There can’t be only one episode left of The Good Doctor. Say it ain’t so! There is way too much left unresolved to all be cleared up in one episode and then we have to wait until fall to see everyone again.
Last week, we saw Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) be quietly bullied into having a breakdown by Dr. Jackson Han (Daniel Dae Kim) who kept insisting that Shaun’s place was in pathology rather than as a surgical resident.
Dr. Han was so smooth when he delivered his consistent message to Shaun and he was even more so when he got the expected result of having Shaun meltdown.
It was heartbreaking to see Claire (Antonia Thomas) help him pack up his items while he looked distraught on the floor of the locker room. In the minute before the trailer for this week’s episode ran, the sadness felt for Shaun morphed into anger. How could he be treated like that?
Dr. Han really opened San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital up for a serious lawsuit.
Briefly forgetting that this is a fictionalized program, my mind turned to litigation. Shaun would be protected by the American’s with Disabilities Act. His autism presents some challenges with being a surgical resident, but it would go under reasonable accommodations. His breakdown would be tougher to defend, but not impossible. Hopefully one of his friends will suggest legal action.
From the trailer of Trampoline, we know that Shaun is sad and angry and does want many sad and angry people do – he went to a bar. It doesn’t look like things went well for him as he ends up in a bar fight that lands him in the hospital. That is not how we wanted to see Shaun return to St. Bonaventure.
What’s frustrating about Dr. Han is that he is righteously indignant. He is certain that he is correct about Shaun. It doesn’t seem like there is anything Shaun or anyone can say or do to make him change his mind.
Most of Shaun’s colleagues want him back, despite some reservations they may have, but that does not matter to Dr. Han. He is convinced that he is correct and there doesn’t seem to be a way for him to get unconvinced.
Dr. Han is most concerned with Shaun’s interactions with patients, however, he doesn’t win a prize for human relations either. Arrogance and physicians often go hand-in-hand and there isn’t a standard set for bedside manner. In fact, Shaun is much kinder than some of the other doctors we have seen on TV.
Hopefully, some things get resolved in the finale, but many questions will linger and fans of Shaun and his friends will have to wait until fall to learn what happens next. All we can do is savor the season finale and hope that something good happened for Shaun and that karma will bite Dr. Han one way or another.
The Good Doctor airs on Mondays at 10/9c on ABC.