The Good Doctor Episode 17 aired March 19th, on ABC.
Wow, so much going on this episode. But I’m gonna do things in reverse this week, cause the last scene was the BIGGEST SHOCKER. After Shaun plays matchmaker and gets Dr. Glassman together with a lady named Debbie, their first date is about to end when suddenly Glassman gets all confused. He’s trying to ask the waitress for the check but he’s calling it a “doorstop.” Something here is bad wrong. And then we get the clip for the season finale: Glassman. Is. Dying. He has brain cancer. And twitter freaking erupts with Good Doctor fans who cannot accept this, myself included. This is just too much. Poor Shaun. Everyone he loves, he loses. Made me think of that scene where he told Glassman he didn’t want love. He wanted pancakes, but not love. He doesn’t have pancakes and he’s about to lose someone else he loves. Damn it, people, I am gonna need mega tissues next week. Okay, putting my meltdown aside for a moment …
The Patients
Gretchen is a girl who has Moebius Syndrome, a neurological disorder which makes her unable to smile. Her father wants her to have an elective surgery that can fix the condition, and give Gretchen her smile. Shaun being Shaun, he blurts out the risks of the surgery, and when she changes her mind, he gets blamed for it. But it turns out that’s not the reason she changed her mind—she doesn’t want to have it because her dad can’t afford to pay for it. The insurance won’t cover because it’s considered elective. After some coercion from Andrews, the insurance company agrees to cover 85%. The surgery is back on, and it seems to be a success—but of course there’s a twist. Gretchen isn’t waking up, and the surgeons come to the conclusion that she’s brain dead. Only she’s not. Turns out it’s some kind of weird reaction to the anesthesia, and she wakes up. Gretchen gets to try out her new smile with the aid of some kind of neurotransmitter thing, but she’ll be able to smile on her own in three months.
Claire and Reznick’s patient(s) is/are a little tricky. In another roller coaster of a ride, we have one patient who checks in as “Lucy Callard” with a post-op infection. But it turns out she’s an impostor, using the real Lucy’s ID to get medical care. And then Claire discovers that the real Lucy has been doing some lying of her own, she’s an addict who has been faking illnesses in order to get medication. After being busted by Reznick, the real Lucy goes to rehab, but the fake, whose name is Beatrice, sadly doesn’t make it. Her organs shut down and she dies.
The Team
Dr. Kalu: So, there was actually a third patient this week, remember “fish lady”? She’s back. It’s time for the tilapia skins to come off. As Kalu is removing the grafts, she asks him to tell her something painful, to help with her pain. He tells her about the time when everything was perfect for him, and how he screwed it all up. It’s obvious there’s a connection between these two, but Kalu is concerned that it’s just transference. After talking to Shaun about it, he tells her Shaun is taking over her care, because he can’t date her if she’s a patient. It feels very much like the writers are still trying to get Kalu back in our good graces, and I admit it’s working, because later in the show he gets his acceptance letter from Denver Memorial, and I felt sad that he might not be around in season 2.
Morgan: Dr. Reznick showed a little vulnerability beneath the tough girl act that she puts on. She makes up a sad story of her own about how her mom died when she was 6, but Claire calls her bluff—her mom didn’t die and Morgan had a perfect childhood. I get the feeling Morgan acts the way she does because she knows she’s had it better than most, and maybe she feels this makes her inferior in some way. Whatever the reason, it made her character a little more likable.
Shaun: Shaun busies himself this week trying to determine whether Andrews’ claim that a smile is contagious is true. His big smile is beautiful, and it got a return smile from me, but not from any of his fellow surgeons who found it “unsettling.”
And then there’s Kenny. Can we talk about Kenny? I do not like this guy. He pushed it too far this week. Shaun knocks on his door with pizza, and Kenny opens up to reveal that his buddies are all there, and they’re playing games on a big ole TV that happens to be Shaun’s. That’s right, Kenny took Shaun’s TV. He takes the pizza, too. And then … then he has the nerve to say that Shaun has “quirks” and he won’t let Shaun join in. What a jerk! I think you’ve got bigger quirks than Shaun does, Kenny. And you’re gonna have to go, before somebody punches you.
And speaking of punches … what a punch in the gut that last scene with Glassman was. The big ending that I did not see coming. The finale next week, I seriously don’t know if I can handle it. I feel a panic attack coming on. Somebody bring my tissues.
My favorite line from this episode:
Smiles make us happy.” Dr. Andrews
Not gonna be many smiles next week—The Good Doctor returns on March 26th, 10/9 C on ABC, for it’s shocking season finale. Are you ready?
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