The Good Doctor S2 E3
The surgeons are all irritable during a long shift in Season 2 Episode 3 of The Good Doctor.
Walking on Sunshine
Shaun is a happy camper—and for good reason, Dr. Glassman’s surgery was a success! He will still need chemo, but for now he’s doing okay. Well, except that he can’t get any sleep with all the monitors and nurses, visits from Shaun—and a shocking visit from someone else, but we’ll get to that a little later.
Wrong Side of the Operating Table
In what was one of the longest and most interrupted surgeries we’ve seen on the show to date (seriously, they scrubbed in and out so many times I lost count), the patient has endometriosis and lots of it. Her biggest dream is to be a mother, but once the surgeons are in they find so many lesions and so much damage that they only have two choices: a full hysterectomy or a procedure that is very risky and could kill her. Claire presses her husband for a decision, but he is emotionally unable to decide, so he puts it on Claire, he wants her to make the decision for his wife.
While all this is going on, tensions have risen in the O.R. The surgeons are all irritable, and Claire is flustered because Dr. Andrews basically blew her off when she mentioned her concerns about long shifts. So when she brings it up in the O.R., Melendez makes light of it, which angers a nurse on the team, who lets Melendez have it. All this while they’re supposed to be saving this woman. I would not want to be the patient on the table while these guys are bickering with each other. And the scary thing is, you know it happens it real life.
In the end, Claire decides that the woman’s life is worth more than the dream, and she tells Melendez to go with the hysterectomy. After a 20+ hour surgery, the woman makes it through, and then Andrews calls the team in. He wants to know what went on in the O.R. Instead of reporting the nurse and Claire to Andrews, Melendez praises them, and they in turn praise him. Andrews is pleased.
36 Hours
Shaun and Reznick have been delegated to a 36 hour shift in the E.R. Dr. Lim is heading home (not really) and she instructs them to prove that they can handle this themselves. But all of a sudden these two who normally have all the ideas, can’t figure out how to treat their patients.
One patient is a young boy who stuck a lightbulb in his mouth and now he can’t get it back out. Bright idea, kid. Perplexed, Shaun and Reznick try to figure out how to get it out without busting the glass and hurting the boy. Shaun finally gets the idea to wrap the bulb in surgical cloth, which can’t be cut even with a scalpel, and then bust the glass. It works, with a little help from the sister who punches the boy in the jaw, breaking the glass, because he’s too afraid to bite down.
Another patient presents with an interesting problem—his erection won’t go away. They treat him and send him home, but he comes back later, the erection still there. Shaun finally realizes that the patient also has a “dropped foot” and has something called an “epidural abscess with pelvic distention.” He’s going to need surgery or he could be paralyzed.
While all this is going on, Dr. Lim is having an adventure of her own—in court. It seems our bad ass surgeon likes motorcycles, and she likes them fast. When she goes to traffic court for a speeding ticket, she butts heads with the judge, and ends up in jail. Later, she gets out of jail and makes out with the prosecutor—you go, Dr. Lim. But alas, Shaun calls her and she has to rush back to the hospital for the patient in E.R.
Shaun is a Jackass, and So Is Reznick
While working in the E.R., Shaun has been trying to avoid Lea’s calls. Reznick confronts him and in her usual bitchy way, tells Shaun that Lea (and Claire) don’t look at him as a real man, they look at him as a “cute little pet.” And when Shaun says that Lea kissed him, Reznick calls it a “pity kiss.” Seriously, Reznick? You suck. After the long shift is over, Shaun finds Lea waiting for him outside. He sits down and apologizes for avoiding her. Shaun says that Lea has been a good friend. And then Lea blows up, tells Shaun that friendship works both ways, calls him a jackass, and storms off. At which point Reznick walks by and says she was wrong, Lea does think of Shaun as a real man.
You’re Dead
Back to Dr. Glassman–while trying to get some sleep, he hears a voice calling out, “Daddy.” He opens his eyes and finds his daughter, Maddie, looking very much alive. She comes to his side and Glassman tears up and says, “You’re dead.” Maddie confirms this and Glassman asks if he’s dead. Maddie says, “No, you’re just tired.”
Is this a bad sign after brain surgery? Is he really seeing his daughter, or is he hallucinating? We’re gonna find out next week in what looks to be a very emotional episode. Get those tissues ready. The Good Doctor returns October 15th, 10/9 C, on ABC.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on Episode 3: how do you feel about doctors working long hours? Is it safe? Would you feel safe, knowing the doctor treating you had not slept in 20+ hours?
And how are you feeling about the new season in general? Better than season 1? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Before you go:
The Gifted S2 Episode 2: unMoored
Who Should We Listen To? (God Friended Me Episode 2)