The Good Doctor: Season 4/ Episode 15 – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)
With two kids in a life-threatening condition due to a shooting, it puts into perspective, not just child-rearing but also how different belief systems clash.
With two kids in a life-threatening condition due to a shooting, it puts into perspective, not just child-rearing but also how different belief systems clash.
| Episode Title | Waiting |
| Director(s) | Gary Hawes |
| Writer(s) | David Hoselton, David Shore, Oren Gottfried |
| Aired (ABC) | 4/26/2021 |
| Newly Noted Characters | |
| Mason | Dominic Mariche |
| Ethan | Knox Hamilton |
| Carina | Elizabeth Rodriguez |
| Taryn | Italia Ricci |
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Recap
Differences Don’t Always Attract or Repel – Asher, Claire, Alex, Morgan
At this point, while Morgan is a motivator and could make a good partner, her desire to avoid emotional entanglements makes it so Alex thinks their sexual relationship should end. He wants to catch and reciprocate feelings, and because of where Morgan is at in life, she is unwilling or unable to do so. Thus ending their relationship.
But, they aren’t alone in hitting a rough patch. With Claire learning Asher voted for Donald Trump, it complicates things and leads to a lot of back and forth. Mind you, the sole reason Asher mentions is Trump’s position on Israel, nothing that could genuinely raise a red flag, but considering all that Asher was willing to trade for that one issue, Claire feels a shift in their relationship.
However, despite the issue leading to a bit of a tiff between them, an olive branch allows for peace between the two.
Mason and Ethan – Mason, Ethan, Taryn, Carina, Shaun, Alex, Claire, Asher, Lea
During a protest for Prop 266, two kids, Mason and Ethan, are shot. Mason is shot in such a way where he should survive if the hospital can get enough blood. As for Ethan? He was shot in the head, so his situation is a bit dire. Add in both of their parents are single mothers, and that really complicates things.
In terms of Taryn, Ethan’s mom, she is a single mom thanks to a divorce, and she’s struggling with 8 and a half-year-old Ethan and fears that he’ll pass away, potentially hating her. On the other end is Carina, Mason’s mother, who is single due to Mason’s father dying in a car accident. And for her, the fear is, Mason was the shining light that helped her during her time of grief, and while out of the darkness, she could quickly end up right back there if he died.
All of this makes for a stressful time, and while Claire and Asher put aside their differences long enough to help Mason and do good work on him, Shaun and Alex working on Ethan? Much less, Shaun doing most of the talking to Taryn? Let’s just say it wasn’t the best idea.
However, with Lea in there with the two moms, waiting on test results, she felt the need to push Shaun and Alex to give some sort of status update. After all, Carina got one. And honestly, if it wasn’t for Lea keeping up the energy, even helping to keep the two moms peaceful, despite their different opinions on Prop 266, Mason could have died. For, in the end, Taryn ends up donating the blood Mason needs to get through surgery, and, as a gift from karma, Ethan lives rather than dies as previously predicted.
Was It A Lie? – Shaun, Lea
When in with the ladies, Lea implied her test results were fine and was focused on supporting them through their tough times. However, not too long after leaving the hospital with Shaun, Lea seems to experience debilitating pain and ends up on the ground. Thus leaving Shaun freaking out and screaming for help.
Collected Quote(s) & .Gifs
I don’t feel like you want an answer. I feel like you want an apology.
— Asher
Review
Highlights
Shaun & Lea In Sync
While Shaun has had a difficult time getting into the exciting parts of parenthood, he seems to connect with Lea on the anxiety and emotional toll. We feel this is quite notable because Shaun operates mainly in theory and questions, and then things get personal. And I think when it comes to Shaun and becoming a father, he was an observer, not so much a participant. He was there for doctor appointments and classes, but he got push back when he tried to assert himself.
However, I think in getting to experience negative emotions with Lea, like this scare she is dealing with, this might be Shaun’s in. He has to be included, as the child’s father, rather than be pushed to adapt. And don’t get us wrong, I think Shaun will still have to adjust to the situation, but now his input is asked, and I think that’s all he has wanted. For the way Shaun operates is that he theorizes and asks questions, and it eventually gets personal, and we’re at that point now for something is up with the baby.
And let’s be real here, many shows bring in the mother getting postpartum depression, having complications, and while the thought is morbid, the potential of Lea dying during childbirth could happen. I don’t want it to, but you can imagine Shaun having to struggle on his own with a baby, and this bring Dr. Glassman, maybe Debbie (bleh), back into the fold. If not, Shaun having a real chance to reconcile with his mother, which didn’t really happen when she called him up for his father’s death.
But the point is, Shaun has struggled with not feeling needed and a bit helpless during the pregnancy. Which, albeit, isn’t going to end any time soon. However, it does present the opportunity for it to not be just Lea struggling but a shared struggle, which might ultimately bring Shaun more into this than just waiting to be tagged in.
The End Of Alex and Morgan?
We’ve never hidden the fact that we aren’t a fan of the majority of the pairings The Good Doctor has. Outside of Shaun, most of the couples put together either seemed short-lived or one-sided for the sake of benefitting one character. With Alex and Morgan, that has always seemed the case, and while The Good Doctor is the type of show that rather play the long game than give fans a quick burst of satisfaction, there wasn’t much here to want.
In comparison, it isn’t like Claire and Dr. Melendez, and the feeling they could have been something since the early years of the show. For while, yes, Alex and Morgan have had moments throughout the series, I gotta admit, I’m still very stuck on the idea of Morgan and Claire being a thing. That was Morgan’s best match, and maybe it is because you could clearly see them both benefit from that relationship? Either way, I’m hoping Alex finally slowly slips away, like Dr. Andrews, and Morgan gets her time back.
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Summary
Shaun & Lea In Sync - 86%
The End Of Alex and Morgan? - 88%
87%
As Shaun begins to get into the fears and anxiety of having a child, beyond the struggles they may experience because of gender, he continues to blossom as a potential dad. All the while, we watch as Claire learns not all issues need to create a line in the sand, and Morgan might be free of Alex.
Shaun can complete his 5-year residency and we’ll be back. ?
Sorry to shoot your idea down, Emily, but the cliché of workplace dating in medical dramas developed for a reason… it’s economical, it’s functional. ? And perhaps it is no coincidence that Amari often complains about relationships in this show to be more functional than romantic – it might very well be that the writers are bored by the cliché as well.
Melendez and Lim hooking up? More convenient than hot sparks, and quickly ended by emotions clashing with duties. Melendez and Claire? Destined to fail because of the same reasons and only saved by the bell (well, it was a little more dramatic). Glassman and his nurse turned barista turned office manager? Clash constantly about work. And let’s not talk about Jared.
The only functioning relationship (besides the mythical marriage of Andrews) in this hospital is that between Shaun the doctor and Lea the IT director – and we have seen how hard it is for the scripts to find reasons for Lea being in the main plots. “Waiting” and “Decrypt” are prime examples for that. Usually, Lea’s character development is relegated to the C-plots. Next episode requires her to be a medical emergency to be center stage. Being a love interest on The Good Doctor *is* challenging in many ways. Though, being a parent to the main cast has proven to be even more dangerous.
Now, with Asher I’m still a bit confused about what direction the show will take with him and Claire since he’s seemingly not bisexual but interested in men only. Perhaps the writers thought that Claire needs a friend since Lim draw a professional line between them lately and Shaun is preoccupied with the baby.
Hi Andreas! Don’t worry about shooting my idea down. I think it was more wishful thinking anyway.
I never thought about how being a parent to the main cast was “more dangerous” (lol!). So far Lea’s parents are the only ones we have met that didn’t need to be hospitalized!
I’m still hoping for Claire and Asher being just friends with nothing sinister or underlying coming up. But we shall see.
Actually there is a lot of time to find out about them. ABC, the American network that pays for and shows TGD, has just renewed it for Season 5. So this fall we will have a bunch of new shows to watch and comment on. Yay!!
Hi Emily! Recurring characters as love interests are a bit a catch 22 – they fill the role, but they aren’t in the action of the main plot(s), thus they can be quite shallow or barely developed and a distraction from the important storylines. Also, they tend to be isolated characters because they only interact with their lover.
That is why medical dramas like to pair main characters – they are always there, they have plenty reasons to interact besides sleeping with each other. It keeps the cast small ant the stories straightforward.
This show’s cast is already too big to have them all in the spotlight regularly. Another love interest would either worsen the matter or, if shown only rarely, be insignificant. That is the reason I believe the Park/Reznick thng will continue for a while.
Which would be OK with me, although I too would prefer Claire and Morgan become a thing. Alas, all women of TGD are still totally straight, so that still seems unlikely. In fact, I’m currently a little puzzled by the frequency Claire and Asher are brought together by the scripts… I wonder if this will become important in the following episodes.
Andreas, unfortunately you make some very good points as to why TGD will not be adding a new character as a love interest for Morgan, thus ruining what I previously thought was a great idea. Oh well.
But you read my mind as to how the writers keep having Claire and Asher share scenes together, like in the OR or when going out for cheeseburgers. They already tried to pair Claire with Enrique(?) and then just ended up writing him off the show. I hope this doesn’t mean they are going to have Claire and Asher start dating. Not every character has to be romantically involved. I would be very happy just watching Claire and Asher grow into becoming best friends, but then that might not be enough drama for TGD, so I’m guessing something will happen to the two of them down the road.
Hi Andreas! I actually thought Lea sneaking up on Shaun’s work crush was kind of cute! But I hope that Morgan does not turn in to a stalker!! That’s one of the reasons why I wish the showrunner would cast someone new for Morgan – to get her to forget all about Park. Now that you reminded me of Morgan breaking into Park’s online account, that is creepy! And it is the first step towards stalking him!
Amari, you noting that Shaun might best connect with Lea about their shared anxieties is quite intriguing. Being anxious is a “basic operation” when living with ASD. A lot of situations, and people can make you anxious. Thoughts that won’t leave you alone make you anxious… Anxiety disorder is a common comorbidity of ASD. I myself tend to bond over shared worries to the point that I often end up being the sounding board and counselor.
And with the ending of “Waiting” it very much seems like Shaun and Lea’s sync will soon have added another layer. Though, my prospect on the storyline isn’t totally grim since the lyrics that accompanied the various ending scenes were quite talkative again. Morgan got “All on your own” when Park walked away and Claire “Put eager hands to sleep tonight / To dream of places never seen before” when she made a peace offering to Asher.
Shaun and Lea got “Grace the days, the night, the now / You surely get it by now / That seeds don’t grow without a cloud”, although the last bits were barely audible thanks to Shaun’s cries for help. Yet, it indicates that this “cloud” will blow over.
What won’t blow over quickly is probably the Morgan-Park connection – sorry Emily! Do you remember the reason why Morgan carries a gun? She had creepy guy stalking her in med school – or that’s the version Morgan told Claire in “Aftermath”. Yet, we know that Morgan likes to “tweak” her stories as she needs them.
What we know for sure is that Morgan already did break into Park’s Bumble account and monitored his online-hits. Stalking is about being in control and often caused by a rejection. Morgan was definitely hit hard by Park’s rejection at the end of “Waiting” and her character lusts for control… Morgan might give Parks and/or his new flame some special attention. And that would probably less cute than Lea sneaking up on Shaun’s work crush.
Hi Amari! I thought Alex ended it with Morgan in the last episode, but apparently not. Anyway, I hope they stay ended, and Alex doesn’t feel the need to announce his intent to date Heather instead of Morgan every episode. That would get old quickly! With Morgan, I don’t know why the writers can’t introduce someone good looking and with a lot of charisma, like that MMA fighter/patient, for Morgan to date. It can be another doctor or resident or male nurse or even an orderly – just someone that would we could see Morgan falling for that wouldn’t make us roll our eyes every time he appeared onscreen! The writers did it once before with that EMT during the virus outbreak storyline, so they can do it again. As far as Claire goes, I’m fine with her not dating for a while since she’s still getting over the death of Melendez. And Alex can fade into the background with Andrews, like you mentioned in your review.
I really hope Lea doesn’t have a miscarriage! In fact, let’s just let her have the baby and have the storyline be Shaun adjusting to the huge changes a baby brings about. That’s enough storyline for a whole season or two or three. And I hate, hate hate the thought of killing off Lea!! I have grown to really like Lea, so she needs to live and help Shaun adjust to the baby.