The Good Doctor: Season 3 Episode 19 “Hurt” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)
In part 1 of the season 3 finale of “The Good Doctor,” an earthquake hits that puts many series regulars in a dangerous, potentially life-threatening situation.
In part 1 of the 2 part season 3 finale of “The Good Doctor,” an earthquake hits that puts many series regulars in a dangerous, potentially life-threatening situation.
| Directed By | Mike Listo |
| Written By | Liz Friedman
Adam Scott Weissman |
| Aired (ABC) | 3/23/2020 |
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How The Hospital Handled The Earthquake: Dr. Andrews, Dr. Glassman, Morgan, Nurse Deena
No sooner than everyone knowing the earthquake hit, people move to action. But those who stay behind at the hospital are Dr. Andrews, with Dr. Glassman hurrying from his accident to assist, and then there is Morgan. Someone who is fresh from her surgery and wants to help but can’t grip or do anything.
So, what does the ever-stubborn Morgan do? Well, she relies on the nurses. People who she outright says to call her a B**** now to get it out of the way, for she doesn’t plan to be nice about what she needs them to do. Which, of course, leads Nurse Deena to eventually get tired of Morgan’s s*** since, after three years, while it may seem cool to Morgan that she knows and identifies as an efficient b****, the nurses are part of the team. Undermining their expertise, which in the medical field could be longer than Morgan’s, is insulting.
Prime example being Nurse Deena discovering a woman is pregnant. Mind you, not with a baby growing in her uterus, but in her fallopian tube, but either way, she is right.
Post Earthquake Recovery At The Brewery: Claire, Dr. Melendez, Shaun
With Dr. Melendez getting injured, but still relatively stable, he stays at the brewery and helps those who survived, alongside Claire, Dr. Lim and Alex. As for Shaun? Well, despite knowing how his fixation would make him less of an asset, Dr. Glassman reveals to Shaun that Lea was there, and that leads him to going to the most dangerous part of the building looking for her and finding someone else.
The Aftershock: Dr. Melendez, Shaun, Lea, Claire
As Shaun is searching through the basement of the brewery where Dr. Glassman and Dr. Melendez were, before the earthquake, Lea is above ground. Yeah, Shaun’s impetuousness sent him to the basement looking for Lea, and within maybe an hour of him going down there, she is on ground level, in a blanket, and it seems Dr. Lim, or someone else, gave her a walkey-talkey. You know, because those are the things you can spare after a major earthquake.
But, bad turns worse as an aftershock hits and following that, Shaun, with someone he met in the basement and is treating, find themselves possibly trapped with water filling the room. As that happens, Dr. Melendez, who downplayed his injuries, faints with Claire there on sight. And as all this happens, Shaun begs for help, and Lea listens in… not saying a damn word.
Highlights
The Possibility of Shaun Moving On
Assuming Shaun seeing Steve is like when Dr. Glassman saw his daughter, and that means they are at a turning point, one can only hope Shaun is ready to get over Lea. If not, as we saw before, Shaun being fine with Lea dating other people just as long as he gets to stay in her life. Because, and excuse me if this sounds callous, but I am hoping Shaun risking his life to save Lea doesn’t lead to her pulling a 180 and catching feelings for Shaun.
When Lea rejected him, and Shaun went off on her, that wasn’t the expected end of their relationship. After all, how often does a character, a lead at that, speak so passionately about another character, and that be the end of it? It rarely, if ever, happens. Especially since there wasn’t anything mentioned about Lea deciding it would be time to leave.
But, with that said, there is such a desire for Lea to not be someone who has this sudden epiphany that Shaun loves her so much, and she should try to make it work. We saw that with Carly, and while they broke up due to her insecurities, a part of me strongly feels this would be the perfect time to introduce an actor who is actually autistic onto the show and maybe have them work their way towards being Shaun’s love interest.
The Nurses Got A Chance In The Sun Again
While we love all the doctors on the show, would it be wrong to say we wish more of the nurses were involved? After all, they work hand and hand with the doctors, and yet, outside of Nurse Deena, they rarely speak. Which isn’t to take away the ones Morgan worked with we’ve seen fairly consistently since the beginning of the show. However, just trying to remember their names is a struggle and beyond complaining about the doctors, have any had any sort of storyline?
On The Fence
Morgan Possibly Messing Up Her Hands
Morgan’s original plan was extending what she could do by ten years with the surgery. But with her performing before she has been healed, what does that mean for everyone’s favorite doctor to hate? Does this mean she will have to join oncology, maybe even the pathology department? Will she spends multiple episodes feeling sorry for herself until some miracle happens, and she gets to be the rare person who magically can use her hands despite the damage assumingly done? With one episode left, it means the show may not cover what happened or will have us wait to see the true damage. Neither of which are something to look forward to.
Dr. Melendez Fainting
In the last episode, Claire noted she loves Dr. Melendez, and I bet you, with him fainting, and maybe his life being threatened, this is going to lead to a confession, and maybe a kiss. Which, I don’t know, I’m very back and forth about Dr. Melendez and Claire only because it comes off less about romance sometimes and more about consolidation. For, as mentioned many times before, this show does struggle with what to do with characters who aren’t in Shaun’s orbit and more often than not, if you aren’t in Shaun’s orbit, the best chance you have for a storyline that is seen through, to the end, is a relationship.
Otherwise, like Claire’s thing with Dr. Coyle, Dr. Lim calling her mom, Morgan’s grandpa, and storylines or moments you’d think would lead to storylines, they’ll be dropped. And while there are exceptions, like Claire’s mom dying and Morgan’s storyline throughout the season, it is hard to say if things will be shifting for the better or both situations are exceptions.
Though, let’s be honest, Claire’s mom dying, and the aftermath, was a bit rushed.
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Thanks, Andreas!
Here’s the scene from 2.5, thanks to youtube: https://youtu.be/ykkYmKJOgI0
Indeed Emily51. It’s romantic love, but Lea fears her own inability to have a stable romantic relationship. She explained that way back in the opening scene of 2.5 “Carrots” and stated that she rather would prefer to stay platonic friends instead. The whole story arc builds on established behavior and personality traits – the challenge for the audience is to remember the related scenes and lines of dialogue.
When Lea said “I love you” to Shaun, she did not then quantify it by saying “but just as a friend” or “but I’m not IN love with you”. It was just a straight “I love you” before saying why she would make a bad girlfriend, and then she ran out of the room and the episode ended. So yes, I, as did Shaun, assumed it was romantic love because Lea did not clarify that it was a love other than romantic.
I guess I don’t like Lea’s character because after admitting her love to Shaun, she is trying to run from Shaun because of his autism. Why tell someone you love them and then tell them you don’t want to be with them because they are autistic? To me that is cruel, and that is when I wanted Lea gone from the show. I’m tired of her and I’m tired of her storyline. What the writers are trying to do with her or what purpose Lea serves, no matter how important it is, does not matter to me anymore because in my own selfish opinion, I would prefer the show without her character on it.
My thing is, was it romantic love? I think, when it comes to men and women, the expression of love is always assumed to be romantic and thus showing of kindness or affections lead to the assumption two people are end game. Similar to how many thought, at one time, Claire and Shaun would be a thing. However, I think with the kiss early on, Lea was seeing if she could romantically love Shaun and I don’t think it clicked with her.
And, as Andreas has said, I think the idea here with Shaun is to not just show the nuances of what an autistic person is capable of and their personality, but also not tip toe around him. Specifically by not handing Shaun everything he wants and making him either work for it, and succeed, or work for it, and still ultimately not get it. When it comes to Lea, I feel like he ultimately won’t have her as a girlfriend but could have a life long friend out of her. One that may not love him romantically but knows how to express the love he needs, like when dealing with his parents and holding him in such a way to help calm him.
Sorry, I need to vent a little…
Revisiting the theme of 3.18 “Heartbreak” when I wrote that Shaun must be held responsible for his actions because he’s an adult with free will and his ASD does not excuse, but explain them only… This notion also applies to whom Shaun chooses to love.
I’m really growing tired and frustrated to read all the social media comments that Shaun must move on from Lea, parroting his less than helpful co-workers and the patient of the week. Everybody tells Shaun what to think. Nobody asks what he thinks. And why. In season 1 Shaun asked his colleagues and patients for respect. He still does not get it from some viewers in season 3.
The board said he can’t be a surgeon because his ASD.
Melendez said he can’t do more than suction because his ASD.
Han said he must be a pathologist because his ASD.
Lea said she can’t be with him because of his ASD.
Now, give autistic Shaun an autistic love interest because of his ASD? Sure, if PoC only need to date PoC to make every single relationship to work out…
“He’s an adult.” (Lea in 2.11) Shaun has the right to decide for himself who he wants to be with, and finally in this episode he has reached the clarity to explain why: Lea makes him more than a good doctor. This is a turning point in his character arc. Finally, it’s his decision alone. This means empowerment of the impaired.
Please stop patronizing him like a child just because he’s neurodivergent. Shaun might be emotionally immature due to his ASD, but he’s still an autonomous person; his volition must be respected. If you patronize a fictitious character, you’re likely to patronize real adults on the spectrum as well.
Now, after I got this out of my system – sorry again for the outburst but being autistic I know all of this well from personal experience and I can rave just as Shaun – a little more meta about this storyline.
The show gave hints that Shaun never really moved on from Lea after Jake entered the picture in 2.12. For once, there are the lyrics underscoring his scenes with Lea and Carly – if you go the way to read them completely, you get a pretty good idea of what these characters might be thinking and what course the writers have set for them.
Most obvious this is with Carly breaking up with Shaun in 3.15. When Carly walks away, the lyrics tell “A simple prop to occupy my time”. But then there’s also the first song of season 3 at Shaun’s first date with Carly in 3.1:
You spurn my natural emotions/
It makes me feel like dirt and I’m hurt/
If I start a commotion/
I run the risk of losing you and that’s worse/
Ever fallen in love with someone/
Ever fallen in love, in love with someone/
Ever fallen in love, in love with someone/
You shouldn’t’ve fallen in love with/
I can’t see much of a future/
Unless we find out what’s to blame?/
What a shame and we can’t be together/
Until we realize that we are the same/
[…]
(Ever Fallen In Love by Nouvelle Vague)
Does this seem the right choice to underscore the first date with Carly, starting a new romance? Shaun felt very uncomfortable at the date because he had to do things unnatural to him; the lyrics acknowledge that much. But it’s too early for Shaun already having fallen in love with Carly. More so, the song speaks of Shaun’s feelings about Lea rejecting him romantically since 2.5 (“You shouldn’t’ve fallen in love with”). It maps out season 3 with Shaun figuring out his feelings for Carly and Lea and what went wrong in the process.
There were more material cues, too. For example, when Shaun lost his virginity to Carly in 3.12, Lea’s baseball sat right beside Carly’s head on top a makeshift bedstand made of books. At their first try in this episode one camera shot even featured the baseball right between Shaun and Carly! When Carly complained about Lea hovering above their relationship in 3.14, this was more than a metaphor only. Shaun placed his memorabilia of Lea (normally seen on his desk) right beside his actual sex mate for a reason (or rather the writers/director did so).
The story arc of Shaun, Lea and Carly is nothing that compares to real-life questions about who fits best with whom, it’s an elongated learning trajectory for the lead character about himself and what really matters to him. Shaun’s monologue directed at the trapped patient in 3.19 is an echo of a similar scene in the pilot, where he explained his motivation for becoming a doctor to the board. Now, 3 years later he has grown – he wants to be more.
Furthermore, he also can see now his own shortcomings in relation to Lea: “But I don’t make her more.” This is an important accomplishment for an autistic individual because it requires perspective taking/theory of mind (a core deficit of ASD), it marks his evolution from 3.17/18 and it’s a prospect of what to expect for him in season 4. Shaun can’t “fix” his autism, but he is learning to compensate his lacking cognitive empathy with additional reasoning. This is probably the signal Lea needs now as she needed him to compromise in 2.6 and to acknowledge her pain about Hershey in 2.5 before the plot could move on to them being roommates.
The momentum of the earthquake will do the rest. I call it raised “mortality salience”, but David Shore explained this way in a recent interview with TVguide: “She [Lea] has to ask herself a lot of questions about herself, but also about Shaun, about who Shaun is, and the fundamental questions in this series. What are Shaun’s weaknesses? What are Shaun’s strengths? I think that’s what we’re constantly asking ourselves about ourselves, about the people we love, and about people that we might love. What are their weaknesses? What are their strengths? What can they offer me? What can’t they offer? What do I need in a relationship? What can I get, and what can I offer? Seeing Shaun in this setting, and seeing what he is facing, and seeing how he responds, and feeling her reaction to it, helps her answer those questions.
The Plot is not about a casual fit but asking serious questions relevant to all of us.
Out of curiosity, how do you feel about Freddie Highmore playing someone with autism? Based on previous comments, it appears you think he is doing a good job in portraying the nuances, but considering, like in the show “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay” they casted a person who had autism, does that matter to the community or just having representation is what counts? Whether the actor is autistic or not?
That aside, I think the crux here is many people, myself included, don’t have much interaction with people with ASD so whether it is through conversations about this show, or others, and watching usually neurotypical actors portraying people with ASD, that’s all we have. And as good as any performance is or can be, if you don’t have a personal experience, there is a certain level of disconnect.
And when it comes to Shaun and Lea, I think my feelings are more so geared towards feeling this Lea storyline is beginning to drag and wanting to see it come to a conclusion. For most of the romantic storylines on “The Good Doctor” aren’t geared towards romance but logic and constraints. Shaun and Lea being no different since they, to me, haven’t had a moment that really made me think they should be together in a very long time. If anything, it seems, similar to his actions when doing medicine, there is this push to see Shaun’s relationship with Lea as a fixation. Then when you add in his belief no one will love him and the trauma he experienced as a teenager, it further makes it seem he is stuck on Lea because there was a time she expressed affection towards him. Plus, with us not seeing Shaun’s younger years, beyond when Steve was alive, it is also presented that Lea is his first love. Thus making it appear more that his inability to move on, like so many things in his life, pertains to wanting to succeed despite of.
Which for me is an issue since Shaun rarely ever fails and as a doctor, that is admirable. But with Lea, the idea of her bending due to a grand gesture and Shaun’s conversation in the basement, it furthers his development but weakens her. If in the sense that she can be more than Shaun’s love interest.
Then, in terms of proposing Shaun having a love interest with ASD, that stems from wanting to see more women with ASD be portrayed, since, in my experience, most media only present men with ASD. Plus, it would make Shaun seem less of an exception, aside from him being a savant, and further the diversity people can absorb when it comes to the capabilities, personalities, and actions of those with ASD. And also, when it comes to this show, if your life isn’t revolving around Shaun, the likelihood of you getting a consistent and quality storyline is thin. So if they were to bring on a new character, a woman with ASD, the only way she’d get developed and be a consistent figure would be to date Shaun. Otherwise, like the patients we saw with ASD, she’d be here today and gone tomorrow. Which leads to the desire to have her be a nurse since their world and their relationships with doctors has not been tapped as it should.
But do forgive me if this all comes out utterly ignorant. It really is not my intention and I’m trying to figure a way to handle the fact this show is fiction but also represents a community that feels unseen, unheard, and often misunderstood.
Glad that you ask, Amari, I really think the common notion in social media that for example a gay character must be played by a gay actor is very shortsighted. I like to think that any character should be played by the most capable actor – because acting is a profession while being gay is a trait. 😉
What good would be an autistic actor if he can’t deliver what the script and the director require him. Being autistic is no job qualification per se. So, I don’t mind Freddie Highmore being neurotypical, I enjoy his very accomplished and nuanced acting instead. Sure, there have been complaints from autistic individuals about his performance, but think twice: there’s the saying if you know one individual with ASD, you know one only … and then, autistic individuals tend to think of themselves first and foremost… you see the circles?
Speaking of which, Shaun Murphy is a puzzle of many different autistic behaviors plus statistics on them. The character is a variant, not the ultimate ASD individual (by the way, there are autistic doctors in real-life, too). It’s funny for me to look at the screen and realize that I recognize a certain characteristic from a real individual I know and another behavior from a second, or Shaun holding his hand similar to me in my earlier years… Some traits I haven’t seen for real yet, but I know them from reports. I admit that I have the advantage of my psychological studies with better access to data than most of my autistic peers.
Concerning the Shaun and Lea storyline, I’m very fine with the slow burn as David Shore described it, because it is more realistic. Individuals with ASD are often emotionally immature compared to neurotypicals the same age. Adjusting to neurotypical peers is a slow, often painful process. It takes not months or years, we’re talking decades! I’m 45 now and I’m still learning how to cope with all of it. I’m still working on the same theory of mind issues we see with Shaun in his mid-twenties. I’ve more practice than Shaun, but sill I’m not as good as a neurotypical guy. I’m glad the show did not fall to the temptation to make this all Hollywood-style romance with a quick happy end for the autistic lead – it is not that easy for us on the spectrum and I have the boring statistical data to prove it. Want some examples?
Concerning recreational activities, a study by Balfe and Tantam (2010) reported that individuals with ASD visited regularly…
the library 53%
the cinema 48%
the pup 36%
community centers 10%
nightclubs 0%
never left home 7%
Living situation of adults with ASD (Mazurek, 2014)
live alone: 19.4%
live with parent(s): 38.0%
live with partner, spouse, or roommate: 28.7%
other: 13.9%
Employment
full-time job: 24.1%
part-time job: 25.0%
not employed, student: 24.1%
not employed, not student: 26.9%
Relationship status
married: 22.2%
in a romantic relationship: 2.8%
divorced/separated: 6.5%
single: 58.3%
Friendship status
has a close or best friend: 60.2%
does not have a close or best friend: 39.8%
The figures vary from sample to sample and country to country, but the tendencies are always the same: individuals with ASD are regularly underemployed, live less independent, have less friends and less sex compared to neurotypical controls. With that in mind, Shaun is a lucky guy already and he owes much of that to Lea. That’s what his monologue of being more with her was about.
From what I have seen the show handling these issues so far, I doubt that any possible reconciliation between Shaun and Lea in 3.20 will end with them living happily ever after in season 4. Their characters are not designed for that. Instead, “I love you” probably will be closing this chapter and set stage for the next in this ongoing process of pushing and pulling we have witnessed since their arc started. Something the show prepared us for with the underscoring songs, most notable: “I’ll Be Your Mirror” by Clem Snide in 1.8 “Apple” (Lea comforts Shaun for the first time) and “A Kiss With A Fist” by Florence + The Machine in be beginning of 2.14 “Aftermath” (stands for all in the main cast seen in the montage including Lea who is dancing to the song on her headphones). The songs of 2.6 (Tonight Tonight by Mondo Cozmo) and 2.7 (I Feel It All by Feist) take the same direction. The lyrics were deliberately selected and are very telling for each episode.
Since this is a very long comment already, I’ll say something about women with ASD later. 😉
REFERENCES
Balfe, M., & Tantam, D. (2010). A descriptive social and health profile of a community sample of adults and adolescents with Asperger syndrome. BMC Research Notes, 3, Article 300, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-3-300
Mazurek, M. O. (2014). Loneliness, friendship, and well-being in adults with autism spectrum disorders. Autism : The International Journal of Research and Practice, 18(3), 223–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361312474121
Now, on females with ASD. As a general thought I should address that I’m not as concerned about thin storylines for other characters as you are Amari, simply because this show explicitly revolves around the autistic lead. It is the key feature that sets it apart from other medical dramas. By nature, all the other cast members are supporting characters in this sense – they are the neurotypical sounding board to autistic Shaun. The more their storylines are independent from Shaun, the more the autistic aspect would be brought to the sidelines because there are only 42 minutes each episode. And a second autistic regular would not help with that either. As you can already guess from my previous comments, ASD is an extremely complex matter to convey with the means of a TV series and a single autistic lead.
Females with ASD are a chapter of its own. First, they are probably less represented in media simply because there could be less of them. Current estimates are that for every female there are four male individuals on the spectrum. With high-functioning autistic individuals such as Shaun this is even worse: 1 female to 9 males . Statistics are still sketchy on this because females with ASD are often very good in camouflaging their autistic traits (Lai et al., 2017) and autism is sometimes reported to manifest differently in females (Bargiela et al., 2016). Females often go undetected for many years and are eventually diagnosed when comorbidities such as depression, anxiety or eating disorders have them seeking psychiatric help.
So, what could a socially well adapted, but depressive or anorexic autistic love interest add to the show and do better than Lea? Lea has commitment issues and low self-esteem, but a least she is Tequila STAT, karaoke and ice bathing in December… 😉
Furthermore, an autistic partner is no guarantee for less friction. In fact, you could end up with two stubborn and selfish characters even worse at compromise than Shaun and Lea, setting fire to the roof daily. Or they live their life peacefully beside each other but not together really such as Lana and Javier in 2.13 “Xin” because their common grounds are quizzes and sex only (but not sharing the bed afterwards please).
So, your idea is a very neurotypical one I might say. 😉 In fact, it was suggested to me personally several times, but there’s no evidence that it would do any better. First, finding an autistic female is not easy, second it can mean even more conflict. While not ruling it out, I’ll take my chances with neurotypical women…
REFERENCES
Bargiela, S., Steward, R., & Mandy, W. (2016). The Experiences of Late-diagnosed Women with Autism Spectrum Conditions: An Investigation of the Female Autism Phenotype. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(10), 3281–3294. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2872-8
Lai, M.‑C., Lombardo, M. V., Ruigrok, A. N., Chakrabarti, B., Auyeung, B., Szatmari, P., Happé, F., & Baron-Cohen, S. (2017). Quantifying and exploring camouflaging in men and women with autism. Autism : The International Journal of Research and Practice, 21(6), 690–702. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361316671012
Wow! I’m gone for one day, and look at what I miss!
I will just briefly comment on the discussion between Amari and Andreas: Andreas, between your personal experience with ASD and your research, you are definitely the expert on a romantic relationship of someone with ASD. But despite that, I agree with Amari that the relationship between Shaun and Lea is being dragged out, and I hope it comes to some sort of conclusion in this Monday’s episode. I am writing that strictly from my impatient, television-watching point-of-view. And I am not looking for a pat, happy ending. While I am proud of the growth Shaun has displayed because of Lea, I am tired of Lea herself. I hope she doesn’t have that miraculous change-of-heart and suddenly wants to be Shaun’s girlfriend, but instead just moves back to Hershey or dies trying to rescue Shaun or something that puts a permanent end to this.
Amari, to answer your questions: I think whenever Steve has appeared in the past, it’s signaled something important. (Loved the “OOOO”!) So maybe it was ominous! We’ll see if something happens to Shaun in the next episode. Also, Steve went on and on about Lea. Could something maybe happen to her instead?
And Morgan working with Carly? I’d watch that!
I think the nurse Shaun was talking to is too busy taking care of Morgan’s grandfather, so we won’t ever see her again!
You stay safe and healthy, too!! And you, too, Andreas!
Emily51, I understand your reasoning very well in this matter – or I believe so at least, since this is a question of perspective taking, and as we know, this is a delicate matter for any individual with ASD. 😉
Three seasons only to get to the bottom of a relationship is a long way to go and TV is all about escapism, fleeing boring and grim reality for an hour or two.
But Amari is right, dealing with minorities there’s the question of representation. Not only in terms of numbers, but also in attitude to life. Quite frankly, I can’t stand most depictions of autism in pictures and TV, not because they get certain details wrong, but because of the general tendency to pep up a conventional story with an eccentric character. Shure, there are the usual obstacles to expect with autism, but they are usually resolved quickly within the narrative structure. They aim to please the audience and their expectations what to get for their money, so they gloss over the dark sides of living with autism. Therefore, these productions never quite resonated with me.
In fact, I you ask me what other work of fiction about autism I would recommend to you, I could only name one: Mary & Max, an animation picture. (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0978762/) If you watch it, you might understand what sets it apart from other depictions of autism.
The Good Doctor does not fall for audience appeasement either. Lea’s character is the show’s device to keep the viewers aware that living with autism is more than some social awkwardness. Living with autism can be quite unpleasant – while being aware that you can’t run from it. Or fix it.
(On the bright side: lockdowns and social distancing don’t have much impact on me because I have less social interaction in general; therefore, stay strong, we can manage the current situation)
I did not watch next week’s promo (I consider it a spoiler, and I don’t like spoilers of any kind), so this is all based on the episode that just aired.
When Dr. Glassman told Shaun about Lea, I rolled my eyes because I knew that Shaun would go after her and wouldn’t be around to help anyone else. Nice going, Glassman! Imagine my surprise when Shaun imagined Steve and then came across a woman that was not Lea that needed help. Even though Shaun always used to listen to Steve, he is ignoring what Steve is telling him about Lea. And Lea having a walkey-talkey is not just a dumb coincidence. I think the writers meant for her to have it so she could hear the sweet speech Shaun gave. I have a bad feeling she is going to do what you predicted might happen – have a sudden epiphany and try to make things work with Shaun. Ugh!! I think the writers are going to keep shoving Lea down our throats whether we like it or not!
Regarding Claire and Dr. Melendez – No. End of story.
I enjoyed seeing the nurses in the spotlight, too! But the writers can’t seem to come up with decent storylines for almost all of the doctors except Shaun, so I’m just happy the nurses got to have more then 1 or 2 lines in this episode.
I’m not sure what’s going to happen to Morgan’s hands, but I’m eager to find out! I will say that the writers have done a good job on this storyline.
I generally skip promos too, but mostly because they are so frustrating. Especially if you are looking for a character’s name but, I figured, maybe someone would want easy access.
That aside, whose walkey talkey did she even have? Dr. Lim was running the rescue so her giving that up for the sake of one impetuous doctor would be foolish. Plus, considering Lea was found in the basement, somehow standing, you’d think, after being checked, she’d be sent home since I’m pretty sure that ambulance would have been needed for transport.
OOOO and speaking of Steve, did you think him showing up was ominous at all? Granted, they aren’t going to kill off Shaun, but they could injure him to the point of using the time between seasons for recovery. Maybe even give a nod to house and force Shaun to use a cane.
With Morgan, I wonder if, to keep Carly around, they may send her to Carly’s department?
Oh, and with the nurses, do you wonder what happened to the one Shaun was talking to? I wanted to see something come of that but it seemingly won’t be followed up on.
Also, hope you are safe out where you are!