The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 17: Breakdown Review

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

Synopsis: Dr. Murphy is desperate to join the team on a dangerous procedure involving a tumor removal. However, having been removed from the surgery team by Dr. Han, Shaun must use his talents to help figure out the cause of an infant’s injuries. (IMDB)

Writers: Lloyd Gilyard Jr. and Thomas L. Moran

Director: Mike Listo

Rating: TV-14

Running Time: 41mins

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

Goodbye Dr. Murphy?

The episode started with Lea returning home to Murphy who hadn’t slept. He was still frustrated with his current predicament. Murphy was convinced that he had to change Han’s mind. He decided to walk to work all while Melendez and Lim were together in a car nearby. Lim was worried about being seen by Murphy (it didn’t appear that they were). Meanwhile, the big case of the week involved a patient with a 200lb. tumor. Han also made a visit to the medical board where he would make his mark.

Another case involved Lim’s friend Laura’s (Joy Osmanski) baby. While making a visit to pathology for some test results, she took the chance to ask Murphy if he saw her with Melendez. His lack of sleep appeared to make him non-responsive. Murphy wanted to help with the tumor case but Melendez already had a large enough team. However, he joined Melendez and Lim in Han’s office for what appeared to be a discussion about the tumor case but was really about how he got them all cleared with the medical board (presumably due to his earlier meeting with them).

Tests on Laura’s baby implied that it may have suffered from abuse. Lim wanted to protect Laura but she also had to not be involved with the case because of appearances. When pressure by Lim, Laura denied abusing her baby and got defensive, believing that their tests were wrong. Lim ran more tests which would confirm their initial conclusion, leading to Laura being taken away in handcuffs. Meanwhile, Melendez took a crack at Murphy though didn’t get much of an answer either.

When running an MRI on the tumor patient, it was determined that there was no way to remove the tumor without causing them to bleed to death. Despite this, he was adamant that he wanted his life back. He appeared to come to terms with his new predicament. Meanwhile, Melendez was softening on the idea of taking his relationship with Lim public. However, neither were quite ready yet. Browne was frustrated with Reznick in general (she agreed with Han’s treatment of Murphy). She would have an idea that would help the tumor patient. However, complications during pre-surgery would make their work more difficult.

While watching the surgery, Murphy was thinking of the baby and a way to prove that it wasn’t abused (and it wasn’t). Meanwhile, the surgery was looking dire while the surgeons tried to remove the tumor. Melendez wanted to bring in Murphy for which Han disagreed. Browne later found Murphy in pathology so we know how that went. Of course Murphy’s idea worked and all the tumor was removed.

Glassman was worried about his cancer test results. Blaize calmed him down while rejecting his advances. He took his frustration to a takeout restaurant that was being slow with his food. His tests came back negative so he was cancer-free. Glassman gave Blaize a deeply personal gift to show her his gratitude.

The incident with Laura would force Lim to take a look at herself and her relationships with others. As a result, she and Melendez walked into Andrews’ office.Meanwhile, Murphy believed his latest work entitled him to get his old job back but Han still wouldn’t budge. However, Murphy wasn’t taking no for an answer. He was not going to leave Han’s office until he was reinstated. That didn’t last long as we saw him next clearing his locker while upset. Browne comforted him while he cowered against the wall.

The episode would end with Murphy perhaps walking away from the hospital for the last time?

Overall, Breakdown was an excellent episode of The Good Doctor that deservedly put the focus on Murphy, allowing Freddie Highmore to shine once again. He was at the center of everything here and the episode was better for it. He saved the tumor case, he saved Lim’s friend, and his emotional outburst at the end was heartbreaking. His performance was great here, especially during the later. While it’s clear that his exile was not going to last forever, it didn’t make his outburst any less powerful (kudos to Daniel Dae Kim as well for that scene). Meanwhile, Melendez and Lim’s relationship further developed as well with the later getting a reality check which would lead to a meeting with Andrews for which we are yet to learn the result. Ultimately, it will be exciting to see where everyone ends up with one episode left this season.

Score: 9/10

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