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It seems Dr. Andrews may not be the only one prepping for Dr. Glassman’s eventual absence, though everyone isn’t seeing his exit as a means to get a leg up.
| Aired | 11/15/2021 |
| Network | ABC |
| Directed By | Sarah Wayne Callies |
| Written By | April Fitzsimmons, David Renaud |
| Introduced This Episode | |
| Dr. Colson | Anthony Ames |
| Ollie | Shalev Snitz |
| Brandon | TBD |
| Ed Thomas | Derek Webster |
| Nira | Patricia Issac |
| Val | Drystle Lightning |
Recap
What’s Wrong With Having Ambition? – Nira, Morgan, Salen, Dr. Andrews, Dr. Colson
With it being clear Dr. Glassman is slowly, but surely, stepping away from the hospital, that leaves a void in his pet project, the clinic. A place where Morgan found refuge after her dreams of being a surgeon came to an end, so naturally, she finds herself in a less than ideal situation. But, it’s Morgan, so rather than bite her nails and hope Salen avoids chopping the clinic, she sees this as an opportunity. One in which, through a woman named Nira, who works HR for a media company, she could make the clinic profitable.
However, Morgan doesn’t just look to do Salen a favor, but she also wants full control of the clinic and its budget. Which, for Salen, is fine. She sees the writing on the wall with Dr. Glassman, and one of the things Salen loved about the hospital was that women took the lead. So Morgan finding a way to make the money pit profitable? That’s not just good for the budget but also for public relations.
Not to be outdone, Dr. Andrews also becomes an asset to Salen. The head of pediatrics, Dr. Colson, has been playing hardball with his salary and Salen simply notes how this could be an issue. So, Dr. Andrews manipulates Dr. Colson into signing and his reward? Well, Salen sleeps with him.
It Isn’t A Job, It’s A Relationship – Shaun, Lea, Dr. Glassman
Lea tracks down Dr. Glassman to Paradise, Montana, and interrupts what appears to be his homecoming. Why? Well, with feeling the need to delete the record of Shaun’s review, she is freaking out over how to protect Shaun. This is interesting to Dr. Glassman since it has repeatedly become clear Shaun doesn’t need him nor the hospital, so Lea showing up is especially odd.
Take note, until now, Lea has rarely felt the need to treat Shaun with child gloves. However, she has now gone from supporter to advocate and seeks Dr. Glassman to guide her. The thing is, even before the infamous slap during Shaun’s first year, Shaun has been able to handle and fight for himself. He did so in college when he felt something wasn’t right and now does it at work.
So why is it Lea, who has seen Shaun at his best, and admittedly worse, is freaking out? Well, we’re told it is the wedding, but it has to be more than that.
Your Need To Be Right, Causes The Wrong Kind Of Sacrifice – Brandon, Ollie, Thomas, Val, Ollie, Alex, Asher, Shaun
Shaun has a patient, Brandon, who, like all of his patients, he wants to use to increase his success rate and perhaps get a good review. The problem is, things don’t look good, and Alex is better on Brandon not making it so a kid named Ollie can get a new heart. Now, rather than wait and see, Alex crosses the line many times and gets Ollie’s mom, Val, excited about her son getting a new heart, and this disturbs Shaun. In fact, Shaun even threatens to report Alex!
However, in the end, Shaun taps out for the greater good. But, before that happens, Asher, who connects with Brandon’s father, Thomas, makes sure those two can reconcile. Why? Well, to live vicariously for as Dr. Lim talks about her healing the relationship between herself and her dad, and Asher longing for the same, he wanted to foster a moment between Brandon and Thomas – even if Brandon is on the verge of being brain dead.
Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Thus far, we’ve met Morgan’s family, Dr. Andrews’ niece, Shaun’s parents, Lea’s parents, and the family Alex created so, is Dr. Lim next? Will we meet her father? Heck, considering Dr. Glassman might be in his hometown, will we meet people from his life before moving to California?
What Could Happen Next
- Setting aside the preview making it seem Salen may have reached the end of her rope with Shaun, I think we should probably see Jordan get some form of character development. Everyone else is moving forward, and she hasn’t had a notable storyline in a while.
- Lim realizing what Dr. Andrews is doing and likely not appreciating it
- Salen having to betray Dr. Andrews or Morgan, and this leading to the realization they can rely on her to feed their ambition
- Alex lacking ambition becoming an issue again for Morgan, likely in the form of her being embarrassed by him.
Review
Highlights
A College Flashback!
It sucks that the show doesn’t really tap much into Shaun’s past, despite all the questions that remain. For example, we still don’t have the full details of how Shaun went from the foster system to reuniting with Dr. Glassman. But, at least now we know that Dr. Glassman was in Shaun’s life when he was in college and likely consumed any time or opportunity Shaun had to be social.
Dr. Andrews & Morgan’s Ambitions
It really is a return to form when it comes to Dr. Andrews and Morgan, thanks to Salen. Both have seemingly shaken off the rust born from their professional setbacks, and with seeing a way forward, they are fully taking advantage of the situation.
Now, is there a need to raise an eyebrow since they are making Dr. Glassman redundant? Yes. But let’s not pretend Dr. Glassman isn’t checked out and halfway across the country. Never mind, Dr. Glassman doesn’t seem to be working remotely either, so all of his duties are going to the wayside.
So, consider Morgan creating a sense of job security since she has found a comfortable place to land working in the clinic. Yes, she can’t do surgery, but she can use her knowledge to assert some authority over surgeons while having that barrier where, if something goes wrong, she doesn’t have to take the full weight of the blame. And while, yes, leaning more to the administrative side of things is a new venture, Morgan has made it clear she hates being stagnant.
Switching to Dr. Andrews, you can’t as easily dress up his ambition and use Dr. Glassman abandoning his post as an excuse. We’re definitely seeing old-school stab you in the chest, Dr. Andrews here. The only difference is, rather than work alone and claw his way to the top, he has Salen as an ally, and he is sleeping with her.
This makes Dr. Andrews come off grimey, but also it makes him seem more alive than ever. So, it’s a give-and-take situation that is good for the character and show but creates another relationship that seems entirely forced.
Asher’s B-Line Storyline
Between Asher and Jordan, Asher is pulling ahead in terms of development of new characters. Think about it, what is Jordan’s storyline right now? What have we learned recently that makes you want to know more about her? Nothing. She is Lea’s friend and invested in Lea’s wedding – that’s about it.
On the other hand, Asher has been combative at times, with people at and above his level, and when you add in his past, there are things you’d want to see explored. The kind of complexity Jordan had a sprinkle of, but with her taking on being the kind one from Claire, got dropped or diminished.
Lea Almost Admitting She Needs Dr. Glassman
A part of me wonders if Lea needs Dr. Glassman to be the bad guy when it comes to Shaun? I ask this because Lea rarely approached Dr. Glassman and wanted to present a united and public front. Usually, she goes behind Shaun’s back, plants a seed, and sits back. So with Dr. Glassman gone, it seems like Lea has to learn that she can just listen to Shaun vent without feeling the need to do something.
Which I understand why Dr. Glassman says is infantilizing him, for that is what Dr. Glassman did, but considering Lea wants to have a child with Shaun, marry him, and his money would be necessary to have a house, child care, and all of that, I see this as her more so protecting their shared future. Add in Shaun has a cushy job that allows him to get away with a lot right now, imagine how bad things would be if Shaun had to job hunt! Never mind going somewhere that requires him to really work on his bedside manner and him being unable to compensate with genius procedures and diagnosis.
Low Points
Salen and Dr. Andrews Are Cringey
If Dr. Andrews was just using Salen to get ahead in the workplace, I’d roll my eyes, think Dr. Andrews was trash but would be able to accept the storyline. However, I think the writers are trying to make us believe these two could be a legit item, and it is making me wonder if they have 0 concept of what it means for two characters to have chemistry? Because I can’t think of the last time someone, beyond Shaun, got into a relationship that made sense.
So when it comes to these couples, Alex and Morgan, as well as Salen and Dr. Andrews, is this all out of obligation, or do they think having couples on a show is essential for storytelling?
On The Fence
Alex’s Quick Forgiveness Of Shaun
To be honest, I was surprised Alex didn’t hold a grudge against Shaun. Because of Shaun’s ego, a kid nearly lost his life, and Shaun had no issue with that until Brandon’s heart was on the brink of not being viable. This, to me, shows Alex’s maturity and understanding of Shaun, yet it also seemed like the perfect opportunity for Alex to show some ambition.
I mean, did they completely drop the whole thing about not everyone getting hired by the hospital? I know we lost Claire and Jared, and Morgan went to the clinic, but that competition still exists, right?
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Thank God, after agreeing for so long on season 5, I have thoughts on the episode different than Amari – at last, something worth of discussing it… 😉
Although, first I have to thank you again for providing a new perspective – Morgan taking refuge in Glassman’s clinic is a line of thought that did not appear to me before! It sure adds another layer to Morgan’s motivation for this bold move of a resident (!) taking control of a whole department. But then, as you said, this is still Morgan who can’t stand to be sidelined.
Having a giant Shaun looking down on her from that damn billboard clearly reactivated the Reznick-family-gene and with Park refusing to feed her ambitions vicariously, the cold-hearted bitch was on the roll again… albeit, season-1-Morgan would have sold that patie… errr client without any second thoughts. Reformed Morgan on the other hand clearly did not enjoy the taste of her hollow victory. Guess Grumpy Old Glassy won’t be happy either next time he happens to enter “his” office. I’m desperately hoping for such a scene next episode!
The thing is, giving a whole clinic into the hands of a 5th-year resident is quite unorthodox and means that Morgan now owes Salen big time and it won’t be long before she comes to collect on that.
As for the concept of chemistry the writers might have for Andrews and Salen… well, I would say they gave us very good clues this episode: making the other eat insects and sniffing like an animal – the symbolism is evident. Salen and Andrews are painted as hungry, primeval predators circling each other, probing the other’s strength. They are turned on by the powerplay. Basically, it’s the PG-14 representation of a BDSM relationship, albeit with two “Doms” fighting for the upper hand. Or – if this sits better with sensitive readers – think of Darth Salen and her Padawan Andrews. 😉 Either way, I found this to be a refreshing departure from the usual US prime-time TV relationships.
And to go with the animalistic metaphor, I very much suspect that this will come back to bite Andrews in the back very soon, probably even in the very next episode.
That’s because – SPOILERS ahead – what we can already expect to happen to Shaun in “Expired”.
It seems that the title refers to a drug, Shaun administered to a patient without knowing it was expired. Salen mentioned to Andrews that the pharmacy was spending too much money. Which could mean that she either did cut cost and caused the problem or there had been a problem with the pharmacy all along (which would raise a question about the hospital president neglecting his supervision).
Either way, the winter (finale) storm is brewing. And Salen sure will have some interest to sweep the scandal under the rugs, especially when it involves her literal poster boy Shaun. That will put Andrews in a delicate position now that he’s having sex with his boss.
I think with Morgan and Salen, Salen is doing her best to insulate herself and between Dr. Andrews and Morgan, she is getting those much needed relationships. For, as you said, she does have predator vibes, but I think right now she doesn’t want to reveal her fangs too often. Hence her going after those most inluential, as she tried to with Dr. Glassman. Morgan clearly is of a similar mindset to Salen and her ambition, under her wing, will make her an asset. Dr. Andrews, clearly, is a bit conniving, but he isn’t likely to bite the hand that feeds him and with dating him, she has a means to keep him under control. Then with Shaun, who clearly has Dr. Glassman’s ear, and quite a few others, by giving in to him it makes Salen seem capable of being reasonable.
But, as you noted, Salen’s authority and how she runs the company hasn’t been truly tested yet, and whether these relationships hold during tough times remains to be seen.
One thing to always remember about Salen is that, while neurodivergent as well, her ADHD does not come with the social impairments we’re accustomed to with Shaun’s ASD. On the contrary, Salen has proven from the start that she is very adept in office politics and manipulation. She was immediately on par with the long-time hospital president in negotiating his prize; and she stopped Morgan’s first attempt to suck up in episode 5×02 dead in the tracks.
On the other hand, she was immediately responsive to both Morgan and Lea when they approached her with improvements. Indeed, she does everything to come across as reasonable and approachable – which sure is partly a deliberate act.
Also, let’s not forget her background story of doctors failing her for long by misdiagnosing her. Exerting power over them must feel quite satisfying for Salen.
So, she is weaving a tight spiderweb of favors and divided loyalties in which almost all of the main characters already got caught, with the exception of Park, who prefers to fly below the radar; and Glassman, who deliberately sabotaged their deal; and Lim who tries to play along rules that no longer apply and thus maneuvers herself in a weaker position episode after episode.
Though, as noted above, I’m suspecting that Glassman abandoning post as hospital president might suit Salen’s plans just fine…
However this may play out, one is sure – Salen plays way above Andrews’ league of intrigue. Thrilling! 😉