The Good Doctor – Two-Ply (or Not Two-Ply)

By starrymag | November 11, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

After brushing her teeth, Lea Dilallo (Paige Spara) returns to place her toothbrush in her marked container. She greets Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) and asks him if he needs anything from the store. He tells her they need toilet paper, asking for two-ply and criticizing the way she hangs the roll. She tells him it’s no big deal and leaves her mug on the counter as she leaves.

 

Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez), Shaun and Dr. Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) examine Jas Kohli’s (Supinder Wraich) finger. Morgan diagnoses a bacterial infection, and Melendez promises it will heal quickly. Meanwhile, Dr. Alex Park (Will Yun Lee) urges Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas) to apologize to Melendez. Claire insists she did nothing wrong, and Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang) assigns them to Riley Mulloy (Caitlin Carmichael).

 

Jas tells Shaun and Morgan that she has a violin performance this weekend, and Morgan admits she knows her way around bowstrings as a former archer. As Shaun examine’s Jas’ finger, he comments that she shouldn’t have any pain. Jas tells him the pain is in her knuckle, and Shaun suggests that she might have flesh-eating bacteria.

 

Stella (Jewel Staite) arrives and Bruce Mulloy (Chad Willett) tells her that Riley was the one that called 911. They argue, and Riley comments that it’s obvious that her parents are divorced. Shaun insists they need to test Jas for flesh-eating bacteria, but Morgan argues that cutting even a portion of her finger could be career-ending. He argues that she could die if he’s right, but Morgan refuses to do the test. Shaun asks about the way she hangs her toilet paper, and Morgan tells him it doesn’t matter.

 

Stella and Bruce explain to Claire and Alex that Riley has complained of multiple symptoms over the years, but her doctor hasn’t been able to find anything. They theorize that it’s a reaction to the divorce, and Alex comments that divorce is difficult for everyone. Stella explains that it’s been years, and Riley should have adjusted by now.

 

Claire reports that the nosebleed has stopped, but that her nasal membranes are pretty thin. Alex asks if she’s been sniffing drugs, and Riley is offended by the question. Riley explains that she used Flonase to deal with her symptoms, and Alex explains that steroid misuse can lead to thinner membranes. Riley’s parents start arguing and Riley grabs her chest in pain before coughing up blood.

 

Claire tells Riley that she relates to her, but Riley insists they have nothing in common. Claire tells her she wasn’t popular and tells her that she struggled at her age as well. She tells Riley that she didn’t let her past define her, and that she shouldn’t either. Claire notices no blood in her scan of Riley and hypothesizes that the blood she coughed up was leftover from the nosebleed, but Riley tells her that her chest still hurts.

 

Shaun video chats with Lea to tell her to rinse and put back the mug she left out. He tells Claire that Morgan doesn’t want to know what’s wrong with Jas, and Claire suggests that he should be making sure he has the right tests. Shaun runs into the women’s bathroom and Claire asks what he’s doing. He explains his toilet paper disagreement with Lea and takes a picture of all of the toilet paper alignments to send to her as a test. Claire tells Shaun that Lea doesn’t care about it, but Shaun insists he’s right. When Claire suggests he talk to Lea about it, Shaun asks why she hasn’t talked to Melendez, pointing out it’s because she’s right like he is.

 

Iris Bautista (Jennifer Aspen) tries to show Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) how to use his new walker, but he insists he’s not going to use it. He answers the door and Debbie Wexler (Sheila Kelley) brings him soup. She asks how he’s doing, and he asks her to come in and have soup with her. Debbie tells him she’s busy, but that she’s free tomorrow.

 

Jas asks Morgan how long she did archery and she answers every day for seven years until she went to college. Shaun lists Jas’ symptoms, and suggests that they run a test to see if she has flesh-eating bacteria. Morgan cuts him off, telling him that being good doctor means to know when not to scare the patient. Shaun continues to insist the test is necessary, and Morgan accuses him of wanting to amputate Jas’ hand.  He notices that Jas’ tempature has risen during their argument, and Morgan agrees to run the test. Shaun and Morgan argue over the test, and Melendez comes in to settle the argument. He declares that Jas has flesh-eating bacteria and that Shaun is right.

 

Alex suggests that Riley should see a shrink, but Claire believes that Riley has an actual medical condition. She questions if he believes in emotional intelligence, but Alex insists it’s less valid than the tests they’ve run. Claire tells him that he can’t understand Riley if he can’t relate to her, and he suggests he does. She asks if he has a kid, and asks why he hasn’t told them about them. Claire argues that she understands Riley because she’s been in her shoes, and Alex accuses her of being too emotionally involved and of being an oversharer. Riley’s scan is clean, and Alex declares it’s time to send her home.

 

Shaun criticizes Lea for hanging the toilet paper incorrectly, and explains the way the TV remote should be placed. Lea gets angry, and yells at him about everything having to be his way. Shaun flinches and pulls away when Lea attempts to apologize. Bruce brings Riley back to the hospital, and Riley explains that she can’t breathe. Claire suggests that she has pneumonia due to a mysterious underlying condition. Later, Alex tells Lim that Riley’s scan shows no sign of pneumonia but Claire points out a small shadow on the scan she believes is a tumor. Claire argues for a test, but Alex doesn’t agree it’s necessary. Lim tells Claire to propose the surgery to Riley and her parents.

 

Iris tells Glassman to take his pills before she leaves and Glassman answers the door. Lea bursts in and vents her frustrations about Shaun. Glassman reminds her that Shaun isn’t easy, and Lea asks how to deal with him. He admits that he’s still learning, and Lea tells him that living with Shaun is exhausting. Glassman tells her to sit down and asks why she likes Shaun. She lists the reasons, and admits that she wants Shaun to change. He tells her that Shaun doesn’t want her to change, and advises her to move out now rather than later if she wants to.

 

Claire proposes the surgery to Riley and her parents, but Bruce points out that every prior test has pointed to Riley’s symptoms being psychological. She explains that she saw a shadow on the scan and appeals to their love for Riley to convince them to approve the surgery. Alex advises them to believe in their daughter, and Stella admits that she doesn’t know how to make Riley’s pain go away. Bruce tells Riley about the possible tumor when she wakes up and she agrees to the surgery.

 

Shaun determines that the flesh-eating bacteria has spread to Jas’ arm, and Morgan declares that they’ll have to amputate the entire arm. As they operate on Jas, Melendez, Shaun, and Morgan discuss the possibility of the bacteria continuing to spread through her entire body. Morgan suggests putting Jas in an oxygenated chamber to kill the bacteria, and volunteers to go in with her to help her in the event of a potential problem.

 

Lim, Alex, and Claire find nothing unusual while operating on Riley, but Riley’s arterry tears. As they rush to help her,  Shaun asks Morgan if the chamber is claustrophobic to her as a neurotypical person. Morgan admits it is a little, and Claire, Alex, and Lim are able to stabilize Riley. Alex declares the operation a mistake, but Lim comments that something must be causing the thinness of her arterial walls. They take a closer look and find the cause inside.

 

Lim shows Riley and her family that the issue was a lego brick stuck inside her body. Bruce apologizes to Riley for not believing her symptoms, and that he and Stella got divorced. Riley comments that they’re better off divorced, and explains that she was upset they fought all the time. She explains that she would chew on legos when she was stressed years ago, and her parents promise that things will be better from now on.

 

On their date, Debbie explains why she loves the movie Raging Bull and kisses Glassman. As they walk towards the stairs, Glassman falls over and refuses Debbie’s help. Jas wakes up and asks if her hand is okay. Morgan explains that they had to amputate her arm and Jas is horrified. Morgan attempts to comfort her, but Jas remembers that Shaun diagnosed her correctly and blames her for having to get rid of her entire arm. Jas tells her to get out, but Morgan explains that she can’t as Jas breaks down.

 

Alex admits that Claire was right, and Claire is glad he’s finally seen the power of emotional intelligence. He warns him that their family won’t magically be repaired after this, but Claire argues that her emotional intelligence knows that he doesn’t believe that. Debbie checks on Glassman, who admits that balance is an issue for him. She suggests they watch Raging Bull together, but he tells her he can’t do this and asks her to leave.

 

Melendez sits with Morgan, who admits she was trying to do the right thing for Jas. She argues that Shaun didn’t see her dreams, only her symptoms. Melendez tells her that sometimes that’s the wrong choice, and tells her about his residency rivalry with Lim. He explains that he was competing against her, but Lim was preparing herself to be a great surgeon.

 

Claire goes to get on the elevator but finds Melendez and Lim on it. Lim compliments her work, but Claire and Melendez ride in tense silence. Claire is about to say something before she gets off, but says good night and leaves. Melendez challenges Lim to say that Claire has bad judgment, but Lim asks him to get a beer with her.

 

Shaun finds Lea waiting for him and she asks if he’s okay. She apologizes for her outburst, and he insists he’s fine now. Lea tells him she isn’t, and explains that everything has been stressful lately. She assures him that she’s not moving out, as they’re still figuring out each other quirks. Lea promises to work on not having another outburst, but tells him that he’s annoying as hell and asks him to try to compromise. He admits he can’t compromise on everything, but admits that not everything has to be as strict. Lea tells him that everything’s unpacked and offers to help him rearrange everything properly. He admits he likes that idea and is thrilled to see a second toilet paper rolled installed in the bathroom with his preferred alignment.