The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 12 Review: Aftermath

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Things will never be the same again for the staff at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. 

The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 12, appropriately titled "Aftermath," picked up the day after the outbreak at the hospital and took us on a character-building journey away from the hospital for most of the characters. 

Morgan's Decision - The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 10

We'll talk about Morgan and Claire first. Their scenes were hands down some of the show's finest to date. The very notion that they would be sharing brunch and mimosas while talking about the outbreak was laughable. 

If you watch The Good Doctor online, you know they've never had a close bond. Morgan always thinks Claire is a do-gooder who wants to please everyone, while Claire thinks Morgan is heartless and has no problems about shouting it from the rooftops. 

Related: Enjoy UNLIMITED access to thousands of Movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video. WATCH ANYWHERE. CANCEL ANYTIME!  

We learned on The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 11 that the EMT's death affected Morgan. It's difficult to establish whether Morgan genuinely had nobody else to turn to, or if she thought a day away from all of the drama hanging around with Claire would take her mind off it. 

The moment Claire offered to listen, Morgan's guard went all the way up. She struggles to show her vulnerable side, and that's just way some people are. She's not an emotional person, but the way she flew off the handle with Claire was a little bit much. 

Claire's Review - The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 1

Then again, it worked wonders for the characterization of Morgan, who has spent most of her time on the series as a one-dimensional character. Claire was right to take offense at the way Morgan was acting because she was trying to help somebody through something. 

Morgan: Hello, you up for mimosas? I was just about to head out to Hollanders and I thought you might wanna join me.
Claire: You thought I might want to join you for mimosas?
Morgan: Why not?
Claire: Because we don’t like each other?
Morgan: We don’t really know each other. Hollanders has the absolute best brunch in San Jose. I’ll drive. I’ll buy.
Claire: Morgan, how ‘bout you just cut to what it is you really want?
Morgan: What else are you gonna do? Sit around, play guitar, and sing into your phone?
Claire: How did you know what I was doing?
Morgan: I didn’t but that’s what your profile on a certain dating app says you like to do on your days off.
Claire: Are you stalking me?
Morgan: One mimosa and I’ll tell you the fake profile I use for oppo research. The guy I use for my pic is gorgeous, you really wanna risk swiping right on me?
Claire: I’ll drive myself.
Morgan: It’ll be fun. Meet you in an hour.

The pair worked well together out of the hospital, and despite their differences, they could emerge as friends.

It was only a matter of time before Claire's mother resurfaced, and I took issue with the fact she claimed her boyfriend beat the living daylights out of her. It's understandable that she was worried at the prospect of settling down, but she crossed a line. 

The man would have been wise to do a runner before he gets tied down with her. Morgan having a stalker in the past allowed her to take charge of the situation. 

Related: The Good Doctor Review - Stories

It was perfectly Morgan to have a gun and want to use it to get her point across. All of this allowed Claire to see another side to Morgan, and it was needed. 

There's only so long characters can be against each other without much reason. Now that Morgan put herself on the line in the name of getting some revenge for Claire's mother, these two will likely be joined at the hip. 

Claire: You might wanna pace yourself. We don’t even have the menu yet.
Morgan: I’ll be fine.

It may make for some different dynamics around the hospital, but it's about time things were switched up. 

Then there was Shaun who spent his day off with Glassy and Lea. It was out of the blue for Lea to invite Shaun to her work for some lunch, but it showed just how co-dependent these characters are. 

Lea Smiles - The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 12

They live together, talk about everything, and understand each other in a way that Glassman doesn't quite understand. 

Related: The Good Doctor: Daniel Dae Kim Lands Recurring Role

There's no question about whether Lea has Shaun's best interests at heart, but I wish the questions about whether they are going to become romantically linked would stop. 

Lea did kiss Shaun on The Good Doctor Season 1. We can't discount that, but what we know now is that they work much better as roomies. 

I am so sorry for pushing you, but you know I am right.

Lea

It makes sense that Shaun would think there could be something more here, but Glassman needs to take a back seat instead of putting thoughts into Shaun's head. 

The final scene was very predictable. There was no need for it to be there. It would have worked much better if Lea was open and honest with Shaun after their day together. 

Saving a Life - The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 10

It would have had more emotional weight and given Shaun and Glassman more to talk about. This only highlighted that the show needs to remove predictable plot points to continue to go from strength-to-strength. 

As for Glassman, I'm glad he finally recognized that he needs to start listening to the doctor's orders or he runs the risk of not having good days again. 

There's always a sense of dread whenever we speak about Glassman's health, and maybe it's because I'm worried about how Shaun will react when he inevitably dies. 

Lea: Holy crap, Shaun.
Shaun: You’re a good dancer.
Lea: No, I’m not.

Shaun may have a great friend in Lea and others at the hospital, but none of them compare to the man who has been his mentor since a young age. 

Simply put, Glassy is the only person who really understands Shaun. It's worrying to think about, for sure, but there's no way the show is not going to have Shaun without the person he looks up to at some point. 

Alex and Mia Reunite - The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 12

In the romance department, it looks like there are signs of life for Alex and Mia, and I'm surprisingly rooting for them. 

They never really worked through what made their relationship fizzle out all those years ago. Communication is key to a healthy relationship, and the old saying that time heals everything seems to come into play here. 

Mia didn't only show up at the hospital to make sure Kellan was alive. She was also scared about the state of her ex-husband. 

Related: The Good Doctor Review - Empathy

She spent years of her life with him before Kellan was born, and several years after. You can't just switch your emotions off like that. 

The pair finally confronted what went wrong for them, and taking baby steps to try and carve out a romantic relationship again was the most adult way of dealing with things. 

Whether they'll be able to make it work, I don't know, but I'm on board with this 'Ship for now. 

Then there's Audrey and Neil. They were the most surprising pairing of the fall, but it's doubtful they are going to stand the test of time. 

Lim: Hey, you don’t have to play supportive friend just because we slept together.
Melendez: I’m not playing. I’m being nice.

It was typical of Audrey to shut Neil down at the top of "Aftermath." She never anticipated they would wind up sleeping together. 

Audrey loves to be challenged, and her back and forth with Neil on a daily basis is probably what makes her days working in the hospital fly by. 

Neil seemed happy to become the doting boyfriend, while Audrey was not all about that. Whether they will be able to make something out of this, I don't know. 

However, I don't want these characters to be tied down by relationship drama because they are up there as some of the best on the show. 

Related: The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 10 Review: Quarantine

With the investigation into the hospital intensifying, it was unsurprising that everything that happened during the outbreak was going to come to light. 

This could spell the beginning of the end for Andrews because he was stubborn to keep the surgeon gig going while running the hospital. 

Maybe he didn't want to give such a coveted title up, but it's now come back to bite him in the butt. Whenever hospitals have outbreaks or quarantines or any big incident, the staff and leadership go under a microscope. 

Moving On - The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 1

While I'm not surprised Andrews stepped up to challenge the woman who trashed the decisions of his staff, I was surprised he stood up for Shaun. 

Being on the spectrum, it's difficult for Shaun to carry out his job, and he had several mishaps during the outbreak. 

There's a good chance the other doctors will make it out of the investigation unscathed, but Shaun's prospects are not looking good. 

Having stills of Shaun on the floor is going to raise a lot of questions about what really went down. I don't anticipate this will result in Shaun being fired, but he could find himself in a new role at the hospital. 

Time will tell. 

"Aftermath" served as a great break from the action at the hospital and allowed us to see how these characters function away from the hospital. 

It was needed. 

What are your thoughts on the episode?

Hit the comments below. 

The Good Doctor continues Mondays on ABC. 

Aftermath Review

Editor Rating: 4.25 / 5.0
  • 4.3 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.0 / 5.0 (21 Votes)

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.

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The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 12 Quotes

I am so sorry for pushing you, but you know I am right.

Lea

Lea: Holy crap, Shaun.
Shaun: You’re a good dancer.
Lea: No, I’m not.