The Good Doctor Recap: Take My Husband, Please!
Fall behind? Read our previous The Good Doctor post mortem here.
This week on The Good Doctor, Claire’s college roommate makes an unusual request, while Shaun and Morgan’s patient bargains with his brother over life and death.
Let us begin with Claire’s friend Kay (Witches of East End‘s Rachel Boston), who’s dying of Stage 4 ovarian cancer. She has a month to live, and Claire wants to make sure that she’s as comfortable as possible. And so she approaches Melendez and Park about operating on Kay. She recommends a surgery to remove a tumor that’s been keeping Kay in a constant state of pain. It’s not only a success, but leads to an unexpected discovery: The cancer hasn’t spread beyond Kay’s abdomen, meaning she’s a candidate for HIPEC treatment. With a second procedure, she’s looking at six more months.
Kay’s husband Dash (Dear White People‘s John Patrick Amedori) is worried that an additional surgery can backfire and take what little time they have left, but Kay is determined to go through with it. She also has a favor to ask — a really weird favor. She wants Claire and Dash to go out on a date. Like, before she’s even dead. Like, later that night. The way she sees it, this’ll allow her best friend and husband to move on once she’s gone. Claire and Dash think she’s nuts, but ultimately agree to the date. An awkward dinner ensues, but there’s definitely chemistry there.
Before her procedure, Kay asks Claire to promise her that she’ll give things with Dash a real shot. Claire says it’s too much pressure, which leads to an argument about Kay’s constant meddling in her life. (Maybe table this fight until Kay comes out of surgery?) Anywho… Kay pulls through following a minor complication. Claire visits her in recovery to apologize, and tells her bestie that she has to stop worrying about everyone else. It’s time to let her loved ones worry about her and what she needs to feel comfortable during what little time she has left.
Afterwards, Claire heads to Melendez’s office to thank him for all of his help. She tells him that he’s the most gifted surgeon with whom she’s ever worked, which is essentially her way of apologizing for overstepping her bounds with anorexic patient Louisa back in Episode 5. She says she’ll continue to report to Lim if that’s what he wants; he says it’s probably for the best. (Is Melendez waiting to hear the words “I’m sorry”? Does he think Claire works better with Lim? Or is there some other reason he doesn’t think she should work under him anymore? Hmmm…)
Shaun and Morgan, meanwhile, work with Lim on Santiago (Brockmire‘s Hemky Madera), the co-owner of a construction company passed down by his father. He takes a fall at work while holding a nail gun, which fires a rusty nail into his abdomen and ruptures his kidney. When the doctors go in to operate, they discover Santiago was born with only one kidney. His brother Armando (Colony‘s Gonzalo Menendez) is a match for a transplant, but before he goes through with the operation, he wants Santiago to agree to sell the family business. Santiago refuses, insisting he’d be giving up on their father’s legacy. Armando tries to get through to his brother, reminding him that Dad wasn’t such a nice guy, but Santiago won’t hear it.
Armando eventually agrees to donate his kidney anyway. He asks Shaun for the consent forms, at which point Shaun reflects on his own troubled relationship with his father, who told him that he wished he’d never been born and wasn’t worth the trouble. But Shaun knew his dad was wrong because older brother Steve always looked out for him, even when it made his life harder. The parallels bring Armando to tears. The transplant is ultimately a success, and Santiago thanks his brother for his kidney.
Elsewhere in the episode…
* Shaun and Lea visit a pet store and bring home a goldfish named Hubert — hence the episode’s title. But Hubert isn’t long for this world, and dies by the time Shaun returns home from work. Lea is upset, and proceeds to open up about what happened in Hershey. She explains that she went back so she could help her brother save the family’s auto body shop, but instead they tanked it together and destroyed their relationship in the process. The way she sees it, she’ll never be able to put her life back together if she can’t even keep a fish alive. Shaun then leaves the apartment with the fishbowl, and brings it to the hospital for testing, which proves the fish had a parasite. Shaun then takes Lea back to the pet store with the results and shows them to the cashier, who reluctantly agrees to let them pick out a replacement fish. Lea thanks Shaun for making her feel better, then gives him the sort of look that’s bound to melt a few hearts.
* Glassman goes in for his latest treatment. In the waiting room, a young cancer patient offers the former hospital head his yo-yo. Glassman tries to teach himself a few tricks, thinking it’ll help with his sequential memory. After his treatment, he goes to retrieve his belongings from his locker, but can’t find his wallet. He marches into Blaize’s office, convinced that someone stole it. She then retrieves said wallet from a box on her desk and reminds him that he asked her to hold onto it before his treatment. Glassman tells her not to read too much into it, but his forgetfulness seems to be another side effect of the surgery.
What did you think of The Good Doctor Season 2, Episode 7? Hit the comments with your reactions!
This was a good episode. I even tolerated the Lea subplot (with the exception of the Face-Timing scene about the goldfish. Tried too hard to be funny).
The Good Doctor has been pretty consistent this season. I really enjoy how they’re fleshing out the supporting cast. And I think the writers are finally moving to a more comfortable place with Shawn and Lea.
Kudos to the show for not going the predictable route of Kay dying after her fight with Claire. I think Claire was right to call her out on trying to push her together with Dash so much, but yeah. Given the circumstances, Kay’s concerns made sense. It’d be nice to get an update on how she’s doing at some point.
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at which point Shaun reflects on his own troubled relationship with his father, who told him that he wished he’d never been born and wasn’t worth the trouble. But Shaun knew his dad was wrong because older brother Steve always looked out for him, even when it made his life harder
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That bit got me right in the heart. Such a poignant moment. I loved Shaun’s interactions with the brothers this episode, and I’m glad that whole storyline ended well, too. I also loved him working out the fish situation at the end, too (and him holding the puppy and the kitten at the pet shop was way too cute for words :D). As for Lea, guessing we might see more of this backstory with her brother at some point?
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Also loved the choice of song at the end of the episode.
That got me too but I think Steve was younger. Love this show!!
Great episode !
Loved it!
Episode was okay. Hard to do what they do every week what they do every week so I have to commend rmthe writers. They are doing hard stuff and Freddie and cast are terrific. Can’t say enough how good the show is, cast and crew.
I don’t care how much “chemistry” there was between Claire and Dash, Claire’s storyline this episode did not well advance the character.
Why would Claire and Dash need to date each other to move on after Kay’s death? Couldn’t Kay have just asked each of them to stay close friends and watch out for each other, be there for each other? Why didn’t Claire suggest that she and Dadh needn’t date to help each other move on. Has Kay been a third wheel in her own marriage picking up on chemistry between her friend and husband? The entire storyline made Claire— and everyone else involved, really—look pathetic.
So out of left field but there is nothing really that can be done to make this show exciting. I guess they are going for ridiculous???
I have to agree with this one. Who in the world would go on a date with their dying friend’s mate? It’s outrageous.
I love the Good Doctor it’s an Amazing Show. All the characters are Awesome!!! I’m never disappointed when I watch an episode. This is what I would like to see happen. I think there is a chemistry between Claire and Dr. Melendez so the writers need to go ahead and put those two together. 😁😁
love the Good Doctor.
Maybe it is just me, but i think Morgan is really jealous of Shaun and Lea relationship. Is she starting to care for Shaun???
I dont think the brothers ended it a good note. Santiago was a jerk and he didnt see clearly all the effort his other brother did. He though his brother must give him his kidney because of being brothers. He might be right, but he also need to take in consideration his brother wishes of cashing out.
Melendez seems to be afraid of having feelings for Claire. And i think it is a good idea, keeping such a stubborn person as far as possible. She never recognize she may be wrong.
Personally, I don’t know how I feel about the Claire/Neil pairing. I dunno why, it just doesn’t appeal to me. Maybe it’s because I think that their personalities don’t mix great, but hey, that’s just me.
I didn’t personally see the Morgan jealousy thing, but your comment got me thinking. That sort of thing often makes me laugh. In fact, I’m grinning now just thinking about what Shaun’s responses would be to these scenarios. Ahh! It needs to happen! :D
I’m totally with you ! Love the characters of Melendez and Claire separately but I’m really not thrilled about the idea of them together so I personally hope that’s not the direction the writers are taking it , even though sometimes it seems like it . But like you said that just my opinion , show will still be great regardless
I just finished watching this episode and I was surprised in the Melendez did not take claire back onto his team when it came to surgery. It can be seen that there’s something going on between them and it makes sense that even thought Claire and Dash were good friends … that’s all it is.. friendship. I mean I guess Melendez and Claire are both afraid of admitting they feel something for each other so they either push each other way or not say anything about it. We can see that Claire is always hesitant. I also agree with the brothers thing.. Santiago did thank him but his pride didn’t even make him believe what his brother told him about their father… that he wasn’t proud of him… and accused of him of lying. But I mean he did dedicate his whole life to their business and to hear the truth that their father didn’t even care was probably a hard thing to accept too and it didn’t help he was dying. Lastly, I thought I was the only one who noticed how Morgan would always react in an odd way when it comes to Shaun and Lea.. or maybe it’s just the way she is. We’ll see.
Two things:
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1. Why would another fish from the same tank not also be sick?
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2. Or maybe Melendez (wisely) knows that backing down, despite her good performance, is not good leadership?
new amsterdam is a better bet for medical dramas
I disagree except that it is shot in NYC.. I can’t think of another show that used NYC location for a doctor/hospital show… All the NYC based shows ( either using NYC or having it stand in) or either Cops, Lawyers, Advertising ( ie Mad Men but that was shot mostly in CA), and Spy/Criminals… The only doctor show I can think of based in NY was Royal Paines out in the Hamptons… New Am is OK and has a good lead in so it’s been watched a lot… Having Freddie makes it better no matter what.. .
Freddie Highmore is an amazing young actor, and the series remains thought provoking with intelligent writing.
I just wish the writers would put more depth into Lea. She is cute, albeit self-centered and abysmally ignorant about the needs and quirks of a person on the autism spectrum.
Otherwise – an outstanding series.
I don’t know if it’s necessarily abysmal ignorance, or if she just treats him more like somebody who isn’t on the spectrum. Open to interpretation, I guess.
Totally agree with you about Freddie Highmore, though. Amazing actor, really enjoying his portrayal of Shaun through the show.
I wish the producers would 86 the Lea character. She makes watching the show intolerable. I have to watch it delayed and skip her scenes.
She is the weakest character. The writers should stop listening to these whinny Lea like fans and chop the character. Lost some House MD fans because of how annoying she is. Chop her or change her please to be more in depth. Target demo is not here for “cute” but solid writing and good acting (she acts like a child).
Really loving the character growth of Shaun and the ways they show his continued improvement with communicating and connecting with people. That scene where he spoke about his father and brother was so genuine and subtly powerful. The way he sat with Lea and tried to understand why she was crying and sad was so sweet and touching. Freddie Highmore is just fantastic in his portrayal. Same with Paige Spara…
REALLY can’t stand the negative Lea comments on here sometimes. IMO they are so short sighted. The character is such a needed part of this show and for Shaun’s growth. Her character is meant to come across as stubborn and self centered and oblivious at times. She’s also fun and caring and non judgemental and the type of friend Shaun needs. Paige Spara is a terrific actress whose emotional range blows me away every week she’s on. She can carry a scene just with her facial expressions alone. The writers are doing the right thing not throwing the two into a relationship right away. Agreed the writers could do more to flesh out her backstory more, but I think it’s a treat watching her character grow as well and learn the needs and quirks of someone with autism. I adore the dynamic of Lea and Shaun and I can’t wait to see where it goes. As with most great couples it’s about the journey. They need to grow together through good and bad times and develop their friendship and bond that connects them so when the payoff takes place it’s all the more satisfying. I think the writers are definitely doing them justice in getting there at this pace.
Enough ranting but I’ll conclude with that The Good Doctor has become my favorite show on network television. They have a really special group of actors and stories to tell and I wish more people that choose to troll their negativity would appreciate what they have in this show and just enjoy the ride.
i could not read the book
Totally agree with you. I think that when it comes to this show, the fans only look at Freddie Highmore’s brilliance, and tend to forget that the show isn’t just about his development, and that the other characters, like Morgan and Lea, are not perfect, and their personalities still need developing, they still need to become better people. It’s almost as if because the other characters don’t have the limitations that Shaun does, people expect them to be completely understanding and reasonable, when in the real world, that wouldn’t happen. Of course Lea is going to struggle to deal with his quirks, because she’s never had to deal with someone like him before.
I personally love the show, ShaunxLea, all over that ship, but I don’t necessarily love the fans.
I love this show. This episode was very good.
I had to sit down 4 different times to finish this episode on Hulu, It dragged on and on for me. This is the first episode of Season 2 where I finally was really missing the attorney Jessica and Jared from Season 1. The whole time this episode played, I kept thinking, wow….Claire and dying wife’s husband on a date….this is all they’ve got??? We need a new character then!
Maybe an additional storyline or two would be nice. Anything to move the show along!!!! I was dying on this one.
Hospital shows for the most part have to strike that balance between drama between characters and the drama of patients. This one confined itself to primarily patients and just didn’t move me much.
I would like to see more Dr. Melendez personal side (like we saw him with Jessica last season). Or Dr. Lim …more with her…anything really.
Hoping they pull some new characters in. I just wanted this show to be “busier” with more intriguing moments between the characters themselves and not one where I was like “when in the world does this end!!” The date with Dash and Claire just sucked up time better spent on more intriguing stuff.
Hoping this was just a minor dip in the season!