The Good Doctor – Pain

By starrymag | March 18, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) tells Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas) about his time at the carnival with Kenny (Chris D’Elia) and his girlfriend. Alex Park (Will Yun Lee) can’t believe that Shaun paid for the carnival and a movie afterwards, and Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) comes over and briefs them on their next patient. Melendez examines Hunter (Ryan Robbins), who is paralyzed from the waist down. His wife, Cora (Anna Belknap), details the pain he’s been having and Shaun is in disbelief that she married a man in a wheelchair. Hunter is about to respond when he complains of pain in his legs, the first time he’s had feeling there in years.

 

Claire finds her mother (Sharon Leal) performing for the other doctors and tells her that she doesn’t want to see her or talk to her. Dr. Marcus Andrews (Hill Harper) examines another patient, Emma (Sarah-Jane Redmond), whose cosmetic implants are infected. Her husband, Barry (William R. Moses) asks Andrews to save the implant, but he can’t guarantee it. Shaun compliments Claire’s mother’s voice, and Claire details her troubles with her mother, including a time that she stole Claire’s babysitting money to go to Reno. Shaun comments that his mom made him pancakes, and they notice that there’s a mass on Hunter’s normal-looking spine.

 

Dr. Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) offers Dr. Jared Kalu (Chuku Modu) a meeting with her former mentor, explaining that he has no chance to stay at the hospital after this year. Jared replies that he isn’t going anywhere after he fought to stay there, and Melendez explains to Hunter that there’s a chance he can walk again if they remove the mass. Barry gives Emma a trip to Hawaii, and she hugs Andrews in excitement. Hunter expresses his excitement about all of the things he’s going to do when he walks again, including dancing. Shaun warns him that he’ll probably be a bad dancer, and Hunter explains that the worst part of being in a wheelchair is people seeing the chair first. He compares it to being autistic, and guesses that Shaun had to earn people’s respect when the other residents didn’t.

 

Morgan notices another infected implant during her examination of Emma, and tells them that Andrews needs to look at it. Andrews visits a fertility doctor (Stephen Lobo) suggests a procedure to improve his sperm count that is potentially risky. He isn’t sure if it’s worth the risk, but the doctor suggests it will help with his confidence. Melendez looks at Hunter’s scans and Shaun notices a potential problem as the group strategizes how to approach the surgery. Morgan gives Jared credit for finding the infection and Andrews suggests removing all of Emma’s implants. Emma protests and refuses to remove the implants. Barry suggests antibiotics for the infection, but Andrews warns them that the antibiotics are risky.

 

Melendez explains that it’s too risky to remove the cyst, but Hunter confirms that not doing the surgery will mean that he can’t walk. However, Hunter asks for a percentage of the risk of the surgery and Melendez reluctantly tells him there’s a fifteen percent chance the surgery will kill him. Later, Hunter and Cora lay on the hospital bed, and Hunter details his memories and struggles of being paralyzed. He admits he wants to talk to Melendez about the surgery despite Cora’s protests. Morgan tells Jared that she gave him credit for finding the infection because she was trying to prove a point that Jared will never regain the respect he lost. Jared asks her if anyone likes her, to which Morgan replies that she likes herself. The lab tech (Emmy O’Leary) tells them that there’s no improvement on Emma’s first round of antibiotics.

 

Melendez talks to Hunter about the surgery, and Cora begs Melendez to talk Hunter out of the surgery. Hunter reminds her that it’s his decision, but she argues that she’s the one who’s been with him through everything. He tells her that he wants to walk again, but she declares that she doesn’t want to watch him die and that he’s on his own. Claire is called down and finds her mother waiting for her with a bouquet of flowers. She tells her mother that she doesn’t like being tricked, and that seeing her isn’t healthy for her. Her mother admits that she was sick and that she got help. She tells Claire that she wants to try and be her mother again, and Claire tells her that she’ll think about it.

 

Shaun monitors Hunter’s heart rate as he works out, and rules that his fitness is excellent. Hunter asks if he understands why he wants the surgery, asking if he would jump at a cure for his autism. Shaun tells him there’s no cure for autism, and reminds him that the surgery isn’t guaranteed to help him walk. He advises him not to risk losing the person who’s stood by him, and Hunter replies that there’s lot of reasons to marry him. He tells Shaun that there are lots of reasons to marry him as well, and Shaun lists his good qualities. Hunter lists his own good qualities, and Shaun tells him those qualities will still be there is he doesn’t go through with the surgery. Andrews tells Emma that the antibiotics aren’t working and they have to do surgery. Barry tries to convince her to do the surgery, but she insists that she can’t lose the implants. Outside, Andrews tells Jared that she wants a second opinion despite his warning that she will die without the surgery.

 

Melendez finds Cora in the waiting room, and tells her about his experience with his sister. He tells her that Hunter was one of his first patients, but she tells him that she can’t lose the man she loves. Melendez believes that she’s also afraid of the surgery working and its change on her and Hunter’s relationship. Claire doesn’t believe that Hunter should risk his great life, and Park asks how she would react if she was given the opportunity to make herself better. He asks what percentage of risk she would accept, arguing that she takes a risk every time she leaves her house. Shaun brings up the carnival, and Park warns him that Kenny isn’t his friend. He denies it, and Park shows him Kenny’s criminal record that he found during a background check.

 

Morgan approaches Barry and assesses that people hold on to their cosmetic surgery because of fear of losing their spouse or because they’re ready to move on from their relationship. He insists that Emma loves him, and Morgan warns him that she’s going to die if he doesn’t convince her to do the surgery. Cora returns to Hunter, and he is thrilled to have her back. She tells him she never left, and he tells her that he doesn’t want to do this without her. Cora admits that she’s concerned he won’t need her if he can walk, but Hunter assures her that he will always need her.

 

Barry tries to convince her to have the surgery, but Emma replies that he was distant before she had the cosmetic surgery. He tells her that he loves her, but she accuses him of cheating. Barry tells her that he was distant because of his gambling, and not an affair. He tells her he hid it from her because he didn’t want her to see him like that. Barry comes out of the room and tells Morgan and Jared that Emma agreed to the surgery. Shaun compliments Claire, and asks if she would ever date someone with a disability. She replies that she would, and Shaun asks why. Claire tells him that everyone is dealing with something, and that they have to love people for who they are.

 

Morgan gives credit to Jared for helping change Emma’s mind about the surgery, but Andrews makes Morgan his first assistant. Jared asks Morgan to call her mentor, and Cora kisses Hunter before he is wheeled into surgery. Hunter declares he can’t do the surgery, but Cora encourages him, telling him it’s what people do in a relationship. Andrews, Jared, and Morgan operate on Emma, but Jared notices that something is wrong. Melendez, Shaun, Claire, and Park operate on Hunter but they hit a complication. The team attempts to defibrillate Emma, but she flat lines and Andrews tells Morgan to call the time of death.

 

Barry breaks down upon seeing Emma’s body, while Melendez tells Hunter that the surgery was a success. Hunter expresses his gratitude to the entire team, but tells them that he wants to be alone with his wife. Andrews tells Dr. Isabel Barnes (Marsha Thomason) about how the couple he worked with that day didn’t resolve their issues until it was too late. He tells her that he doesn’t want them to end up like that, and that he wants to remain committed to her. Andrews tells him about the surgery, and she asks what he wants to do. He tells her he wants to give her a family, but she tells him that they already are a family and she doesn’t want him to do anything that risks their sex life.

 

Claire meets with her mother, and they catch up. Her mother tells her that she brags to everyone about her success, and Claire asks where she’s staying. She tells her that she wants to be close to her, and asks for money to help pay the rent for a nearby apartment. After being assured that she’ll pay it back, Claire writes her a check. Outside, she cries as she walks home. Shaun goes home to find Kenny in his home, who tells him that he bought them Chinese food with the money he found in Shaun’s drawer. Shaun insists that he doesn’t like Chinese food, and contemplates confronting Kenny about his criminal record. Kenny tells him that he hooked up a video game console to his TV and they play Mortal Kombat together.