Faithful viewers of “The Good Doctor” have all the warm reminiscences, worry, and the tinge of heartbreak that one heart can hold in this week's May 24 Episode 18 of Season 4, “Forgive or Forget.” Enduring tremendous grief calls for a radical reset, in Dr. Shaun Murphy's (Freddie Highmore) careful calculation. Lea (Paige Spara) is surprised to come home to find her partner packing for a camping getaway-- as in out in nature's elements.
Considering that fans recall that “The Good Doctor” required just the right thread count in the sheets to share the bed with his first devoted girlfriend, Lea is well-founded in her doubts about the adventure.
On the other hand, Shaun declares that the challenge will drastically move the two of them out of their comfort zone, thus bringing fresh perspective and energy, since “neither of us is doing better” after three weeks of work. As prepared as “The Good Doctor” is by nature, nothing prepares Shaun or Lea for the aftermath of falling off a log.
Meanwhile, Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas) is trying to forge a relationship with her father, Miles (Marcuis W. Harris) without the processing of past grievances and the necessary, painful path to forgiveness. The mentor and father figure to “The Good Doctor,” Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff). finds himself at an impasse with Debbie (Sheila Kelley), sparked by a disabled firearm.
On the medical front, the surgical teams at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital contend with stubborn and deflecting parents of a daughter with a serious condition. Another patient faces possible life or death complications from homegrown treatment for his depression.
It's a rough go of roughing it for ‘The Good Doctor’
Shaun and Lea soon learn that communing with nature is no easy task.
The “available spots” that “The Good Doctor” counted on are filled, so the couple find an alternate plan, adjacent to a family who engages in tailgating over true nature appreciation, as Lea observes. Even their serene view of the lake becomes obstructed by the neighbors’ humongous motor home.
Nonetheless, the plan for reconnecting gains some ground as they snuggle in their tent.
They both recall their first apartment, where they shared their first hug. The falling rain reminds “The Good Doctor” of the dripping faucet that helped him fall asleep. When the boisterous campmates disturbed Lea, Shaun shares his earplugs, but when the tent becomes waterlogged, Lea goes to sleep in the car after Shaun insists that he doesn't want to go home.
“The Good Doctor” is among the rare TV Shows that convey its deepest emotion without dialogue. The scene the next morning as Lea looks at Shaun at their rustic breakfast table is priceless. By then, he relents and says that they can go home. She softens, saying that blueberry pancakes and taking the hike that her man had planned can come first.
She urges her hero, “The Good Doctor” to stand on a log for a photo. As he moves in her direction, he slips and falls. He immediately senses that not only is his ankle dislocated and broken, but an artery is torn. He tells Lea that his pocket knife and the tent repair kit will serve Lea well as an impromptu surgeon. Despite declaring that there's “no way in hell” she's going to do it, she musters the willingness and know-how, just as she did with her therapeutic hold with Shaun when he began to self-destruct after the death of his father. With all her flaws of flightiness, she possesses a superb sense of stepping up in a crisis.
Much like Dr. Lim in “The Good Doctor” Season 2’s winter finale, “Quarantine,” Shaun plans to guide Lea in every step of the procedure, but a rapid gush of blood causes him to lose consciousness.
The only thing unfitting for Lea’s character in the episode is how long she tried to revive “The Good Doctor.” True to form, Lea Dilalo, would more likely work all the harder to quickly do what she had to do, not wasting one second.
Fortunately for both “The Good Doctor” and his field surgeon, one of the items packed for the camping excursion was a bottle of tequila in Shaun’s backpack. No fan can ever forget the meaning of “Tequila, STAT” in the medical drama. This time, Shaun and Lea take the two words to a whole new level.
Delay does no good on ‘The Good Doctor’
With no time to waste, Lea focuses on her task at hand. “If you can hem a pant leg, you can do this, she tells herself. The rubber from the earplugs provides the perfect tackiness to the blood-soaked thread, and the antiseptic of tequila works on the inside and outside for the procedure.
“I can feel my toes,” “The Good Doctor” faintly says as awakes. “Are you finished?” he asks. “No,” Lea replies, taking a chug from the tequila bottle. “Now I am,” she concludes.
In the ambulance, “The Good Doctor” assures that Lea is very good at fixing things. He agrees with the EMT that is a very lucky man, gazing at her with that special smile.
Ava (Nevis Unipan) is a young patient with a venous malformation growing on her neck and not much time, thanks to her parents. Dr. Lim (Christina Chang) recommended surgery six years before, but the parents took their own path to treatment, prescribing turtleneck sweaters and homeopathic routes to improvement, which never worked. Laparoscopic surgery is too late, with too much interference from critical veins involved with the mass.
Dr. Browne breaks the news to the parents that the collarbone has to be removed and replaced to fully remove the malformation. Still, the parents project the blame on Dr. Lim and refused to take responsibility for their choices. Claire makes it clear that the process would have been much easier six years before.
Another patient is a man who feels like he is in perfect health (Jeremy Schuetze) until the team learns that he has been treating his depression and anxiety with psilocybin injections at home, grown from his own mushrooms. Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) is especially angered by the situation, while Dr. Park (Will Yun Lee) is more optimistic and empathetic about the treatment for mental health.
Dr. Allen (Bria Henderson) isn't shy about saying that both doctors love to argue more than focus on the medical outcome. Dr. Park endorses a less invasive approach, but during surgery the presence of fungal lesions everywhere on the lungs and liver let him know that Morgan was right. They have to do full surgery to remove the lesions, which is successful. One powerful line from Dr. Reznick to the patient resonates. “If you found the light once, you can find it again,” she reminds. That's a lesson most people in life and on “The Good Doctor” need every day.
A late-night doesn't work out well for Dr. Glassman, either. He enters a dark home to the sound of the security siren and the sight of his wife pointing a gun at him.
She insists that her aim was for “center mass” and never intended to be fatal. She then realizes that her gun is unloaded, and Glassman admits that he is responsible. The two have crossed at the crux of this issue before. In Debbie's view, it has much more to do with control than with any moral stance on guns. Glassman turns to Dr. Lim for advice, despite feeling that he is a persistent advocate for women. She relates her own experience with her pro-social ex-husband, who couldn't cope with her higher salary. At home, Glassman finds Debbie packing a bag for parting on “The Good Doctor.”
“This is crazy. We love each other,” he says. She kisses him and says “I love you so much, but not enough,” explaining that the last round of discussion over the weapon left her with a pit in her stomach and “an out.” The Daily Express suggests that actress Kelley, Richard Schiff’s real-life wife, is leaving the medical drama to work on a Disney project in a May 25 feature.
Fans are definitely taken aback by the turn of events.
Dinner and a movie go well for Miles and Claire, but getting to the deeper stuff causes the hurt to come to the surface. When Claire continues to blame her dad for being the one who left, despite sending support payments that never made it from her addicted, mentally ill mother to her needs, she tells him not to call or “come to the door.” Instead, after seeing the forgiveness that Ava offers her parents after her painful surgery that was “our fault” as they confess, Claire comes to his door. In a paradoxical statement, the daughter offers forgiveness “because you deserve it and I need it.” In truth, the gift of forgiveness, at its core, is something no one can deserve, but it is something that is forever precious to the giver, setting them free.
Finally, the parent and child celebrate the heartfelt embrace so long coming in the hallway in one of the last scenes for “The Good Doctor.”
A sweet and sad close on ‘The Good Doctor’
Settling in on their comfy couch for some TV at home, Lea thanks Shaun for taking her camping and a few kisses say everything else before the cuddles. The outing succeeded in inspiring new gratitude and perspective in overcoming. “The Good Doctor” stars, Noah Galvin and Bria Henderson take comfort in their promotions to series regulars, per Cinema Blend on May 24. The drama is already a lock for Season 5.
Things didn’t end on a promising note for Park and Reznick. Coming to her locker, Alex confronts Morgan, saying that they can only keep things professional from now on, with no pretense of being friends and snarky repartee between them.
He confesses how hurt he was when she sent him away. Morgan returns emotional fire, saying that being only professional means pretending that nothing ever happened. Once more, in spite of her words, the heartbreak in her eyes speaks everything. This wrestle of a relationship is far from over on “The Good Doctor.”
“The Good Doctor” Season 4 finale starts next week with “Venga” (Go). Will fulfillment and finding greater purpose in serving and saving others in foreign land ease any longing pains? Viewers can only tune in and find out. The journey is not over.
