Pain was the 16th episode of The Good Doctor which aired on the 12th of March 2018. When the team treats a patient who has to decide about getting a dangerous surgery that could change his life, the man asks Dr Murphy what he would do.
Shaun's Adventures: "There's Something About Kenny"
This week was a little bit light on Shaun, but we still got a lot of insight into his growth as a doctor and an autonomous being.
Shaun's interactions with patients have grown leaps and bounds since the first episode. In this episode we see Shaun interact with another character with a disability without hesitance or harsh confusion as we've seen in previous weeks. He's able to ask questions and attempt to apply others suggestions and comment to his own situations, the sort of abstract thinking we haven't seen from Shaun.
Another thing we also see is an expansion of Shaun's empathy. In Pain we see Shaun try to relate to Claire by sharing his own experiences with his mother and also understand Hunter and Cora's reunion as a "nice" moment.
One of the main questions posed by Hunter during this episode is one that many people with disabilities are often asked if there was a way to cure your disability would you take it and if so at what cost? For Hunter it was yes with the price (potentially) being death and a divorce, however, Shaun did not explicitly answer this question himself. But he did consider his condition to be a potential "burden" to neurotypicals around him suggesting that he might take the red pill if given the chance.
This week we got a little more information regarding Shaun's new friend Kenny from Alex who found out that Kenny is a thief with an extensive rap sheet. He suggests that Kenny may be taking Shaun for a literal and metaphorical ride.
Like last week, we hear more of Shaun's spending habits having spent $300 on his new friend as well as a purchase of new textbooks. A problem that seems to have the potential of being a major issue down the road.
While concerned for Shaun, I think it's important to understand that this is the first time Shaun has been able to govern his affairs and like everyone, he's going to make a lot of mistakes. He's going to splurge money and trust the wrong people, which is why I think it's not solely his Autism that's at play here. Despite all this, I still hope that he hides his baseball just in case as I can see that potentially being stolen and a trigger for Shaun in the future.
The Team:
As expected, this week we dive deeper into Claire's baggage with the introduction of Claire's estranged mother. We discover that she had an untreated mental disorder and during a manic phase, she took her daughter's hard earned money and spent it on a weekend away, returning home with a random man without a concern for Claire.
Upon her return, we see the cut-off Claire we saw last week who doesn't want anything to do with her mother, despite her insistence that she's a treated and changed woman. It's obvious that the tolerance and compassion she exhibits in her professional life does not extend to her personal life.
Surprisingly, it's the case and her talk with Shawn about accepting people's baggage that pushes her to try and reconnect with her mother. At first the coffee date seems to be going well, however, we learn that her mum has moved into town to be closer to Claire but also to ask for a loan. This leaves Claire crestfallen for going out on a limb.
For me, this was the heartwrenching scene of the episode. Antonia's wasn't given a lot of dialogue or backstory in this episode, but her facial expressions added a layer of nuance that words were not necessary. It'll be interesting to see where this story goes, but with so much coming in future episodes, I think this will be something the show will tackle head-on next season.
The jury is still out on Dr Park who again used his background as a police officer to investigate Shaun's new roommate and uncovered his criminal past. Again, he takes the cynical view that all criminals are bad and Kenny could not be trusted. Unlike last week, it seems like Alex has no ulterior motive for doing this other than helping Shaun. But his unwavering mistrust seems almost like a vendetta and I'm interested in learning a bit more about why he takes such a hardline with criminals.
Final Thoughts
- I'm still struggling to believe Sharon Leal can play a mother to an adult child but the casting is spot on!
- If Shaun's self-evaluated list of positive attributes isn't his tinder bio then I don't know what is.
- That final outfit from Claire was killer.
- Is anyone else really happy to see male infertility and masculinity being discussed in this episode?
- I found the plastic surgery case to be awfully tragic. A woman who literally died for beauty based on a lie. I'm sure further down the track we'll get another glimpse into plastics but I would have loved to have gone further into the social and medical discussions on that case
- The tit for tat between Jared and Morgan was entertaining to watch. Their ambition and honesty make them quite a complimentary pair. It's a shame that there isn't much of a competition between these two but out of all the interns, I think Morgan has the most respect for Jared.
- Were you as surprised as I was to hear about Melendez's experience with disability and do you think his experience helped or hindered his interactions with Shaun?
Shaun's Adventures: "There's Something About Kenny"
This week was a little bit light on Shaun, but we still got a lot of insight into his growth as a doctor and an autonomous being.
Shaun's interactions with patients have grown leaps and bounds since the first episode. In this episode we see Shaun interact with another character with a disability without hesitance or harsh confusion as we've seen in previous weeks. He's able to ask questions and attempt to apply others suggestions and comment to his own situations, the sort of abstract thinking we haven't seen from Shaun.
Another thing we also see is an expansion of Shaun's empathy. In Pain we see Shaun try to relate to Claire by sharing his own experiences with his mother and also understand Hunter and Cora's reunion as a "nice" moment. This week we got a little more information regarding Shaun's new friend Kenny from Alex who found out that Kenny is a thief with an extensive rap sheet. He suggests that Kenny may be taking Shaun for a literal and metaphorical ride.
Like last week, we hear more of Shaun's spending habits having spent $300 on his new friend as well as a purchase of new textbooks. A problem that seems to have the potential of being a major issue down the road.
While concerned for Shaun, I think it's important to understand that this is the first time Shaun has been able to govern his affairs and like everyone, he's going to make a lot of mistakes. He's going to splurge money and trust the wrong people, which is why I think it's not solely his Autism that's at play here. Despite all this, I still hope that he hides his baseball just in case as I can see that potentially being stolen and a trigger for Shaun in the future.
The Team:
As expected, this week we dive deeper into Claire's baggage with the introduction of Claire's estranged mother. We discover that she had an untreated mental disorder and during a manic phase, she took her daughter's hard earned money and spent it on a weekend away, returning home with a random man without a concern for Claire.Upon her return, we see the cut-off Claire we saw last week who doesn't want anything to do with her mother, despite her insistence that she's a treated and changed woman. It's obvious that the tolerance and compassion she exhibits in her professional life does not extend to her personal life.
Surprisingly, it's the case and her talk with Shawn about accepting people's baggage that pushes her to try and reconnect with her mother. At first the coffee date seems to be going well, however, we learn that her mum has moved into town to be closer to Claire but also to ask for a loan. This leaves Claire crestfallen for going out on a limb.
For me, this was the heartwrenching scene of the episode. Antonia's wasn't given a lot of dialogue or backstory in this episode, but her facial expressions added a layer of nuance that words were not necessary. It'll be interesting to see where this story goes, but with so much coming in future episodes, I think this will be something the show will tackle head-on next season.
The jury is still out on Dr Park who again used his background as a police officer to investigate Shaun's new roommate and uncovered his criminal past. Again, he takes the cynical view that all criminals are bad and Kenny could not be trusted. Unlike last week, it seems like Alex has no ulterior motive for doing this other than helping Shaun. But his unwavering mistrust seems almost like a vendetta and I'm interested in learning a bit more about why he takes such a hardline with criminals.
Final Thoughts
- I'm still struggling to believe Sharon Leal can play a mother to an adult child but the casting is spot on!- If Shaun's self-evaluated list of positive attributes isn't his tinder bio then I don't know what is.
- That final outfit from Claire was killer.
- Is anyone else really happy to see male infertility and masculinity being discussed in this episode?
- I found the plastic surgery case to be awfully tragic. A woman who literally died for beauty based on a lie. I'm sure further down the track we'll get another glimpse into plastics but I would have loved to have gone further into the social and medical discussions on that case
- The tit for tat between Jared and Morgan was entertaining to watch. Their ambition and honesty make them quite a complimentary pair. It's a shame that there isn't much of a competition between these two but out of all the interns, I think Morgan has the most respect for Jared.
- Were you as surprised as I was to hear about Melendez's experience with disability and do you think his experience helped or hindered his interactions with Shaun?
