The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 8 Review: Stories
Paul Dailly
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Medical dramas have a knack for falling into repetitive circles, but The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 8 brought two thrilling cases to the table, proving there's no creative fatigue on the horizon.
There was also more heartbreak for Glassman as he continued his recovery. Simply put, it was a run of the mill episode of this ABC hit, and it did not waste one minute.
I have to admit; Dawn rubbed me the wrong way the moment she leaned in for a kiss after commenting on how young Shaun looked to be a doctor.
There was something so off about it, and I could never have anticipated that she had a tumor in her chest that was making her suffer from loss of inhibitions.
I spent much of Dawn's scenes checking the clock because I judged her before knowing the full story, and that's what made "Stories" such an intriguing episode.
She was pregnant, cheated on Todd, and money was going missing, so it was difficult to imagine anything good coming from the truth.
In hindsight, you could tell that Dawn was hurting, and it's because she struggled to make sense of why she was doing these things despite the fact that she was claiming to love her husband more than anything.
Todd was strong throughout all of it, so I was glad there was a medical reason for why his wife was stepping out on him.
With the pair being in a car crash, there's no telling how much further this would have spiraled out of control had they not wound up in the hospital.
If the car crash did not occur, Dawn would have had to come clean sooner or later about being pregnant, and let's just say I would not have wanted to be a fly on the wall during that conversation.
The real test for them now will be whether they can put the past behind them, or if this will continue to eat away at Todd. It was heartbreaking when he asked his wife if she enjoyed her sexual encounters with the people who were not him.
He was setting himself up for disaster by asking it, but was there a right way to approach this?
Related: The Good Doctor Shocker: Another Series Regular Departs!
Claire brought up a great point at the top of the hour that if the roles were reversed and Shaun was the one planting the kiss on Dawn, it could have been considered assault.
It had an effect on Shaun. The kiss confused him to no end, and he was going with the facts as opposed to the medical side of things.
Measles kill, broken homes don’t.
Morgan
That said, it was interesting to watch him and Claire brainstorming ideas to find out the truth before it was too late for Dawn and Todd.
The anti-vaxxers storyline was particularly well-executed. Morgan and Park are a dynamic duo, and I was fascinated with the different approaches they both took to reiterate to Finn's parents that they were putting their son at risk.
It couldn't have been easy for either of them to be open and honest about their thoughts on the matter, but both doctors had a duty of care to their patient and had to find a way to break through to them.
This particular storyline also seemingly shed light on Park's past. I was confused off the bat when he opted to go with Morgan's story about the dead baby to change the mind of the parents.
If you watch The Good Doctor online, you know the layers on Park's backstory have slowly been revealed, and there have been teases of some animosity between him and his ex-wife.
I knew this couple. They had a child and they were happy… building a life. One day, the husband found out that the wife hadn’t been honest, and it broke their trust. Instead of working it out, they let the deception fester. Eventually, the husband moved out, moved away… He barely sees his kid.
Park
That's affected him because he is no longer in regular contact with his child. At the top of the hour, he was happy to lie to change the minds of the parents, but something changed along the way, and he resorted to telling the truth and confronting his own past at the same time.
What I'm taking from this is that Park's wife cheated, and it caused an immediate divide in the family. The slowburn with Park has been good to watch.
I dare say Park feels somewhat responsible for the breakdown in the relationship, and that could explain why he was headed to shoot some guns to blow off some steam.
Morgan recognized that Park was hurting, and that's why she wanted to accompany him. It's amazing how Morgan has transitioned from one of the most unlikeable characters on all of TV to one of the most engaging.
The writing for her was not up to scratch, and I anticipated that she would be gone from the series by the middle of The Good Doctor Season 2.
Related: The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 4 Review: Tough Titmouse
As for Claire, and the news about her courting other hospitals was not surprising. She's been struggling to find her place in the hospital ever since her very public falling out with Neil.
Senior staff has basically ordered you to take me back. So if you don’t take me back, you’re screwed, [and] if you do take me back, you look weak. I don’t know what decision you made or what you were about to say, but if I tell you I’m sorry, it gives you cover. So this is me giving you cover.
Claire
The only good thing that came from Claire's crisis is that it brought back Marcus and Allegra. The major issue I'm having with the series is that some of the characters disappear for weeks on end without much in the way of an explanation.
Beau Garrett was let go as Jessica, and there was no exit storyline for her. Admittedly, Jessica was one of the most expendable characters, but I did enjoy hearing about the legal side of things when she was around.
I wasn't too enamored with the way Claire spoke to Neil about saving face. In her defense, she was right to drag Marcus for telling her to be more assertive because she took that to heart and adapted accordingly.
It's just a shame it landed her in such an awkward situation. I do hope this is behind Claire and Neil now and that they can get back to functioning well as part of a team.
Glassman is another character who has not been given much to do throughout the fall run of this series, but that's poised to change now that he's losing his memory.
It's a frustrating situation for him to be in, and I can fully understand why he's so blunt with Dr. Blaise. The issue here is that admitting there's something wrong is the first step to address it.
He turned to Shaun in his time of need because he knew Shaun would be the one to help him diagnose himself and get through it.
It remains to be seen whether Glassman will return to Dr. Blaise of his own accord or if it will take a lot of nudging from Shaun.
Either way, I'm starting to get scared for Glassman's future. If he's losing his memory, the chances of him ever returning to work at the hospital are growing dimmer by the day.
What about you, The Good Doctor Fanatics?
How do you feel about the way things are playing out?
Hit the comments below.
The Good Doctor continues Monday on ABC.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
