Essence Atkins

House has relented in regard to interviewing potential team members, but he's doing it his own way. He has called in all 40 applicants for the open spots on his team (including guest stars Olivia Wilde, Kal Penn, Peter Jacobson, Anne Dudek and Edi Gathegi), each numbered individually by runners' bibs, and puts them to the test in a Darwinian trial period. As he drills the fellows and arbitrarily fires some along the way, he is approached by a fighter pilot named Greta, a candidate for NASA's astronaut training program. Greta suffers from a neurological disorder in which she is converting visual images to sound, or hearing with her eyes. Knowing that NASA would reject any possibility of her becoming an astronaut if they knew of her problem, Greta begs House to treat her in secret. Keeping her identity private, House takes the case to his fellowship candidates and pits them against one another to come up with an accurate diagnosis. Meanwhile, House is ruffled when he thinks he sees Cameron, Chase and Foreman in the hospital hallways. Also available on Amazon Instant Video

While talking to Ethan on the telephone, Kat gets distracted when her boyfriend, Benjamin (recurring guest star Trent Ford), walks in, and she forgets to hang up the phone. Ethan, Kyle and Palmer (recurring guest star Jaime King) listen in on Kat and Benjamin's private conversation, during which she reveals that she thinks Ethan and Palmer's relationship is based solely on sex. To Ethan's chagrin, Palmer then insists that she and Ethan not have sex for a while. Meanwhile, Duncan and Nicole individually confide in Richie about their relationship, but they soon find out what a terrible secret keeper he is. Also, Lina gets her leg casts removed and takes a few tentative steps.

Two of the remaining families remain at odds with the third.

The families arrive on the island, and the one who gets to the house first gets as many bedrooms as they want.