The Good Doctor – 36 Hours

By starrymag | October 14, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) awakes from surgery, and Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) tells him he’s glad he’s awake, reporting that his post-op results are good. Glassman asks if he’s been there all night, and Shaun tells him that he slept in a chair. Thrilled that the surgery is a success, Shaun gleefully gets ready for his day while ignoring calls and texts from Lea Dilallo (Paige Spara).

 

Shaun tells Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas), Dr. Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann), Dr. Alex Park (Will Yun Lee) about the successful surgery. Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) asks for two volunteers for the thirty-six hour ER shift, and Claire complains about the hospital’s new flex-time policy. Melendez tells her that she can take her complaints to Dr. Marcus Andrews (Hill Harper), and asks them to pick a number. Shaun and Morgan end up getting assigned the ER shift.

 

As the shift begins, Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang) tells Shaun and Morgan to not call her unless it’s absolutely necessary, and they get to work. Melendez, Alex, and Claire explain a fertility surgery to a patient, Gina Porter (Sari Mercer), and she thanks them, explaining that she’s always wanted to be a mother. Her husband, Daniel Porter (Arjay Smith) tells them that she picked out baby names when she was seventeen and assures Gina that she’ll make a great mom.

 

Shaun and Morgan examine a patient (Amitai Marmorstein) that has a never-ending erection, and Shaun tells him that he doesn’t want necrosis to settle in. The patient freaks out that his penis could die, but Morgan promises that they’ll move quickly. As Morgan injects the patient with a needle, he screams as he grabs Shaun’s arm, causing Shaun to scream as well.

 

Later, Shaun struggles to pull a lightbulb out of a boy named Angel’s (Caio De Figueiroa) mouth, suggesting he has lockjaw. Morgan suggests he call Lim, but Shaun reminds her that Lim didn’t want them to call unless it was necessary. Shaun comes up with a potential solution, but Morgan tells him they can’t try it without calling Lim. He comments that he hopes that they’re not interrupting anything important, and Morgan assures him that Lim’s life is boring.

 

Meanwhile, Lim declares herself not guilty in traffic court and the officer, Robert Plager (David DeSantos), tells Judge Vicki Spain (Christine Willes) that this is Lim’s third violation. Lim gets Shaun’s call in the middle of the trial, but Spain refuses to let her take it. Lim explains that she is on call and Spain grants a five minute recess. Upon hearing about the situation, Lim tells Shaun and Morgan that they need to handle it themselves before hanging up.

 

Claire takes her complaints about the hospital’s flex-time policy to Andrews, using her research to back up her argument. However, Andrews counters with his experience in a study on flex-time policies and refuses to consider her argument. Andrews tells her to not foresake her judgment in being more assertive. Lim returns to court, and Spain tells her to wait until her case is called. Despite Lim’s reminder that she allowed a five-minute recess, Spain tells her that the recess only applied to the court and that she’ll be waiting for a long time.

 

During surgery, Claire vents about Andrews’ reaction to her argument. Alex asks what the problem is, and Claire comments that men want women to be more assertive until it challenges their beliefs. Nurse Ann Flores (Liza Lapira) agrees with Claire, but Melendez tells them to focus on the patient. They find an issue on Gina’s ovary not previously visible, and Melendez tells Claire to scrub out to talk to Daniel about the new diagnosis. Claire questions why he’s not asking Alex to do it, and he explains that she’s better at talking to the families.

 

After Claire leaves, Melendez questions why Claire is so on edge, commenting that it’s one of those days. The women in the room turn to look at him, and Melendez backtracks that he meant that Claire woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Flores argues that Claire made the source of her frustrations clear, and suggests he didn’t bother to listen. Daniel tells Claire that he wants to see Gina, but she tells him he can’t. Daniel apologizes for being a pain, but she assures him that she understands his fear and promises to let him see Gina once the surgery is complete.

 

Claire runs into Shaun, who rants that Lea keeps calling him. She is surprised that he told Lea to go back to Hershey, and he admits that it only made everything worse. Claire tells him that conversations can’t be one-sided, and that he has to listen to what Lea has to say as well. Shaun tells her that it’s too hard, and Claire tells him that relationships aren’t always easy. He declares that he doesn’t want a relationship, but Claire points out that they have a mutually beneficial relationship, advising him to not put up walls in fear of getting hurt.

 

The suggestion inspires Shaun, and he puts a protective covering around the lighbulb so Angel doesn’t get hurt. He tells Angel to bite down, assuring that the wrap will protect him. He refuses, but his sister, Inez (Takaya White), smashes his jaw for him and Shaun is able to pull out the pouch of shards. Claire returns to surgery, apologizing to Melendez for questioning his decision. Melendez gives her lead on the surgery, and Flores comments that he didn’t give Claire the lead until after she apologized. Melendez tells Flores to scrub out, but she refuses and argues that she did nothing wrong. He tells her she’s questioning his judgment but Flores refuses to leave. Melendez tells Claire that the three of them will be discussing this with Andrews later.

 

Glassman struggles in his bed, hearing the voice of his late daughter, Maddie Glassman (Holly Taylor). As Shaun tends to a patient, Morgan asks if he’s eaten. Shaun replies that he’ll eat after he’s finished, but Paikin tells them that the erectile patient has returned. Lim gets frustrated waiting, and demands that Spain call her, despite Spain’s orders for her to sit down. Lim promises her it won’t take long, but Spain rules her guilty without looking at her file. Furious, Lim tells her that she pays her taxes. Plager tells her that she can appeal, but Lim demands that Spain do her job. As a result, Lim is escorted to a cell.

 

The erectile patient asks if his penis is going to die, but is not assured by Morgan’s answer. As they step outside, Morgan tells Shaun they’re not calling Lim. She suggests giving the patient some injections, but Shaun comments that it’s a lot of injections. Morgan asks what his suggestion is, and reiterates that they’re not calling Lim. Shaun stands over Glassman as he wakes up and asks him what to do about the patient. Nurse Dalisay Villanueva (Elfina Luk) comes in to tell Glassman to sleep, and rejects Glassman’s request for morphine. Before Shaun leaves, Glassman suggests a procedure that will buy time to figure out a better solution.

 

The hours tick by as Melendez and his team operate on Gina, but they seem to be making little progress. He tells Alex to take over, but Gina’s pressure starts dropping and they rush to save her. Once Gina is stabilized, Melendez, Claire, Alex, and Flores debate what to do. Melendez sends Alex to to talk to Daniel and asks to speak to Claire and Flores. The erectile patient asks if he has a choice about the injection, but Shaun tells him he doesn’t if he wants to have a functioning penis. Morgan promises an additional injection to help with the pain, and notices as Shaun ignores another text from Lea.

 

Pulling Shaun outside, Morgan asks if he called Lim. Shaun denies it, but Morgan accuses him of deleting Lim’s text. Shaun insists the text was from Lea, and explains that he doesn’t want to talk to her. Morgan tells Shaun that neither Lea nor Claire is his friend, as they don’t see him as a man. Shaun tells her that Lea kissed him, but Morgan insists that she kissed him out of pity. Shaun observes the erectile patient and has a revelation about his condition. The deputy (Steve Baran) releases Lim from her cell, telling her that Spain determined that she served her punishment.

 

Melendez tells Claire and Flores to stop questioning his authority and work as a team. Claire is confused, but Flores tells her about Melendez’ comments after she left the room. Melendez denies suggesting Claire has PMS, but Claire points out that he is the one who suggested she bring her complaints to Andrews. From above, Andrews tells them they’re all cranky due to the long surgery and tells Melendez to take a break. After Melendez leaves, Andrews tells Claire and Flores to resume the surgery with professionalism.

 

As Lim orders tacos at a taco truck, Plager calls out to her and jokes about her trial. Lim tells him she plans to appeal, commenting that women in power are worse than men. As they eat together, she tells him that she is still on call and is competing for a promotion. Alex tells Melendez that Daniel consented to the proposed procedure for Gina, and Lim decides to answer her phone during sex with Plager. Shaun and Morgan tell Lim what they’ve discovered about the erectile patient, and she promises to return to the hospital, asking Plager for a ride.

 

As Lim, Morgan, and Shaun operate on the erectile patient, Morgan comments how tired she is and how Claire is right about the schedules. Shaun agrees that they could have diagnosed the patient quicker if they weren’t tired, and Lim tells them they’ll get used to the fatigue. Morgan accuses her of sitting on her couch the whole shift, and Lim doesn’t correct her. Melendez finds a mass on Gina’s uterus and declares that they’ll have to do a hysterectomy. Alex makes an alternate suggestion, as Gina wants to be a mother. Melendez offers to talk to Daniel, but Claire volunteers to do it.

 

Daniel is hesitant to make the decision, but Claire reminds him that Gina chose him as her proxy. He tells her that he can’t make the decision for her as a man, and asks for her opinion. Claire tells him that Gina didn’t want her objective opinion, but Daniel tells her to decide. During surgery, Shaun asks Lim if she feels sorry for him, explaining what Morgan insinuated about Lea. Morgan insists that she’s being honest, and Lim tells Shaun that he needs to talk to Lea to find out the truth.

 

Claire explains that Daniel put her in charge of the decision. Melendez makes a suggestion, but Claire reminds him it’s her decision to make, declaring that they do the hysterectomy. After they finish, Melendez puts Claire in charge of closing and goes to talk to Daniel. Lim determines that the erectile patient’s surgery was a success and gives Shaun and Morgan credit. Gina wakes up and Melendez tells her what happened. Daniel apologizes, and she assures him things are going to be okay.

 

Andrews brings Melendez, Claire, and Flores to his office and asks who is to blame for the unprofressionalism. Melendez vouches that the surgery was tense, but they managed to work together. Andrews asks Claire and Flores if they have anything to share, and Claire replies that she doesn’t while Flores comments on Melendez’ openness to suggestions. Andrews is satisfied and tells them to go home and rest.

 

Shaun finds Lea waiting for him outside and sits next to her. He admits he was wrong to tell her to leave and calls her a good friend. Shaun promises to listen to what she has to say, and she calls him out for being a jerk. Lea tells him that he hurt her and that she has feelings too. Shaun apologizes, but Lea tells him that friendship is a two-way street before calling him a jackass and leaving. Morgan comments that Lea does think of him as a man as she walks by. Glassman hallucinates Maddie by his bedside, and she asks how he’s feeling. He tells her she’s dead, and asks if he’s dead too. She assures him that he’s not dead, just tired.