The Good Doctor (5×07) Expired Review

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

Synopsis: After visiting a possible wedding venue, Shaun and Lea happen upon a terrible car accident and discover Alma, a young pregnant mother who has been badly injured and needs immediate medical attention. Back at St. Bonaventure, Alma’s condition worsens, and Shaun and Drs. Lim and Jordan are forced to deliver the baby prematurely. Meanwhile, Dr. Glassman is apprehensive when a figure from his past reaches out for help. (IMDb)

Perfect episodes like this one make it worth sticking around with The Good Doctor all this time. The slow build up of multiple storylines over the course of the first half of this season pay off here for the most part as Murphy and Glassman are put in near impossible situations but their dedication to each other and their profession would make it hard for them to give up though perhaps the latter needed some reminding by an unlikely face. This was certainly an eventful midseason finale as the acting and writing across the board was on point with a heartbreaking ending to tease viewers and leave them eagerly anticipating the return of the series come next year. What more can be said about Freddie Highmore and Richard Schiff as that dynamic of Murphy and Glassman has been the heart of the series thus far and they continue to prove that here. Suffice it to say that it will be hard to come down from this emotional high.

The episode title of Expired would have a lot of significance later on but it started with a bookend as Murphy and Lea found their wedding venue despite a creaky floor as the latter tried to bring something important up to him (i.e. the patient review altering) but he brushed her off (until she did later which did not go well). On their way to the hospital, the two witnessed a car accident as the former raced to the aid of the victims but paid particular attention to a pregnant woman named Alma (Natalee Linez) for whom he had to treat at the scene before the paramedics arrived otherwise she would have bled out internally before they arrived, Meanwhile, as Glassman was getting ready to sell his house and move to Montana, his ex-wife Ilana (Ann Cusack) who went to him for help with her new husband Sunil who was dying from lower body dementia by seeing if he was right for a research study but he quickly determined that he may have been misdiagnosed.

To celebrate Reznick’s work at the clinic, Salen invited her and Park to a double date with her and Andrews but things quickly got awkward for both couples as the men needed some convincing/bribing.

Because of her condition, Alma had to essentially choose between her baby and her future mobility which proved to be a difficult choice for her considering her circumstances but eventually she would have no choice as her baby needed to be delivered via c-section. Meanwhile, Glassman’s reunion with his ex-wife for whom he still had a connection with gave him a chance to finally address some of his past and present issues, offering some much needed character development for him. Sunil on the other hand, still had a lesion near a vital artery. Glassman was scared to perform the surgery because of the risk and what it would mean for his relationship with Ilana.

Both surgeries were juxtaposed with one another as things looked tough during Sunil’s surgery but Glassman was determined to get it done while Alma’s baby was struggling getting oxygen. Of course both had a plan as they were both in the zone. Glassman removed the tumor from Sunil while Murphy had to take matters into his own hands and concoct his own solution to make up for the medication that hadn’t been working but unfortunately it was too late to save Alma’s baby. That medication didn’t work because it was expired which left Lim incensed at Salen whose primary concern was the hospital therefore wanted the information kept from Alma.  Murphy was also incensed, smashing plenty of vials of expired medication.

Murphy had a full-blown episode, hyperventilating and sobbing as he attacked Glassman for leaving him and Lea for lying to him. Ilana seemingly convinced Glassman to stay but for now, he was by Murphy’s side to console him in what was an emotional moment which ended the episode. One can’t help but feel for both of them in that moment.

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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.