‘The Good Doctor’: A Patient’s Stolen Identity Comments On The Harsh Reality Of Healthcare & Addiction

One of the doctor’s falls ill, as the others struggle to help their patient’s survive — one patient just wants to smile, while the other is using false health insurance to get proper healthcare.

The Good Doctor starts with Shaun Murphy’s (Freddie Highmore) neighbor Kenny (Chris D’elia) dropping off milk with a note at his front door, which Shaun smiles at and appreciates. At the hospital, Dr. Marcus Andrews (Hill Harper), Dr. Alex Park (Will Yun Lee), Dr. Jared Kalu (Chuku Modu) and Shaun are dealing with a case of Mobias syndrome in a young girl. Gretchen Millon has no facial expression and the doctors suggest transplanting nerves from her legs to cheeks to give her a reactive face. Shaun interrupts the conversation to go through the risks of the surgery, and Dr. Andrews abruptly ends the meeting. She can’t express any emotions at all, no no one can tell if she’s happy or scared, she’s completely withdrawn. Shaun tells her that it’s incredibly risky, and Dr. Andrews ends the meeting abruptly, asking to speak to Gretchen’s father and the doctors outside. Dr. Andrews explains to Mr. Millon that Shaun is autistic and struggles with communication,

Dr. Nicolas Gonzalez, Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas) and Dr. Morgan Reznick ((Fiona Gubelmann) deal with a patient who has a post-op infection and hasn’t been taking her antibiotics because she never filled her prescription. While Dr. Reznick tells her she’s stupid, Claire feels for her. Morgan is pissed that she has to operate on a woman who didn’t follow doctors orders, but when they go to bring her into surgery, she’s gone.

Shaun is still trying to avoid Dr. Glassman, but runs into him in the cafe of the hospital. Shaun realizes that the coffee shop lady is trying to flirt with Glassman, and tells him the woman is interested in him before running off.

Gretchen, after going back and forth with Shaun about the various mean nicknames they were called because of being “outcasts,” decides not to go through with her surgery. Dr. Andrews takes it as Shaun not thinking smiles are important, and explains they produce endorphins and make others happy. However, Gretchen reveals, “Dr. Murphy didn’t talk me out of it, he inspired me. He helped me realize this could make me stronger. I don’t want to run from it anymore.” Dr. Park thinks she’s lying and is not someone who is inspired by inspirational stories. He thinks she was “paid off” by her dad to turn off the surgery, because of expenses. We find out that Gretchen knows insurance deemed it “medically unnecessary” and that her father would be paying for it fully out of pocket, telling him “I can’t let you give up everything for this.”

Meanwhile, Reznick and Claire lose their patient, and as they go looking for her and call out her name, an entirely different woman appears, claiming to be the same person.

Dr. Andrews visits the head of the insurance company to approach him about covering Gretchen’s surgery. In the meantime, Shaun wants to test Dr. Andrew’s hypothesis that smiles are contagious, and goes around the hospital smiling at people to figure it out. He then told Glassman he wants to show him something, and brings him to Debbie tells him that he thinks “they’re both Jewish” and her face is “perfectly proportional.”

Dr. Andrews tells his patient’s the good news that insurance will cover her facial surgery, while Claire and Morgan find a sneaky way to give the real Lucy Callard her medication. However, right after Lucy departs, the ladies get a page that a “Lucy Callard” has arrived at the ER! While Morgan thinks she should be arrested, Claire believes she should be treated. They take it to Dr. Glassman, who says that as soon as the woman is stabilized, they will press charges. The fake Lucy reveals that she had to choose between health care premiums and her son’s college tuition, and that she was too nervous to go through with picking up the false prescriptions, meaning that the real Lucy Callard was also lying about her prescriptions, and is really an addict.

In another room, Dr. Kalu removes Celeste’s tilapia skin on her burns and he tells her the story of his failed love with Claire. But in the end, he shows Celeste her beauty and it’s so clear these two are falling for each other.

Dr. Andrews, Dr. Park and Shaun have a successful facial transplant surgery with Gretchen, but when Shaun visits her in recovery and notices she’s not breathing on her own yet, he’s concerned and contacts Andrew. They can’t figure out what could have gone wrong during surgery, and when Shaun calls Dr. Andrews out for telling them it was “risk-free,” even though Shaun told them there were risks. Andrews tells him to take a scan to rule out all the factors he said were a risk in the surgery.

While Glassman and Debbie enjoy their date Shaun set them up on, Shaun approaches Kalu about his smile. When Shaun sees him, he’s trying to figure out his feelings for Celeste, and turns to the internet, rather than his peers, like Morgan and Claire. Shaun says “I’m a person,” and Kalu starts to confide in him about his vulnerability. “Take a sick day,” Shaun suggests, taking a page out of Lea’s book, and leaves the room.

Park, Andrews and Shaun surround Gretchen, who still hasn’t woken up yet, and reveals to her father that they believe she is brain dead, due to anesthesia. Mr. Millon is miserable after realizing his daughter’s life is ruined “all because of a smile,” but Park has a realization that Gretchen may still be under anesthesia.

In another patient’s room, Claire gets the faux-Lucy to reveal her name is Beatrice, while she begins to deteriorate. While Morgan and Claire watch the woman’s body fail, Claire reveals she found out Morgan lied about her past, and her parents are actually doctors and she’s very privileged. “Being privileged is pathetic,” Morgan says, before Claire calls Beatrice’s time of death.

Gretchen finally wakes up from her deep stupor and the doctors test her smile. While Shaun can’t find the triggers of a “real smile” on Gretchen, he finds it on everyone else in the room and gets excited. After a good day at work, he takes a pizza over to Kenny’s, ready for a fun night with his neighbor. Kenny tells Shaun he needs to take a “raincheck” because friends came over to play Texas Hold ‘Em, he took Shaun’s TV and disinvited him because of his “quirks.” Okay, BYE KENNY.

Kalu asks out Celeste, decides to take a sick day and then goes into the locker room to find his acceptance letter from the University of Denver Hospital. Will he go?!

In the final scene, Dr. Glassman is enjoying his date with Debbie, but begins to become forgetful and panicky, while repeatedly saying “doorstop.” Debbie asks the waitress to call 9-1-1, as Glassman starts to cry and forget his words.

Next week is the Good Doctor season finale! Be sure to tune in!