Foreman consults House (Hugh Laurie) about the woman but ends up making the wrong decision regarding her treatment, a decision that actually kills her. Foreman’s guilt and regret arise as he refuses sympathy and reassurance. This, along with the episode’s heartbreaking final scene, makes this one of the saddest episodes.
14
First season stories focus on Foreman
House tries to teach him what-ifs
In the first season episode, “Stories,” House’s interest in a case reflects more than just his medical curiosity. At Princeton-Plainsboro University Hospital, he’s not only a doctor but also a teacher, and part of the show’s appeal is watching House use patients and other circumstances to learn about the doctors with whom he works. This adds a twist to the trope of a doctor playing God.
In “Stories”, he wants to learn more about Doctors Wilson and Foreman through a homeless woman who was brought to the emergency room after a rave party after having a seizure. Wilson thinks she might be suffering from a serious illness and Foreman thinks she is faking symptoms to stay in the hospital. House is curious about the three, but when the woman receives a fatal diagnosis, viewers learn more about her heartbreaking story and receive a sobering final scene between Wilson and House.
13
Help me focus on home in a unique situation
In this season six episode, he faces a relapse
By the time season six came around, Maison MD had covered a lot of territory with the charactersand the titular character was no exception. When “Help Me” aired, House’s addiction to Vicodin had been fully explored, landing him in rehab during Season 3 and early Season 6. House’s addiction is l one of the arcs of the series. At the start of “Help Me”, he is sober, but he endures a stressful situation that threatens to cause him to relapse.
A crane collapses on a building and House finds a woman whose leg is trapped under the rubble. House refuses to amputate his leg, echoing his decision regarding his own leg. After a long struggle with his own emotions, he finally convinces the woman that she needs an amputation. Although they release the woman, she dies in the ambulance from a fat embolism, making it one of the saddest patient deaths.
12
The Mistake tells the story through flashbacks
House and Chase face disciplinary action
In this episode, House’s ex-wife, Stacy Warner (Sela Ward), the hospital’s attorney, must work with House and Chase regarding a lawsuit. She refuses, but Lisa Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) tells her that since House is responsible for most of the hospital’s legal problems, she’s going to have to get used to it. Throughout the episode, the patient of the week’s story is told through flashbacks, revealing the mistake made while treating the patient as well as the lies told by Chase and House.
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When a woman arrives at the hospital with severe stomach pain, Chase diagnoses her with Behcet’s disease, which causes ulcers. Later, Chase misses the key symptoms that cause him to miss the bleeding ulcers. This leads to liver damage, but when she receives a liver transplant, she gets a cancerous liver and needs a new one. Unfortunately, she is exempt due to the cancer diagnosis. After his death, the episode reveals what Chase lied about, which effectively results in a gut punch for viewers, already reeling from a death.
11
97 Seconds focuses on life after death
Two patients see death as a comfort
“97 Seconds” splits his time between House in Princeton-Plainsboro and Foreman, who leads a similar team at New York Mercy Hospital. The possibility of life after death is an important theme of the episode. The patient of the week is a man bound to a wheelchair who is dying while the team struggles to find a diagnosis. But another patient claims to have seen the afterlife during a near-death experience, which interests House. In the meantime, House must form a new teamand, typical of everyone’s favorite curmudgeon, he turns it into a game, dividing the contestants into competing teams, men against women.
Cuddy accuses him of making a game of patient care, but that’s not the shocking part of the episode. Patient of the Week dies after failing to follow his prescribed treatment, claiming he wants to see the afterlife instead of being stuck in his wheelchair. Unfortunately, his pet dog also dies. The other patient dies trying to cause another near-death experience, and House, surprisingly, follows suit and attempts to cause his own near-death experience. Fans know it’s a sad episode when the good news is that Foreman is fired.
10
A difficult choice takes a baby’s life during motherhood
This episode from the first season broke viewers’ hearts
“Motherhood” is one of the first episodes of Maison MD. House is the only one to suspect that an epidemic is spreading in the maternity ward after noticing similar symptoms in several babies. Things unfortunately take a dark turn when two of the babies’ conditions begin to worsen while on prescribed antibiotics, and House must make a difficult choice. The babies are given two different antibiotics, so House decides to take one of the antibiotics from each baby, but not the same one. This means that the two babies will now receive different medications for the same symptoms.
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House’s choice ends in a worst-case scenario, as one of the babies dies after being taken off one of the antibiotics. The baby’s death is extremely heartbreaking and everyone struggles with this decision, but none more so than Cameron. Cameron struggles to break the news to the baby’s mothers, and Wilson finally intervenes. The baby’s death was sad and likely preventable, and losing a child isn’t exactly something a parent can easily recover from.
9
A pox in our house kills a father
But he didn’t have to do it in this season 7 episode
In one of the best episodes of Maison MD“A Pox on Our House” sees House and his team treat Julie, a girl who fell ill after cutting herself in a glass jar that was at the bottom of the ocean. House is suddenly convinced that the girl has smallpox, even though the virus has been eradicated years ago. While at first no one believes him, the patient’s symptoms begin to look more and more like those of smallpox and the CDC intervenes.
Even though the smallpox diagnosis was not confirmed, everyone received the vaccine just in case, including Julie’s family. However, things take a darker turn when Julie’s stepfather Niles also suddenly falls ill. He was immunocompromised and his symptoms worsened rapidly until his death. Once House inspects Niles’ body after his deathHouse finds evidence of rickettsialpox, which was treatable. Niles’ death is tragic and his family’s grief at seeing Niles die is heartbreaking for any viewer, but what makes Nile’s death even sadder is knowing that his death could have been avoided since Julie did not didn’t have smallpox.
8
Cop’s death in euphoria traumatizes Foreman
This season 2 episode puts Foreman’s life on the line
“Euphoria” is a two-part episode of Maison MD this puts one of House’s team members in serious danger. Things start off as usual, as House tends to a patient with strange symptoms: a police officer who won’t stop laughing, even after being shot. Foreman goes to the officer’s home to look for environmental factors that might be causing the officer’s symptoms, something House’s team does regularly with its patients. Only this time, the patient’s home turns out to be much deadlier than expected.
The officer’s symptoms only get worse over time, and it’s difficult to watch him suffer so much. Foreman begins to develop the same symptoms and has to be isolated with the cop until House, Chase and Cameron can determine what is wrong, but they are unable to save the cop. Foreman is forced to witness the officer’s death, knowing that if House doesn’t find the answers, he will be next. The policeman’s death is extremely distressing, especially because of the pain he seems to be feeling. Knowing that the same fate awaits Foreman unless House finds the correct diagnosis makes the officer’s death even more tragic.
7
A Mother’s Sacrifice Changes Everything in Unplanned Parenthood
But her sacrifice doesn’t just affect her and her baby
“Unplanned Parenthood” follows House and his team as they treat a newborn with dangerous complications. Things get even more confusing when the baby gets better every time he receives a blood transfusion from his mother, Abbey. After several failed diagnostics and tests, House and his team soon realized that Abbey had melanoma. and lung cancer. Abbey’s baby also has melanoma, but Abbey’s lung cancer antibodies effectively treated the baby’s melanoma through blood transfusions. However, if Abbey received treatment for lung cancer, the antibodies would disappear and the baby would need chemotherapy.
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In one of the greatest manifestations of a mother’s sacrifice for her baby, Abbey refuses to seek treatment for her lung cancer, knowing the risk to her but also knowing the risk if her newborn receives chemotherapy. Instead, she wants doctors to continue giving the baby blood transfusions. But Abbey also has an older daughter, Justine, and Justine begs her mother to get treatment for lung cancer. Abbey ultimately dies in a heartbreaking scene, which leaves Justine and her newborn baby sister without a parental figure. Yet Abbey’s sacrifice saved her newborn’s life, making Abbey’s death both heartbreaking and admirable.
6
The death of a newborn forever is heartbreaking
The mother also dies
“Forever” is one of the saddest episodes of Maison MDand for good reason. The episode follows House treating a new mother, Kara, who has a seizure while taking a bath with her newborn, Michael. Michael, or Mikey, nearly drowns while Kara has a seizure, setting the upsetting tone of the episode from the start. Mikey’s father and Kara’s husband find them both and rush them to the hospital, and after some treatment, the doctors believe Mikey will make a full recovery.
Things take a dark turn when Kara attempts to smother her own baby. House and Foreman manage to stop him, but Kara’s actions cause Mikey’s kidneys to fail, and he tragically dies shortly after, although Chase does everything he can to save the baby. Kara’s illness caused her to hallucinate and attempt to kill her baby, and Mikey’s underlying condition made it difficult for him to absorb necessary medications. Mikey’s death traumatizes both of her parents, and Kara refuses treatment and decides to die because of her own guilt, ending in a sad and tragic finale for everyone involved.
5
Lies cause difficulty during patient’s final moments
Recession Proof is the fourteenth episode of season 7
“Recession Proof” follows House and his team as they deal with Bert, a man who claims to be a real estate developer. However, Martha Masters (Amber Tamblyn) soon realizes that he is lying and Bert ends up telling the truth. Bert lost his business and now works as a janitor. He also hides all his financial difficulties from his wife, but everything eventually comes to light. Bert’s wife is upset by the deception, and the two argue, and Bert’s wife even threatens to leave him.
Bert gets worse, goes deaf, and continues to decline despite everything House and his team do to find out what’s wrong with him. He asks for his wife and Masters wants to tell him she’s not coming back, but Chase stops him. Bert’s wife eventually returns, but it is too late as Bert is already in a coma by the time she returns. She tells Bert that she is pregnant, but viewers know that Bert cannot hear her and Bert dies without knowing about his unborn baby or that his wife has forgiven him after all. His death is heartbreaking, and the final moments as Masters desperately tries to save his life could bring even the most callous viewers to tears.
4
Undercover cop dies in depression
In season 6, episode 10, he dies doing what is right
There were a few episodes of Maison MD featuring gangsters and criminals, but “The Down Low” took it to another level. An apparent drug dealer named Mickey collapses and arrives in Princeton Plainsboro, where House and his team begin treating him. But diagnosing Mickey is complicated, because he refuses to give much information about his injuries or medical history. House soon realizes the biggest secret Mickey is keeping: he is, in fact, an undercover cop. The team continues to struggle with Mickey’s diagnosis and his symptoms worsen. Even after admitting to being an undercover cop, Mickey still refuses to give his doctors all the necessary information.
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Mickey’s medical history is ultimately useless, as the team realizes that Mickey has an autoimmune disease and is in its final stages. No matter what Mickey said, House and his team couldn’t have saved himand now Mickey only has one day to live. He asks to call his wife, whom he hasn’t seen for a long time because he was working undercover. Mickey dedicated years of his life to working undercover and taking down dangerous drug dealers, so he never got to spend time with his family. Mickey’s final moments are very emotional for viewers who see him spend the last hours of his life with his wife. Meanwhile, the police finally arrested the drug dealers Mickey was investigating, showing that his work was not in vain.
3
Carnell’s daddy’s boy diagnosis was extremely unfair
His father’s negligence cost Carnell his life
“Daddy’s Boy” sees a university student, Carnell, celebrating his graduation. But he suddenly begins to feel pain similar to electric shocks and he finds himself in Princeton-Plainsboro as House’s new patient. Carnell becomes sicker over time and House struggles to find a diagnosis that explains all of his symptoms. Until he discovers that Carnell’s father owns a scrap yard, and he once gave Carnell a piece of metal without knowing that this piece was highly radioactive.
Carnell’s father and one of Carnell’s friends were also exposed to the piece of radioactive metal, so they begin treatment. Carnell, however, had the most exposure to the radioactive metal, which completely destroyed his immune system. Carnell doesn’t die in this episode, but while explaining everything to Carnell’s father, Chase makes it very clear that Carnell doesn’t have much time. “Daddy’s Boy” delivers a few heartbreaking final scenes as Carnell’s father tries to come to terms with his son’s diagnosis and the fact that Carnell will die because of a piece of metal he gave him. The entire moment is extremely tragic, and more than one viewer probably shed a tear when Carnell’s father tried to stay strong and reassure Carnell, even though Carnell wouldn’t survive very long.
2
Kutner’s death in a simple explanation took its toll on the house
This was responsible for his downward spiral
Lawrence Kutner (Kal Penn) was first introduced in Maison MD Season 4 as one of the doctors competing for a spot on House’s team. Kutner eventually becomes an important member of House’s team, but things take a dark turn in “Simple Explanation.” When Kutner doesn’t show up for work, Chris Taub (Peter Jacobson) suggests it’s because of Kutner’s sick dog. However, Foreman and Thirteen (Olivia Wilde) decide to check on Kutner and go to his apartment to discover one of the most disturbing scenes of the series.
Foreman and Thirteen find Kutner dead in a pool of his own blood with a gun nearby in one of the story’s biggest plot twists. Maison MD. Kutner’s death is tragic and completely shocking, and it plays a significant role in House’s downward spiral, even if House doesn’t want to admit it. Kutner’s death is sad for many reasons, the biggest being that he was a lovely young man who always seemed to have a positive attitude toward life. But depression is a silent killer, and what a person shows on the outside isn’t always the same as how they feel on the inside. Kutner’s death makes everyone question themselves and what they could have done to help him, which makes Kutner’s death even more heartbreaking.
1
“Amber’s Death in ‘Wilson’s Heart’ Is the Saddest House”.
His death deeply affects Wilson
Amber Volakis was one of several doctors trying to get a spot on House’s team during Maison MD Season 4, but House fired her when he made his final decision. Amber found a way back into House’s life, but this time, as Wilson’s girlfriend. Amber and Wilson’s relationship came out of nowhere for many, but no one can deny that they were really good together. House’s struggle to accept Amber and Wilson’s relationship made for some hilarious moments, but things ultimately took a dark turn when Amber picked House up at a bar. House was too drunk to drive, so he called Wilson, but Wilson wasn’t there, so Amber came to pick him up instead, leading to her and House getting into a bus accident.
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House doesn’t remember Amber being on the bus with him at first, but when he remembers, he and Wilson manage to track Amber down at another hospital. Amber quickly develops multiple dangerous symptoms, including organ failure, and after House undergoes a dangerous procedure, he remembers why. Amber took strong medication for her flu symptoms right before the accident, and now her body is unable to filter the medication, and there’s nothing they can do. Amber’s death seriously affects Wilson, and their final moments together in the hospital show Amber and Wilson’s love for each other. Amber’s death continued to affect Wilson, House, and his team for a long time. making Amber’s death the saddest death of Maison MD.
Home
- Release date
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2004 – 2011
- Network
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FOX
- Showrunner
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David Rivage
- Directors
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Deran Sarafian
- Writers
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David Rivage