No one has ever seen “The Good Doctor,” Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore), or his mentor quite like they have in this week's, February 4 Episode 14 of Season 2, “Faces.” The doting friend is taking vacation days to look after Dr. Glassman (Richard Schiff), who is fed up with constantly feeling sick and “sitting on my a**.” He sends Shaun to pick up his medication, which both surprises and excites the young resident in being medical marijuana. Glassman quickly determines that he needs two capsules, for nausea and boredom. Shaun asks if he can try one since he has met someone who claims that his ASD symptoms are eased by the drug.
Dr.Glassman agrees since they are with one another and in a safe environment, more or less. “The Good Doctor” downs one capsule, and the friends share a consensual trip, with an outcome neither can imagine.
At the hospital, Dr. Andrews (Hill Harper) is preparing Molly (Chloe Csengery) and her parents (Kurt Evans and Bronwen Smith) for her 12th reconstructive surgery since she was terribly disfigured in a gunshot accident. This time, the procedure is meant to give her normal, aligned eyes, even though the rest of her face will still be “a wad of chewing gum,” in her own words.
When another teenage girl is critically injured in a car accident and becomes brain-dead during surgery, Dr. Andrews tries to persuade her mother to consent to giving her daughter's face to Molly for transplant.
Under the immense weight of grief and guilt, she refuses, but later reconsiders, and realizes that the sacrificial gift will honor her daughter forever.
Far beyond the fun, this turn of “The Good Doctor” is filled with penetrating, powerful scenes that stay with viewers forever.
A trip for more than munchies
“Am I acting more normal?” Shaun asks as he and Glassman continue with a round of indoor demolition golf that has no sign of the trick shot talents of Bubba Watson.
“No, you're acting high,” his mentor answers. Glassman becomes “Glassy,” and Shaun is dubbed “Smurph”
Glassman brings up Lea and tells Shaun that the effects of marijuana make it easier for guys to let out all the “messy” kind of stories they would never tell otherwise. He asks if the resident is really “OK” with Lea being “into” Jake.
Shaun diverts attention to a dog pooping in Glassman’s yard.
Dr. Glassman's incessant craving for Mallomars leads to a story of teenage love with Robin DeMayne, who loved the cookies. The buddies call for Uber, and their endlessly patient and philosophical driver (Mo Gaffney) goes to the limit of her human kindness before saying that a cookie run is not at the root of this quest. When Glassman tells the story of his love for Robin Demayne (Katherine McLaughlin) and how his hurtful, snarky words he left in her yearbook still bothered him, she is willing to go to Portland to allow him some peace.
After scouring the phone listings, a visit with the high school janitor, Flake (Michael David Simms) gives the crucial information that Robin DeMayne married a dentist and moved to Oregon.
The driver had to come to regret her promise that “the trip home’s on me.”
A change of heart
Whether by fate or careful timing, Shannon (Lili Birdsell), the mother of the deceased daughter, has an elevator encounter with Molly, and the impression is so powerful that she agrees to the donation, still devastated in her loss.
Dr. Andrews admonishes the entire staff that “elective surgeries, personal plans, and all hope of sleep” are gone in preparation and performance of this delicate, life-altering procedure. Seeing just a glimpse of the study, charting, and planning for every development depicted on camera provokes an amazing appreciation for what surgeons do every day.
Dr. Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) and Dr.
Park (Will Yun Lee) accompany Shannon and her daughter, Karen, for the “walk of honor.” The powerful visage of every surgical member lining the hall, many with hands over their hearts, and others in tears, is unforgettable, and a scene that only “The Good Doctor” could bring with such truth.
Molly’s new face “pinks up” just fine after the arduous surgery, and Molly’s parents and Shannon share an understanding of remorse that only they can appreciate, and none of Dr. Brown's (Antonia Thomas) assurances can ease the sense of failure. Shannon had made a choice to leave early and let her daughter sleep in the back seat, with no seatbelt. Molly’s father had a gun in the house, which his daughter inadvertently discharged.
“I had one job, and I didn't protect my family,” he anguishes.
Right after Molly looks at herself in the mirror, Shannon comes by to leave a gift, a book of pictures of her daughter. Another gripping scene comes as the mother asks a favor—“ to say goodbye.” She kisses the face of Molly, and her beloved girl, with a lingering kiss before leaving the room. This is another scene that stays in the soul.
Dr. Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) and Dr. Lim (Christina Chang) are confronting the dilemma of their off duty relationship, with Dr. Lim saying that she is doubting both herself and her lover. “I can keep being a jerk to you at work,” he playfully assures, before asking if she wants to end the romance.
She replies no, but things remain complicated.
Dr. Glassman has called ahead to make sure Robin is home when they arrive, and the two speak everything with their eyes through the encounter. She feigns not remembering either her own or her long-lost love’s yearbook inscription but offers “apology accepted” to Aaron Glassman's effort. She graciously serves tea and Mallomars, which Shaun pops into his mouth. “The Good Doctor” has now experienced tequila, driving, car racing, beer, marijuana, and Mallomars—his sensory library is expanding at a record pace.
After saying goodbye, Robin goes to her old yearbook, where she had scratched out Glassman's words. She chose not to steep in the ugliness, and now, closes her book with a sense of contented closure.
Arriving home to the ravages of their hemp fest, Shaun ponders about loving someone “you can never be with” and whether Dr. Glassman regrets knowing Robin. “Not for one second,” answers the mentor, explaining that guilt can often prompt someone to make better decisions in the next situation.
Shaun finally divulges that he is “not OK” that Lea is into Jake, and Glassman says “Goodnight, Smurph.”
The world would be so different if giving and forgiveness could be exemplified as it is in this TV-made world, but at least there are episodes like these that aim to make humankind better and more hopeful.
Fans are in for some great scenes next week, as series producer and 'Hawaii Five-O" alum, Daniel Dae Kim, goes back in front of the camera as a new chief of surgery who is not so sure about Dr, Murphy's credibility.