The Good Doctor: Season 6/ Episode 8 – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Dr. Lim and Shaun have a heart-to-heart as Jordan seeks to define her relationship with Daniel and Morgan reveals a sensitive topic.

Recap

This content contains pertinent spoilers. Also, images and text in this post may contain affiliate links which, if a purchase is made from those sites, we may earn money or products from the company.

A Reminder Of Why I Got Into Medicine – Gwendolyn, Nurse Villanueva, Dr. Andrews

Being that Dr. Andrews has dedicated himself so much to being president and getting things together, being a doctor has often taken a backseat. For example, he finds himself meeting with a girl named Gwendolyn, who is developing what appears to be horns on her face, which is affecting her quality of life. Originally, Dr. Andrews was supposed to do her surgery to remove them, using a technique that would cause minimal scarring.

However, a finance meeting comes up, so he tasks Nurse Villanueva with changing the surgical schedule upon hearing Dr. Andrews won’t be her surgeon, Gwendolyn freaks out a little bit. Dr. Andrews holds firm leads to Nurse Villanueva giving him some pushback. Yes, he may have made the surgical plan and tasked a notable doctor, but the girl was expecting Dr. Andrews.

So, guilt into submission, Dr. Andrews ends up doing the surgery and thanking Nurse Villanueva for holding him to the fire. In fact, he even asks her out to drinks, and she accepts. Leaving you to wonder, is this him seeking a date or just two co-workers enjoying each other’s company?

Bread Crumbing – Asher, Jordan, Daniel

Increasingly, Asher doesn’t like the direction of Jordan and Daniel’s relationship. Jordan wants something serious and romantic, and Daniel says he isn’t in a place where that’s an option. So, in Asher’s mind, he is dragging Jordan along, and he makes his feelings clear to Jordan. Thus leading her to ease her way into trying to define her relationship with Daniel, with him pushing the idea she is better off not waiting and to pursue other options.

But, on the night she has a date, he kisses her, leaving her more confused than ever.

It Was Personal – Morgan, Alex, Dr. Lim, Gary, Shaun, Dr. Glassman, Toni, Naveen, Luna, Clay

Toni, a patient who comes in with a spleen issue and is disoriented, becomes Morgan’s patient, and upon the discovery that she might have been raped, Morgan advocates for her to be tested. Why? Because she was raped and didn’t get tested since she didn’t want to be seen as a victim. This decision she regrets to this day, and she didn’t want Toni to feel the same, so she pressured her. And while, at first, Toni pushes back by asking Morgan to be taken off her case, after Morgan tells her story, Toni does the rape kit and gets her surgery.

Switching over to Shaun, him, and Dr. Lim keeping things professional has caused a massive headache. Dr. Lim doesn’t wish to mentor or help Shaun much, so he goes to Dr. Glassman, who really hates being stuck in the middle. So, after helping Shaun with his case, in which a woman named Naveen learns a surgical towel was left inside of her, he pushes for a reconciliation.

Mind you, part of the trigger is Dr. Glassman seeing Shaun pause during Naveen’s surgery and thinking that he didn’t want to make a mistake or take a risk because of what happened to Dr. Lim. However, with Shaun tasked with doing a hysterectomy, it likely dealt with his and Lea’s struggles to have kids and him taking away the ability for Naveen to carry a child. But either way, Shaun takes the hint and talks to Dr. Lim and explains that seeing his brother die played a role in his decision to do the surgery the way he did. Dr. Lim accepts this while noting she missed being Shaun’s friend as much as he missed being hers.

But, with another sign of hope in Dr. Lim adjusting herself in her wheelchair in front of Dr. Glassman, post-reconciliation, there is a sign Dr. Lim may not be in a wheelchair for long. Which could change the dynamics of this new life and relationship with Clay.

Things To Note

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Where was Danica?
2. How did Alex hear about Morgan’s story, considering she only talked to Toni about it?

What Could Happen Next

1. Andrews and Nurse Villanueva becoming a thing kept on the low because of his position
2. Asher starting to not like Daniel due to him playing with Jordan’s heart
3. Glassman having conversations with Morgan about taking over the clinic
4. Lim getting to walk again and having to adjust to dating a man in a wheelchair

Review

Notable Performances or Moments

1. Shaun opening up to Dr. Lim about his decision-making process when it came to operating on her

Highlights

Morgan Having A Story Which Didn’t Involve Alex

The unraveling of Morgan’s assault was perhaps the most unique storytelling method used in “The Good Doctor” in a long time. Here you are, thinking you’re seeing glimpses of Toni’s assault when it is Morgan’s, and man, does it hit you hard when you see her face. But, the best thing about this storyline is that Alex tries to inject himself with some “Why didn’t you tell me when we were dating,” and he is reminded he wasn’t owed this information. It makes it feel like there are real boundaries between those two, and there is a serious chance that they may not get back together. After all, if they were, that would have been a moment for her to open the door for Alex to make his way back into her life.

Shaun Not Admitting Fault, But Showing Empathy And Asking For Understanding

One of the things you have to note is “The Good Doctor” has lessened the use of Shaun, or someone else, using him being autistic as a shield. Yes, he is still blunt, sometimes at the worst moments, but there is an increased effort, episode by episode, to show that what may not come naturally, he can still learn. With patience, understanding people’s patterns, and how to react to them, he can learn, and with Dr. Lim, he seems to finally have gotten it.

Now, are they at a place where they are chums again? No. That wouldn’t be realistic, considering how the surgery Shaun did drastically altered her life. But her presenting the idea the relationship could heal, and a part of her misses how things were between them, that’s a major step.

On The Fence

Dr. Andrews Dating Nurse Villanueva

Here is the thing, “The Good Doctor” is good for pairing up staff members to bolster them since they have nothing else going on. But, this time, it’s different. Dr. Andrews is someone we’d like to see more of, and Nurse Villanueva too. So, them together is something we want to reserve judgement. Mainly due to it seeming like, unlike so many past couples forced upon us, these two could benefit each other.

Nurse Villanueva could not only be with a good man, but we could hear and see more of what happens within the world of nurses. Then, with Dr. Andrews, while I doubt the show will touch upon a post-Salen world, as it barely does now, maybe they can delve into how difficult it can be to transition from being an active surgeon to becoming an administrator. We’ve seen it before, so it is nothing new, but it does seem with Dr. Andrews, rather than touch on it, as they did previously, they may dive deeper into how he has handled the transition and may go into his journey into medicine. Never mind touch on why he became so ambitious that he wanted to be president of the hospital – beyond the money.

Jordan and Daniel

While Nurse Villanueva and Dr. Andrews could benefit each other, I don’t see that for Jordan and Daniel. He is the new kid using her to bolster himself, and honestly, Jordan isn’t a strong enough character to handle that. She barely has her own thing and pretty much has just been Lea’s best friend, Asher’s best friend, and beyond being pro-life, she hasn’t had her own thing. So for this new guy to be confiding in her, getting these real emotional scenes, with her left just standing there for him to play off of, it does very little for Jordan.

I mean, let’s take note, outside of Jordan going on dates, the only other storyline she had was trying to invent something with Lea, and it seems that storyline got kicked to the side. So this pairing, I won’t say it is trash, but it does begin to make me wonder a few things regarding what type of characters those behind “The Good Doctor” want to focus on and who is there because it looks good during promotion.