It’s been a long wait, but our favorite surgeons are back! Episode 1 of Season 2, written by Freddie Highmore himself, says Hello—and goodbye.
Goodbye, Kalu
Dr. Kalu is on his way out, and his last day is spent working a mobile clinic for the homeless. Shaun works alongside Jared, and I gotta say, I really enjoyed these two together. They made a great team, and it actually made me sad that Kalu is leaving.
Together, Shaun and Jared help a man who goes by the name of “Harry”. Shaun first believes that he has schizophrenia, but when he complains of a stiff neck, Jared suspects bacterial meningitis. They take him back to the hospital for testing, which angers the newly appointed hospital president, Doctor Andrews. Jared’s suspicions end up being wrong, which makes things even worse for him.
But later, when Shaun takes Jared’s advice and goes to be with Glassman who is undergoing tests, he accidentally has this lightbulb moment—Harry has a brain tumor! Shaun and Jared track “Harry” down (and Shaun nearly has a breakdown of his own with all the loud noises in the homeless community). It turns out that “Harry” is really a man named Edward Austin Thomas. And Shaun is right, he does have a tumor, which they successfully remove and reunite him with his wife and daughter.
When the day is over, Jared says his goodbye to Shaun, and then to Claire, who tearfully tries to talk him into staying. And Shaun meets Doctor Glassman, assuring him that he will be there for him.
Review Time
Andrews has dished out some spot on reviews—Shaun needs to work on his communication skills (good luck with that). Claire needs to start being more assertive, and Reznick needs to work on being a team player. The banter continues between Claire and Reznick, which I enjoy, but at the end of the day when these two put their heads together, something good always happens. Case in point, a patient with a failing heart who is all set to have what they call a “piggyback” where a donor heart is put in with the other heart, but they discover she has an aortic aneurysm, which means they can’t do the transplant. Claire suggests a teflon graft, and she and Reznick (along with Dr. Park) brainstorm about how to do it. They go to Melendez (who isn’t too keen on the idea at first) and Andrews, who wants to know whose idea it was. Claire tries to give credit to the whole team, but Reznick sets the matter straight–it was Claire’s idea. Andrews is pleased with Reznick, she’s learning how to be a team player (I think she’s just sticking it to Claire again), but he’s not so pleased with Claire—this was yet another opportunity for her to stand up for herself, and she blew it. Reznick for the win.
Eventually Melendez does the surgery and, after it all goes bad (like Melendez feared it would), he pulls it off and saves the woman, much to Andrews’ approval. When he asks who wants to close up, Claire speaks up—it was her idea, so she should be the one who gets to close. Andrews also approves of this—two points for Claire.
A NewComer and A Not So New Comer
- Joining the show is Lisa Edelstein, who plays Doctor Blaize (cool name), Glassman’s Oncologist.
- And the episode ends when Shaun heads back to his apartment and gets a very special surprise—Lea is back! Yay! This makes me so happy. But I gotta say Shaun didn’t look as happy as I thought he would. He seemed … I don’t know, maybe stunned? At least that Kenny guy is gone.
My favorite line this episode was from Shaun to Jared:
Don’t worry, Jared. You’re young. There’s still time for you to fulfill your potential somewhere else.”
Gotta love Shaun and his communication skills.
Season 2 is off to a great start, and it looks like we are in for one heck of a ride. I’m looking forward to it—what about you?
The Good Doctor returns October 1, 10/9 C, on ABC.
Before you go:
Killjoys Episode 10: Sporemaggedon
Why You Should Make An Appointment at New Amsterdam