The Good Doctor Winter Finale!
The winter finale of The Good Doctor aired December 4th on ABC.
Talk about cliffhangers … this one really left us hanging. It’s gonna be a tough five weeks till we get to see what happens next.
Shaun was the Big Story This Week
Each of the story lines touched in one way or another on a single theme of denial and avoidance, and the writers did an excellent job of showing us all these different situations, and how avoiding the issues or pushing them, manifested in different consequences, but Shaun’s story really felt the biggest.
Dr. Glassman, as we know, has been feeling really worried about Shaun, and this week he tried to set him up with a therapist. Shaun really freaked out about this, and was more disturbed then we’ve ever seen him, even more so then when he was caught in the middle of a robbery.
All through the episode, poor Shaun keeps trying to tell Dr. Glassman that he does not want this, that he isn’t comfortable meeting with this therapist, and we can all feel how upset he is. Even Dr. Melendez notices that something isn’t right with Shaun. Shaun even goes to the point of sleeping in a janitor’s closet in the hospital so he doesn’t have to go home and see this therapist.
Others in Denial
A patient, Bobby, is an e-athlete at the top of his game and knows he has cancer, but has been avoiding it, hoping it would just go away. After finding out the cancer has moved to his brain, there’s some time where it looks like there’s nothing else they can do for him, but eventually they find a way to do surgery and save him with minimal damage. Along the way, Bobby offers Shaun lots of support and encouragement.
Dr. Claire Browne, being sexually harassed by another doctor, hesitates about reporting him for the very real fear that it will just come back to hurt her. This story line is obviously a timely one, and the way it was portrayed totally nailed the fact that all too often the blame is put on the victim, and this is why it so often goes unreported.
And Jessica tells Neil a truth that she has apparently been avoiding—she doesn’t want to have children. We don’t get to hear his response, but from the look on his face, he had no idea.
The Cliffhangers
Shaun’s protests have fallen on deaf ears—Dr. Glassman keeps pushing the therapist thing, even tries to bribe Shaun. Shaun is this ticking bomb and he’s about to explode. You would think Dr. Glassman would have noted how upset Shaun was. But he doesn’t, and it escalates, until the point when it culminates in a shocking and violent outburst, in which Shaun hits a stunned Dr. Glassman in the face and runs out of the hospital.
Meanwhile, Dr. Kalu, angry about Dr. Coyle harassing Claire, and probably even angrier with himself for suggesting to Claire that the doctor was just trying to establish a rapport, physically assaults Dr. Coyle and threatens him about what will happen if he ever bothers Claire again. This prompts Dr. Andrews to fire Dr. Kalu. I gotta tell you, I certainly did not expect this. I’ve just come to love this character, we cannot lose him! I’m hoping someone will convince Dr. Andrews to revoke his decision and give Dr. Kalu a second chance.
The episode ends with Glassman and the therapist going to Shaun’s place to look for him. He’s not there, and his photo of him and his brother is gone. When the therapist asks Dr. Glassman what that means, he tells her, “It means he’s not coming back.”
So sad. I feel so terrible for Shaun. January can’t come soon enough.
My favorite line from this episode:
Don’t ever let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do. ~ Bobby
How did you feel about the winter finale? Where do you think Shaun went? What about Claire? Did you understand why she was hesitant to go forward? And Jared? Did he make the right move? What about Neil and Jessica? How do you think Neil is going to respond to his future wife not wanting to have children?
The Good Doctor returns January 8th, 2018, 10/9C, on ABC. Vote in our best of Fall 2017 TV shows poll!
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