The Good Doctor – Carrots

By starrymag | November 4, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

Lea Dilallo (Paige Spara) tells Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) that they shouldn’t be roommates. He tells her it makes no sense, as neither of them can afford the apartment on their own, reminding her it has a fireplace. She asks him if he’s ever thought of them being together, and he admits he does sometimes. Lea tells him she doesn’t want that, arguing that living together would imply they would eventually get together.

 

Shaun tells her she can’t predict the future, as things change. Lea tells him she likes being his friend, and that things would be awkward if they live together. She assures him he would walk in on her naked, hear sex sounds, or hear crying over a breakup. Lea tells him that anything that puts their friendship at risk isn’t worth it.

 

As Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang) talks to Shaun and Dr. Alex Park (Will Yun Lee), Shaun notices that a urine sample on a nearby cart is fizzy. Meanwhile, Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas) tends to Louisa DeLeon (Reiko Aylesworth) and hits her sternum when she passes out to wake her. She asks Louisa’s husband, Sam DeLeon (David Lewis) why she’s so frail and Sam explains that she’s anorexic.

 

Shaun asks Wade (Bryce Johnson) how long his urine has been fizzy, and he tells him he didn’t notice. Alex examines the scope on his knee, and Shaun lists possible conditions Wade could have. Wade asks if his symptoms could be caused by gastric bypass surgery, telling them it was fifteen years ago. Shaun suggests a test, and explains the process to Wade.

 

Claire and Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) examine Louisa, and Melendez tells her that her heart is failing. He tells her they need surgery to repair a valve, and Claire asks how long she’s been anorexic. Louisa answers that she’s been struggling with food since she was fourteen, and Sam admits he doesn’t know how to help her. Their son, Graham (Jesse Downs), comes in and embraces Louisa. Melendez explains Louisa’s heart condition, and Graham asks if it’s the reason she’s so skinny.

 

Shaun confronts Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) about not moving his bowels, and tells him it’s vital to his recovery. Glassman sarcastically asks if he has to do post-op decathalon, and Shaun tells him that walking is also important to his recovery. Glassman tells him that he canceled physical therapy because his leg is sore, but Shaun pushes him to walk around the hospital with him. However, Glassman asks if he’s needed elsewhere and urges him to leave.

 

Lim, Shaun, and Alex run the test on Wade, and Lim has Shaun take over. Alex comments that Wade lost weight the easy way rather than with diet and exercise, and Lim points out that Wade has made progress. Shaun finds an issue with Wade’s bladder, and diagnoses him.

 

Claire and Dr. Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) point out to Melendez that Louisa probably won’t survive the surgery in her frail condition, and they explain that they need to inject more calories into Louisa’s stomach. Sam and Louisa explain that they tried that in the past, and Claire realizes her anorexia is more about control than food. She asks how Louisa was able to have a child in her condition, and she explains that she would imagine the food going directly to Graham. Claire asks if she can eat for Graham, and Louisa agrees.

 

Lim diagnoses Wade with Crohn’s disease, and Wade is horrified at hearing that they’ll have to reverse his gastric bypass. Alex explains it’s necessary, but Wade tells them he doesn’t want his husband to know about the gastric bypass as he doesn’t know he was once obese. Shaun comments that his husband must be very shallow, and figures out a way to do the surgery with a single incision and deceive his husband. Wade’s husband, Spence (Dan Bucatinsky) arrives and asks about Wade’s treatment.

 

Morgan realizes that Louisa is struggling with eating, and makes Graham listen to her list how much she’s eaten. Graham confronts her about it, and declares that she’s too skinny. Louisa tells him she’s trying, but Graham tells her to try harder. Claire confronts Morgan about provoking that argument, but Morgan insists it needed to be done.

 

Alex believes that Wade should tell Spence the truth based on his divorce experience, while Lim argues that some secrets are okay based on her divorce experience. As they argue, Shaun comments that marriage sounds confusing and it’s no wonder they both failed at it. Claire checks on Louisa, who now has an IV through her nose.

 

Shaun approaches Dr. Marina Blaize (Lisa Edelstein), expressing his concerns about Glassman. She asks who he is, and Shaun introduces himself. He tells her to order Glassman to do physical therapy, and Blaize suggests that Glassman is reluctant to do physical therapy because he doesn’t want to appear weak. Shaun doesn’t understand, but Blaize is confident Glassman will walk eventually. She advises Shaun to use the carrot, not the stick to motivate Glassman, and explains the metaphor to a confused Shaun. He asks if he should be using a reward to motivate him, but Blaize advises him to be patient.

 

Nurse Jag (Adil Zaidi) informs Shaun that Wade has been projectile vomiting, and Shaun diagnoses an obstruction by the green color. Spence asks if Crohn’s is responsible for that, and Alex tells him it’s hard to know for sure. Claire checks on Louisa, who admits she’s having trouble with the IV. Claire advises her to think of Graham and Sam, but Louisa attempts to rip out the IV when Claire turns her back.

 

Lea tells Shaun she got his deposit back, insisting they can’t live together. Shaun tells her they can still live as friends with the benefit of living together, even if they’re not a couple. Lea protests, but Shaun tells her it’s simple. As Claire, Melendez, and Morgan debate what to do about Louisa, Claire suggests an experimental brain surgery to help deal with the psychology of Louisa’s eating disorder. Melendez sees that a personality change is a potential risk and the success rate is only fifty percent. Claire suggests they bring the surgery to the hospital board, but Melendez argues it won’t be approved with such a small sample size.

 

Shaun tells Debbie Wexler (Sheila Kelley) that he’s looking for a carrot, picking out a blueberry muffin for Glassman. He explains the metaphor and his plan to motivate Glassman, but Debbie tells him Glassman would prefer a chocolate chip muffin. Alex tries to walk away when Spence asks him questions about Wade’s surgery, but Spence follows him. He tells Spence that the treatment isn’t solely for Crohn’s disease, advising him to talk to Wade.

 

Shaun tells Glassman that he brought him a muffin, but tells him he needs to walk to get it. Glassman accuses him of manipulating him, and gives him his reasons for not walking. Shaun tells him about Blaize’s speculation about him not wanting to appear weak, but Glassman denies it and calls Shaun’s methods condescending and annoying. Shaun offers to get his muffin, but sees that the orderly is eating it. Sam approaches Melendez telling him that Louisa wants the brain surgery, explaining that Claire told them about it. Melendez asks if Claire told them about the potential personality change, and Sam tells him she explained everything.

 

Shaun wakes Lea up to tell her he got their apartment back, but Lea is upset he’s not listening to her. He explains that he’s okay with everything that comes with living together, and Lea asks how he can be sure. Shaun tells her that living with her will be good for him and it makes him happy. Lea questions what will happen if she ends up hurting him again, assuring him they’ll still see each other if they don’t live together. Shaun promises to tell the landlord they don’t want the apartment, and Lea tells him she’ll do it.

 

Claire explains the proposed surgery to Melendez, Dr. Marcus Andrews (Hill Harper), and Allegra Aoki (Tamlyn Tomita). She confirms that she’s proposing postponing the valve surgery, and Aoki compliments her presentation. Andrews expresses his concerns about the small sample size, but Claire tells them that she wants them to hear from Louisa and argues that hearing patients’ concerns makes them less likely to sue the hospital.

 

Lim confronts Alex about violating Wade’s patient confidentiality, and Alex argues that Wade’s marriage is better off with the secret out in the open. Lim tells him he’s not a marriage counselor and informs him that Wade is requesting a transfer to another hospital. Louisa tells the board that she’s tried everything to deal with her anorexia, but nothing’s worked. She begs them to help her stop, and Melendez asks if she’s aware the surgery might effect her ability to love Graham. Louisa tells them she’ll risk anything to prevent Graham from seeing the anorexia kill her.

 

Spence accuses Wade of keeping his bypass from him because he thinks he’s shallow. Wade reminds him of all the jokes he’s made about fat people, and Shaun determines that Wade needs to go into surgery immediately. Andrews tells Claire that the board has decided to do the brain surgery on a two to one vote, and wishes her luck.

 

As they operate on Wade, Shaun comments that the truth didn’t help Wade’s marriage. Alex insists Wade should have been honest from the start, and Shaun suggests that Wade probably thought Spence would have the same attitude towards his bypass that Alex did earlier. Sam kisses Louisa and Louisa tells Graham that she loves him before she is wheeled into surgery.

 

Shaun tells Blaize that the muffin didn’t motivate Glassman, and expresses his frustration that his help isn’t working. He admits he doesn’t know how to help him, and Blaize advises him that Glassman needs somebody to be there for him. Shaun declares he knows the perfect person and runs out of the room.

 

Louisa wakes up from the surgery, and declares she’s hungry. Graham hugs her, but Louisa admits that Graham’s hug felt different. Alex tells Spence that Wade’s surgery went well, and sees that he’s looking at pictures of pre-bypass Wade. Alex tells Spence that Wade could possibly look like that again, and Spence admits he wishes he didn’t know that.

 

Debbie visits Glassman, telling him that Shaun told her to come. She apologizes for falling out of touch with him, and he tells her he’s been preoccupied with the tumor. Debbie tells Glassman they’re going for a walk and helps him out of bed. She admits she used to be a nurse, and that the night shift is peaceful.

 

Claire reports to Melendez that Louisa is eating, and that they should be able to do the valve surgery in a few weeks. Melendez tells her she won’t be a part of any of his future surgeries, as he went around him to the patient. Claire insists that he rejected her idea, and that she got Andrews and Aoki to approve it. Melendez tells her that Andrews was the one who voted against it, and Claire is surprised Melendez voted for her. He tells her he expects his residents to accept his final decisions, and that he can’t run his team any other way.

 

Blaize compliments Shaun’s efforts as they watch Glassman and Debbie walk down the hall, and Shaun tells her Debbie is a better carrot and friend than he is. Alex calls his ex, asking if things would be different if he hadn’t walked in on them cheating. Lea tells Shaun that she’s decided to move into the apartment with him, and they jump for joy at the prospect of being roommates.