The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 15: Risk and Reward Review

For our review of the last episode of The Good Doctor, click here.

Synopsis: Shaun’s blunt honesty with a distraught mother of a critically ill newborn baby causes the new chief of surgery to question keeping him on as a resident. (TV Guide)

Writers: Liz Friedman and David Renaud

Director: Freddie Highmore

Rating: TV-14

Running Time: 41mins

Airs: Mondays at 10pm on CTV (Canada)/ABC (United States)

The episode started with a mother giving birth to a baby that needed surgery. Meanwhile. the new chief of surgery was expensive and was late for their first day. Dr. Jackson Han (Daniel Dae Kim) would show up just as the surgeons needed help while working on the baby. It would be clear that his style would disrupt the current status quo. Murphy would get himself in trouble with Han by telling the truth to the baby’s parents about the potential cause of their baby’s birth defects.

The doctors found a possible solution for the baby’s heart but were yet to find an effective one for its bowel. The bowel problem would complicate the baby’s nutrition meaning that it could starve to death quickly. However, they would have to tend to the heart before the bowel. The parents would be faced with a life or death situation when it came to what to do next about their baby daughter. They couldn’t decide so the decision would be left to a judge who would rely on their medical advice.

Meanwhile, Glassman met a man during his chemo therapy named Larry who just happened to have the same cancer he did. He remembered Glassman from before and encouraged him to join a support group. They held philosophical differences about life and identity. Glassman and Murphy later had lunch and shared about their days. The judge would rule in favor of surgery. The surgery was success until the doctors encountered complications with the baby’s lungs. From there, the doctors would recommend to the parents to let the baby go. As the doctors were getting ready to let the baby go, Murphy had an idea that saved its life. Glassman became open to the other chemo patients.

Han would give Melendez some grunt work by giving a physical to a rich patient named Minesh Goyal (Ravi Kapoor). Park and Reznick joined in just in time to discover that Han’s rich patient had a tumour. Han watched while they encountered complications during a biopsy. Goyal was faced with another tough, life or death choice of what to do next. He needed numbers to help with his decision even though his family chose against the surgery. Goyal agreed to undergo the surgery to have his tumour removed but the doctors would encounter a set of obstacles which prevented them from getting to it. Removing the obstructing nerves would lead to Goyal losing the function is in his left foot, however, he didn’t seem to care.

Han later acknowledged Murphy’s diagnostic ability but after the earlier incident, he believed that Murphy would be of better use as a pathology resident as it would mean less interaction with patients. However, Murphy was adamant that he was a surgeon.

Overall, Risk and Reward was another good episode of The Good Doctor that would change up the status quo thanks to the introduction of a new chief of surgery. It’s definitely nice to see Daniel Dae Kim finally play a role on the series after being only an executive producer for so long. Freddie Highmore would also do a great job behind the camera in directing a compelling episode. Han would be a disruptor and perhaps that’s what the series needs now. It was great to see Lim stand up for Murphy though. Glassman finding a friend was fun as well. With three episodes left, who knows where things will go but it is definitely gaining strength down the stretch.

Score: 8.5/10

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.