It is also the first episode to feature Amber Tamblyn as Martha Masters, as a replacement of Thirteen (Olivia Wilde).
A New Jersey senator Hal Andersons campaign manager Joe Dugan (played by Jack Coleman) falls ill with liver failure and temporary paralysis.
[1] Meanwhile, Cuddy pressures House to add a female doctor to his team but eventually tells him that she has chosen for him: a third-year med student named Martha Masters, who is a genius.
", a reference to an earlier conversation Masters had with House (involving if one would lie to their grandma about a tea cozy being a good gift).
House takes the senator's blood and runs it under Joe's name to get Cuddy to approve on his decision, despite Wilson's warnings that lying to her would be wrong now that they are involved.
Handlen writes, "A lot of the credit here goes to Tamblyn, who plays Martha as a collection of tics and insecurities but with a strong, immutable center.