The Good Doctor – Disaster

By starrymag | September 29, 2019

By: Ujjyani Banerjee

 

 

Shaun (Freddie Highmore) and Carly (Jasika Nicole) are on their first date. Carly is smiling but nervous. Shaun refers a “list of topics” to carry out conversation. When a waiter gets them their food Shaun spots a pickle on his plate and he jumps up, accidentally pushing the waiter and causing a wine bottle to spring up into the air.

 

Dr. Park (Will Yun Lee), Dr. Morgan (Fiona Gubelmann), Dr. Brown (Antonia Thomas) and Dr. Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) are listening to Shaun’s date night narrative intently. Dr. Lim (Christina Chang) walks in wondering why no one’s working. Park tells of Shaun’s date while Morgan congratulates her on the promotion. They get back to work. Lim tells Melendez that they need to breakup officially and kisses him.

 

Claire and Shaun come across a case involving newlyweds where the bride Suzanne, (Sophia Lauchlin Hirt), is bleeding out from her abdominal area. Park and Morgan are with an elderly couple with the husband, Harvey (John Innes), hospitalized. Ruby (Jenny O’Hara), his wife, reveals about his history with kidney stones and the doctors understand that Harvey has dementia too. Park suggests imaging to rule out any complications. Morgan asks Park to take up the case as it’s boring. He argues that she touched the file first and, hence, has to pursue it.

 

Lim and Melendez visit HR to split officially. The HR director Jenny Waring (Jill Morrison) believes that they dated long before they made it official and is sure that will continue to do so but warns that it’d be complicated. Shaun informs Suzanne about her uterine fibroids needing surgery. Lim calls a meeting with the whole surgical staff about newer changes to ease OR access. Nurse Petringa (Karin Konoval) wishes for nurses overtime without the attending surgeons dictating over it. Lim authorizes it. She also reveals that third year residents shall be allowed to lead straightforward surgeries from here on and asks them to prep. They are thrilled.

 

In the imaging room Morgan, who was initially reluctant, now shows interest in the case.  She soon spots operable cancer in the imaging. Shaun, Claire and Melendez are in the OR operating on Suzanne. They spot heavy metastasis. Allegra (Tamlyn Tomita) visits Dr. Glassman (Richard Schiff) at his home and asks him to rejoin as president. Shaun, Claire and Melendez brainstorm about Suzanne’s condition. Melendez feels that chemo and palliative care would be a better option compared to surgery and asks Shaun to disclose the couple about Suzanne’s counted days. Morgan and Park go to nurse Petringa to know who took the chart first. Just then Ruby inquires about Harvey’s reports. They disclose about Harvey who’s scared and worried. Morgan tries explaining that the surgical prognosis is indeed excellent.

 

Claire finds Shaun reading books and realizes that he’s stalling the interaction with Suzanne. She guesses that he’s disturbed because of the date and asks him to share. Back to present, he gets distracted by a ringing phone. It turns out its Claire’s mom. He asks her to answer, but Claire would rather not as she doesn’t want her mom’s influence in her life right now. Shaun asks Claire if she’s seeking guidance from him and wonders if she considers him as a role model. She does, in certain aspects. Shaun reveals how he never worries about the past. Claire reminds him that his date is part of the past. Shaun reveals that he cracked a joke and that Lea (Paige Spara) had asked him to do so. We see that Lea helped him with the wardrobe choices and briefed about topics and timely jokes but he ended up interrupting Carly with a “Martini” joke when she was sharing about her strained relationship with her dad. Carly smiled but according to Shaun it was a weird chuckle sound which wasn’t worth the hard work he put in.

 

Morgan and Park go through CCTV footage to see who grabbed the chart first. At the nurse’s station Petringa thanks Dr. Lim for approving the overtime, but reveals that they are understaffed. Lim has to say no due to budgetary issues. It ticks off Petringa. Melendez notices that the newlyweds haven’t been informed about the cancer and calls Shaun.

 

Shaun tells Suzanne about her cancer but how there is hope with surgery. Later Melendez, Shaun and Claire brainstorm about the operation. Shaun suggests an ex-vivo procedure. Melendez and Shaun present it to the couple and give them time to make a choice.

 

Lim visits Dr. Andrews (Hill Harper) to get help on the Petringa situation. He is uptight, but offers her advice eventually. Morgan and Park go to inform Harvey about his cancer, but he’s totally forgotten. Park feels he’d be unable to cope with the daily struggles of confusion and pain throughout the treatment period, let alone his wife’s ordeal. Ruby hates the way Park thought it’d be a burden for her and walks off. Morgan doesn’t like Park’s outlook either.

 

Shaun visits Dr. Glassman at Stevens Creek Health Center for lunch where he’s treating a patient, Marco Higgins (Soppo Gomez), for diabetes. Shaun is puzzled as to why in spite of being a brain surgeon, he’s doing these boring consultations. Glassman in turn asks Shaun about his date night. We see a flashback where Shaun helps Carly out of her chair after the dinner and while walking out of the restaurant bumps a woman, dislocating her shoulder. Coming back to present Shaun looks closely at Marco and insists on having a look at his foot, which he thinks is infected that’s led to his symptoms. Marco takes off his boots and reveals his foot infected with maggots squirming about on his flesh. Shaun now calls the case interesting.

 

Park meets Morgan who’s struggling to open a pickle jar. He offers to help and tells her that he should’ve explained her in private that treating Harvey wouldn’t be right. Morgan defends saying that Harvey doesn’t deserve to be a vegetable. He has a family and a life that matters. Park asks her to let him live his remaining years happily. Lim meets Petringa and informs about her decision to procure patient lifts and a mechatronic ICU bed to help with the understaffed issue. Petringa is thankful. Morgan explains to Ruby why it’d be a nightmare for Harvey to undergo chemotherapy and letting him live his last few years happily would be a more humane option. Ruby is upset.

 

Claire and Shaun are with the newlyweds who are torn with making the decision. Shaun wonders what they’re waiting for and if the husband (Aren Buchholz) is thinking of loving a new healthy person. He is shocked, but Suzanne shares the same notion. She doesn’t want him to suffer, but he isn’t one to walk away. After all, he vowed to be by her side in sickness and in health. They finally give consent for the surgery. In the OR Claire asks more about the date. We learn that Shaun managed to fix the lady’s shoulder earning an applause. Focusing back on the OR, he shows Dr. Melendez a compromised part of Suzanne’s ileum.

 

Lim revisits Marcus to offer him an attending surgeon’s vacancy. He is unwilling to work under her. She explains how stubbornness has been his asset and his weakness. She asks him to not let it get the better of him this time. Park and Morgan visit Harvey’s room to share his biopsy results. He’s as puzzled and scared as before. He doesn’t remember anything regarding the imaging itself. Ruby realizes what would become of him and shares that the results are all negative. She wants him to live happily.

 

Shaun is back to sharing the last part of his date with the residents and Melendez where Carly kissed him, saying she enjoyed the date while he stood there silent. Morgan wonders where was the disaster. Shaun is on the verge of tears as he recollects the exhausting, unnatural and hard evening that it was as he feels that he probably ruined Carly’s night and positively ruined his own. Just then Lim walks in introducing the team to their new attending – Dr. Marcus Andrews.

 

Allegra visits Glassman at the health center. She fakes her ID as a patient but has actually come to request him to return as president. Glassman considers the offer. Claire reveals to Suzanne that her surgery was a success, but she has to live with an ileostomy bag for the rest of her life. She is worried, but her husband calms her down promising that they’d make do with it.

 

As the residents shifts get over, Claire explains to Shaun why everyday is a disaster and having a partner is crucial. Shaun says it’s not worth it and walks away. Park leaves to receive Kellen at the airport while Morgan visits her grandpa who’s hospitalized. Shaun stares at Carly through the lab window. She doesn’t notice him, but when she does he’s already turned and is walking away.