The Good Doctor Season 3 Episode 2 Review: Debts
Jack Ori
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The least important question Lim had to deal with was the question of who she would pick first to lead surgery.
That didn't stop Morgan and Park from spending most of The Good Doctor Season 3 Episode 2 kissing up to her no matter how many times they were told to stop.
Thank goodness she chose someone. Now maybe the obnoxiousness can stop.
Morgan and Park's banter might have been meant to be funny or cute, but it was merely annoying.
Morgan has never been the most empathetic or likeable character, and her constant rivalry with Park didn't help that one bit.
Related: The Good Doctor: What We Want to See in Season 3!
It was so annoying that I cheered out loud when Morgan's trick failed to work, and Park showed up at Andrews' meeting.
Hopefully, now that Lim has chosen someone other than them to lead the first surgery, that'll be the end of that nonsense.
Or not, if Morgan's reaction to learning Claire got the coveted first lead surgery is any indication.
I don't know what led her to believe that Park was running an "anybody but Morgan" campaign, but whatever. Just make it stop.
Claire is the best choice both because she wasn't bothering Lim night and day about appointing her to the role and because she's equally empathetic and level-headed and generally does her job well without too much drama.
Hopefully, Claire's home life won't distract her. She's playing tough cop with her mom, and it's probably necessary. She's been through her mom's inconsistency with her medication and the havoc it wreaks before and wants to stop it from happening again.
Nevertheless, I was glad she relented a little bit by the end of the hour. Her anger and resentment were too much in the forefront, and she was crossing the line from tough love to rejecting her mom, period.
Meanwhile, Shaun's difficulty figuring out dating, his desire to forget it, and an interesting case made the hour speed by.
For him, Josh was like any other patient: a challenging puzzle to be solved. Josh's extensive injuries also provided the perfect excuse for Shaun to put work thinking or talking about dating.
For Andrews, though, Josh was a challenge of a different sort. Andrews was all over the place, sometimes chastising Josh for his heroic sacrifice and insisting nothing could be done to fix his condition and other times insisting they HAD to do something.
Park: I've had plenty of first dates that are actual disasters. I took a girl to a Coyotes game. That lasted 17 minutes and then I spent the rest of the night in the ER after she got hit with a puck. I married her eight months later.
Shaun: And then you divorced.
Park: It was worth it.
Morgan: We don't have a choice. Evolution demands that we propagate. So we play a game that we're going to lose most of the time because the upside is so wonderful. But if Shaun doesn't have to play that game, good for him.
Andrews: We have officially turned into an episode of The Bachelor. Everyone go home.
Morgan: I'm not tired.
Park: Me either.
Andrews: I am.
Shaun: There are still so many possibilities.
Andrews: Give it up, Murphy. You are smart and you are creative, but there are some things you can't do. You can't do miracles. You can't fix everyone.
Lim had to decide whether to allow Shaun and Andrews to go ahead with an experimental procedure -- again, a far more important and better use of her time than dealing with Morgan and Park's immature attempts to get her attention.
Her reluctance was understandable. She has a hospital to run, and if a patient dies from complications of an untested procedure when the established procedure is well known, that won't look good.
But what only half made sense was her take on Andrews' insistence on doing the procedure.
Related: The Good Doctor: Does Dr. Han Have a Point About Shaun?
Andrews wanting Shaun to be right to justify the sacrifice of the Presidency makes sense. But Andrews insisting Shaun was right because he resented Shaun for causing him to make a sacrifice did not.
If Andrews resented Shaun, he would want him to fail, not succeed.
Anyway, Lim was settling into her new role as Chief of Surgery even if I disagreed with her attitude.
Lim: The Cantrells want a different surgeon. Tell me about the first surgery. Is it possible you were too aggressive?
Melendez: Is this an M&M?
Lim: Not yet. I just need to know what happened. Do you think you might have cut too deep?
Melendez: I can tell you I did not cut too deep.
Lim: Okay. I'll let the Cantrells know.
Melendez: Audrey? Is this weird for you?
Lim: A little. You?
Melendez: I'm trying not to let it be.
She was making difficult decisions left and right, even at the potential expense of her relationship with Melendez.
That whole mess with Melendez demonstrated why their relationship is a bad idea.
As the Chief of Surgery, Lim needed to investigate what went wrong with the first operation on Melendez's infant patient and Melendez resented it.
And when Lim supported the parents' desire to get a different surgeon, that made things worse for Melendez. He didn't want Lim to give him special treatment but didn't want her to suggest to the parents that he'd made a mistake, either.
She was right to feel that he'd put her in a situation where she couldn't win. The two made up and agreed to keep working on getting the boundaries right, but can they, really?
As long as Lim is in charge of the surgical department, there's going to be tension between her professional obligations and her obligations to Melendez as his significant other. Is there any way to navigate this?
Which brings us to Glassman/Debbie.
Glassman: Nobody likes dating, Shaun. It's awkward and expensive.
Debra: Oh, is that why you proposed after our second date? To save money?
Glassman: I proposed after our second date because I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.
Debra: Yeah. Sometimes you just know you're having too much fun.
Shaun: That did not happen to me. [looks at phone] I have surgery. I have to go.
Glassman: Shaun, when you're ready you'll try again.
[Shaun leaves]
Debra: When you're ready you'll try again?
Glassman: I didn't want to push him.
Debra: I disagree. I think he needs to be pushed.
Glassman: A man doesn't push a man into another date.
Debbie was right that Glassman needed to push Shawn to go after Carly or nothing would ever change.
She gets that Shawn and Glassman aren't that different. They're both stubborn as hell and afraid to deal with messy emotions.
That makes her the perfect match for Glassman, and she can even help him handle Shawn better.
But please ... no more trying to make out in the clinic. I was glad Shawn interrupted before that display of extremely unprofessional behavior went too far.
Either way, viewers can forever be grateful that she pushed Glassman to push Shawn. Glassman's speech about love was one of his best The Good Doctor soliloquies yet, and it got through to Shawn.
Figuring out what we want and why we want it and if it's good for us are good questions, Shaun. And they can't be answered over one dinner.
Carly
Shawn and Carly make a cute yet awkward couple so far.
Carly is willing to be patient with Shaun's Autism thanks to her experience with Andy, but she's also willing to push him to take a step in the right direction when he wants to hide. It's not clear yet what Shawn brings to this relationship, but I'm all in for seeing where it goes.
What about you, Good Doctor Fanatics?
Do you think Lim chose the right person to be the first surgical lead? Are you rooting for Shawn and Carly? And how great was Glassman's speech about love?
Weigh in below, and if you missed it, watch The Good Doctor online to get caught up so you can join into the conversation.
The Good Doctor airs on ABC on Mondays at 10 PM EST/PST.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.
