The Good Doctor – Xin

By starrymag | February 3, 2019

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) finds a shirtless Jake Dahlen (Andres Joseph) going through his fridge and awkward conversation ensues. Lea Dilallo (Paige Spara) apologizes to Shaun for not telling him Jake was spending the night, and Shaun declares that he likes Jake. Shaun asks if Jake will be spending the night a lot and Lea denies it before asking if it would be a problem if he came over to watch a movie later.

 

Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) struggles with the chemo but forces himself to act like he’s fine when Shaun arrives. Shaun gives Glassman a bottle of electrolytes, and Glassman immediately spits it out. Glassman lies that he didn’t like the flavor, denying that he’s experiencing nausea.

 

Dr. Alex Park (Will Yun Lee) flirts over the phone, and Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas) asks him about his new girlfriend after he hangs up. He tells her that he and Mia have rekindled their relationship, and she is excited for him. Alex explains that he’s trying to be more open, and Claire comments that Mia seems good for him. Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez), Claire, and Alex tend to a patient, Sunny Lee (Emily Kuroda) with heart problems. They hear no heartbeat and Melendez determines that Sunny has a mechanical heart.

 

Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang) tells Shaun and Dr. Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) about their patient, Lana Moore (Vered Blonstein), revealing that she’s autistic. Morgan glances at Shaun, and Lim asks why she’s looking at him since not all autistic people know each other. Morgan says that she wanted Shaun’s thoughts, and Shaun gives an objective medical observation in response.

 

Morgan explains the procedure to Lana, but Lana notices that Javier Maldonado (Alex Plank) is struggling with the overhead lights. Shaun turns out the light and Lana tells Morgan to continue. As Morgan continues explaining the procedure, she sees Javier hand Lana a dictionary and asks what she doesn’t understand. Javier explains that Lana has learned trivia about insects and Shaun asks her about the rhinoceros beetle.

 

After Lana recites trivia, Shaun replies to Lim that he doesn’t know if the information is correct. Javier leaves the room and Morgan asks where he’s going. Javier tells her that he needs to get home, but Morgan tells him that he needs to stay to help his girlfriend feel comfortable. He tells her they are merely roommates before leaving. Teresa Moon (Sheena Chou) comes in and asks how her mother is doing, and gives Melendez the contact information for the surgeon that provided Sunny’s mechanical heart. She asks if it can be fixed and Melendez promises to find out.

 

Melendez gets into an elevator with Lim and they try to remain professional. Dr. Marcus Andrews (Hill Harper) gets in the elevator, and Melendez asks about the revived search for a new chief of surgery. Andrews reminds them they are both under investigation, and comments that they get along better when they’re not competing.

 

As Lana undergoes an MRI, Morgan comments that her relationship with Javier is weird since they act like a couple. Shaun reminds her tht he lives with Lea and they aren’t a couple. Morgan asks if he wants to be with Lea, and he tells her about Lea’s new boyfriend. Shaun insists that he can be friends with both Lea and Jake, and Morgan tells him that Jake and Lea will both want time together without him before they find an issue in Lana’s MRI.

 

Melendez tries to contact Sunny’s doctor in Beijing while Lim translates. Grace Lee (Vedette Lim) introduces herself as Sunny’s daughter and asks how she is. Melendez fills her in on Sunny’s status and comments that her sister is already there. Grace is confused, telling him she doesn’t have a sister.

 

Teresa explains to Grace and Alex that Sunny and her met ten years ago and that they decided not to correct assumptions that they were mother and daughter. She tells Grace that Sunny will be glad that she’s put her problems behind her, and Grace is confused about what she’s referring to. Teresa tells her that Sunny told her she had an issue with drugs and Grace replies that she was caught smoking pot once as a teenager. Teresa counters that she has no other excuse for not calling for fifteen years. Melendez tells them that he’s made arrangements to transfer Sunny to Beijing, assuring that the transport will be safe.

 

Morgan attempts to explain to Lana the proposed procedure, but Lana doesn’t reply. Morgan asks Shaun to talk to her, but he replies that he won’t have any more success just because they’re both autistic. She replies that she’s asking him because he’s Lana’s doctor not because he’s autistic. Shaun attempts to use a insect comparison, but gets no response from Lana. Javier arrives with food, and Lana tells him that she could die, finally agreeing to the surgery.

 

Shaun reads a book to Glassman as a rapid pace, explaining he’s calculated the number of words per minute he needs to read to finish the book. Glassman tells him that he doesn’t have to finish the book in one sitting, and orders him to stop. Shaun questions if he’s okay, and Glassman insists he is before telling Shaun to take out the garbage. Shaun tells Glassman that broken glass can’t be recycled, and Glassman tells him he doesn’t care. Morgan tries to ask Lana what she needs, but Lana doesn’t reply. Finally, Lana asks if the door to her room locks and Morgan asks if there’s someone she’s worried about. Lana tells Morgan that she wants Javier to have sex to help ease her nerves about the surgery.

 

Grace goes to talk to Sunny, who compliments her appearance. Grace tells her she was worried, but Sunny tells her that Teresa takes good care of her. Grace asks why she never called, telling her that she just wanted to live her own life. Sunny’s pressure falls as she criticizes Grace for throwing her life away to pursue music. Alex tries to tell them to calm down, but Sunny tells Grace that she wishes she stayed away. Sunny loses consciousness and Alex tends to her.

 

Lea and Jake’s makeout session is interrupted by Shaun, who wants to watch a movie with them. Lea tells Shaun that it’s not a good time, but Shaun is persistant. She opens the door and asks for privacy, but Shaun insists they will like the movie. She tells him he’s not respecting boundaries, and Shaun replies that he just wants them to hang out. Lea tells him that they can all be friends, but that she needs alone time with Jake. Shaun asks if she means for the sex, and Lea tells him that it involves other times too. He agrees, and Lea promises to join him for a movie later.

 

Lim tells Lana and Javier that having sex is a bad idea in Lana’s condition. Lana tells her that sex wasn’t on the list of things she couldn’t do, and Morgan promises to update the list. Lim tells her she needs to abstain until she fully recovers, and Morgan comments that they seem to be more than just roommates. Lana argues that they just have sex, and Javier doesn’t stay in bed afterwards. Morgan asks if they’re exclusive and Lim replies that they don’t need to define their relationship. Alex and Claire tell Grace and Teresa that Sunny can’t be transported in her condition and that Melendez is discussing a plan with Sunny’s doctor. Teresa accuses Grace of being a bad daughter, but Grace argues that Sunny never supported her.

 

As Lim, Shaun and Morgan operate on Lana we hear Lim comment that Lana and Javier’s relationship without baggage is nice. Morgan argues that the emotional baggage is a relationship, and they find a potential complication during the surgery that could affect Lana’s ability to speak. Shaun suggests that Lana speaking during the operation would help them avoid the complication. Morgan asks how they’re going to get Lana to talk during surgery, and Lim suggests that Javier can help.

 

Alex tells Grace that it’s hard for a parent to walk away, but Grace insists she’s not mad at Sunny. She explains that she’s upset that her relationship with Teresa proves that her mother is capable of caring about another person. Alex is called to Sunny’s room, where she is bleeding, and Melendez declares that they can’t wait for a new heart. Melendez tells Claire and Alex that the cause of Sunny’s mechanical heart defect is a broken blade. Claire suggests that they create a new heart with a 3D printer, but Alex argues that it won’t last. However, Melendez realizes that they only need the heart to work until the Beijing doctor creates a new one.

 

Shaun and Morgan explain to Javier that they want him to talk to Lana during surgery, and Javier declares the OR is too bright for him. Morgan promises they can find a way to protect his eyes, but he replies that the light is like needles in his eyes. Shaun asks if he likes doing insect trivia with Lana, and Morgan suggests that Javier do it because he loves Lana. She tells him that his life is better with her, and he should help her. Javier replies that he doesn’t love Lana, and that they are just roommates.

 

Melendez, Claire, and Alex find that Sunny’s mechanical heart is working fine during the operation, and Claire suggests that the aorta might be the problem instead. Shaun brings Glassman more electrolytes in a different flavor, but Glassman tells him that he’s fine. Shaun sees that Glassman has an IV, and asks why. Glassman tells him a nurse came by, and Shaun insists he could have brought it and that he wouldn’t need it if he listened to him. Glassman tells him that his head hurts, and that the pain never stops.

 

Shaun reminds him that he said he was fine, and Glassman admits he lied. After Shaun asks why he lied, Glassman tells him that his persistance is why. Glassman mentions that he’s also been experiencing nausea, and Shaun declares he needs to stop chemo. Glassman yells at him to stop, and Shaun angrily replies that he’s trying to help him and calls him out for being a bad patient. Glassman asks him to leave, telling him he doesn’t want him there and that he can’t help him.

 

Shaun vents his frustrations to Lea, who tells him that he needs to accept there’s nothing he can do to help. He thanks her, telling her his life is better with her, and she replies that hers is too. Melendez, Alex, and Claire test Claire’s hypothesis and Sunny’s heart rate returns to normal. Shaun has Lana identify pictures on a screen as Lim and Morgan operate, but she stops. Morgan is worried that they’ve already damaged her ability to speak, and Lim tells her she has to keep talking. Lana doesn’t answer and the OR nurse (Sunita Prasad) tells them that Javier is there.

 

Alex tells Teresa and Grace that Sunny’s surgery was a success. He walks over to Grace, and tells her that Sunny’s relationship with Teresa doesn’t mean that Sunny doesn’t love her. Grace points out that she started criticizing her the moment they reunited, but Alex points out that Sunny complimented her appearance first. Javier asks Lana to identify pictures on the screen as she’s being operated on. When Lana stops answering, Javier instead asks about an insect. Lana gives him trivia on the insect and Lim urges him to keep going.

 

Teresa tells Sunny that Grace is outside, urging her to talk to her daughter. Grace comes in and tells Sunny that she never stopped thinking about her through the years. She apologizes, and Sunny tells her she went to one of her performances, calling it beautiful. Grace and Teresa take Sunny’s hands and Alex gives them privacy.

 

Lana wakes up and Morgan asks for her name. After a pause, Lana gives her name and Javier tells Lana he loves her. She asks him to stay in bed with her after sex, but he says no. Later, Shaun hears Lea and Jake having sex and puts in headphones to drown out the noise. He then goes to visit Glassman, and finds him sitting in the bathroom. Shaun sits next to him and Glassman thanks him.