The Good Doctor – Middle Ground

By starrymag | October 7, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

Lea Dilallo (Paige Spara) wakes up to find a note from Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) telling her that he’s left for work. At the hospital, Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) asks why Shaun is there early and Shaun tells him that he wanted to get to work early. Shaun asks what he should do if he believes a patient has pancreatic cancer, and clarifies that he thinks the janitor, Paul Buendia (Faustino Di Bauda), has cancer as he’s burped seventeen times in ten minutes.

 

Melendez argues that he has acid reflux, but Shaun argues that he is jaundiced. After they walk past Paul, Melendez orders tests and instructs Shaun to not tell Paul why the tests are needed. Shaun confirms that Melendez wants him to lie and admits he’s been practicing lying. He explains that he lied about wanting to come in to work early.

 

Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang) checks on a patient, Asha (Camille Hyde), who requests plastic surgery. Lim tells her this is an emergency room, but Asha asks Lim to examine her. During the examination, Lim finds that Asha’s genitals are mutilated and demands to know who did this to her. Asha refuses to answer, but admits that it was done at the age of two and asks for her help.

 

Paul asks why they need to test for acid reflux and Shaun interrupts Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas) to explain that it’s hospital policy to test employees for conditions regardless of severity to prevent patient exposure. After Paul questions why they didn’t do tests when he had the flu, Shaun blurts out their suspicions that he has pancreatic cancer.

 

Lim explains Asha’s condition to Dr. Alex Park (Will Yun Lee) and Dr. Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann), explaining that genital mutilation is a ritual in certain African cultures. She tells them that she intends to operate on Asha quickly so she can be home in time to not raise her parents’ suspicions, but Morgan replies that the hospital is legally obligated to tell her parents. Lim tells her that Asha is eighteen, but Park explains that Asha’s ID is fake.

 

Lim replies that she’ll operate on Asha and then report the genital mutilation to child services. Park questions why they can’t do things by the book, but Lim is worried that she won’t be able to help Asha if they do. Arguing that doing things by the book might scare other potential victims from seeking help, Lim declares she’s doing the surgery.

 

As they run tests on Paul, Shaun questions why people would ever lie and Claire explains that sometimes it’s better not to tell the whole truth. Shaun disagrees, and blurts out that Lea has returned. Claire assumes that Shaun is thrilled that she’s back, but Shaun is not enthusiastic. Shaun looks at Paul’s test and declares that he has less than a year to live.

 

After showing Melendez Paul’s results, Shaun suggests a surgery. Melendez doesn’t believe it’s worth the high risk, but Claire argues that it’s up to Paul to make the decision. Melendez puts Shaun in charge of talking to Paul, arguing that Shaun needs to learn how to talk to patients. Shaun and Claire approach Paul and Shaun asks to speak to Paul somewhere private. Paul questions why he needs to be privately told he has acid reflux, and Shaun tells him that he needs to be privately told that about his cancer. Paul asks if he can call his family, and Claire interrupts Shaun to tell him he can.

 

As Lim, Morgan, and Alex operate on Asha, Shaun explains the surgery to Paul and his family, Lori (Eileen Barrett), Zoe (Max Chadburn), Sarah (Conchita Campbell), and Taylor (Arthur MacKinnon). Claire takes over Shaun’s complicated explanation, explaing that the surgery is risky but would allow him to live longer if successful. Shaun tells Paul that it’s his decision, and Paul’s family encourages him to do the surgery.

 

Shaun visits Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) in the temporary office Dr. Marcus Andrews (Hill Harper) has given him, and asks if he’s picked a surgeon to operate on him. Glassman tells him he hasn’t decided and Shaun suggests the doctor on his list with the lowest mortality rate. However, Glassman explains that his mortality rate is low because he turns away riskier patients.

 

Lim tells Asha that the surgery was successful and that she’ll be able to go home soon. However, Asha begins screaming in pain and Lim admits she doesn’t know why it huts so much. Morgan suggests that Asha’s pain is good news, as it means that she still has nerves in her clitoris that can be salvaged in reconstruction. Alex reminds her that they will soon be dealing with a missing child and they need to inform Andrews of the situation.

 

Shaun visits Paul as he’s praying, and admits he did a bad job of informing him of his condition. He admits that he struggles with lying, and Paul argues that lies don’t protect you from the truth. Shaun tells Paul that he doesn’t like his haircut, and Paul suggests that sometimes a lie is necessary when the truth can’t help someone. Paul explains that he’s made his decision and he’s praying to find comfort in it. Shaun asks Paul what he wants to do, and explains that he wants what his family wants.

 

Lim attempts to justify her decisions to Andrews, but Andrews tells her that it puts her in danger of losing out on the chief of surgery position to Melendez. She admits she didn’t know it was a possibility, but Andrews points that her knowing about it probably wouldn’t have effected her decisions. Andrews promises to deal with the fallout, and tells Lim to call Asha’s parents. Lim tells him they don’t know Asha’s real name, but Andrews tells her to answer her phone when it rings.

 

As Melendez leads the operation on Paul, Shaun notices leaking pancreatic fluid and they rush to deal with it. Glassman shows Dr. Marina Blaize (Lisa Edelstein) his list of requested staff, but Blaize points out that he’s requested everything except an actual surgeon. Glassman suggests they delay the surgery, worried about someone incompetent poking around in his brain. He finds a reason to reject Blaize’s proposed surgeons and she tells him to pick a surgeon or find a new oncologist.

 

Asha’s parents (Khalilah Joi and Alimi Ballard) arrive and Asha’s father blames Lim for Asha being in pain. Lim argues that her operation proved that their genital mutilation isn’t as bad as initially feared. She proposes a second surgery, arguing that Asha wants to be like other girls. Asha’s father tells her that she doesn’t really know Asha, as her real name is Mara. Lim tells him that they need to do the surgery to relieve Mara’s pain, but he demands a second opinion. Ellen Vahtra (Jordana Largy) approaches them, identifying herself as working for child services and explaining that the case is under investigation.

 

Shaun tells Paul’s family that the surgery went well despite some temporary complications. The family is thrilled, and Claire pulls Shaun away before he can continue talking. Shaun insists that they need to know about the potential complications, but Claire tells him to let them enjoy the good news. Lea approaches Shaun and asks to have lunch with him. Shaun refuses and Claire follows Shaun as he storms off. She asks what happened with Lea, and tells him that he’s not being fair to her. Shaun insists that she doesn’t understand and that Lea hasn’t been nice to him. Claire suggests he be honest with her, but Shaun tells her he doesn’t know how he feels and storms off.

 

Mara’s father angrily questions why they’re under investigation and blames the hospital for Mara’s condition. Lim argues that it’s their harmful tradition that started everything. Vahtra tells Lim that they might have not been the ones to do the mutilation, but Lim insists they did it or are protecting the ones that did. Asha’s mother tells them that it was an aunt and grandmother who performed the mutilation, and Lim tells them that there was a lot of scar tissue. Mara’s mother explains that it’s a family tradition, and argues that she won’t find a husband in her culture if she wasn’t cut.

 

Lim argues that Mara’s parents forfeited the right to make decisions for Mara, but Mara’s mother lists all of Mara’s accomplishments and argues that they’ve raised her well. Vahtra tells Mara’s parents that the genital mutilation was an abomination, but that they need to focus on how to help Mara now. Lim argues in favor of the clitoral reconstruction surgery, but admits that the alternative is to remove the clitoral tissue entirely. Mara’s father insists that they don’t want Mara to be in pain, but Lim argues that they should think about Mara’s pleasure as well. Vahtra orders Lim to wake Mara up to make the decision of which operation she wants.

 

Shaun continues to suggest surgeons, but Glassman rejects each one. Glassman admits that he doesn’t want to talk about this, and Shaun says he understands before asking why they can’t talk about it. Shaun asks if he’s afraid of dying, but Glassman tells him that not dying is worse. He explains that he doesn’t want to survive if it means losing his basic motor functions. Glassman admits that he doesn’t know who he’d be if he wasn’t able to do surgery. Shaun tells him that he’d be his friend, but realizes that being his friend isn’t enough. Glassman apologizes before admitting it isn’t as Shaun leaves to deal with a complication to Paul’s surgery.

 

Lim wakes up Mara, and Mara’s mother tells her they love her. Vahtra stops Mara’s father from criticizing her decision to turn her back on her culture and explains the choice Mara needs to make. Reacting to the pain, Mara refuses the clitoral reconstruction surgery and insists she made a mistake. Lim tries to argue but Vahtra tells her to put Mara back to sleep and prepare to remove the clitoral tissue. As they work to revive Paul, Shaun argues that they should have warned the family.

 

Lim argues against Mara’s decision, but Andrews tells them they can’t go against her wishes. When Lim refuses to do it, Andrew threatens to fire her. Morgan advocates for waking up Mara again and allowing her to make a decision without her parents hanging over her. Andrews agrees and Lim wakes Mara up again. She makes an impassioned plea for her to do the operation, explaining that she would be taking tissue from her cheek for the reconstruction. However, Mara tells Lim that she can’t turn her back on her family or traditions. Lim argues that she should look to the future, but Mara continues to refuse.

 

As Melendez and his team struggle to revive Paul, Lim tells Morgan and Alex that Mara verbally consented to the reconstruction surgery. Morgan questions the claim, but Alex decides to go along with it. Paul dies on the table, and Shaun announces he’ll tell the family. Melendez tells Claire to do it, as it’s not the time to learn.

 

Claire tells the family about Paul’s death, and they are upset. Taylor criticizes the others for forcing Paul to make the decision to do the risky surgery. As they argue and break down, Shaun interrupts to tell them that Paul wanted the surgery. Outside, Claire questions if that was true and Shaun tells him that Paul told him to lie when the truth doesn’t help someone. Mara wakes up and tells her parents that she feels better. Mara’s father thanks Lim as Mara feels her cheek. Mara thanks Lim, and Lim tells her she’ll be great.

 

Lea wakes up and is surprised to find Shaun in the apartment. He makes her breakfast and tries to give her ball back. She tells him it’s a gift, but Shaun explains that it hurts. He elaborates that seeing it reminded him that she was gone and demands that she go back to Hershey before storming out. Dr. Jordan Ko (Necar Zadegan) thanks Glassman for trusting her and she puts him to sleep to begin the operation.