This episode of The Good Doctor starts off as most have — an interaction between Shaun (Freddie Highmore) and his gorgeous neighbor Lea (Paige Spara), that keeps Shaun on his toes throughout the entire episode. As a woman leaves his apartment at 7 in the morning, Lea questions what Shaun has been up to. Shaun responds that he’s interviewing cleaning ladies, but states that this one won’t be hired because her clothes were mismatched. “You’re such an asshat!” Lea giggles and pushes Shaun’s arm before walking away. Shaun stares ahead and rubs his arm, unable to fully grasp what Lea meant.
At San Jose St. Bonaventure, Dr. Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) meets Gabriel (Jo Jo Salkey), young boy from Africa with congenital heart disease hand-selected by the board to be treated at the hospital. His family displaced during the war and his father died before he was even born, however Dr. Melendez is concerned that the boy was chosen for his cuteness and not his disease. Although, when it comes time to listen to his heart, Melendez is immediately awe-struck and devastated. “It sounds like he has a blow dryer in his chest. We can’t fix this,” his announces, while another doctor, Dr. Avi Mehta (Pej Vahdat) pushes Melendez to look into it further.
In a separate doctor’s office, Dr. Isabel & her husband Dr. Marcus Andrews (Hill Harper) are working together with Dr. Claire Browne (Antonia Thomas) assisting. There is a node on their patient, Elizabeth’s vocal chord that may be cancerous and is undergoing further testing. The patient is a podcaster and fears her voice box will be removed if she does, in fact, have cancer.
Separately, Shaun reveals to Claire that he’s interviewing life coaches and asks her what an “asshat” is. Realizing Shaun didn’t pick up on Lea’s flirty cues, she teaches him what she called the “Flirting Trifecta: giggle, swinging hips and hair flip,” to which he replies, “Or that can be ring worm!”
Sadly, young Gabriel’s heart is worse than the doctors thought, and his grief-stricken mother begs Melendez not to give up. “Evil spirits came to him and destroyed his heart. A vision came to the village man that a stronger healer would come. You. You will save Gabriel. I wouldn’t have come so far if I didn’t believe,” she says. However, Melendez believes it’s all too high-risk and he puts Gabriel on medicine and plans to send him home when he is able.
Gabriel’s medication hasn’t been working, but Melendez realizes he hasn’t been taking it. Gabriel’s mom has been pocketing the meds so he wouldn’t get better and could stay in the hospital. Upon learning this, Melendez tells her the story of his childhood and reveals his family was poor and his sister was disabled, but they couldn’t avoid the medication to help her. However, Gabriel’s mom told him that he truly didn’t understand because he didn’t “accept” being poor and he became a doctor. She, on the other hand, has accepted it and fights for every thing they can get. Dr. Melendez promises to help and do whatever he can to save Gabriel.
Melendez enlists Shaun to help do a high-risk surgery that Shaun came up with by messing with a Mr. Potato head. Using virtual reality, they go through the motions of the surgery over and over again to find the perfect method. Finally, they succeed in virtual reality, but can they put it into action on Gabriel’s actual heart? In the midst of surgery, Dr. Melendez second-guesses his success in the practice round and back tracks to a different plan, however, it doesn’t go as planned and all of the surgeons realize Gabriel’s heart won’t hold. However, Dr. Jared Kalu comes to the rescue, noticing a part of his heart that can be used as an anchor and Shaun and Melendez pick up the pieces to save Gabriel in the nick of time.
In a sad turn of events, Dr. Browne and Dr. Andrews have run out of time to find their patient, Elizabeth’s, viable specimen to test for cancer. Now, their patient has the choice to either become voiceless as a result of a surgery she may not need or die from cancer she may have. Dr. Browne fears she has a lawsuit coming her way for using the word “Sorry” when talking to the patient, and Dr. Andrews is nervous this will get in the way of his future as president of the hospital. Before Dr. Andrews starts to open Elizabeth up, Claire realizes that the specimen could have been mislabeled and not misplaced, and races to stop the surgery and find it.
When Elizabeth comes to, she’s in tears realizing she still has her voice. Claire found her biopsy in a mislabeled cup, refrigerated and usable. Dr. Andrews reveals she doesn’t have cancer and will continue to live her healthy life. Thank goodness. In the other OR, Melendez, Kalu and Shaun anxiously wait around Gabriel’s heart after taking him off bypass. Kalu begs to start it, but Melendez has him wait until it beats on its own. Finally, after 15 seconds of not beating, Gabriel’s little heart starts to pump on his own. Phew!
Still, not all is happy in the end. Elizabeth still sued the hospital to ensure the mistake never happens to anyone else, and Claire is served the papers by Melendez’s wife, Dr. Preston, right after catching herself using her flirting trifecta with Melendez! Not only was Claire getting her flirt on, but Shaun was… doing his best to. “Lea you look absurd in that sweater,” he says to his gorgeous neighbor upon seeing her. First, she’s totally shocked, then accepting. “I have apples, do you want an apple?” She responds. OMG CAN THEY KISS ALREADY?!
HollywoodLifers, what did you think of this episode of The Good Doctor?! Only ONE more left and it looks like it’s going to be a good one!