This week's episode of House [1] hit the trifecta of major show themes: lying, spying, and drugs. It also made me laugh out loud for the better part of an hour, and now I'm pretty sure "Adverse Effects" is my favorite House episode of the season. Even Lucas Douglas, PI, is growing on me, which is a huge surprise. Did anyone else love this episode? Or do you all think I'm crazy? To talk about it, just .

Often, when House tries to do episodes where the patients' and the doctors' lives intertwine, it can end up feeling heavy-handed, like Grey's Anatomy [2] at its worst. I liked how "Adverse Effects" handles things, though, mostly because the events tie so closely into the show's themes: Do you feel better knowing the truth? Is there such a thing as "the truth" to know? Are the only good doctors miserable?

But here's what I really loved about "Adverse Effects": It's funny. I mean, the Kutner/Taub/Thirteen exchange about Kutner's crawling is priceless ("I didn't do it to get the babes." "No, that would cheapen the purity of your achievement.") — and seriously, Kutner's in the Guinness Book for crawling? Kutner and Taub also have a snappy bit about Taub's wife hypothetically "doing the doorman" (Taub: "We don't have a doorman"), we see House as a cheerleader, and Chase punctuates the removal of a nasty medical marvel with the line "And that is why I won't let Cameron get a cat." I laughed harder at this episode than I have at any comedy I've watched this week.

The humor helped take the edge off what could have been a heavy episode, with House digging into everyone's personal lives and forcing people (well, forcing Taub) to deal with truths they otherwise would have kept hidden — a nice parallel with the patient, who literally nearly killed himself trying to keep secrets from his girlfriend. This episode has some bits that really speak to what House is all about — Lucas and House's exchange about the truth ("There is only one truth." "Maybe true for you.") and House's assertion that miserable people save more lives, to name just two. Some other thoughts:

• Aw, Cuddy and Lucas, sitting in a — um, diner — and not quite k-i-s-s-i-n-g but not too far from it, either. Is Cuddy just attracted to people who drive her crazy, manipulate her, and go through her personal belongings?
• So much was made about Taub's wife's secret bank account that I was expecting a twist. Instead, we got one car and zero lies on the wife's part. I think the storyline would have had more zip if I hadn't nearly forgotten that Taub had an unconfessed affair.
• Speaking of which, I bet that reference to the fictional "Jefferson Mutual" bank was funnier a few months ago.
• Breckin Meyer looks old.
• House played lacrosse [2] and was a cheerleader? I know I'm supposed to be most shocked at the cheerleader revelation, but I didn't figure lacrosse would be his sport, either.
• Yet another episode with only the briefest glimpse of Chase and no Cameron. I hope they're enjoying what must amount to a paid vacation.
• I always love the irony of House saying things like "People hate people who mess with other people."

So: How are you feeling about Lucas now? Wasn't the jam session at the end kind of awesome? And can you picture House doing spirit fingers and basket tosses?

Photos courtesy of Fox [3]