As Clair and Asher share a moment and Morgan and Alex, Lea eclipses them all as she and Shaun make you glad this isn’t the season finale.
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As Clair and Asher share a moment and Morgan and Alex, Lea eclipses them all as she and Shaun make you glad this isn’t the season finale.
| Director(s) | Mike Listo |
| Writer(s) | David Hoselton, David Renaud |
| Aired (ABC) | 3/8/2021 |
This content contains pertinent spoilers. Also, images and text may contain affiliate links, which, if a purchase is made, we’ll earn money or products from the company.
Recap
Chasing A Thrill – Dr. Glassman, Dr. Andrews
With taking on a risky patient that 9 neurosurgeons denied treatment, Dr. Andrews questions why Dr. Glassman feels the need to take on such a risk? His theory? A thrill. After having cancer, Dr. Glassman has become impulsive, and Dr. Andrews thinks Dr. Glassman lacks excitement and feels empty, hence looking for challenges that could lead to someone getting killed.
Now, is Dr. Andrews wrong? Not necessarily. When it comes to the patient, who is ready to back away from the surgery, Dr. Glassman’s pep talk can be seen as manipulation so the surgery can happen. And mind you, the surgery ends up a success, but it nearly became a trainwreck due to complications. Which, as we are used to with The Good Doctor, thanks to an obscure procedure being remembered, things end up okay. But, it seemed Dr. Glassman would have had to face Dr. Andrews was right for a moment.
The Challenge Of Letting Go – Morgan, Alex, Asher, Claire
For Asher and Claire, issues regarding their mothers emerge as they share Glassman’s patient, who longs for normalcy and has a bit of fear he may not get it, despite the surgery. This triggers Claire and Asher, who fear their own return, or some form of normalcy, if they choose to address their relationships with their mother.
When it comes to Asher, it is something simple like fearing further cutting himself off from his mother by eating a non-kosher cheeseburger. As for Claire? It’s about picking up a guitar and singing. Yet, despite these fears, with Glassman’s patient’s success, they find themselves pushing to address what scares them head-on. Thus, Asher has a cheeseburger, and Claire not only picks up her guitar and sings but does it for an audience!
As for Morgan and Alex? Well, with Morgan struggling with a patient who has a dying wife and Alex being passed over for Glassman’s patient, both are in a rut. Yet, with supporting one another through it, so it seems they both might be letting go of this bickering sibling-like friendship and may see something more there.
I Just Need To Know You Support Me – Lea, Shaun
Despite the high of saving the hospital nearly 2 million dollars and Shaun advocating for her to get a raise, the support Lea wants comes in the form of him helping when her car gets towed. Unfortunately, Shaun isn’t able to give that, and this causes discord between the two. Thus leading to Shaun looking for advice and taking note of his and Morgan’s patient, whose husband waited 10 years to reunite with her in a conscious mindset.
Now, this isn’t to say Shaun learns his lesson and pulls a 180 and supports Lea, who threatens the tower with a multitude of bad reviews. However, while he pays the fine, he does present the idea that he can be in Lea’s corner when she needs him to be.
Hence her feeling comfortable with revealing she is pregnant to Shaun.
Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Whatever happened to all the nurses? While never a big role on The Good Doctor, they off and on seem to become a bit more prominent before tapering off.
- Out of curiosity, did Shaun get Lea pregnant due to not using a condom properly or not using a condom at all?
Collected Quote(s) & .Gifs
We’re all crazy sometimes. Just takes the right motivation.
— Jordan
Review
Highlights
LEA IS PREGNANT?!
You want to shake things up? Announce a pregnancy and make it complicated. Which it seems The Good Doctor is doing by presenting the idea that, in episode 12, Lea may struggle with the idea of being pregnant, as Shaun seems overjoyed. And honestly, we’re quite interested in seeing Shaun as a father and hope, for a touching moment, it is named after Dr. Glassman’s daughter. Maybe even have ole Glassy being the godfather.
Claire Healing With Asher Rather Than Enrique
On the one hand, Enrique’s absence makes you wonder if anything will happen between him and Claire since Claire’s storylines aren’t always consistent. On the other hand, since the beginning, Asher has presented himself as one of the more interesting residents, but his potential has been rather untapped. So Claire bonding with him and sharing a moment, it gives you hope.
Granted, the further along in the season we get, the more you’re left to question how much we may see any of these residents in season 5. However, in terms of who we may miss the most, Asher holds the #1 spot.
On The Fence
Manipulative Or Not – The Case of Dr. Glassman
Dr. Andrews’ criticism was apt. Dr. Glassman has been impulsive to the point of questioning why is he doing this or that? Be it marrying Debbie, returning as hospital president, despite all the headache and politics he didn’t seem fond of, or even running a clinic that failed before. Yet, it seems this episode wasn’t meant to give us a cut-and-dry answer. Rather, it wanted to address what some fans may feel are appropriate criticisms of Dr. Glassman’s storyline and explore what leads a man of Dr. Glassman’s age and health to pursue what some may see as the impossible.
Mind you, not always for the best reasons. In our opinion, Dr. Glassman’s tough love given to his patient was manipulative, harsh, and self-serving. Yet, we can’t lie and say we didn’t cry when the patient hugged Dr. Glassman. So maybe, at this point in his life, Dr. Glassman is very much looking for a thrill, just not in the way many of us, and Dr. Andrews, think. After all, Dr. Glassman has proved himself, reached the top of the totem pole. So he has no reason to prove himself at this point, now maybe he just wants a challenge?
Morgan x Alex
Risking sounding offensive, I really do think the sole reason Alex Park remains on The Good Doctor is because the show is a remake of an Asian property, and they don’t want Dr. Lim as the sole Asian series regular. Hence Alex continues to exist, despite having a series of rather lackluster storylines. For him being a cop turned doctor, that lost its spark a long time ago. His marriage and being a father? That plot didn’t do a damn thing for the character, and as shown by Asher usurping Alex to get a spot on Dr. Glassman’s team, the newbies have the potential to make you forget about Alex.
Hence, he was paired with Morgan, who may not be as prominent as she once was but remains a potential scene stealer and one of the most intriguing characters. Yet, I can’t say Alex adds anything to that. Yes, they play well together, but it rarely seems like they equally benefit from associating with one another. Like their housing situation, Alex benefits far more than Morgan, yet he makes decent de facto company.
However, this surely can’t last forever, right? I understand there is a likelihood of them dating but, while they have enough chemistry for a friendship, I struggle to see them romantic. Though, if we’re honest, considering no one but Shaun has a positive dating record on The Good Doctor, it is increasingly hard to imagine anyone in a relationship you’re wholly invested in.
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Summary
Morgan x Alex - 72%
Manipulative Or Not – The Case of Dr. Glassman - 76%
Claire Healing With Asher Rather Than Enrique - 83%
LEA IS PREGNANT?! - 87%
80%
With an ending that presents a whole new storyline to explore with Shaun, The Good Doctor shows that it has yet to run out of ideas, even beyond mentioning the most random medical procedures imaginable.
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Shortly after submitting the comment, I realized I even forgot one important milestone: Shaun and Lea confessing their love for each other at the end 3.16 “Autopsy”, a scene that ended in complete silence.
The ending of 4.11 wasn’t quite as mute because of Antonia Thomas’ beautiful voice, but Shaun and Lea were at a loss of words again.
Which seems appropriate since the promo for the next episode shows Lea anxious about making the right decisions while Shaun is just as naïve as ever. Finding a common ground won’t be easy here.
Which makes me hopeful that some good drama is waiting for the audience. The next two episodes were both directed by women. Probably not a mere coincidence.
Wow, Andreas! Thank you for that trip down memory lane! My memory of past shows is so bad that when I watched that episode, I did not see any of the things you did. Wo I’m gald you spelled it out for me!! Even Asher and Claire’s scene in the bar, which was an obvious variation to Shaun and Lea’s Islands episode, yet I still missed that until you pointed it out. The same goes for all of the foreshadowing of the pregnancy.
I was very skeptical of Shaun choosing Lea at first. I was a fan of him and Carly. But the writer’s have done a good job of keeping their storyline interesting.
Lol “Claire’s Character Curse”!
… *Jaw drops*
Having watched the episode twice, I must praise writers D. Hoselton and D. Renaud for meticulously plotting a trip down memory lane within a typical procedural episode, savoring all the important milestones that led to the last moment of Lea revealing that she’s pregnant with Shaun’s baby.
It started with the Striped Tomato. After the toy scalpel, Grandpa Rod’s car is sure the item most charged with symbolism on the show since its introduction in 1.11 “Islands Part One”.
The car stands for Lea’s childhood memories, a carefree time before her struggles as woman in STEM. It also marks the start of Shaun & Lea’s journey on that decisive road trip, when she empowered Shaun to make his own decisions, trusting him with her priced car.
As the car got towed away at the beginning of the episode, Lea had already learned about her pregnancy; with the car forcefully ripped from her, these carefree times went away as well. A violent transition into parenthood, leaving her powerless. Thus, her fierce quest to regain control over car… and her life. With Shaun jumping into the moving car and them speeding away, we were reminded that these two once risked their lives for each other in the rubble of a brewery.
Yet, the show did not stop there. The cases of the week shook Morgan and Park forcefully out of their own version of comfortable roomie routine. Elias & Dannie’s Peppermint Patties, Park & Morgan’s Cherry Garcia ice cream lead back to Glassman & Shaun’s Mallomars quest in 2.14 “Faces”, the episode Shaun realized that he’s in love with Lea.
With Jeffrey as surrogate, the episode retold and honored Glassman’s role in Shaun’s life, including the rare but always highly emotional hugs they shared (2.11, 3.11) as well as the pep talk when Shaun was heartbroken because of Lea in… well, 3.18 “Heartbreak”: “Join the Club” was the exact phrase Glassman used in both instances.
Still, the show did not stop there but by Asher and Claire once again brought the audience back to the very beginning of the journey with a variation of the bar scenes in Islands Pt. 1. Instead of “tequila, stat” and karaoke, it was a burger and a guitar on stage, but all served the same purpose: leaving luggage behind, taking one’s life in the own hands, and leaping forward.
Which not only led to a heartwarming moment of healing for both, Asher, and Claire, but a sort of bookending to a journey of two, and the longest standing cast member’s blessing for making it three.
♪ With a crowded table ♪
♪ And a place by the fire for everyone ♪
♪ Let us take on the world ♪
♪ Like we’re young and able ♪
♪ So bring us all together ♪
Hi Emily,
the foreshadowing for the pregnancy (and the likely debate about keeping the baby next episode) was massive; they hid it in plain sight:
— Frontline Part 1: expectant single mother without support system.
— Frontline Part 2: same single mother gives birth; Park delivers and nurses the baby, his conversations with Kellan setting the topics of work-life balance and expectant parents being unsecure.
— Not the same: expectant single mother, pregnant with twins while her own body tries to kill one fetus, her boyfriend left her after suggesting an abortion; woman had already an abortion with 15; the doctors discuss to abort one fetus to save the other; Shaun finally delivers one baby early. Jordan reveals that she chose career over motherhood!
— Lim: woman surprised by unplanned pregnancy, chooses elective abortion; Jordan reveals that she had an abortion herself; empath Rose, and old lady, gets morning sickness because her nurse is pregnant.
— Parenting: a father has stepped down from parenthood and plays “coach” instead; Glassman claims that Shaun and Lea’s relationship is moving too fast.
— Irresponsible…: a couple is surprised by an unplanned pregnancy.
I was a little skeptical at first because I feared that a pregnancy would again diminish Lea’s character to a satellite in Shaun’s orbit, but judging by the promo for episode 4.12 Teeny Blue Eyes, Lea finally gets to interact with other cast members, Councel!Claire to be specific. ? And I can’t wait for Morgan’s reaction to the news…
There’ indeed a lot of indication that next episode will discuss the fears and potential problems of such an unexpected pregnancy in general, as well as ASD in addition. There’s only one patient of the week announced – this usually means that a something big is going on in Shaun’s life with additional screen time allocated to it.
Asher and Claire had a cute but big moment, hadn’t they? A fine moment of character growth. But also, funny because the scene re-interpreted Shaun and Lea’s karaoke bar scenes in 1.11 Islands Part One; trying tequila for the first time (and liking it) and singing on stage afterwards. The context of both scenes was the same: severing ties holding the characters back. Patterns again. Now, if Asher were not gay, I would advise him to avoid Claire’s Character Curse.
Glassman is about to get a new storyline – being a grandparent. In this context his storyline in 4.11 Crazy… makes a lot of sense: Shaun is leaving the nest; thus, Glassman fills the void with impossible cases. Glassman seeks purpose in his life. With a baby on the way, he might find new purpose in a new role.
Sheila Kelley (Debbie) is all well by the way, but she confirmed that while she was sick with Covid, the writers had to cut her planned involvement in an episode. I guess with the baby, Debbie will sooner or later re-enter the picture.
Andreas, that was such an interesting comment!! I do remember when Lea talked to the fish, but I had forgotten about the cowbell. I agree with you that I don’t know how Shaun could handle a crying infant. Plus, my autistic daughter had colic and cried almost non-stop (except when sleeping, eating, or when getting a bath) for what seemed like a year but I think was like for a few months. I think Shaun would go nuts! And I did not realize autism was so inheritable. I hope that is part of Shaun and Lea’s conversation in next week’s episode.
Amari – lol “…she and Shaun make you glad this isn’t the season finale.”! Talk about a twist! I did not see that coming!
I liked Claire and Asher hanging out together because I like both characters. I think you already know how much Enrique bores me.
And I found your reasoning behind why Alex was still around very interesting. I agree with it. Unfortunately, since they are keeping him around, I think the writers feel they need to give him a storyline every once in a while. Imo, he seemed to look longingly at Morgan after she helped him with the spine thing, enough for me to think, “Ew! They are starting to set them up romantically!” I hope I am wrong!
The writers also need to find a storyline for Glassman. Debby is either still sick (IRL) or it was too dull. The clinic didn’t go anywhere. Cancer was cured. Hey, let’s make him empty and impulsive to the point of recklessness so he chooses medical cases that no other doctor will perform! Let’s see how that storyline pans out.
P.S.: As for your question #2, Amari – every birth control method has a certain failure rate (cf. Pearl Index: https://www.babymed.com/getting-pregnant-fertility-fertility-awareness/comparing-birth-control-pearl-index-method)
… and Lea is known to forget things, as depicted in her very first scene in season 4. ?
Next stop for the Striped Tomato boarding team – get an infant car seat or not?
Parenthood with ASD has been ignored for long, even science only recently started to investigate that matter. The Good Doctor is boldly going where only few have gone before.
The foreshadowing for this development was massive, not only in terms of pregnancies this season, but also with abortions, including Jordan revealing that she had an abortion herself and chose career over marriage.
Although I initially assumed it would happen later in the storyline, Lea’s pregnancy offers a wealth of storylines to explore now:
1) Autism spectrum disorder is highly heritable. A recent study found that having a father with ASD increases the likelihood of offspring with ASD 12.0-fold; and 2.7-fold for ASD in combination with intellectual disability.
2) “Don’t worry, Hubert. Daddy just shows his love in a different way.” (2.07) – just as Shaun has problems to connect with people in general, he might experience difficulties to provide the emotional support his offspring needs, with possible negative long-term consequences.
3) Furthermore, Shaun might experience sensory problems with offspring – he even can’t stand the cowbell, how would he react to a crying infant, day in, day out? Or provide the right amount of cuddling? Having an autistic parent may be difficult at times.
4) Shaun works long shifts up to 36 hours as low-paid resident, Lea has a well-paid 9-5 office job as department head. How to share the caretaking?
5) Shaun has jet to secure a post-residency position with the hospital. If he fails, he might have to relocate to another city or even state. What about Lea’s career at St. Bonaventure if this were to happen?
6) This might just be what Shaun needs to fight the other residents with teeth and claws for a post-residency position.
And might suggest that this is the reason why the show held onto Alex Park: he has been where Shaun will soon be. Glassman and Park are the only characters on the show with experience in being a parent and both have struggled with work-life balance. And of course, Park is another contender in the upcoming race for job(s).