The Good Doctor continuously tells strong independent stories and 22 Steps wasn't an exception. The introduction of an Autistic patient pushed both Shaun and Claire to work harder, while a dying patient digs deeper under Dr. Kalu's skin. The episode was written by Johanna Lee and directed by David Straiton.
Claire's therapy session was very nice placed in the episode and I really loved all the work Antonia put into the performance. The look in eyes, the uncomfortable feeling just added so much to her character. The talk between her and Kalu at the end of the episode was very well written and even better executed in my opinion.
I loved how the combined Claire's and Jared's story at the end. The two of them are very close and I don't refer to their sexual connection, they are friends and understand each other struggle. Jared is turning into such well-rounded character, his backstory was emotional and Chuku Modu's performance is really surprising, especially after his initial introduction. I do hope bad boy Jared will come and push for his place in the team cause he is a fighter and after what happened to him it isn't really surprising. Still, I'm wondering where his story go from here on considering he committed euthanasia, doubt there won't be consequences.
The thing that annoyed me this week is that apparently, Shaun is doing ERCP's behind our backs. They made it look like a fairly simple procedure but still, they barely let him do anything just a week or two ago and now we find out he is doing a bunch of procedures.
Besides that, it was a great week for Shaun. I think the writers made a great choice by making this patient the first Autistic person Shaun met. It pushed Shaun's boundaries and let him grow emotionally. At moments it even seemed like Shaun was afraid of interacting with his patient. I just wished they would've taken a bit more time and make even Shaun acknowledge how tough it is to interact with someone who has Autism.
I was fairly surprised when the parents said they didn't want Shaun in the OR. I'm glad that Shaun showed he was above it and was very respectful towards them. He grew used to people challenging him but he is there to prove them wrong not to argue with them.
Meanwhile, Shaun's desire to buy a TV came to fruition this week. I liked they just made it happen, they made a little story about it and included Dr. Glassman and Jessica. Again I hated that apparently Shaun and Jessica interacted bts but I loved how close she is with Aaron and how openly she can scold him. Sometimes we just need people to let us be and fight on our own. Aaron holding Shaun's hand every single moment isn't what he needs most of the time. Shaun at this point needs just a friend who will be there for him when he really needs him. I know it is easier to say than doing it actually but baby steps. The scene at the TV store with them concluding they want to go to the Superbowl was just everything.
PS. Major kudos to the production team for the choice of songs. Simply wow.
What are your thoughts on 22 Steps? Did you appreciate the bts development or am I making too much fuzz about it? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and remember to tune in for another episode of The Good Doctor, Mondays 10 pm on ABC.
