After a while, we are back! It's time to review The Good Doctor 6x05 “Growth Opportunities,” an episode that brings Glassman and Shaun closer together as Lim makes a decision that changes everything. Ready?
Here we go!
The big elephant in the room in The Good Doctor 6x05 “Growth Opportunities” is Lim's new operation. She seems to be adjusting better to her paralysis and her relationship with her neighbor seemed somewhat exciting. And then Shaun has a new idea that can bring her back to her old life.
Again, Shaun is sure he can do the surgery safely, while Glassman thinks it's too big a risk. It's the same conflict they had over the original surgery. Only this time, Lim is awake and can have a hand in deciding if surgery is what she wants, so Lim and Glassman's tension and anger at Shaun still linger.
And we understand all sides of this conflict. Lim needs someone to blame and Shaun's reckless decision to operate on her behind Andrews and Glassman's backs makes him the perfect culprit. The truth is that part of the responsibility for Lim's situation does lie with Shaun's decision.
Glassman also blames Shaun for Lim's paralysis and his reckless decision to operate on her without permission. And, while Shaun should never have done it, neither Lim nor Glassman have proof that Glassman's more conservative approach would have worked better. They don't even know if Lim would have survived a different surgery.
And Glassy pushed for Shaun to be hired in the first place because he knows that Shaun has innovative and risky ideas that others don't often see, and most of the time they work. So even though Shaun made a bad decision to operate behind the scenes, Glassy can't blame him for doing what he hired him to do.
On the other hand, Glassman has a point where Shaun must take responsibility for having operated without consent. That wasn’t the right decision and Shaun must be aware of it. And he does it, his way, when he puts everything he's got into trying to fix it.
Shaun may not show it or know how to do it but, deep down, he knows that this decision was not the right one and that’s why he is so desperate for them to accept his idea. To try to fix what he feels he broke. But Glassman needs something else, he needs an apology.
But is Shaun the only one who needs to apologize? Glassman simply walked away from Shaun, angry beyond words, and put an emotional distance between them. Glassman never took the time to talk to Shaun and explain why.
This made Shaun feel that Glassman wasn’t on his side and the emotional distance that Glassman imposed made Shaun feel that he rejected him and that he didn’t love him anymore. Glassman was being deliberately obtuse by not wanting to make the first move, so we’re glad Lea dotted the i's on this one.
In the end, unity is strength and when Glassman and Shaun talk, they clear everything up and start working from there. And together they find the perfect solution for Lim's new operation. It’s still risky but viable. Everything is ready…except Lim.
She's awake now so the decision is hers. Lim was sure to have surgery again but the question is how much is she willing to risk to get her old life back? For Lim, the answer was everything. Is worth it? It’s a difficult question to answer because it has a different answer for each person. For Lim, in the end, the answer was no, it wasn't worth it.
The truth is that The Good Doctor would have given a very bad message if, immediately after being rejected by a man who behaved like an idiot, Lim decided to have surgery. So we’re glad the show didn't go that way.
And Lim doesn't owe anyone an explanation for her decision. Shaun was quite insensitive and selfish in asking her about it. Yes, maybe it was unfair to him to have worked to fix what he felt he did wrong and then not be able to, well, fix it. But this is Lim's decision, no one else's. And Shaun tried. Sometimes you just have to do that, try, because the rest is out of your control.
As for Jordan and Pérez, there is a very clear tension between them, as is normal after he aborted the kiss. Jordan feels rejected, ashamed, and angry. And the worst is when Pérez tries to act as if nothing had happened. When he notices Jordan's cold attitude, he apologizes and tries to make her see that her rejection has nothing to do with her.
But that doesn't work for Jordan.
She needs and deserves an explanation, and closure, to stop feeling rejected and angry. In the end, she gets to read between the lines in Perez's story and finds out what's going on. Pérez is an addict in recovery and is not ready to have a relationship but the feeling that he has with Jordan exists and he only hopes that they can be friends. At the moment, he is the only thing he can offer her.
Jordan agrees because she understands and respects what Perez is doing. Jordan got the answers and closure she needed to understand what happened and that she had nothing to do with Perez's rejection. It's going to be quite interesting to see them work together because what's between them is there…but they can't do anything with it. We are here for this!
This is where our The Good Doctor review ends. We will be back next week with the season finale review. Stay tuned!
Agree? Disagree? Don’t hesitate to share it with us in the comments below!
The Good Doctor airs Mondays 10/9c on ABC.
