Week 3 of The Good Doctor was different compared to the previous two outings but still as memorable. The show took a chance and tried to humanize the previously villainous characters of Dr. Kala, Dr. Melendez, and Dr. Andrews, while still giving enough space to our lead character to show off who the boss is. "Oliver" was written by Bill Rotko and directed by John Dahl.
The big case of the week involved a liver transplant and Shaun and Claire were on babysitting duty. It was great to see Shaun in a "less" stressful surrounding, just see how his brain was working without constantly being put down by everyone else surrounding him. Claire's attempt to get to know him was both hilarious but still carried an emotional weight considering how invested she was in delivering the liver for her patient. Claire realizing Shaun just wasn't that into her questions was really well executed and now my initial dislike of Claire's starts to blow out.
I really wasn't invested in her character as she was a bundle of cliches, but the writing and Antonia Thomas acting convinced me that there is much more to her. I look forward to seeing more of her, as a person and surgeon.
While I enjoyed the let's dip a liver into ice cream scene, doing an intervention in the middle of the road was a little too much. I do enjoy the writers letting Shaun show off but not at any cost. The writers do need to tone those situations a bit down for all of our sakes.
Shaun asking for the name of the patient whose liver they took was a nice nod. Shaun needed to create a connection to the liver so it was easier to complete the task. The flashbacks this week were outstanding. Probably my favorite part of the episode. Graham Verchere was incredible in that cop car and his screams really hit directly into the tear sacks. Kudos Graham. The final scene with Glassman giving Shaun the book was truly beautiful and showed how much Aaron gets and understands Shaun. And the music was so on point this week. Aaron Wright's Built it better just made those final moments 10 times better.
Another nice development this week was the introduction of Shaun's neighbor Lea, played by Paige Spara. It is always nice from the writers to show how Shaun interacts with others and how they react to Shaun. Just that additional dose of patients can make communicating with autistic persons very easy.
Morality Bites
Chuck's liver transplantation took a couple of interesting turns and twists as the story progressed and while a happy ending was viable and visible the writers made the right but heartbreaking decisions. Chuck and his family being really likable made this case so much harder and gave Melendez and Kala space to show they weren't made out of complete ambitious stone. The show finally started to utilize Beau Garett's Jessica and while her voice wasn't that important or powerful at this moment it was just great to see more of her. Her scene with Melendez in the elevator was just priceless. Those silent scenes when executed well carry a lot more weight than words can ever do.
P.S. Was I like the only one who was thinking Melendez was too pretty to be that good in Algebra? I mean seriously, no one bought that.
PP.S. Great to see Carly in this story and interact with someone who isn't Shaun. Hope we see her in bigger capacity further along.
Rock Star or President
The interaction between Aaron and Andrews was great and I love how they use them to balance the actions of a heart and the actions of the mind. It just adds a dose of believability. Andrews eventually putting his guards down and inviting Melendez to his OR wasn't something I've expected but appretiated.
What are your thoughts on "OLIVER"? Did you enjoy the humanizing outing of The Good Doctor or was it too much other too little Shuan for you? Speak up in the comment section down below. Can't wait to read all your thoughts.
