The Good Doctor – Breakdown

By starrymag | March 10, 2019

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

Lea Dilallo (Paige Spara) comes home and Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) admits he didn’t get any sleep. Shaun declares that he doesn’t want to be a pathologist, but Lea tells him that nobody’s life goes as planned and argues that he’s still a doctor. He declares he’s going to walk to work, telling her she doesn’t understand and that he needs to change Dr. Jackson Han’s (Daniel Dae Kim) mind.

 

Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang) and Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) kiss in his car and she warns him not to smile at her at the hospital. He argues that he smiles at everyone and Lim is horrified at seeing Shaun walk down the street. She points him out to Melendez and they question whether he saw them. Lim tells him to move and they drive past him.

 

Allegra Aoki (Tamlyn Tomita) gives a presentation about the hospital’s newest patient, Kenny Grimm (James Immekus), telling him they appreciate him letting them use his case as an educational opportunity. Melendez explains that Kenny’s tumor has grown to about a hundred pounds and deemed inoperable. He explains that they’re attempting an experimental procedure to remove the tumor.

 

The committee chair (Bill Dow) is surprised to see Han at the meeting, but Han tells him he’s there to see where his doctors will be judged, and talks about his own experience of being judged. Han tells them he hired a private investigator to research the board and the chair replies that they’re not the ones on trial. Han suggests that his investigator could find something embarrassing about the board, and suggests they work out a compromise.

 

Lim tells Laura Petrie (Joy Osmanski) that the surgery on her baby went well and Laura hugs her. Lim tells her she was right to bring her in and Laura admits she’s become an insecure first-time mother. Laura suggests that Lim will change when she settles down and has kids, but Lim denies it will happen and explains that they’re still trying to figure out the cause of the baby’s internal bleeding.

 

Lim asks Dr. Carly Lever (Jasika Nicole) about the test results, requesting them to be expedited since Laura is a friend of hers. She asks if Shaun was on the street earlier, and Shaun confirms he walked to work. Lim asks if he saw anything interesting on his walk, and Shaun doesn’t answer. Carly tells Lim that the results can’t be expedited if she’s there, and Lim leaves.

 

Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) denies that he’s freaking out about his incoming test results and Dr. Marina Blaize (Lisa Edelstein) tells him she would be. Glassman admits he’s stressed, and Blaize urges him to embrace it. She tells him to call if he needs anything, and Glassman wants to show his gratitude, admitting he wasn’t a good patient. Blaize refuses, but Glassman is persistant. She continues refusing his offers, and he angrily tells her he’s trying to thank her. He continues arguing, and she threatens to use pepper spray.

 

Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas) asks Carly for blood for Kenny’s operation, and explains the situation to her. Shaun processes the information and makes a suggestion for the operation. He offers to help with research, but Claire tells him that the surgical team is already full.

 

Lim tells Melendez she talked to Shaun, taking his demeanor as indication that he saw them. Melendez isn’t convinced, offering to talk to Shaun himself to see what he knows. Nurse Dalisay Villanueva (Elfina Luk) tells them that Han wants to see them and believe they’re in trouble upon seeing Shaun in Han’s office.

 

Shaun tells them that Han made a deal with the medical board and they won’t be disciplined. Lim and Melendez thank Han, and Shaun asks if it means he’s back on the surgical team. Han refuses, and Lim points out that he advocated for Shaun to the board. However, Han refuses to change his mind.

 

Carly shows Shaun the results of Laura’s baby’s tests, and concludes that the only way to get the injury was if she was shaken very hard. Shaun concludes that the baby must have been abused. Lim refuses to believe the results, insisting Laura would never abuse her baby but denying that anyone else spent time with the baby other than her.

 

Carly insists they need to call child protective services, but Lim asks to perform an MRI to confirm the results first. Carly tells her that she can’t do the MRI herself as she’s too close to the case, but tells Shaun that he can’t do it either when he offers. Shaun prepares himself to talk to Han, but Melendez pulls him aside and tells him he doesn’t have a girlfriend. Melendez asks if that’s consistent with what he’s seen recently, and Shaun says yes. As Melendez walks away, Shaun sees that Han has left the cafeteria.

 

Claire rants about Han’s unfair treatment of Shaun, but Dr. Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) defends Han as Dr. Alex Park (Will Yun Lee) talks to Kenny in the MRI machine. Claire suggests they protest, but Morgan suggests that Han made the right decision. Claire defends Shaun’s ability to grow, but Morgan insists it’s better to start with the best talent instead. Alex interrupts the argument to show them the results of Kenny’s scan.

 

Laura questions how Lim could consider the possibility of her being abusive, and Lim tells her that she’s running more tests. Lim tells her that raising a child is hard, but Laura insists that it’s completely rewarding. Laura denies the implication that it’s ever exhausting, telling her that she doesn’t understand because she’s never experienced it.

 

Melendez tells Kenny that the tumor has grown quicker than they’ve expected and that they can no longer perform the surgery. Kenny tells them he’d rather die in surgery than continue to live with the tumor. He breaks down, but tells them that he appreciates all they’ve done for him.

 

Shaun tells Lea about Carly and his work in pathology. Lea suggests pathology might be good for him, but Shaun isn’t happy about the suggestion. Melendez suggests to Lim that they make their relationship public, but they are both unsure if they want to. Lim suggests they’re only having the conversation because of almost getting caught and that they’re not actually ready. Melendez agrees that it’s understandable, but they are unable to come to a conclusion.

 

Glassman yells at the restaurant host (Ryan Jinn) for taking too long with his order, but the host explains they’re backed up. Another order is passed out, and Glassman yells that he just wants his food. Glassman apologizes for his outburst, and Claire rants about Morgan to Alex. As she drinks her bubble tea, Claire gets inspiration for the surgery. Han finds Morgan working after hours and she denies that she’s trying to impress him. He tells her to go home, but Claire runs in and declares she has an idea.

 

Claire explains her idea to Kenny, and he consents to the idea before they can finish explaining it. Lim tells Laura the test results were confirmed, but Laura insists it’s wrong. A police officer (Shelene Yung) takes Laura away while she yells at Lim for not believing her innocence. During surgery, Han compliments Claire on her idea before Kenny starts crashing. They debate what to do, and Glassman asks Blaize about his test results. Blaize tells him they’re not ready, and refuses to call in a favor to expedite it. She tells him the finish line is in sight, and tells him that she’s not worried about him.

 

Shaun watches from above as the team operates on Kenny and gets inspiration, running to the lab to test his theory that the baby’s condition was caused by something other than abuse. As the team tries to remove the tumor, Kenny’s heart rate spikes. They try again, and Kenny starts crashing.

 

The team debates how to help Kenny, and Melendez declares they need to get Shaun in there. Han replies that there’s no time, but Melendez tells Claire to page Shaun. Han tells him there’s no time for an audition, but Melendez argues that it’s his decision.

 

Carly shows Lim evidence that the baby’s condition happened during the birth rather than as a cause of abuse. Claire runs in and tells Shaun they need him in the operating room. Shaun processes the situation and gives his suggestion to the team. Han argues with the suggestion, but Claire supports Shaun’s idea. Han agrees and thanks Shaun for his consult. However, Shaun is not allowed to join the surgery and walks out of the room.

 

Blaize tells Glassman that the test results show that he’s cancer free. Glassman hands her a box, and she reminds him she said no gifts. He tells her to open it, and finds an old baseball inside. Glassman explains that he caught the ball on his thirteenth birthday and got all the players to sign it. He explains he wanted to give her something that mattered to him, and she tells him that cancer changes people. Glassman doesn’t agree, but she argues that he wouldn’t have thought of the thoughtful gift before he was diagnosed.

 

The team successfully finishes Kenny’s operation as Shaun watches from above. Lim apologizes to Laura as she’s reunited with her baby and Laura tells her it’s not her fault. Laura suggests that Lim doesn’t understand love, as she’s never allowed herself to be vulnerable. Kenny thanks the team for removing the tumor, and Lim and Melendez go into Andrews’ office to talk.

 

Shaun visits Han’s office and argues that he deserves to be a surgeon since his suggestion saved the patient. He declares that Han is making a mistake, but Han tells him he’s doing well in pathology. Han suggests that they add to his responsibilities over time, but Shaun declares that he’s a surgeon.

 

Shaun sits down and refuses to leave until Han reinstates him. Han suggests that Shaun is proving his point, but Shaun continues to insist he’s a surgeon. Han continues to condescendingly suggest that Shaun is immature and can’t control his emotions and Shaun continues to push that he’s a surgeon. Han tells him he’s giving him one last chance to leave his office, threatening to call security. He tells him he would have to fire him, but Shaun yells that he’s a surgeon. Shaun breaks down and again yells that he’s a surgeon.

 

Shaun struggles to pack up his locker and continues to break down. His stuff spills to the ground and Shaun grabs his toy scalpel as he attempts to pack. Shaun breaks the scalpel and collapses to the floor. Claire wordlessly helps him pack and sits next to him as he continues to break down. Shaun leaves the hospital as it rains and looks back at his former job one last time before walking away.