The Good Doctor – Faces

By starrymag | February 10, 2019

By: Jessica Wolff

 

Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) wakes up to find Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) by his bedside. Shaun tells him he’s been there all night, and that he plans to take the day off. Glassman tells him he can’t, but Shaun tells him he’s allowed to take paid vacation days.

 

Dr. Marcus Andrews (Hill Harper) explains a proposed procedure to Molly (Chloe Csengery), a girl with a disfigured face. Molly asks if it’ll hurt, and Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas) is confident she’ll be able to handle it. Andrews assures her that facial reconstruction has improved over the years, and Claire jokes that she’ll get a free coffee mug after her surgery.

 

The EMT rolls in a car accident victim, Karen Tindle as her mother, Shannon Tindle (Lilli Birdsell) follows with her arm in a sling. The EMT explains Karen’s condition and Dr. Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) suggests that her brain is bleeding.

 

Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang) and Dr. Alex Park (Will Yun Lee) also determine that Karen has a heart problem, and roll Karen into surgery. Karen’s scans prove that she needs surgery on both her head and heart. Lim suggests that they should prioritize the heart, and Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) agrees with her.

 

Glassman reports that his symptoms are nausea and boredom, complaining that he has no choice but to sit around all day now that he’s no longer running the hospital. He declares that he needs his medication, and sends Shaun to get it. As the surgeons operate on Karen’s heart, her brain function declines.

 

Shaun comments that the medicine he brought is marijuana, and Glassman argues it’s medicinal. After Glassman takes two, Shaun asks if he can try one. He argues that he heard someone tell him that marijuana helps with autism, and proposes an experiment to test the theory. Glassman agrees, and reminds Shaun that he’s only taking one when he tries to take multiple at once. After attempting to operate on Karen’s brain, Melendez declares her brain-dead.

 

Shaun and Glassman set up a makeshift golf course in Glassman’s house, and they laugh as Shaun hits a ball through a window. Glassman hits a ball into the cup, and declares that he’ll call Shaun “smurf” after Shaun calls him Glassy. Shaun starts laughing, and asks if he’s high. Glassman confirms and Shun asks if he’s acting more normal. Glassman tells him he’s acting high. Shaun asks why he’s calling him “smurf,” and Glassman explains that it’s combining the first and last name but  adds that the technique doesn’t work for him.

 

Lim tells Shannon the news and she breaks down. Shaun and Glassman lie on the carpet, and Glassman asks how things are with Lea. Shaun tells him that Lea is into Jake, and Glassman asks who is Jake. Glassman asks if he’s okay with it and Shaun doesn’t answer. Glassman suggests he’s there because he’s not okay with it but Shaun denies it.

 

Melendez tells Lim that she was right to prioritize Karen’s heart over her brain and Lim tells him she appreciates him saying it. He advises her not to second-guess herself, and she questions why she should feel guilty. Meanwhile, Glassman declares that he’s hungry for Mallomars and requests an uber.

 

Andrews tells Shannon that she’s going to need to make a lot of decisions over the next few days, and tells her they kept Karen on life support because they want to know about organ donation. Shannon asks what organ they want, and Andrews explains they want her face for Molly. Shannon is disturbed by the idea and refuses.

 

Claire rolls Molly onto an elevator with Morgan and Shannon, who observes as they talk about sports. Claire and Morgan share a look as Claire rolls Molly back off the elevator. Shaun and Glassman go around town looking for mallomars, but are unable to find them. The Uber Driver (Mo Gaffney) is fed up with having to drive them around to so many places, suggesting she order them a pizza if they have the munchies.

 

Shaun and Glassman declare they don’t want pizza, and Glassman declares he doesn’t want to go home. The driver asks why he wants the Mallomars so badly and Glassman confesses that they remind him of a high school crush, Robin. The drive declares that going to see the girl he’s had unresolved feelings for is a worthy quest, and works on trying to find her.

 

Andrews shows Molly Karen’s picture, telling her that her face is a perfect match and that they have permission from the next-of-kin. Andrews gathers all of the surgeons together, explaining that the face transplant is a difficult procedure and will require all hands on deck for the next two days.

 

Shaun and the driver find addresses for potential Robins online, but Glassman thinks this is stupid. The driver tells him that quests aren’t stupid but Glassman questions why he would want to see Robin after all these years. Shaun suggests that he can tell her he loves her, but Glassman declares he just wants a Mallomar. The driver suggests that thinking of her makes him happy and Shaun asks if that’s how you know you’re in love. The driver tells him it’s a start, and suggests that Glassman’s desire to drive around town looking for Robin’s favorite food is a sign.

 

As the initial tests for the transplant are done, Glassman knocks on doors looking for Robin. However, they don’t find the right Robin and the driver declares the ride home is on her. Glassman remembers that his high school janitor, Flakey (Michael David Simms) has a record of everyone who attended the school and the driver reroutes their direction.

 

Claire tells Molly that every test shows that Karen is the perfect match, but Molly is hesitant. Claire tells her it’s natural to have second thoughts, but Molly admits she feels guilty about stealing someone else’s face. Claire convinces her to go through with the transplant and she agrees to it.

 

Glassman, Shaun, and the driver go to Glassman’s old high school, and Glassman tells them that Flakey is still the janitor. Flakey greets Glassman as “Glaaron Assman” and Shaun laughs at the nickname as Flakey shows them Glassman’s old trophy in the case.

 

Shannon admits to Morgan and Alex that she’s still holding out hope that Karen will wake up. They roll Karen through the hallway and find the entire hospital staff standing. Morgan explains that it’s called the walk of honor, and they’re assembled to thank Karen for her sacrifice. Shannon tears up as they roll Karen down the hallway, kissing her goodbye before letting go.

 

Flakey shows Glassman a yearbook picture of Robin, telling him that Robin got married and is now Robin Demayne Scaplin (Elizabeth McLaughlin). Glassman asks why he didn’t just tell him over the phone, and Flakey tells him he wanted to see him. Shaun finds Robin online, telling them that it’s an eleven and a half hour drive to Portland. Glassman declares they’re going to Portland, and the surgery team starts the transplant.

 

The team cuts and removes Karen’s face before transferring it to Molly. Once they face is removed, Morgan pulls the plug on Karen. After Karen flatlines, the team works on attaching the face to Molly. As they drive, the Uber driver tells Glassman and Shaun that it’s a long way to see a married woman Glassman hasn’t spoken to in years. Glassman tells her he called at the last stop, and Shaun tells her he hung up soon after. The driver tells Glassman that he’ll want to turn around once he sobers up, and Glassman agrees it’s likely.

 

The team works on the transplant as much of the staff observe from above. Andrews reminds them of the plan, and Lim later reports she affected Karen’s artery. Nurse Deena Petringa (Karin Konoval) tells Claire that Molly’s parents, Dean (Kurt Evans) and Lori (Bronwen Smith) want to see her and Andrews tells her and Lim to scrub out.

 

As they arrive at Robin’s house, Glassman tells the driver that he had a crush on Robin but that he wrote something awful in her yearbook he regrets. He explains that Robin had written in his yearbook that she regretted him not asking her out, and that she seemed visibly upset at what he wrote but never got the chance to apologize. Claire introduces Shannon to Molly’s parents, and they thank her for her sacrifice. They ask her what Karen was like, and Shannon tells them she killed her.

 

Melendez tells Lim that Andrews wants her back in surgery, and Lim tells him that his advice not to second-guess herself caused her to think he’s second-guessing himself. She asks why he didn’t argue with her suggestion to prioritize the heart, suggesting he backed off because they’re sleeping together. She walks away, as Shannon tells Molly’s parents that the car accident was her fault. Claire tries to tell her it isn’t her fault, but Dean tells her it doesn’t work like that. He tells Shannon that his gun hurt Molly, and that he failed his job to protect his family.

 

Glassman knocks on Robin’s door and she is surprised to see him when she opens the door. As they sit in Robin’s house, the driver breaks the silence by telling Robin that Glassman had a crush on her. Glassman apologizes for what he wrote in her yearbook, but Robin doesn’t seem to remember. He apologizes, and Robin tells him his apology is accepted. She serves them Mallomars, and Shaun is thrilled to finally find some.

 

The surgical team finishes the transplant, declaring it a success. After Robin watches Glassman drive away, she pulls out her old yearbook where Glassman’s message to her is crossed out. Molly wakes up and Claire asks how she’s feeling. Molly replies she feels terrible, and Claire takes it as a sign that they’re on the right track. Andrews offers her a mirror, but she is hesitant to see the results. Claire tells her it will feel surreal at first, but that she’ll get used to it. Molly looks at her reflection and takes in the results.

 

Melendez apologizes to Lim for telling her how to react to losing a patient, and she thanks him. She admits that she’s been second-guessing everything lately, including their relationship. He tells her she’s making things complicated, but she tells him that their relationship changes their professional relationship as well. Melendez asks if they should end things, but Lim says no.

 

Shannon visits Molly and introduces herself. She hands Molly a photo album of Karen, and Molly calls Karen beautiful. Shannon thanks Molly’s parents as well as Claire for timing the elevator ride perfectly. She asks Molly if she can say goodbye, and kisses Molly’s forehead before leaving.

 

Glassman and Shaun return home, and Glassman declares he’ll clean up the house tomorrow. Shaun asks if he’s glad he apologized to Robin, and Glassman says yes. Shaun asks if he still feels guilty, and Glassman confirms he does. Shaun suggests that guilt is a bad thing since it makes people feel bad about things they can’t fix, but Glassman suggests that it helps them make the right decision next time. Shaun asks Glassman if he regrets meeting Robin, and Glassman tells him he doesn’t. Shaun admits that he’s not okay with Lea being into Jake, and Glassman says goodnight to him.