The Good Doctor (5×05) Crazytown Review

Keith NoakesNovember 1, 202192/100n/a8 min
Director
Rebecca Moline
Writers
Sam Chanse, Jessica Grasl
Rating
TV-14
Running Time
41 minutes
Airs
Mondays 10pm
Channel
ABC, CTV
Overall Score
Rating Summary
Crazytown was a compelling and timely episode that worked everybody in effective ways in terms of character development that may pay dividends later.

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

Synopsis: Dr. Park and Dr. Murphy treat an elderly Asian man brought to St. Bonaventure by his daughter after being the victim of a hate crime. In addition, Lea goes behind Shaun’s back to help raise his negative patient satisfaction scores. (IMDb)

Patient satisfaction scores are now a thing at the hospital which would only prove difficult to Murphy as he seemed to be the only one under the microscope here or maybe the system got to him more than the others. It’s already been difficult for him to connect with others and this would only make it more difficult for him where in our case, it just came off as incredibly awkward. Meanwhile, with Murphy and Lea’s wedding on the horizon, there is some friction in their relationship but wherever it may go remains to be seen as was Lim and Rendon’s relationship as possible seeds for that demise were potentially planted. All of this was the lens through which this latest episode of The Good Doctor would be viewed, a timely one.

Crazytown wasn’t necessarily a crazy episode but perhaps the pressure of that new scoring system had some doctors going a little crazy in order to keep their scores up though most didn’t worry about it too much. The actual episode began with the lighter side of things as Reznick and Park had some playful and flirty banter about it. She was just trying to support him in reaching his full potential but he seemed to be happy with his current life (this was also a learning moment for Reznick). Rendon was absent on a medical mission to Guatemala, unbeknownst to Salen but the extent of that absence would be especially felt by Lim. However, he still left the hospital a patient for she and a few others to treat who also happened to be someone who he used to date. Meanwhile, Lea offered to help Murphy with his scores but he refused as he saw it as a learning experience. Glassman also had other plans, hunkering down in Montana.

Murphy, Park, and Allen were treated an elderly Asian man brought in by his daughter after being the victim of a hate crime all while the former had to figure out how to get a high satisfaction score from them. He was from a different generation and proud which was a stark contrast to his daughter. His issues went beyond his injuries but rather within his brain where a large tumor was present. The man’s pride got in the way as the surgical option would leave him partially paralyzed. Park’s perspective helped as he connected with the man’s daughter as his story reminded him of his own. The elderly man’s worsening condition put his daughter in a terrible position where he essentially went against his wishes and opted for the brain surgery. Her decision was met with praise and acceptance.

Rendon’s patient was in pretty tough shape while the circumstances behind his absence remained unclear. She had issues with many of her major vessels. Perhaps sensing what was going on, Andrews sent her away to another hospital once she became stable. Lim was upset and once again put it an awkward position, especially when she learned the truth about Rendon’s past relationships and saw how history was repeating itself (after performing surgery at the other hospital).

Seeing Murphy’s customer satisfaction survey results, she had an epiphany and went against his wishes by deleting several bad ones which made it awkward for her as he came back home happy. Looking to perhaps replace Lim with Andrews, Salen invited him to dinner under the pretense that there was no pretense and it was just business for which he accepted (but we know the truth). Lim seemed to be coming to terms with where her relationship with Rendon was as she was willing to let him go in favor of his humanitarian work.

This episode had a little bit of everything, touching all the characters in effective ways as it led them along. It will be interesting to see where it all goes from here.


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