S03.E03 Claire

[ShortyMac]

Quote

Dr. Claire Brown faces complications at home and at work as she prepares to lead her first surgery. Meanwhile, a sports fishing accident challenges the rest of the staff as they look to treat the fisherman's (Robert Sean Leonard) injuries without damaging his prize catch.

Edited October 8, 2019 by ShortyMac

[chitowngirl]

Can Claire ever get a win without consequences??  And really-the police got to the scene, identified her mom, called Claire, and she got there and was able to be near the accident scene before an ambulance? I know when there’s a fatality, there has to be an investigation and roads can be closed for hours, but do they really leave the body there and let family come to the scene like that?

[Lady Calypso]

No surprise that this is one of my favourite episodes of the series. All Claire all the time? Yes, please! She's my favourite character on this show, so getting her for a full hour was fantastic. I mean, yes, even when she won, she lost (her poor mom), which really sucked. 

The ending with Claire seeing her mom dead from the accident was a bit unrealistic but I'd like to think that she was only down the road and she rushed over as soon as she got the call. Still, it probably would have been more realistic for Claire to have come across the accident herself. 

But even besides that, I really liked the episode. I even liked Carly and Claire's conversation. What I liked, in particular, is that even when Carly was asking Claire to not get involved in her relationship with Shaun, she didn't seem to hate Claire for it; she had a smile on her face, which I took as a sign of respect, like "I know you and Shaun are friends and I like you too, which is why I'm comfortable telling you to butt out." And Claire took it in stride; besides, I don't think she necessarily wanted to get involved, as long as she knew that Shaun was in a good place. 

Robert Sean Leonard! Hello! I genuinely haven't seen him since House. 

Tracie Thoms! Nice to see you again!

I like the focus on Claire. I think that it was really needed and Antonia Thomas knocked it out of the park.

[Annber03]

Oh, shit. That ending 😢. No. 

What a heavy episode all around. I really liked it, though, that horrible ending aside. It showcased so perfectly why I love Claire, and I love how they handled the building tension throughout with her prepping for her surgery and dealing with her nerves and all the distractions coming her way. She was way more levelheaded and in control than I could ever hope to be. It was really sweet to see how she bonded with Michelle, and I'm glad that the girl's mom came around at the end, too (and yay, Melendez, for backing her up and helping to get her back on the surgery! That was sweet). I loved her little moment of giddiness after the surgery proved successful, too. Hell, yeah, you celebrate, Claire, you earned that. Also, she looked so gorgeous throughout. I really loved the outfit she had on when she returned to the hospital after visiting her therapist. 

The moment between Claire and her mom at the therapist's office was really sweet and touching...and now all the more moving, too. Just...damn. I can't begin to imagine how the hell she'll deal with this going forward. 

Um. On a lighter note, everything with that fish was hilarious and a nice tension-breaker. I'm really enjoying this trend of Park and Morgan working together, they make for an entertaining duo. And yay for Shaun's fears regarding Carly being put to rest at the end of the episode, too, though, yes, Shaun, if you want advice on a relationship...time and place :p. 

Also, yay for using a song I love by one of my favorite bands at the start of the episode! That was nice. 

So. Yeah. This sets up quite the rough road for Claire going forward, to say the least. Will be interesting to see how she deals with this. 

[KaveDweller]

Man, poor Claire. After they showed her getting that phone call I thought we were going to find out her mom died because she tried to read the text Claire sent while she was driving. So at least they didn't go that route, but it is awful either way. But I couldn't tell if they were showing that her mom was drinking again or that her mom just bought champagne to give to Claire to celebrate and the bottle broke?

I liked the rest of the episode as well, and it was nice to not be so Shaun-centric (even though I know he is the lead).

[catrice2]

Yes I like the character of Claire and I like the actress but if getting more of her means that it always has to be some drawn out horrible story then I'll pass. I don't know why she and Jared always  have the most difficult story lines.  Even Sean his has some light hearted moments we karaoke other things claire is always about her horrible childhood relationships that don't work out or something else. Now I guess based upon the comments they made before the season started they're gonna go down the angle of her having a mental illness or alcoholism? Was hoping for a romance instead 

[thuganomics85]

Oh, you can be such a dick sometimes, show!  Can't even give Claire five minutes of happiness before you rip out her heart!  She does her first surgery despite it briefly looking like she was going to get taken off the case, succeeds despite one brief scare, only to end the episode with not only her mom falling off the wagon and dying just after it looked like they were heading towards reconciliation, but it was apparently caused by the one bottle of alcohol Claire decided not to throw away?  Damn, that's just cold, show.  And judging from her calm response to seeing her mom's body, I'm going to guess she's just going to bottle all of this inside her and try to keep trucking on, only for all of it to spill out at the worst possible moment.  Claire really can't catch a break ever, huh?

I did enjoy the episode quite a bit.  I obviously knew it was going to be Claire-centric, but it was interesting that she was actually the lead pretty much, and even Shaun was treated more like a supporting character this go around (I'm sure Freddie Highmore enjoyed the easier schedule.  Unless he was just using this time to prep to write or direct another episode.  Dude's busy!)  Antonia Thomas really shined here.

Kind of surprised that Robert Sean Leonard was regulated to the B-plot, but that was probably the show's funniest case, and I did love the brief glimpses of Park and Reznick trying to make heads or tails about everything.  But I wonder which former House star will be showing up next?  I guess Jesse Spencer is still doing Chicago Fire, but what are Omar Epps or Jennifer Morrison up to, now?  Of course, I would love for a surprise Hugh Laurie guest spot, assuming they find a role worthy of him.

Good use of both Melendez and Lim here.  I liked how supportive Melendez was towards Claire, and even when things got dicey, he never tried to take control, but made himself a soundboard instead, and had faith that she could work things out instead.  And while Lim was a bit more firm with Claire and her nerves, I still thought she was supportive in her own way, and is probably right that the likes of Claire and herself will always have to prove themselves even more than the norm, and that is something Claire needed to hear.

Not quite sure what to fully make of the Claire/Carly confrontation.  I don't think Claire intended to meddle with Shaun's relationship with Carly, and was probably just so distracted with her upcoming surgery, she really didn't think about the best way to talk to him.  Still, I did like Carly stating that she doesn't mind Shaun's quirks, and just because others wouldn't consider his questions normal early dating ones, doesn't mean Claire should assume Carly would feel the same way.  But I'm not sure if this was an one-off thing, or leading to more issues.

[Brookside]

3 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

 I even liked Carly and Claire's conversation. What I liked, in particular, is that even when Carly was asking Claire to not get involved in her relationship with Shaun, she didn't seem to hate Claire for it; she had a smile on her face, which I took as a sign of respect, like "I know you and Shaun are friends and I like you too, which is why I'm comfortable telling you to butt out." And Claire took it in stride; besides, I don't think she necessarily wanted to get involved, as long as she knew that Shaun was in a good place. 

I think it's fine that Carly tells Claire that she doesn't need to be involved anymore, but it was a shame she wasn't gracious enough to thank Claire and acknowledge that the only reason she and Sean are together is because of Claire.

[bros402]

That was a good episode. I found it hilarious how Reznick and Park were pretty much in an episode of House - "maybe he has some underlying autoimmune disorder that was activated by the fish???" - I was honestly expecting one of them to say Lupus in that moment.

[debraran]

3 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

I did enjoy the episode quite a bit.  I obviously knew it was going to be Claire-centric,

Kind of surprised that Robert Sean Leonard was regulated to the B-plot, but that was probably the show's funniest case, and I did love the brief glimpses of Park and Reznick trying to make heads or tails about everything.  But I wonder which former House star will be showing up next?  I guess Jesse Spencer is still doing Chicago Fire, but what are Omar Epps or Jennifer Morrison up to, now?  Of course, I would love for a surprise Hugh Laurie guest spot, assuming they find a role worthy of him.

They are both on This is Us this season! When This is Us said House reunion I was hoping for a Hugh cameo too but not this time. ; )

Edited October 8, 2019 by debraran

[vibeology]

Why can't Claire just get one clean win? It really sucks that the writers keep doing this to her character.

I loved every other part of this episode. I got emotional during the time-out. It was just great to see Claire in control and to have her mentor and friend both there to assist her.

Claire is a great character and seeing the show-world through her eyes gave us a chance to see other characters differently. Melendez and Lim both were able to manage and mentor Claire in a different way than they do Shaun and they're both really good at it. Lim, especially, pointing out that she and Claire face different barriers than other doctors and have their entire careers was a strong moment as was Melendez helping Claire when the surgery went wrong without taking over. Morgan isn't as antagonistic with Claire now; there's competitive banter but also a warmth that I don't think we normally get to see.

In terms of Carly/Shaun, I don't think Claire did anything wrong until she agreed to talk to Carly. It's normal to talk about your early relationships with your friends and they were having a normal conversation until she agreed to get in the middle. But I also think she did that because she wasn't really focused on her interpersonal relationships at the moment.

The Robert Sean Leonard B-plot was fun and ridiculous. If it had taken up even a minute more of screentime, it probably would have been too ridiculous but the pacing was just right. Plus, he's fun so he can sell nearly anything.

[DearEvette]

Ok, outside of the show reminding us that Claire can't be happy for more than five minutes, I enjoyed this one almost from start to finish.  Her little jump, happy dance was wonderful.  I felt so good for her for a few moments.

- Shaun was a little hyper focused on Carly but I enjoyed his attempt at nonchalance when he told Claire that maybe talking to to Carly would give her balance -- followed by the little 'i dunno ' and a shrug.

- Lim -- "We are women, we are not white, and we're surgeons. Unicorns consider us a fabled species.  We don't get the luxury of public insecurity."  (Preach!!) And then she dropped the 'we have to work twice as hard' truth bomb.  Followed with a "you got this."  I loved this whole scene.

- Melendez -- I loved his supporting of Claire and if I wasn't mistaken there was a little look on Lim's face of maybe chagrin where she acknowledges to herself that she didn't fight for Claire?  That despite her earlier words she was being a little too protective of her, and not to her benefit?  Also he was so fab to her during the surgery! 

- The b-plot was a welcome bit of levity to the intensity of the main plot.  I actually enjoyed Morgan.

- That mother.  For the love of God, if you can't take care of foster children, why do you take them in? 

- I enjoyed the roll call in the surgery.  I've read books where this was done in the surgical suite just prior to a surgery I don't think I've ever seen it on a tv medical show or if I did it was so rare I don't remember it. I also enjoyed the 'talking through' -- again not something you see in shows a lot because most of the time the surgery is usually used for super drama or the dialogue is used to further the personal relationships.  It wouldn't be something I'd want all the time but in this case it was effective and did work for the plot. It also showcased Claire's competence in a good way.

- My spidey sense should have told me something was gonna happen with Breeze.  She and Claire were taking too many positive steps.  I love Sharon Leal but really couldn't stand Breeze.  But dang, I wouldn't have had ol' girl go out like that.

Edited October 8, 2019 by DearEvette

[WI GIRL56]

Loved this episode.  Claire taking the selfie before she went into surgery.  Her happy dance when it went well.  She was also great when Carly called her out. I love how she pulled herself up straight walking into surgery.  She panicked a little with the bleed but was talked through it and did a wonderful job.  Of course the ending was sad.  

I love having her on the screen.  She is stunningly beautiful.

[tennisgurl]

Well its episode three, so its time for Claire to deal with some trauma. Poor Claire, even when she gets a win, she still ends up losing. I was thrilled to get an all Claire all the time episode, I love her and seeing her do so well made me so happy, so of course it has to end on something terrible happening. And her mom got drunk on her celebration bottle, just to rub salt in the wound. 

On a happier Claire note, I loved all of the stuff with her first surgery, even if the mom was really frustrating, refusing to listen to her daughter and apparently putting tons of pressure on her to be a part time mom at 14, but I am glad that she finally came around in the end, and Tracie Thoms is always a welcome presence. Claire's scenes with Michelle were all so great, Claire has such a warm and caring heart and her bonding with Michelle was so sweet. She even inspired poor sad Michelle to want to become a doctor, and her mom to let her daughter talk to someone! I also liked the bit where Claire recommended therapy to the mom and she said how "we" dont do therapy, and Claire was just like "well we should."

The scene where she admitted to being nervous to Lim, and Lim told her that, as women of color, they cant show fear and have to do twice as good as everyone else, but knows she can do it, was great too. Lim is a straight shooter, I think she could be a really good mentor figure for Claire.

Claire's excitement was so adorable and infectious, like when she was practicing telling her patients family that the surgery was a success in the mirror, her selfie with her name as the head surgeon, and her little happy dance when her surgery was a success. Plus it was so sweet seeing Shaun being there to support her for her surgery and complimenting her, and Melendez having her back throughout, from getting her back on the surgery to the actual surgery and his support. 

Nice to see Robert Sean Leonard back in a hospital, albeit on the other side and with a fish attached to him! His B Plot was fun and it was just the right length to be quirky and funny without taking up too much time from Claire's stuff. Park and Morgan continue to be a great super competitive double act.

[Shellie]

14 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Robert Sean Leonard! Hello! I genuinely haven't seen him since House. 

Tracie Thoms! Nice to see you again!

This is just what I was thinking!  Two of my favorites as guests in the same show.  I was really surprised to see Robert after such a long time.

[Driad]

Glad Fish Man accepted that the accident revealed cancer that he already had. Some patients would be sure the fish caused the cancer, despite the evidence.

Robert Sean Leonard is often on "Selected Shorts" on public radio and podcast, introducing and reading stories.

[possibilities]

I actually thought Claire was relieved, in a way, when Carly told her to butt out. Claire spent a lot of time running interference for her mom, and wanted to free herself of that pattern and focus on her own well-being. So being liberated from the role was actually not only good for seeing Shaun was in a good situation with Carly, but also for Claire herself being shown it can work for her to not have to be a caretaker. Also: be yourself! Sometimes that's what people like about you!

I admit, I also hate small talk and would much rather have a conversation on serious topics, and not waste each others' time on pablum. Shaun and Carly will find out if it's going to work between them, based on real compatibility rather than an ability to fake having a good time.

[Annber03]

3 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I admit, I also hate small talk and would much rather have a conversation on serious topics, and not waste each others' time on pablum. Shaun and Carly will find out if it's going to work between them, based on real compatibility rather than an ability to fake having a good time.

Agreed. Considering we've heard so many stories of people who never broached important topics like kids and things like that before getting too serious, it's kinda nice to see a couple actually willing to discuss things like that. And it especially makes sense that Shaun would want to think and talk about things like that. It speaks well to how comfortable he's becoming with Carly in general, too :). 

[Fable]

I love that this episode was so Claire centric.  Of course I knew something was going to go terribly wrong.  When I saw Claire hiding her bottle of celebratory alcohol, I said to myself “uh oh” as I knew it was going to come into play in an unfortunate way, but I guess I really wasn’t expecting that ending. 

Other than that, it was nice to see Claire have some victories in her life.  The actress seems to have good chemistry with the rest of the cast, and this episode really highlighted that. 

One small nitpick, not just related to this episode, but I can do without the blood and guts.  Watching them perform surgeries just makes me squeamish, but all medical shows seem to do this, so I have learned to avert my eyes. 

[KaveDweller]

15 hours ago, Brookside said:

I think it's fine that Carly tells Claire that she doesn't need to be involved anymore, but it was a shame she wasn't gracious enough to thank Claire and acknowledge that the only reason she and Sean are together is because of Claire.

I thought so too, but does Carly know that? She knows Shaun wasn't happy with their first date and eventually came around, but she may not know that Claire encouraged Shaun about that.

[cinsays]

3 hours ago, Fable said:

I love that this episode was so Claire centric.  Of course I knew something was going to go terribly wrong.  When I saw Claire hiding her bottle of celebratory alcohol, I said to myself “uh oh” as I knew it was going to come into play in an unfortunate way, but I guess I really wasn’t expecting that ending. 

Ok, I get that we needed evidence that drunk driving caused the crash, but would Claire's mom have finished part/most of the bottle at home and then brought the rest with her to go get the dessert?  Maybe I am either over-thinking this or am missing something. Just did not seem logical to me.

[MaryHedwig]

4 hours ago, Fable said:

When I saw Claire hiding her bottle of celebratory alcohol, I said to myself “uh oh” as I knew it was going to come into play in an unfortunate way, but I guess I really wasn’t expecting that ending. 

So this was the exact bottle that Claire hid in the back of her freezer? Could any amount of therapy address the (unwarranted) guilt that would come from that?

[Lsk02]

3 hours ago, cinsays said:

Ok, I get that we needed evidence that drunk driving caused the crash, but would Claire's mom have finished part/most of the bottle at home and then brought the rest with her to go get the dessert?  Maybe I am either over-thinking this or am missing something. Just did not seem logical to me.

Drunks often aren’t logical. She was probably three quarters of the way through the bottle and decided she wanted to finish it off on the way to the store. It didn’t seem far-fetched to me. And I’m guessing Claire’s guilt as a result will be a major plot point for a while. 

[DearEvette]

4 hours ago, cinsays said:

Ok, I get that we needed evidence that drunk driving caused the crash, but would Claire's mom have finished part/most of the bottle at home and then brought the rest with her to go get the dessert?  Maybe I am either over-thinking this or am missing something. Just did not seem logical to me.

Logic is missing in some places, like someone calling Claire from her mom's phone to tell her where Breeze was.  I mean, if it was a bystander who came upon the car, then they would have called 911.  Not gone riffling through her car and phone (luckily not pass coded) and call her daughter.

If it was the cops, as @chitowngirl already noted, that is not the police's MO.  At the very least the police would have investigated the scene and Breeze would have been transported away from the scene most likely by the coroner's office to a morgue.  The police would have verified her identity and then would have tracked next of kin in person.   No way one lone police car would be there and allowed Claire to trample the scene. and see her mother in that condition.  This very thing happened to a co-worker of mine where the State Police came to her office in the middle of the day to inform her that her son died in a car accident.

Edited October 9, 2019 by DearEvette

[suebee12]

7 hours ago, Fable said:

One small nitpick, not just related to this episode, but I can do without the blood and guts.  Watching them perform surgeries just makes me squeamish, but all medical shows seem to do this, so I have learned to avert my eyes.

I agree...whenever there is "blood and guts" I look away and only glance up to see if the blood is gone! I was watching New Amsterdam tonight while eating dinner....and then all the vomiting occurred....not a great thing for dinner viewing. At least most of it was off screen but I am one of those people who throw up when I see someone else doing it! Never would have been a nurse!

[bros402]

On 10/7/2019 at 11:09 PM, chitowngirl said:

Can Claire ever get a win without consequences??  And really-the police got to the scene, identified her mom, called Claire, and she got there and was able to be near the accident scene before an ambulance? I know when there’s a fatality, there has to be an investigation and roads can be closed for hours, but do they really leave the body there and let family come to the scene like that?

They didn't even *try* life saving measures, just left her in the car - you think they would have at least hooked her up to an EKG and did a tiny bit of CPR

[sigmaforce86]

They gave Wilson cancer..........again!   I really loved that plot though, I don't think I've laughed so much at an episode from a "serious" show like this in awhile.  Park/Lee had the best facial expressions.

Loved the whole episode, the guest stars, how Claire handled her case, the focus on Claire's day in general.  The only thing that distracted me was Claire being a little too open in discussing the case with her Mother, she should know when she's straying into protected info territory.

[aemom]

22 hours ago, DearEvette said:

- That mother.  For the love of God, if you can't take care of foster children, why do you take them in? 

Money.

My son was being relentlessly bullied in elementary school by a boy.  I had many meetings and phone calls with the school administration.  One day I was there for yet another meeting with the principal and I said to her something to the effect of "seriously, what is going on here with this boy?" because I know that bullying at this age is typically a child acting out on other things.  So the principal tells me that the family has not one, not two, but SIX foster adults with Down's syndrome living in their home.  I gave the principal an incredulous look, and she immediately told me "yeah, I know, but apparently the uncle is over there a lot to give him attention and whatnot." To which I replied: "well whatever attention he is getting is clearly not enough."  How on earth do you properly care for this many people?  I don't think you can.  But the government pays you money every month for each of these people, so...

I tried to explain to my then 10-year-old that night, that we should actually feel sorry for this boy because he would keep going down a darker and darker path of more and more acting out to try and get attention.  Three years later, he was expelled from school for selling drugs.

Sometimes I hate being right.  I wish that he had gotten more attention at home.  I wish that he had left my son alone.  I wish the parents hadn't been money grubbing imbeciles.  What a waste!

So the mom on the show - she had a great deal going!  Money in her pocket for taking in these kids and having her daughter take care of them for her.  I have a hard time believing that she would just turn on a dime and change her ways.  I despised her the more I saw her, but I'm probably far more biased against her than the average person.

Edited October 9, 2019 by aemom
Typo

[aemom]

Poor Claire.  On what is probably one of the happiest days of her life, her mother kills herself in a drunk driving accident with the bottle of champagne(?) that Claire hid to celebrate her surgery.

Then someone calls her using her mother's phone and she shows up at the site to see her mother lying dead in the car like that?  Seriously?  I'm pretty sure that's not how it's supposed to go down.  That is going to take some serious therapy.

I also liked Lim being supportive to Claire and Melendez standing up for her as well.

On a lighter note, I am enjoying Park and Reznick together and that crazy fish plot provided some necessary levity.

As for Shaun, I like that things are going well with Carly.

My hmm moment:  If Michelle is always taking care of the kids, when does she manage to have sex with her boyfriend?

It was only at the end of the episode that I realized that we had no Glassman or Lea and I didn't miss them at all.

[Virtual]

I see why Carly had to tell Claire to "butt out" when it comes to saying how normal it is for certain date topics. The unwritten rules of dating don't apply with every single couple. I like that Shaun is brave enough to ask some questions. But at the same time, 83 questions is a bit much. Carly seemed fine with it though, so that's good I suppose. I could tell the reason that Claire was involved was because she cared about Shaun's happiness. Now that she knows he has a great chance for happiness, she'll most likely stay out of any future endeavors between he and Carly.

Somebody really needs to save Reznick from herself. Maybe Park can do it. She's already got visions in her head of becoming Chief of Surgery, and there's no way she's going to get there with her main focus always on competing and worrying about what everyone else is doing. For her sake, I hope someone is able to shift some of her focus on always doing her job with excellence. She's going to need to be competitive, but all of her focus being there is going to be an albatross. Speaking of Reznick, are we ever going to get a follow-up on her grandfather? Or was he just added at the end of episode 3x01 to give Morgan's character another outlet besides the hospital (some outlet, because it lasted all of 10 seconds)?

Is Claire based on a real-life woman who David Shore hates? Because the luck she has had during the whole series has been terrible. In this episode, when it looked like it was going to be the best day of her life, it turned into the worst. Hopefully someone will get involved with her the same way that Dr. Glassman did in Season 1 (he pushed her to see a therapist) when she was dealing with the aftermath of messing up that woman's intubation. Maybe she can deal with some of it on her own, but I hope she talks to somebody about it. She was great with the young girl and talking her through things, and convincing her to talk to a therapist.

Claire's best luck is that Reznick is TOO focused on competition to the point where it hinders her own progress. So she's no real competition for Claire, yet.

[Court]

WTF. Just when I thought the writers would just let Claire be happy and get a win. They have to ruin it and rub salt in the wound with it having it be her champagne. I actually thought when she was walking to the scene, her mom committed suicide. Also, why the heck had they not covered her body?

The way they handled the self harm daughter really bothered me and touched a nerve. I'm currently going through this with my 11 year old and there's no way they would just leave it up to the mom for a pysch consult. There would be an assessment then they would determine placement once she was healed from surgery. 

I really did love most of this episode

[Miss Bones]

On ‎10‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 11:50 PM, KaveDweller said:

Man, poor Claire. After they showed her getting that phone call I thought we were going to find out her mom died because she tried to read the text Claire sent while she was driving. So at least they didn't go that route, but it is awful either way. But I couldn't tell if they were showing that her mom was drinking again or that her mom just bought champagne to give to Claire to celebrate and the bottle broke?

I liked the rest of the episode as well, and it was nice to not be so Shaun-centric (even though I know he is the lead).

The foil on the top was ripped off, like the bottle was opened normally.

[chitowngirl]

If a foster child was self-harming, wouldn’t a social worker be involved?

[DearEvette]

I believe the girl who was self harming was the woman's biological daughter.

[Brown12051]

This TGD episode, which centered on Dr. Claire Browne, had Robert Sean Leonard as a patient named Quint, who is an overly enthusiastic big fisher, whose leg was partially swallowed by an apparently vengeful blue marlin. He absolutely did NOT want to cut it off, because he had been searching for this fish for some time, and was determined to get it off of his leg whole, to hang on a trophy.  Like House, Quint's case was only one of several patient cases, but it was the funniest - Robert can get really hilarious and even a little crazy when he wants to be.   After several short scenes, it ended kind of sad, but he did get his trophy.

I can't help but think that he should play Captain Ahab in yet another version of Moby Dick.  Wikipedia called Ahab "monomaniacal" - YEAH.  In fact, they - "Quint" and Ahab -  both lost the same thing in a fight with a sea creature. (I hope no one thinks that I spoiled them from reading the book- or from seeing The Good Doctor episode, which, if you missed it, could be easily rented from Amazon for a couple of bucks.)

Robert played Atticus Finch in a play presentation of "To Kill a Mockingbird" - it took place in England, unfortunately for me, because I would have gone if it was here (perhaps needless to say, I am a fan of RSL, and have seen him in a play). He needs to do a TKAM movie HERE - he is old enough now, and nobody will think he is just Wilson or Neil Perry.  One of the iconic films of that Harper Lee book had Gregory Peck playing that role, and interestingly (well for me), Peck also played Captain Ahab in the most memorable movie version (again,to me) of Moby Dick.

I also enjoyed how Shaun and Carly worked out their own version of courtship.  All such relationships should  not be the same, each should be unique in some way, not only because we are all unique, but especially with Shaun's difficulty with emotions and conversation.  Now, Claire knows better than to interfere with what is working for them.

Edited October 12, 2019 by Brown12051

[Brown12051]

On 10/9/2019 at 5:32 PM, Zenlethic said:

Is Claire based on a real-life woman who David Shore hates? Because the luck she has had during the whole series has been terrible

Claire does have a lot going on in her life, some good and a lot bad.  You may be right that she is patterned after someone that DS or even the Korean originator of the story knows or is aware of.  David Shore seems to use much of what was done before, including a lot of the House writers.  It would be nice to see more good things happen for Claire, and that this terrible thing that happened does not lead to more bad developments.

For instance, I have always thought, from the beginning of the program, that Dr Reznick was a copy of a character from House, not Claire.  Dr. Amber Volakis, played by Anne Dudek, was an overly competitive and difficult doctor who never was made a member of House's team, but she lasted maybe 3 seasons plus the finale, coming back from being fired from the season-long new team candidates interview, then as Wilson's girl friend, and then finally as an imagined visual version of House's mind when he was going through a kind of mental breakdown - indicating that her difficult nature was similar to the worst and best of House.  They are also, notably, both blondes, and were both called by the "b" word.

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

Easily one of my favorite episode of the series. Claire won some and lost some. She literally saved a life and lost another. The silver lining in her mother's death is that they were in a good place. If her mother was indeed drunk driving, then Claire won't blame herself for too long. She is logical enough to know that she is not responsible for her mother's substance abuse. 

I can't help it, I ship Melendez and Claire. I don't have a problem with Lim/Melendez but they just don't do anything for me as couple. 

[topanga]

On 10/13/2019 at 1:21 AM, Deputy Deputy CoS said:

Easily one of my favorite episode of the series. Claire won some and lost some. She literally saved a life and lost another. The silver lining in her mother's death is that they were in a good place. If her mother was indeed drunk driving, then Claire won't blame herself for too long. She is logical enough to know that she is not responsible for her mother's substance abuse. 

I can't help it, I ship Melendez and Claire. I don't have a problem with Lim/Melendez but they just don't do anything for me as couple. 

Great episode. Although I do hate that Claire always has to lose something on this show. 

I like that she’s showing everyone that you don’t have to be detached and neutral to be an efficient surgeon. And she doesn’t take extra time with every surgical patient — only certain patients like Michelle who clearly need someone to intervene. 

And in terms of Claire and Melendez— I know a romantic relationship between an attending and a resident is highly frowned upon in medicine. Still... I like the chemistry between the two of them and always have. Melendez and Lim, not so much. 

[TomGirl]

On 10/8/2019 at 10:40 AM, DearEvette said:

- Shaun was a little hyper focused on Carly but I enjoyed his attempt at nonchalance when he told Claire that maybe talking to to Carly would give her balance -- followed by the little 'i dunno ' and a shrug.

My favorite line of the whole episode.

[topanga]

4 hours ago, TomGirl said:

My favorite line of the whole episode.

I loved it, too. It shows that he knows about nuisance and reverse psychology—or he’s learning, anyway. 

[Trini]

Well, I was really enjoying this Claire -centric episode up until they decided she needed less relatives and more trauma.

Besides the plot holes pointed out about the cutting patient and Claire finding her mother's body, I think just about everything worked in this episode.
 

On 10/9/2019 at 3:45 PM, aemom said:

My hmm moment:  If Michelle is always taking care of the kids, when does she manage to have sex with her boyfriend?

I thought they were going somewhere with that, but they didn't. I guess it was just there to have a complication before surgery, because when do they ever NOT have complications??

[topanga]

On 10/9/2019 at 3:45 PM, aemom said:

My hmm moment:  If Michelle is always taking care of the kids, when does she manage to have sex with her boyfriend?

9 hours ago, Trini said:

I thought they were going somewhere with that, but they didn't. I guess it was just there to have a complication before surgery, because when do they ever NOT have complications??

Teenagers find ways. Immediately after school, sneaking away during school, or if he's driving her to pick up the kids of someplace, they might find a few minutes to stop someplace. In the kitchen when she's cooking dinner and the kids are off playing or doing homework, when the kids go to bed at night and the mom isn't home from work yet...

[SunnyBeBe]

I like Claire too, so I was glad to see her do so well with her surgery. Ref. Her mother...I didn't catch that whole background, but why was her mom living with her?  Her mom didn't seem to get how her daughter still felt resentment from having to be the adult growing up. It seemed her mom may have still been causing her anguish. So,....at least she might be able to move forward without being her mom's caregiver for the rest of her life. Don't mean to seem cold, but....just saying....

Edited December 10, 2019 by SunnyBeBe

[Brown12051]

On 12/9/2019 at 11:12 PM, SunnyBeBe said:

.I didn't catch that whole background, but why was her mom living with her? 

I understand from a previous episode that her mom lost her rented apartment - and needed for Claire to let her live there until she finds another.  It's almost like she was the child and Claire was the mom.  No wonder Claire has so many issues.  Mom was a great singer, and she could have earned her own income, but there were the drugs and the alcohol and  the mental issues and ....etc etc