The Good Doctor (Season 7 Episode 5) Review/ Recap

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Plot Recap

There So Much You Don’t Know – Eileen, Dr. Lim, Dr. Glassman

Eileen revealing she and Dr. Glassman are not only seeing each other but having sex feels like a personal attack for Dr. Lim. In fact, when Dr. Glassman pushes the idea that it has nothing to do with Dr. Lim, she pushes the idea that nothing about her mom should be attractive.

This leads to Dr. Glassman to run down a list from Eileen knowing Spanish, that she reads the newspaper and does the New York Times crossword, loves movies, and he could go on. This information is all surprising to Dr. Lim, and it pushes her to talk to her mom, who relays the woman Dr. Lim knew was made because Dr. Lim’s dad liked to be in charge, and she was good with letting him take the lead.

However, as has long been made clear, Eileen pays far more attention to Dr. Lim’s life, like recognizing that Dr. Lim and Clay broke up, than Dr. Lim pays attention to her.

The Sandwich Method – Charlie, Shaun, Dr. Lim, Dr. Kalu

Like the last time he was coerced to teach, Shaun is forced to accept that he works at a teaching hospital, so he has to teach. But to add a further incentive, Dr. Lim reminds Shaun that a hefty part of his salary comes with the expectation of him teaching. So, despite his frustrations, Charlie ends up on his team, and he is pushed to try to give her positive reinforcement to maybe make her easier to work with.

That doesn’t last long. For every step forward Charlie makes with Shaun, because of something she says regarding the patient they have or to them, she takes a notable leap back, to the point Shaun has to progressively silence her, if not ask her to remove herself from the surgical room.

Dr. Kalu takes note of this, maybe due to his past treatment, and notes how harsh Shaun is being, but it seemingly changes nothing. Thus, Shaun gets an official complaint from Charlie, which has to be addressed.

Love All Of Me – Asher, Jerome

With being raised in a conservative Jewish community, both marriage and Judaism aren’t easy or fond topics for Asher. So when a couple with a notable age difference comes to the hospital, he is ready to disparage them from the jump, and then when they assume he is Jewish? Oh, he is offended.

However, as he learns both his patient and their future spouse have ailments that could make their marriage short, he finds himself pushed to use his extensive knowledge to find shortcuts for the husband to officially be seen as Jewish. Through this, Asher heals his relationship with his faith and comes around regarding the topic of marriage.

In fact, one of the rabbis even makes inroads to the idea of Asher joining their temple, but after Asher takes the rabbi to their temple and helps stop some vandals from desecrating the outside, Asher is attacked. Sadly, this attack doesn’t just lead to Asher needing stitches or ending up in a coma; it is revealed to viewers that Asher is dead.

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Is Shaun about to get sued for discrimination?

Review

Notable Performances or Moments

Asher’s Renewed Faith

Considering religion is not just a matter of faith but an entire culture and community also attached to it, you can understand why someone’s relationship with a religion can be complicated. For Asher, as shown since he was introduced and when we met his family in Season 5/ Episode 18 “Sons,” reconciling who he is with his faith, upbringing, and family is tough. Jerome has been chipping away at that issue since he started dating Asher and watching the rabbi’s breakthrough and Asher renew his faith was touching to the point of tears.

Which makes his story ending there unfortunate.

Highlights

Dr. Lim Facing Her Own Prejudice

I’d submit Dr. Lim has long struggled with femininity in her life. Whether it is because of the expectations, how being a woman made things harder for her, or wanting to be equal to men, even if that meant having to look down on certain types of women, a prejudice developed. The kind that I think is being broken down as she realizes that you can define what it means to be a woman, feminine, and that roles are generally given to one gender or another aren’t as restricted as she thought.

Now, are there enough episodes for her to have a proper breakthrough? Maybe get Clay back after rejecting the idea of marrying him? It is too soon to tell.

Charlie v. Shaun

Throughout “The Good Doctor,” Shaun faces many adversaries and issues. Whether it was Lea being uncomfortable with the idea of dating Shaun, Dr. Melendez, Dr. Andrews, Dr. Han, and varied issues with patients and nurses, Shaun has overcome every single one relatively unscathed, minus one write-up. Charlie putting in an official complaint, and all the ramifications that could come with that? I feel like this is going to be a far more interesting challenge.

Note that this time, Shaun is presented as someone in a power position and isn’t the underdog or the person in need of a champion. He is being pushed to be someone abusing his power, maybe being discriminatory, and maybe even a gatekeeper of sorts.

On The Fence

Asher’s Murder

While we applaud “The Good Doctor” for being a series willing to kill off well-established characters who are fan favorites, the timing and situation in which Asher died did give me pause. Asher reconciling with his faith, dying on the night Jerome was going to propose to him, and it being due to an anti-semitic attack, it’s one of those things where you wonder if it was necessary.

Mind you, it isn’t like “The Good Doctor” has avoided using different forms of prejudice to highlight what individual characters go through. Dr. Lim and Claire talked about what it means to be female doctors and what they’ve gone through, and Claire and Dr. Allen added the layer of being Black female doctors and how that affects their work.

The show is built upon Shaun overcoming prejudice as a person who is autistic, and while I can’t recall a situation featuring Dr. Melendez off-hand, since it has been so long, or Dr. Andrews, nonetheless, “The Good Doctor” has never shied away from showing how someone’s differences can be an asset, like Dr. Allen’s Sickle Cell catch, or could create issues for them, like the assumptions that Dr. Han had about Shaun.

Yet, this is different, with Asher dying due to prejudice halfway through the final season. There is no overcoming, being stronger, or finding allies. There is just a death, a statement that ends the story of a remarkable character in a way that feels less than what they deserve.

I’d dare even say this might have been pure shock value.

Background Information

Episode Title	Who At Peace
Release Date	April 2, 2024
Network	ABC
Director(s)	Dinh Thai
Writer(s)	Peter Blake, Adam Scott Weissman
Previous Episode	Season 7/ Episode 4
Series Page	The Good Doctor
Character Guide	N/A
Available Via	ABC

Cast Guide

Character’s Name	Actor’s Name
Eileen	Bess Armstrong
Dr. Lim	Christina Chang
Dr. Glassman	Richard Schiff
Charlie	Kayla Cromer
Shaun	Freddie Highmore
Dr. Kalu	Chuku Modu
Asher	Noah Galvin
Jerome	Giacomo Baessato

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