The Good Doctor Season 1 Episode 15 Review: Heartfelt
Kim Russell
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On The Good Doctor Season 1 Episode 15, Shawn and Reznick consult with Spirit, a patient whose heart is exposed without a sternum.
Meanwhile, Claire and Jared are working with Melendez on a case involving a child who needs a second liver transplant.
In the last few episodes, we've been watching Shawn begin to try and understand his patients. When he's talking to Spirit about having an exposed heart and her never being hugged, he can't relate.
Hugs make me feel trapped.
Dr. Murphy
There's such a contrast between Shawn and Spirit here. We've seen Shawn coil away from most kinds of physical contact, except for Lea. Is anyone else still annoyed she left? He needs to take a trip to Hershey sometime soon.
Lea brought Shawn out of his comfort zone and helped him grow his independence.
As much as I hate to admit it, I think Reznick will have a similar affect. Not in a romantic way, but in a way that helps him grow and be more independent.
Did her saying Shawn uses his autism as a crutch make anyone else want to punch her in the mouth? Me too. But thinking about it more, it's comments like this that had Shawn sticking up for himself, which is good for him. Right?
I still don't like Reznick, but maybe she serves a purpose. She's also going to give Shawn a run for his money in the diagnosis department.
She came up with the idea for the expanding sternum for Spirit, not Shawn. In fact, he was against it and couldn't understand why Spirit couldn't wait until she was 18 to have the surgery.
We're used to Shawn coming up with the innovative and cool ideas after staring into space and running his mind through the human body. This should be interesting.
With Eric and the prisoner with the liver, it's clear Dr. Park has a huge problem with prisoners in general and murderers in particular.
He's against the liver donation from the start, and when the other doctors decide the prisoner will come to the hospital, he doesn't hide his opinion. He talks down about the murderer (Boris) and is convinced the donation is just a rouse to escape.
When he, Claire and Jared prep the room for Boris's arrival, Park points out all that has to be removed from the room for safety.
There's more to this story than Park just not trusting convicts. It's deeper than that. He's got some personal experience in the area and I'm curious as to what that is.
Maybe we'll find out in upcoming episodes, but for now it makes his character interesting
Claire sees Boris in a positive light and admires his decision to donate. She doesn't care about his past. She points out he's been a model prisoner, and the hospital and doctors shouldn't have a problem with him.
You can see on her face, though, when the guards bring Boris into the hospital in slow-mo, she's nervous and Park takes that opportunity to throw her Pollyanna words back at her.
Now don't worry. He's been a model inmate for nine years and tutors the other prisoners at the library.
Dr. Park
Snarky.
After an unsuccessful harvest, Boris fails to donate and the guards are escorting him out of the hospital. When he stood up and grabbed the gun, I thought for a minute Dr. Park was right, and he was going to start shooting people to escape.
When it was clear he was going to kill himself to save Eric, Dr. Park showed a dark side. Again.
Dr. Park: Don't listen to her. It's your choice. You do what you want.
Dr. Browne: Boris! NO!
I was surprised he encouraged Boris to go ahead and off himself, but he didn't, really. Park let him know that this was probably the only way he could do something good.
At the gala, when Shawn got anxious and overwhelmed after Reznick left him by himself to mingle in his new Armani suit, we saw him grow again.
He goes back to the hospital and sees Spirit, a fitting name, hugging her loved ones and laughing. He remembers what Dr. Andrews said about confidence and when he heads back into the gala, he starts making small talk about golf.
I have to admit, when he made that unintentional joke, my heart swelled. Shawn is trying to be social and it looks like he's getting the hang of it.
Meanwhile, Jared broke up with Claire.
I love you, Claire. But you never loved me.
Dr. Kalu
But that had to happen, right? I mean, how else is she ever going to get together with Dr. Melendez. Fingers crossed.
What did you guys think of Dr. Reznick this week? Do you think she'll be good for Shawn? Who else ships Claire and Melendez?
Make sure to watch The Good Doctor online to get caught up on all of the hospital drama, and be here every week for more of The Good Doctor.
Don't forget about all of the other great medical dramas you can watch and read about on TV Fanatic, too. It's a good time to play a doctor on TV.
The Resident is a new favorite, Grey's Anatomy is an all-time go-to, and we love Chicago Med for all of the other characters it brings in and out from the Chicago Universe.
Kim Russell was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in January 2019.
