The Good Doctor (3×02) Debts Review

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

Synopsis: Dr. Marcus Andrews vows to help a good Samaritan who was injured while stopping a sexual assault; Dr. Audrey Lim faces a difficult decision when a young patient’s parents suspect that Dr. Neil Melendez made a mistake. (IMDb)

The big theme this season so far seems to be Murphy’s love life or lack thereof and Debts only continued this. It was clear that Murphy maybe overreacted after his date with Carly so they still had some unfinished business. On an unrelated note, it was nice to see Andrews and Murphy make up after a tumultuous relationship last season.

Regarding the cases of the episode, it saw Melendez’s motives being questioned in the handling of a newborn patient while Andrews became inspired by a good Samaritan (the episode made parallels between he and Andrews who saved Murphy) who was rewarded with a hole on the side of his face after stopping a sexual assault. Meanwhile, the new residents were still eagerly anticipating who would get the right to lead their first surgery all while Browne had to deal with her trouble mother as well as the aforementioned chatter about Murphy’s love life following the aftermath of his so called disaster date.

A sick newborn’s parents questioned Melendez after it was having trouble eating but he didn’t seem overly concerned which may have rubbed the parents the wrong way. He may have made a mistake during the surgery which only made things more awkward between Melendez and Lim. As a result, Lim offered to perform the second surgery (though Melendez didn’t like how she handled it). Meanwhile, after taking the good Samaritan to surgery, it became clear that they could not find a way to repair his face and jaw so they would most likely have to wire it shut meaning that he could never speak or eat solid food again. However, that wasn’t good enough for Andrews who firmly believed that despite no type of surgery was available to help, they should invent one. There would obviously be risks involved.

The team’s all-night brainstorming session was cut short but of course Murphy keep working at home. This was clearly a means to distract him from his feelings about Carly (one of the many bits of advice in the episode came from Lea who reminded him that just like there were many possible permutations on how to help the good Samaritan, there were also many possible permutations for a date) who just happened to show up later and wanting some answers as she was confused and wanted to understand what was going on (Murphy said he had a horrible time and didn’t want to do it again). They went out for a walk and it seemed to help. Ultimately, Murphy did come up with an idea though they would still have to run it by Lim who made sure he knew why he was doing it. While Lim (and Melendez who was brought in) performed surgery on the newborn, Andrews, Murphy, and Browne did the same. They would encounter some complications but were ultimately successful. Things got emotional once the good Samaritan was reunited with the woman he saved.

Realizing what the first surgery meant to new residents, Lim decided to announce who would get to lead the first surgery which was Browne. It wasn’t Reznick or Park as they competed for it but this did not go unnoticed as Lim did not appreciate the ass kissing on both their parts. In a great scene, Andrews confronted Murphy about his motives and its connection to the good Samaritan case. He thanked Murphy for helping him realize that his sacrifice was worth it. Browne came to the realization that she needed her mother so she let her stay as long as she got better.

Wanting to take another chance with Carly, the episode ended with she and Murphy taking Browne’s advice and just sitting down on the floor and eating chips as a makeshift date. It was cute moment in an episode full of moments. It’s nice to see the writers giving Freddie Highmore enough to do.

The right balance between the procedural cases and the serialized subplots has made for a good start to this season so far.

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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.