The Good Doctor (5×18) Sons Review

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

Synopsis: Shaun and Lea make a big life decision and are pleasantly surprised by the support they receive from their friends at the hospital; Asher struggles to accept that he and his father may never truly understand one another. (TV Guide)

It’s an interesting choice to have the season five finale of The Good Doctor to be a big Wolke episode but it works out thanks to a terrific performance from Noah Galvin and some strong writing. He has been an interesting character with a backstory that has mostly only been hinted at thus far. There’s some pain in that story, however, a lot of that story comes to light here. It’s all about moving on and he would finally get the chance to do so though he wouldn’t be the only one. Murphy and Lea still have some unfinished business while other pieces were in the process of being repositioned to set up next season in the fall.

Wolke’s mood changed suddenly once his estranged parents showed up at the hospital. All that pain and anger came simmering back. His father was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer so they needed help. This unsurprisingly presented an opportunity for Wolke to confront his past and his issues with his father. He had a tumor pressing against one of his lungs but his cancer had progressed too much to save him. Quality of life was the next issue but Wolke’s father was planning on going on with Shabbat. As a show of support everyone participated. Ultimately, Wolke couldn’t take that next step and go back home to spend time with family just to be someone he wasn’t. In the end, Murphy had a plan as he often did. Whether or not Wolke’s father would accept it was not a sure thing. He had come to terms with dying.

One of the patients was a paraplegic woman dealing with breathing issues. Reznick latched onto this case, perhaps projecting her issues with her relationship on the woman and her husband. She was also entertaining job interviews with other hospitals to leverage a better bargaining position against the hospital but there may be more to it as it led to some friction between her and Park. Following a successful yet risky surgery, she lost feeling in her extremities which opened up more issues. From that point, it was also about improving her quality of life by giving her a voice. How they would go about it was cause for debate. Nevertheless, an AI-based solution was the answer.

After changing their minds about having a fancy wedding, Murphy and Lea needed to figure out what to do moving forward. Opting for a simpler wedding, they chose to just go to the courthouse but the situation was complex and perhaps one that was a little too nuanced for him to pick up. The solution was to give them their wedding but at the hospital and it was beautiful but the moment where Murphy recognized Glassman as his father and his son was just as beautiful. Meanwhile, Lim has been taking care of Nurse Villanueva (Elfina Luk), she appeared to have made some big strides but the threat of her abusive boyfriend still loomed large.

Nurse Villanueva’s boyfriend finally struck once Lim found her stabbed and bleeding on the floor before the boyfriend stabbed Lim several times, leaving both women helpless on the hospital floor while everyone else were celebrating after the wedding. 

The hospital certainly can’t afford the death of another chief of surgery. Hospitals have turnover but Reznick is too interesting of a character to lose as the overall dynamic is hitting its stride. Series evolve over their run and maybe it’s time to evolve again. It’ll be interesting to see where it goes from here. Besides Lim obviously, everyone seems to be in a good place for the first time in a long time. While there will inevitably be more challenges to come, the series better come back sooner rather than later. 

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Where to watch The Good Doctor

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.