The Good Doctor (3×18) Heartbreak Review

Keith NoakesMarch 10, 202084/100n/a8 min
Director
Steven DePaul
Writers
Thomas L. Moran, David Renaud
Rating
TV-14
Running Time
41 minutes
Airs
Mondays 10pm
Channel
ABC, CTV
Overall Score
Rating Summary
Heartbreak was a good episode that rolled along with some solid drama, building up to an uncharacteristic outburst and a non-shocking shocker.

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

Synopsis: A patient has a rare form of dwarfism; a young man who had both arms torn off in a previous farming accident must be treated; Shaun reacts to an emotional situation. (TV Guide)

This new episode of The Good Doctor was pretty much just a buildup to the last part of the above synopsis which certainly did not disappoint but just about everything leading up to it was average at best as the cases continued to share connections with our doctors.

Heartbreak started with Murphy who has stayed home for days following his confrontation with Lea at the end of last week’s episode. Browne came over to convince him to come back to work. Getting back to his regular routine would have been the best thing for him as it would make him feel better (it didn’t though Glassman’s attempt to cheer him up later seemed to). Back at the hospital, the patients were a man named Finn (Nik Novicki) whose rare form of dwarfism causing his skull to compress his brain (meanwhile the man has a better love life than Murphy with two girlfriends who didn’t know about each other though this obviously did not last), forcing the doctors to remove a small piece of his skull, and also a young man named Tyson who severely damaged both his arms in a farming accident (the debate was the best course of action for him as he just wanted to be a farmer despite the pain this option would cause) where the doctors needed to treat his neuropathy. Meanwhile, Reznick’s arthritis was getting very bad (since she had to fill in during Murphy’s absence). She was considering a surgery that would buy her some time but would leave damaging long term effects (this was all she wanted to do).

Unfortunately for Finn, they would need to perform a different surgery as his body responded in an odd way after moving his neck. Browne and Murphy were tasked to find an outside the box method to continue but would only argue with one another. Finn tried to help with Murphy’s relationship problems by encouraging him to be more confident (he later tried to set him up with one of the nurses). When it looked like there was no hope, Melendez figured it out though Murphy voiced his disagreement very publicly (he tried to walk out but Melendez threatened him into coming back though his mood did improve). Meanwhile, though a solve may have been found for Tyson, it wasn’t perfect as blood flow to his arms was still an issue (Andrews and Lim were still at odds with each other for deeper reasons over her wanting him around as a mentor and him still acting like he had the position). Once that issue became insurmountable, Tyson’s arms would need to be amputated which made him emotional until Lim convinced him to go ahead with the surgery.

Both surgeries were successful with Finn not paralyzed (though that was a risk) and Tyson getting used to his new prosthetic limbs. Reznick told Lim the truth about her arthritis (and that it would be her last surgery) and as a result, she was handed the scalpel but seeing the good she did for Tyson made her change her mind about giving up surgery despite the risk.

After their shifts, Murphy went to a bar and ran into Nurse Fletch (Brittney Wilson) and tried to make a move while Browne hung out with Dash (cutting their second excursion of the episode short due to her exhaustion though this would be a lie as she told her therapist that she may be in love with Melendez). Meanwhile, seeing one of Finn’s girlfriends taking out her frustrations on his car with a bat inspired Murphy to do the same with Lea’s car though he couldn’t do it. She was watching but he made sure she knew how he felt and he definitely was not kind to her in a very uncharacteristic way. In the end, she definitely got the message (Freddie Highmore and Paige Spara were great here).

How long will these new threads last especially with the finale next week?


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