The Good Doctor - Pipes - Review: "Slave To His Patterns" + POLL

The fourth outing of The Good Doctor follows the same pattern as previous outings, heavy strong patient stories and character development that keeps you tied to your chair/futton/couch. The episode was written by Thomas L. Moran and directed by Stephen De Paul.

The real beauty of The Good Doctor at the moment is the balance of strong stories, adding intriguing touches to Shaun's complicated character and still keeping a friendly light toned surrounding, something that is beyond Shaun's autism and the heartbreaking patient stories. So let's start there. Talking porn with Claire and Jared, going out for a drink with them and throwing truth bombs with his neighbor Lea. All three very sweet scenes, making all three characters more relatable and likable. I especially enjoy the addition of Paige Serra's Lea to the show, the chemistry between her and Shaun is a pleasure to watch and is inspiring to a certain degree. The way she eliminated any prejudice and simply accepted Shaun as the beautiful genius he is was a pleasure to watch.

But the writers couldn't just let us have this light-hearted development. The flashbacks came back and were as devastating as usual. The kids making fun of young Shaun was really painful to watch. Graham Verchere was tremendous as always and the way this kid transfers confusion and pain to the screen is mesmerizing.

Thigh or Genitals

Delving in this type of complicated cases is why House was such a success. David Shores pulled out two very big guns with this week's cases. I enjoyed the contrast between Shaun proving himself as a resident and him being a slave to his patterns. Him nailing the pelvic exam and getting some recognition made me just happy. The light on Freddie's face during those moments was such a beautiful touch. The amount of brilliance Freddie proves week after week is just astonishing. I enjoyed his interactions with Claire and Andrews and Nurse Friday needs to get up to regular, she is phenomenal. I even liked Hill Harper this week. He stepping up as a mentor, no matter if it was just playing or sincere meant a lot to Shaun and you could feel it. Also, I need a gif of Shaun hitting those buttons asap.

Claire's interaction with Marcie was nicely layered. The way she approached her was just well written, with so much respect and delicacy. I was really happy Marcie decided to call her parents and showed signs of forgiving herself. She really put a lot of pressure on herself.

P.S. Claire changing the topic with sex, during her bedroom scene with Jared, was a great detail. He couldn't understand her pov and it got a bit awkward when he pointed out her opening up to him. So she chooses sex over talking it out. Is this healthy behavior? Of course not, but it made her a lot more approachable.

The Patterns

Major kudos to the whole team for executing them so precisely. No matter how much I try I really can't find the right words to describe how smart and powerful the character of Shaun Murphy is. Freddie Highmore's performance is the biggest contribution to that for sure but the writing is sooooo amazing. The situations he is put in and how Freddie executes them is just out of this world. The whole opening scene including the confrontation with Aaron felt so real.

This is the First time you didn't call it a Fetus

And while last week's episode did a great job of humanizing the "Bad Boy Surgeons", this week took it even up a notch with a story that made my stomach twist. The story was emotional, had some neat twists and most importantly Beau Garett's Jessica got more screen time. You guys are probably sick of me pining about Beau, but she is simply a gamechanger. Her involvement in this story, the energy she brings to these stories is just phenomenal. The energy her character carries, the strength she has without any need for screaming, pushing or bullying is captivating. The scenes between Jessica and Melendez were perfect, very well balanced out, the two have great chemistry and they are the opposites which attract each other with an unstoppable force. Melendez being the constructive surgeon who needs everything to be talked out, while she is all about those gestures, made their scenes so much more meaningful.

The board meetings were really interesting. Other medical shows, sometimes skip this part and TGD letting us know how complicated these decisions are carried a lot of weight for the episode as a whole.

Kalu and Melendez interaction in this episode was really good. Both actors showed more variety and felt a lot more relatable. Jared pointing out that Melendez said Baby for the first time was a nice detail and showed that this wasn't just another mountaintop to reach he cared.

My Biggest Issue

Their success rate. I love all the happy endings we experienced over the last couple of episodes were beautiful and exhilarating but. But how many high-risk operations and procedures can go on without any side effects or bad outcomes? And while last week's transplant story was heartbreaking and cruel but not a mistake made by the doctors. The doctors are being portrayed way too perfect, give them a flaw and I love them even more.

So what are your thoughts on "PIPES" and The Good Doctor so far? Does the show still do it for you or has your interest in it dip after this outing? Share your thoughts on tonight's episode in the comment section down below and don't forget to tune in next week for another episode at 10pm on ABC!