The Good Doctor: Season 7 Episode 7 – Review/ Recap

Plot Recap

Just Let Me Have This – Dr. Glassman, Hannah, Alex, Eve, Dr. Lim

Something is going on with Dr. Glassman. He is waiting on some kind of imaging, which pushes the idea that maybe there is a new tumor. The episode holds off on confirming anything, but what it does have is Dr. Glassman taking note of a patient, the kind who hops from doctor to doctor to feed their addiction. Their name is Hannah, and since Dr. Lim and Dr. Glassman have a banter system, Dr. Lim lands a few blows that may take things too far.

Mind you, she starts off light by mentioning Dr. Glassman’s past mini-strokes, which seem to be fine. However, pushing the idea Dr. Glassman’s investment in Hannah is because she is around the age Dr. Glassman’s daughter was when she died? That might have been taking it too far. But, despite Dr. Lim’s pushback, Dr. Glassman proceeds and even helps the young lady who had a legitimate ailment alongside her addiction.

And as Dr. Glassman perhaps saves the girl from an overdose down the road, Dr. Park is trying to buy a daughter/father duo some more time. The dad has months to live, but with a surgery that would leave him paralyzed with some use of his hands, he could have years. For the father, his mobility is important, but for the daughter, after her parents’ divorce, her dad wasn’t around as she would have liked, and she’d rather spend her twenties caring for him than lose him so soon.

So, a compromise is made where it seems he either got the surgery and may find creative ways to continue their adventures, or he will get a simpler surgery that may fix his current issues but live his spine prone to injury, and it doesn’t extend his lifetime. Either way, he’ll still have more time with the daughter, who dearly loves her papa.

We All Need A Little Jesus – Jordan, Jerome, Dr. Kalu, Emmanuel (Carl)

Jordan and Jerome are still deeply mourning Asher, and Jerome is coming to the point where he can’t come to the hospital without the ghost of Asher haunting him and bringing him to tears. He has even considered resigning. With seeing both struggling, Dr. Kalu tries to help, and while he does a little with Jerome, he is unable to do much with Jordan.

But, for Jordan, it is because, between Asher’s murder and her job, her faith has been waning. She sees so many die, in pain, now her best friend was killed, and then comes this man named Emmanuel, real name Carl, saying he is Jesus? Jordan doesn’t believe him but does eventually use this man’s delusions to have a vicarious release. One that doesn’t change what happened but does help her in the process of handling Asher’s death.

You Do Know This Means War – Morgan, Shaun, Lea, Alex

Both Morgan and Lea are looking for a nanny, and when Lea mentions a good one to Morgan, she snatches her up. This leads to the newfound friends being at war and their significant others nearly dragged into their fight. Luckily, however, the hospital is willing to convert a conference room into a sort of daycare area, and with that, both moms are satisfied.

However, upon hearing about Steve’s lack of reaction when separated from his parents, he thinks maybe Steve should be tested for autism, which Lea does not seem for at all – and may lead to her old prejudice being reintroduced.

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. When Jordan was gone, they noted why, so why wasn’t it noted where Charlie was? Could it have simply been her day off?

Cast Guide

Character’s Name	Actor’s Name
Dr. Glassman	Richard Schiff
Hannah	Ruby Kelley
Alex	Will Yun Lee
Eve	Jordana Summer
Dr. Lim	Christina Chang
Jordan	Bria Henderson
Jerome	Giacomo Baessato
Dr. Kalu	Chuku Modu
Emmanuel (Carl)	Guillermo Diaz
Morgan	Fiona Gubelmann
Shaun	Freddie Highmore
Lea	Paige Spara
Alex	Will Yun Lee

New Character Description(s)

Eve

Eve is the daughter of a man with a life-ending tumor who has documented her father going through his bucket list, which has become a hit on social media. It has also brought them closer together after years of not seeing each other daily due to her parents’ divorce.

Emmanuel (Carl)

Emmanuel, whose real name is Carl, is someone who, because of an issue with his kidneys, thought he was Jesus. However, once that was removed, the delusion went away. Thankfully, even without being off his rocker, he was willing to do what he originally came to the hospital for: donate a kidney.

Hannah

Hannah is originally presented as an addict, but Dr. Glassman seeks out the source of her issue rather than just pass her off as a person who goes from doctor to doctor, hoping to find someone who will issue her pills.

Review

Highlights

Touching Guest Stars

Between the father/daughter duo, the family Emmanuel was donating his kidney to, and then Hannah? The guest stars had writing and performances that really got me a bit emotional. I attribute this to there being a balance between them pushing the series’ regular stories along while being strong enough on their own.

Add in there were certain parallels going on. Eve’s social media led to her father becoming famous, while the girl whose video Emmanuel found thought she didn’t have enough followers to find someone who could save her mom. With Hannah, her addiction and how she was straying from a good path was in line with Dr. Glassman’s treatment of his daughter, but this time, he stepped up and stuck by someone rather than trying to teach them a lesson.

It all pushes me to hope we can get this consistently, but that depends on whether Charlie can become an asset and not the kind of character that would need the same amount of time Morgan did to show there are layers there.

Realizing How Much Time And Energy Charlie Took Up

While I appreciate the idea of Charlie, the execution is off, and having an episode without her really pushes you to realize what the character brings to the show – a headache. Now, as said in the last highlight, Charlie could be seen as an asset if given enough time. She is, after all, a showing of what Shaun would have gone through without the privilege of his adoptive father being president of the hospital.

However, with pushing things hard and fast regarding her frustrations and battles with Shaun, they rushed what we saw over multiple seasons into a few episodes. Thus reminding us of why sometimes Shaun was a frustrating character to watch, especially in the early seasons. But, again, seeing her evolve could have been something, but with this season having only ten episodes, while Charlie will be a notable part of the season, maybe even series, unfortunately, getting a break from her felt more like a treat than when she is consistent on our screen.

A Bit Of Old School Morgan

Is it wrong that I like it when Morgan is selfish and a bit mean? With “The Good Doctor” not having a villain, beyond whatever the doctors are trying to treat, having someone who has villain qualities is nice – especially since Morgan isn’t a generic villain.

Take how she treated Dom in this episode, in her push to either break him or strengthen him; I love that. After all, we’ve seen what has happened in the hospital, from pandemics, stabbings, and more – so why would Morgan want someone who can’t handle an intense situation like that potentially handling her care? Never mind, being part of her daughter’s?

Then with the battle against Lea? I’ll admit, with seeing how Lea reacted to Steve maybe having autism, Morgan jabbing her a bit, and even snatching the nanny felt like karma coming early. But what I truly appreciated was a reminder that just because Morgan isn’t a surgeon, she hasn’t lost her bite; she is still very competitive, and her loyalty will always, first and foremost, be to herself.

Jordan’s Waning Faith

One of the key pillars of Jordan’s character is her faith. It was what led to early conflicts for her, such as the expectation she would perform an abortion. Also, it was one of the things she and Asher would butt heads about sometimes, and while it hasn’t always been shown, we were regularly reminded she was a woman of faith. So, hearing between Asher and her work that her faith has wavered or waned is concerning.

Granted, I love the fact Dr. Kalu wasn’t able to fix it, since that means he is firmly in the friendzone, but Jordan feeling challenged in such a way might be one of the few positive things to come from Asher’s death. For while Shaun has moved on, and there isn’t a focus on Dr. Lim to see if Asher’s death produced any long-term catalyst; for Jordan, it seems like it has hit hard, and while she is recovering, who knows if that recovery is stable.

Jerome’s Spotlight

At this point, Nurse Villanueva, despite the multiple storylines she had last season and possibly the one before, is now back to being around but barely spoken to. So, Jerome has taken her spot, and unfortunately, it also has a tragic storyline. But, at the very least, there is consistency with the nurses getting storylines that make you feel something.

Again, it sucks that Jerome’s high led to him going off a cliff that has brought him so low, but there is no denying the actor is making the most of this and definitely drawing positive attention.

Background Information

Episode Title	Faith
Release Date	April 30, 2024
Network	ABC
Director(s)	Steven DePaul
Writer(s)	Melania Wright, Garrett Lerner
Previous Episode	Season 7/ Episode 6
Series Page	The Good Doctor
Character Guide	N/A

How To Watch

Watch The Good Doctor: Season 7 Episode 7 via its official site.