sinkwriter

They usually have one song of some sort playing over a scene for the characters, but this episode felt like it was unusually filled with musical montages. I started to wonder if they were treating this episode as filler, trying to stretch out the suspense before the "surprise" reveal that most of us already knew because of "next week on The Good Doctor" previews last week, already telling us that they were going to vote for suspension of Lim, Melendez and Shaun. So while I appreciated seeing some of these characters outside of work, I also felt like they were stringing me along, waiting for a pivotal moment or scene that belonged earlier in the episode. I half expected them to close the episode with that bureaucratic woman's announcement about the suspension recommendations - in which case I would have been ticked off, because they'd already told us that it was going to happen so it's not a cliffhanger surprise sort of reveal.

I tried to give her a chance, but... Diana still bugs me.

Is Shaun planning on working in the ER as a career, though? Or is he simply required to work the ER right now as part of his residency and eventually he may be able to focus solely on surgery as his main thing? Not that surgery can't be stressful, but at least the overall environment is much more controlled.

Oh yeah! I actually cheered a little. LOL FINALLY! Seriously. By the time the bone marrow patient's father died, I was trying to remember all the patients in my head, and if ANY of them had gone smoothly. I don't think so... I'm also glad they didn't kill off that baby's mother. I was leery of that, the way she kept telling her husband that if anything happened to her, he needed to be alive to raise the baby. They faked me out on that one. I was so sure that the previews for this week's episode with Shaun shouting NOOO! was about losing a patient. Thank goodness it was only him trying to take control of the moment and get everyone to shut up. LOL. P.S. I felt bad for Park's son. The poor kid just came there to visit with his father (which he was already begrudgingly doing because of their strained relationship), and he ends up in quarantine, fights with his father, has a severe asthma attack, sees people die, sees people throwing up on one another, and has to help perform CPR on a baby (no stress there!). I admit, I got a little teary at the end, when Park and son talked and hugged, and then met up with the ex-wife and she gave Park a hug because he lost his patient. Aw man...

Well, all things considered, that was a much happier ending than the first part of this 2-parter. The last one's ending was so bleak! Also: I'm really glad Dr. Lim survived.

Years ago, I answered phones for a day spa and used to watch the manicurists work (and sometimes they'd do my nails for free or for cost of polish, if the schedule was slow - my nails always looked so pretty all the time back then; I miss that, LOL). Seriously though, not all nail salons are awful. But you have to go somewhere very clean, with technicians who are meticulous about cleaning and sanitizing their tools properly between every customer.

Catching up on a few episodes... Bull's a pretty shitty psychologist if his response to his client legitimately freaking out about the possibility of losing his wife and his freedom for 20 years is to simply say, "If you're unhappy with the quality of representation you're getting..." Seriously?! Yes, he needs to calm down and stop showing so much anger in front of the jury, but behind the scenes, he's allowed to feel angry and scared, and if Bull can't help him through that, what kind of doctor is he?

I think if the couple had been nicer to Gary and Maggie about it, they might have let it go. But first that husband had a truckload of crap (it was definitely a cartful or flatbed full of stuff), and second, he cut in front of them, and third, when Gary and Maggie asked nicely if it would be okay since they only had one item, the couple was rude to them. So... it's not my choice to double down and give the rude couple a bunch of crap for their rudeness, but I have a friend who totally would in that circumstance (with me standing there turning bright red and feeling totally embarrassed, LOL), because my friend doesn't like people who are illogical or insulting, which that wife totally was. So, it wasn't cool of Gary and Maggie, but a part of me understood their behavior because that part of me would have wished that if I were in that circumstance I could have at least been brave enough to call out rude behavior with a quick, "Uh... we were here first and you just cut in front of us with a truckload of stuff." Not because I can't wait, but because some people need to be reminded that it's not acceptable behavior. If not, they continue to get away with it every damn time, because they think they can. Anyway... that scene cracked me up, mainly because once they started in on the "we both have / had cancer," Gary immediately followed it with his traditional comment "Yep, men get breast cancer too," which made me sad the first few times he's said it, that he has to defend himself from people who feel like he's weird for getting breast cancer or something, but now I laugh whenever he says it, because he says it to ANYONE who pauses or looks at him funny when he says he had breast cancer. It's like a line meant for a Million Little Things drinking game. "Drink a shot anytime Gary tells someone that men get breast cancer too." ;) P.S. I was begging Gary not to kiss Maggie after she threw up. Just begging the TV screen... LOL. That was nasty. I'm glad he was so happy that she's undergoing treatment, but still... nasty. P.S. If Ashley and Jon had an affair... *sigh ... Way too cliche. I hope that's not the real story, come January or whenever the show comes back.

This x 10. :)

Seriously. They were partway through the road trip scenes when I remembered her collapsing in the previous episode, and I had to pause and make sure I hadn't accidentally skipped ahead one too many episodes and missed the resolution to her collapse. WTF? Why write something so dramatic and then not address it at all? So bizarre. Agreed. Also, I was really surprised to see her at Gary's remission party. It makes no sense for her to be there after the big fight they had at the previous group gathering. Why on earth would she (or any of Gary's friends) think it would be appropriate for her to be there, celebrating a milestone for Gary that Maggie herself had decided was not something she wanted to fight for in regard to her own health? It seems like it would be a bit of pouring salt on Gary's wounds for her to be there. A slap in the face, and all other cliches. It's kind of mean and insensitive of her to attend. Nevertheless, I thought his meltdown at the remission party was pretty powerful, and it was good for everyone to see him lose it about Jon in that way. (And I did like the symmetry of it, given that earlier in the episode Maggie had given a speech about how grief takes so many forms and you cannot say one reaction is more "right" than another reaction.) Also effective to me was Rome and Regina's final scene after his dad left. I'll admit it; I got teary. Also, his quiet determination in telling his father the truth and standing firm that even if it wasn't something his father understood, it was the right thing for Rome... that was really wonderful. Great moment of growth and strength on his part. I like his character a lot. What else... I liked the scenes with Jon and Gary. I hope we see more flashbacks to Gary's cancer treatments if it means seeing more of his relationship with Jon. And I found it intriguing that Jon told Gary that Gary would outlive him... as Gary worried, was Jon hinting, had he actually been planning it that far back, or was it just a general comment that out of context seems like creepy / sad premonition? One final detail I appreciated: seeing Gary doing a breast exam on himself, the day of his anniversary. I know it may seem like no big deal, or maybe even extraneous / unnecessary, but as someone who once had to have two biopsies (one in each breast) because they weren't sure if I had breast cancer (thankfully not), there are still times when I get paranoid and start poking around, thinking, "Is that a bruise or a lump? Has my cyst turned into cancer? Am I imagining things?" So I can see why he'd be extra careful on anniversary day, just thinking about what he'd been through and wanting to make sure everything still felt okay, and I appreciated that little character detail. Random extra thought: I haven't decided if I'm annoyed or relieved that Katherine decided not to be a partner. For one, I really don't think her request was unreasonable, especially given that most courthouses close by 5pm so her taking a couple hours off from 6-8pm and then continuing to work into the later evening wouldn't mean she's making herself unavailable during prime working hours. On the other hand, if she truly would rather be spending time with Theo and only took on the extra work load aiming at partner because of her previous relationship with Eddie (and his not working steadily), then I think she's got every right to decide that being partner isn't her big dream. But I just don't know how I feel yet about how she's treated on the show; in some ways, it feels like this is another punishment put on her shoulders while her ex Eddie is making big decisions to go on the road, clearly not even thinking about his son or anyone else but himself. So I don't know if I like this. Hmm...

Very true, possibilities. It's just that we're often too close to the subject to see it clearly, so I doubt Gary's thinking it through consciously or rationally. He's acting with emotion (understandably so, even if it isn't fair or "right" behavior). Also, it's a pretty big "minimum" to ask of another person who has gone through cancer (especially while still hanging out with his friends, whom she's only known for a month). One of my issues with it is that his own friends aren't there for him through this - not one of them came out to talk with him or to verbalize that they understand what he's feeling (while gently reminding him that it's Maggie's decision). I don't know if that should be chalked up to shitty friends or shitty writing (so that they could force the Gary-sleeps-with-Ashley incident).

This is actually the issue I have with Maggie. She's a therapist and she can't see why Gary's trying SO hard to get her to accept treatment? It's not selfishness, it's not about him not wanting to lose her (at least, not entirely about that). I think deep down for him it's about fear. He had cancer, he could have died, so the idea that someone else is choosing not to fight for their life has got to be terrifying for him. Especially if his own cancer ever comes back. And then to see ALL of his friends know about her decision and ALL of them side with her? (I'm not including Ashley - she's not really a friend in that group.) Seriously though, how is he supposed to feel about that? Frankly, I'm surprised it's taken him this long to have a meltdown about it. It's got to be really scary for him. And yes, this isn't about him, it's about Maggie's health and he doesn't get to decide what she does with her body. But even if she weren't a therapist, it doesn't take a genius to see that the topic in general is so deeply personal to him, he simply cannot be unbiased about it. It's scary and upsetting. So for her -- and all the rest of them -- to be insensitive to that is really frustrating for me to watch. In this particular case, I'm with Gary. The "why" behind his behavior is really compelling to me. And he was right -- he doesn't know her at all. And part of that is her own fault. She yells at him for bringing up her brother's name, but she won't share anything with him. He's tried many times, but she avoids. Weirdly, she's stayed friends with all of his friends, she's gotten to know all of them, she's gotten to know Gary and his stories, but she shares nothing of herself. That's supposed to be his fault? I just can't side with her on this.

It's too late at night to go into more detail, but... Claire is pissing me off. First with the previous episode when she felt like her way was the best way, even though that thrill seeker / climber had every right to not go through with a surgery that would leave her with potential limited neck mobility, and now with this episode where she went behind her boss's back to present a treatment that has very little paperwork to back it up. I can understand the anorexic mom wanting to take a chance, given that she's tried everything else, but for Claire to decide for that 18-year-old who was perfectly competent to make her own choice just infuriated me. And her going behind Melendez's back? If it's simply a ploy to get those two to hook up eventually... ugh. He had every right to bench her for that.

Just re-watched "Rosetta" - when they play a few bars of the original Superman movie theme right at the end (and a scene earlier, when Clark's talking with Dr. Swann), it still gives me chills. I love it SO much.

I have a gut feeling that they weren't having an affair. I would believe that she was in love with him, based on the behavior we've seen her exhibit in all the episodes so far, but I don't believe they ever had a thing. (And the way he pretty much committed suicide right in front of her shows that even if they had been having an affair, he was pretty cruel and careless about her feelings to do that where she'd have to see the outcome and deal with it.)

I've caught up with this show and all I can say right now is that I'm still here for Gary, and for Rome and his wife. I could care less about Eddie or Delilah (not much, though). I am glad that they're finally fleshing out Katherine better. Up until she found out about the affair, she seemed to be written very stereotypically, as if she was simply the cold, career-driven wife who didn't pay attention to her son or her family or her friends. Seeing her have some emotion and become more multi-faceted really helps the character.

Shaun had a great shudder at one point, in reaction to them discussing the options and how many times they might have to insert something into the poor guy's penis. I loved a lot of the little reactions throughout this episode, the doctors and nurses in the surgery (via their eyes), and Shaun's bouncy joy in the beginning of the episode, and his getting in poor Glassman's face when he was trying to rest, the pauses everyone took before finally speaking respectfully about one another in the meeting with Andrews... all of it was really good. There was a joke involving Shaun that really cracked me up, but I can't think of it at the moment. It wasn't him saying 'they're not talking about me' in regard to the erection. It was something else involving that patient, though, I think... it's going to bug me! Whatever it was, I laughed out loud. He had a few things that made me laugh in this episode. I really like what Freddie Highmore does with the role. I've pulled a few rare all-nighters when working on projects (in fact, did it just a few months ago, and I am definitely not in my 20's anymore, LOL), and that's usually only been about 28 hours. I can safely say 36 would be insane. I'm usually good through the night (I tend to be a night owl anyway), and hit a second wind around 5am that keeps me focused and going strong, but by 7:30 or 8am I can feel my brain slooooowing down, and by 9:30 or 10am I've found that I feel an incredible urge to scream, because I need to lie down so desperately. I physically cannot go any longer. My brain is screaming at me to go to sleep. At that point, there isn't any good thought pattern going on. My choices would be awful. Honestly, I don't understand why people in the medical field would want their doctors to stay up that long. Just because they can push themselves doesn't mean they should. Do they really want to risk impaired judgment resulting in mistakes that can cause permanent injury or even death?

I kept waiting for Lea to ask him, "So, who's renting my old apartment now? Did you meet them? Are they nice?" and have Shaun reply, "He stole my TV."

I thought the jury can request to re-examine any evidence from the trial, as they're deliberating. He introduced the photo as evidence, and I'm assuming the judge allowed it into evidence so that Benny could go back into the courtroom and finish questioning banker guy about it. So I would assume the jury saw that photo up close if they wanted to.

I hate to say it, but I actually forgot that I watch this show. Not seeing it all summer, I forgot all about it, so this fall, I was trying to remember what shows I watched and which ones I was looking forward to seeing premiere again, and this one never popped into my head. I didn't remember it until yesterday. Bad sign.

I just didn't 'get' the show. Is it supposed to be all Big Chill-ish and about friends who don't know one another as well as they think they do, or is it some DUN DUN DUNNNN mystery with the evil folder of doom, or what the hell is this show? I didn't get the tone at all. It felt all over the place. I like James Roday from Psych enough to watch a few more episodes, just to see a little bit more, but if it really starts to annoy me further (which is kind of likely at this point, I won't stick with it. Random extra: "Topless Family Feud" made me laugh pretty hard. :)

I've only seen the pilot of Million Little Things but I wanted to punch Ron Livingston's secretary and her blue folder of portent. I'm like, seriously, she's not going to tell ANYONE why he killed himself, when it's obviously she knows? Come the fuck on.

"The yoga mom of fonts..." LOL, I fucking love that. (And as a website designer, I'm going to start thinking about fonts that way from now on.)

I'm just going to say it: I loathe the character Laoghaire. LOATHE. I know they tried to make her a little bit sympathetic in this episode, with her backstory and her two dead husbands who may not have been kind to her, but... it did nothing to sway me. I can't stand her. She hasn't learned a damn thing in over 20 years, she's still as horrible and vindictive and homicidal as she ever was, and I rarely hate on any character but I truly want to punch her in the face every time she's on screen. Even more so when she opens her mouth to talk her trash. I hope this is the very last we ever see or hear from her. Ever, ever again.

Funniest ending for an episode of this show that I've seen in a while. I laughed pretty hard at that entire last scene between Bell and Sherlock. Love it!