Two familiar faces returned to the small screen in their guest-starring roles in Season 3, Episode 3 of The Good Doctor.
Robert Sean Leonard, who played Dr. James Wilson on House, showed up in the hospital. So did Tracie Thoms, who played Det. Kat Miller on Cold Case. They added their special kind of panache to this week’s episode of The Good Doctor, aptly titled Claire.
Last week, Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas) was dubbed the first to lead a surgery, which could set her on the path to eventually becoming the chief resident. She was equal parts excited and scared. She is practicing everything she can, including her messaging to her patient, all the while being a diligent daughter to her troubled mom.
She is even going through the trouble of emptying out all of the booze in her home as not to be a source of temptation for her mom.
It’s surgery time! ? #TheGoodDoctor pic.twitter.com/X9LAkzqyKU
— The Good Doctor (@GoodDoctorABC) October 8, 2019
While at the hospital, Shaun confided in Claire that he had another date with Carly, but he got stressed when Claire innocently says that they covered a lot of deep topics for so early in a relationship. Shaun asked Claire to intervene before her surgery.
A man named Shamus O’Malley, played by Robert Sean Leonard, came into the hospital pierced through the leg by a huge marlin. He did not seem to care about his injury and wanted to keep the fish intact for bragging rights. He even refused to let them dismember it in any way.
A very responsible girl named Michelle Reynolds, who is tasked with looking after three foster kids in her family’s care, was admitted to the hospital with stomach pains and was determined to need her gall bladder removed. A-ha, a perfect surgery for Claire to lead.
Claire got involved with the patient and realized that she was cutting herself to cope with the stress and tried to speak with the mom (Tracie Thoms) about the burden she had inadvertently bestowed upon her daughter.
When you’re trying to focus and… ?? #TheGoodDoctor pic.twitter.com/Aa5zgyW9mp
— The Good Doctor (@GoodDoctorABC) October 8, 2019
The fish guy was getting an MRI when the fish exploded in the machine due to some metal that the doctors didn’t realize was there before they turned it on. The fish guy was actually happy that only one side of the fish was ruined and still refused to let them cut up the fish.
Claire told Michelle to get some therapy. The mom became livid and ordered her off the surgery. Claire was equal parts relieved and devastated. She revealed to Dr. Lim that she was nervous and Dr. Lim told her to never show that kind of doubt again.
Gonzalez saved the day by talking to the mother and getting her to agree to let Claire continue with their surgery.
Claire and her mom bond and eventually are seen at their therapy session, where Claire wasn’t subtle about veiling her contempt for having to look after her mother for so much of her childhood.
The fish guy was revealed to have cancer, but it would likely be eradicated if they amputated his leg. He was surprisingly okay with that as long as the fish wasn’t harmed.
Claire confronted Carly about Shaun going a bit too deep so early in their romance, and Carly told her very nicely and without malice to butt out of their relationship. No offense was taken.
Carly ?? #TheGoodDoctor pic.twitter.com/6Mmr8Zssub
— The Good Doctor (@GoodDoctorABC) October 8, 2019
Claire led the surgery and everything seemed to go well until the alarms went off and it looked like all was lost. She just nicked a blood vessel — which was an easy fix and she successfully completed her first solo surgery. She even did a victory dance. Her victory was made even sweeter when Michelle’s mother asked for the name of the therapist.
The fish man has had his leg amputated and his buddies came in to cheer him on about the fish he caught. He couldn’t have been happier.
Unfortunately, Claire’s joy was short-lived, as her mom still managed to ruin her big moment by polishing off the bottle of champagne that Claire hid. Her mom then got into a fatal car crash. Her mother is dead.
The Good Doctor airs on Monday nights at 10/9c on ABC.