S03.E20: I Love You

[Trini]

10 hours ago, Robert Lynch said:

Do you think Freddie Highmore made the decision because he seem to have creative control this season with directing and such.

He does have a producer credit, but he doesn't rank high enough to make a decision like that.

[Robert Lynch]

39 minutes ago, Trini said:

He does have a producer credit, but he doesn't rank high enough to make a decision like that.

Okay. That would make a lot of sense.

[statsgirl]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

It was definitely confirmed also by Shaun at the end, when Lea kissed him and his response was "I promised Vera I'd move on if she died...but she didn't die."

Well that's not manipulative on the writers' part at all.

10 hours ago, possibilities said:

Saying there was no story left, or complaining that #MeToo is spoiling all their fun, is such bullshit. It's on them that they couldn't figure out how to write a decent story and imagine anything that wouldn't be too offensive to air. They're supposed to be writers. They wrote the story they wanted to write, period.

They're not only crappy writers but they're also cowards and don't want to own it.

That's Shore's go-to line, that they ran out of storylines for the character. (When Jennifer Morrison said in an interview during season 5 that she didn't understand why Cameron was replaced since 13 was being given was exactly the same role on the team as Cameron, Cameron disappeared from the show entirely for 3 episodes.)

If Shore really didn't know what to do with Melendez, he could have talked to Gonsalves. In his post-show interviews, Gonsalves talks about he would have liked the show to explore the relationship between Melendez and Lim more, and to have Melendez deal with what he's feeling about Claire and get past it, re-visiting it years later when she's no longer his resident.

But no, let's have Shaun and Lea instead. And probably bring on a new male attending who, if history repeats itself, will be very much like Melendez.

[Robert Lynch]

1 hour ago, statsgirl said:

Well that's not manipulative on the writers' part at all.

That's Shore's go-to line, that they ran out of storylines for the character. (When Jennifer Morrison said in an interview during season 5 that she didn't understand why Cameron was replaced since 13 was being given was exactly the same role on the team as Cameron, Cameron disappeared from the show entirely for 3 episodes.)

If Shore really didn't know what to do with Melendez, he could have talked to Gonsalves. In his post-show interviews, Gonsalves talks about he would have liked the show to explore the relationship between Melendez and Lim more, and to have Melendez deal with what he's feeling about Claire and get past it, re-visiting it years later when she's no longer his resident.

But no, let's have Shaun and Lea instead. And probably bring on a new male attending who, if history repeats itself, will be very much like Melendez.

Kind of what happened to the US version of The Office where they had all those guest stars(Wil Ferrell) and Steve Carell pursuing a film career, leaving Office until the finale.

[rmontro]

13 hours ago, Robert Lynch said:

Do you think Freddie Highmore made the decision because he seem to have creative control this season with directing and such.

Lol.

"Carly didn't want me living with Lea, so I told Lea she had to move out.  I am supposed to be the star of this show, but Melendez is getting too much attention onscreen.  I want him gone!"

Glassman:  "Shaun, they have to write interesting stories for the other characters, so people will be engaged when they watch".

Shaun:  "I want him gone!  I am the star, I am the director.  I want him gone!"

[Pepper the Cat]

That was freaking depressing. 
not sure if I will be back for Season 4.

[JenMcSnark]

3 hours ago, statsgirl said:

Well that's not manipulative on the writers' part at all.

That's Shore's go-to line, that they ran out of storylines for the character. (When Jennifer Morrison said in an interview during season 5 that she didn't understand why Cameron was replaced since 13 was being given was exactly the same role on the team as Cameron, Cameron disappeared from the show entirely for 3 episodes.)

If Shore really didn't know what to do with Melendez, he could have talked to Gonsalves. In his post-show interviews, Gonsalves talks about he would have liked the show to explore the relationship between Melendez and Lim more, and to have Melendez deal with what he's feeling about Claire and get past it, re-visiting it years later when she's no longer his resident.

But no, let's have Shaun and Lea instead. And probably bring on a new male attending who, if history repeats itself, will be very much like Melendez.

I also got the feeling that Nick Gonzalez wasn't really all that happy with the direction the show was going. One of his comments in the TVLine article was that he was really proud of the "small" feeling of the show and, even though it was on ABC, it was more of a procedural than the soap opera type dramas. And how so many people identified with the message regarding autism.

So for them to go the entire route of shitting on Claire repeatedly, forcing Shaun and Lea together (when IMO, it didn't show either character growing/learning) in such a soap opera way, Melendez jumping from Lim to Claire - it seems like the show is very much going in a Grey's Anatomy direction rather than being about the growth of an autistic doctor and those who support his journey to becoming a GOOD DOCTOR!

Not a GOOD BOYFRIEND.  

I'm still so bitter. 

And they killed off the only hispanic character.  AND he's one of the FEW characters who has completely learned and grown since episode 1.  And they shit on Carly (black woman) and Claire (black woman).  And they totally gave Melendez and Lim the short shrift on the ending of their romance.  It deserved more; how they dealt with it at the hospital and at least got back to their solid competitive friendship would have made for great storytelling.

And we are stuck with two of the most unlikeable characters in Resnick (white) and Lea (white) who have really not shown any growth or interesting/desirable traits.  

I know I'm rambling.  Sorry!  I'm so bitter!

[Sweet Tooth]

I want to thank you all for watching this, so I didn't have to. The minute I saw what you posted, I deleted the show and will not be watching it in the future.

I don't know why shows, authors, etc., think killing off characters is "brave." It's not. It's a cop-out. And I say this as a writer myself.

I stuck to my guns with The Magicians and have not watched the new season. I'm assuming the same thing will happen to this show as that one, and the ratings will go down so low, it will be cancelled.

ETA: The people behind the scenes of The Magicians also said they couldn't think of any more stories for the LEAD CHARACTER, even though there was literally a series of books to light the way.

Yes, they, too, patted themselves on the back for being really brave.

Edited April 2, 2020 by Sweet Tooth

[Annber03]

I can see the ratings for the beginning of the season being strong, both because 1) people will be curious to see how they handle the fallout of this (and because there will likely be some out there who say they won't watch anymore, but will ultimately come back), and 2) people will be so happy to have regular TV schedules and all their shows returning again after this pandemic passes, that that'll probably help not just this show's ratings but many others in general.

But yes, it will be interesting to see how this affects them after that. If they do manage to handle the fallout right, maybe it'll work, but I can see things getting bumpy, too. 

[Trini]

4 minutes ago, Sweet Tooth said:

I don't know why shows, authors, etc., think killing off characters is "brave." It's not. It's a cop-out. And I say this as a writer myself.

What irks me is that there wasn't any real reason to do it in this instance. Except for the lame excuse of "shaking things up" or "keeping things fresh". Or 'making sure the audience knows no one is safe' -- but it's not that type of show, though.

And it's not like the actor wanted out - but even then his character doesn't have to die.

[SunnyBeBe]

7 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I can see the ratings for the beginning of the season being strong, both because 1) people will be curious to see how they handle the fallout of this (and because there will likely be some out there who say they won't watch anymore, but will ultimately come back), and 2) people will be so happy to have regular TV schedules and all their shows returning again after this pandemic passes, that that'll probably help not just this show's ratings but many others in general.

But yes, it will be interesting to see how this affects them after that. If they do manage to handle the fallout right, maybe it'll work, but I can see things getting bumpy, too. 

I don't like it when a writer insults me and then brags about it. IMO, he's not that bright and certainly not sensitive to the story or characters.  I've walked away from much better shows, for much less.  It annoys me that these writers have so much opportunity and then they squander it over some kind of odd vision that they can't even justify.  One would think that the person in charge of a popular show like TGD would have a little more discretion.  

[ElectricCityy]

I was actually thinking that the show isn't going to deal with the fallout of Melendez' death at all. Sadly, I see a time jump and it just being mentioned in passing. 

It's understandable to me when show's get rid of characters that are universally disliked. Melendez' death will never make sense to me. No, he wasn't the focal point of the show but he was a staple in this show. If Melendez was ever absent from an episode, we would notice it. I can't say the same about Leah, Andrews, or even Glassman. I'm sure they are going to replace him with some middle-aged, charismatic, hottie but for me it won't matter. Melendez was important.

[Sweet Tooth]

1 hour ago, Trini said:

What irks me is that there wasn't any real reason to do it in this instance. Except for the lame excuse of "shaking things up" or "keeping things fresh". Or 'making sure the audience knows no one is safe' -- but it's not that type of show, though.

And it's not like the actor wanted out - but even then his character doesn't have to die.

I'm amazed when actual writers, whose job it is to have an imagination, say, "Well, we painted ourselves into a corner here, and we can't think of anything else except killing the character."

Like, it's literally THEIR JOB to do that. There's a saying that in writing, you put your character up a tree and throw rocks at them, and then figure out a way to get them down. 

[Artsda]

They killed Melandez. of all the stupidest I've seen.

Kill him, but force Lea and Shaun and Lea lives? How awful.

[statsgirl]

 

3 hours ago, JenMcSnark said:

And they totally gave Melendez and Lim the short shrift on the ending of their romance.  It deserved more; how they dealt with it at the hospital and at least got back to their solid competitive friendship would have made for great storytelling...

And we are stuck with two of the most unlikeable characters in Resnick (white) and Lea (white) who have really not shown any growth or interesting/desirable traits. 

Three characters, I don't think Glassman has shown much growth and he's regressed with respect to Shaun. There would have been so much more story for everyone from Shaun to Andrews to Melendez to Lim if Glassman had been the one dead.

I suspect that Melendez / Lim was wrapped up so quickly because Shore decided that he was going to kill Melendez at the end of the season and wanted to tease Melendez and Claire before killing it permanently.  A final FU to the shippers.

[Mikita]

As a writer, Shore should know that a show going into it's fourth season is not going to see a drastic increase in ratings. Normally, ratings stay steady or start to decrease by season four. So why alienate the fans that you do have by killing off a favorite.  It literally does not make sense!

[Robert Lynch]

49 minutes ago, Mikita said:

As a writer, Shore should know that a show going into it's fourth season is not going to see a drastic increase in ratings. Normally, ratings stay steady or start to decrease by season four. So why alienate the fans that you do have by killing off a favorite.  It literally does not make sense!

I don't understand his reasoning behind it. Freddie Highmore is always an excellent actor as evidenced in Bates Motel, but his character change in Season 3 of the Shaun character was definitely a 180 degree angle as opposed to Seasons 1 and 2. I didn't like what Shore did that character at all.

[CheetaraThunder]

I know deaths happen on TV, but if you are going to go that route, be like Buffy when they killed off her mother or even when The Wire killed Omar (they both sucked to see, but in hindsight, they made sense). Don’t go “Greys Anatomy/Vampire Diaries school of writing”.

 

[morriss]

Lea will get treatment for her concussion and then dump Shaun.....😁

[mojito]

On 3/31/2020 at 1:17 PM, catrice2 said:

You don't have to be emergency personnel to have access to their private communications. 

I kept wondering why Lea had possession of a walkie talkie. Absurd. And really corny, too. I think the overhearing-a-conversation-and-changing-your-mind-about-someone twist is one of the most uncreative, cop-out ways to turn a plot. It's awfully insulting to the viewing audience because it's the kind of thing that would impressive a nine-year old maybe, but nobody else who has ever watching anything else. Such lazy writing.

So is Carly really, finally gone?

I'm wondering if the writers have decided to focus more on the hospital now. Calm things down a little for Shaun domestically (although the next big thing will be Lea's troubled pregnancy) and bring in a doctor who really makes his life miserable at work. We can watch Morgan's misery, too, while Claire and Lim spend the whole season denying their love for each other.

 

[mijakatt]

Spoiler

 

WHY , thats my question ,why kill a beloved ,integral character who did nothing but enhance your show ,I for one will not be watching again I have stopped watching others shows for this very reason ,this is us ,they killed off the Milo Ventimiglia character  ,I heard about that before it happened and never watched again ,Omar in the wire  again I knew when they would kill him and never watched again ,but this is different ,neither of those were my absolute favorite like Dr Melendez ,Nick Gonzalez ,I started watching from day one for Freddie Highmore who I love ,but soon Nick became my favorite every scene he was not in was a empty one for me ,not saying I don't love the Shaun character but the writing changed him ,and not for the better ,this show will never be the same without Dr Melendez's character in it ,I will be surprised if it continues and rating don't decline  ,I have deleted this series from my dvr and I hope it fails ,sorry but I feel that way..

So why was none of Dr Melendez's family ,friends called to his bedside  and why did Clair walk out of the room after he supposedly died and hug Lim ,and Lim not go in to see him ? after this brief hug and few  tears they walk off together  ? it seems trite and unemotional ,Clair's scenes with Dr Melendez were very emotional  as were the scenes with Dr Park and the kid who was dying  I have to admit I cried .a lot ..however I just knew that they would come up with some kind of surgery to save Dr Melendez ,they always do and save other  patients ,so why not him .too popular ,over shadowing the star ? what ,why ,I'm crushed ,this truly was the most dreadful series finale that I ever watched  ,,had I known what was going to happen I would have not watched  it at all..they did not have to do that at all others characters were less valuable to the series than him ,they just took a wonderfully thought out series and trashed it ,and made Shaun act like a buffoon ,this was not his behavior in the beginning I'm truly just mad and pissed off that Nick  will not longer grace the screen ..I'm done with this horrible show which is sad because I loved it .

I just read that the Carly character will not be back as a regular ,to me she was not integral to the show  and I never felt like she was right for Shaun ,I thought she was to mature for him , so I never thought they were long term ,I doubt he and Leah will last ,but I do wish the best for him ,whatever happens with this show Freddie Highmore will be ok because he is a gifted actor

One last word to the writers .YOU SUCK !!! 

Edited April 2, 2020 by mijakatt

[DearEvette]

Sigh.  Yeah I think I am done here.  I mean, I like Freddie Highmore but I was enjoying the ensemble and Melendez' team dynamic with the Residents.  I was upset when they decided to get of Jared's character and wasn't really on board with Morgan.  But I was ok with the group.

And even though I am a Claire/Melendez shipper I would have been 100% ok if they had never gone there.

But this season started to leave a bad taste in my mouth. 

First the relentless torture for Claire.  She's already lost mother after having already been pretty much abandoned by her for years and now she is confronted with yet another devastating loss?  And this already after having lost her best friend to cancer last year.  Also her depressing spiral.  Just too much.

Second, the loss of Melendez in his own right.  He is a good character who actually had relevance.  I enjoyed his evolution in the show and was looking forward to how they'd deal with -- good or bad -- his relationship with Claire and also Lim.

Third, Shaun seems to have regressed in development (as a character and on a social scale) rather than progressed.  I wasn't liking Shaun very much this season. 

Fourth, the elevation of Leah and her artificial importance to the show.  In hindsight it feels like so much of Shaun was written in this season service to making her relevant.  But honestly, I find her a character utterly typical and utterly useless.

And Fifth, the treatment of Carly as nothing but a disposable body for Shaun to learn sex on and who isn't even given a second thought after she's served her purpose.  Also,  in hindsight a character whose existence was for no other reason than to help with the elevation of Leah.  Her romance with Shaun wasn't even about her and Shaun at all.  Since nothing she did or said (except assuring Shaun he was in love with Leah) seemed to be deemed of any value to Shaun.  I mean, everything he learned about being a person is all because of Leah, amirite?  What a disservice the to character and the actress.

I have no confidence anything will get better.  So yeah I am dunzo.

Edited April 2, 2020 by DearEvette

[Trini]

2 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Sigh.  Yeah I think I am done here.  I mean, I like Freddie Highmore but I was enjoying the ensemble and Melendez' team dynamic with the Residents.  I was upset when they decided to get of Jared's character and wasn't really on board with Morgan.  But I was ok with the group.

And even though I am a Claire/Melendez shipper I would have been 100% ok if they had never gone there.

But this season started to leave a bad taste in my mouth. 

First the relentless torture for Claire.  She's already lost mother after having already been pretty much abandoned by her for years and now she is confronted with yet another devastating loss?  And this already after having lost her best friend to cancer last year.  Also her depressing spiral.  Just too much.

Second, the loss of Melendez in his own right.  He is a good character who actually had relevance.  I enjoyed his evolution in the show and was looking forward to how they'd deal with -- good or bad -- his relationship with Claire and also Lim.

Third, Shaun seems to have regressed in development (as a character and on a social scale) rather than progressed.  I wasn't liking Shaun very much this season. 

Fourth, the elevation of Leah and her artificial importance to the show.  In hindsight it feels like so much of Shaun was written in this season service to making her relevant.  But honestly, I find her a character utterly typical and utterly useless.

And Fifth, the treatment of Carly as nothing but a disposable body for Shaun to learn sex on and who isn't even given a second thought after she's served her purpose.  Also,  in hindsight a character whose existence was for no other reason than to help with the elevation of Leah.  Her romance with Shaun wasn't even about her and Shaun at all.  Since nothing she did or said (except assuring Shaun he was in love with Leah) seemed to be deemed of any value to Shaun.  I mean, everything he learned about being a person is all because of Leah, amirite?  What a disservice the to character and the actress.

I have no confidence anything will get better.  So yeah I am dunzo.

 

I wish I could 'like' this multiple times! You laid more eloquently than I could the exact issues I had with this season.

Also I didn't like how Andrews', Glassman, and Park's family disappeared. And Morgan giving everyone relationship advice when we've never seen her in a relationship.

[catrice2]

8 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Sigh.  Yeah I think I am done here.  I mean, I like Freddie Highmore but I was enjoying the ensemble and Melendez' team dynamic with the Residents.  I was upset when they decided to get of Jared's character and wasn't really on board with Morgan.  But I was ok with the group.

And even though I am a Claire/Melendez shipper I would have been 100% ok if they had never gone there.

But this season started to leave a bad taste in my mouth. 

First the relentless torture for Claire.  She's already lost mother after having already been pretty much abandoned by her for years and now she is confronted with yet another devastating loss?  And this already after having lost her best friend to cancer last year.  Also her depressing spiral.  Just too much.

Second, the loss of Melendez in his own right.  He is a good character who actually had relevance.  I enjoyed his evolution in the show and was looking forward to how they'd deal with -- good or bad -- his relationship with Claire and also Lim.

Third, Shaun seems to have regressed in development (as a character and on a social scale) rather than progressed.  I wasn't liking Shaun very much this season. 

Fourth, the elevation of Leah and her artificial importance to the show.  In hindsight it feels like so much of Shaun was written in this season service to making her relevant.  But honestly, I find her a character utterly typical and utterly useless.

And Fifth, the treatment of Carly as nothing but a disposable body for Shaun to learn sex on and who isn't even given a second thought after she's served her purpose.  Also,  in hindsight a character whose existence was for no other reason than to help with the elevation of Leah.  Her romance with Shaun wasn't even about her and Shaun at all.  Since nothing she did or said (except assuring Shaun he was in love with Leah) seemed to be deemed of any value to Shaun.  I mean, everything he learned about being a person is all because of Leah, amirite?  What a disservice the to character and the actress.

I have no confidence anything will get better.  So yeah I am dunzo.

Yes, this is the thing I hate most about the Carly writing. That it was for Shaun to learn how to have sex so that Leah wouldn't have to be bothered to go through that part...and be considerate of trying things the other person likes...and Shaun was rude to Carly....I also hate the way they try to make it seem that rudeness is part of Autism.

[bros402]

23 hours ago, CheetaraThunder said:

I know deaths happen on TV, but if you are going to go that route, be like Buffy when they killed off her mother or even when The Wire killed Omar (they both sucked to see, but in hindsight, they made sense). Don’t go “Greys Anatomy/Vampire Diaries school of writing”.

 

I mean Buffy's mom dying was one of the best TV deaths of all time - a near perfect episode. The Body usually ranks in the Top 3 episodes of Buffy for a reason

[JenMcSnark]

13 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Sigh.  Yeah I think I am done here.  I mean, I like Freddie Highmore but I was enjoying the ensemble and Melendez' team dynamic with the Residents.  I was upset when they decided to get of Jared's character and wasn't really on board with Morgan.  But I was ok with the group.

And even though I am a Claire/Melendez shipper I would have been 100% ok if they had never gone there.

But this season started to leave a bad taste in my mouth. 

First the relentless torture for Claire.  She's already lost mother after having already been pretty much abandoned by her for years and now she is confronted with yet another devastating loss?  And this already after having lost her best friend to cancer last year.  Also her depressing spiral.  Just too much.

Second, the loss of Melendez in his own right.  He is a good character who actually had relevance.  I enjoyed his evolution in the show and was looking forward to how they'd deal with -- good or bad -- his relationship with Claire and also Lim.

Third, Shaun seems to have regressed in development (as a character and on a social scale) rather than progressed.  I wasn't liking Shaun very much this season. 

Fourth, the elevation of Leah and her artificial importance to the show.  In hindsight it feels like so much of Shaun was written in this season service to making her relevant.  But honestly, I find her a character utterly typical and utterly useless.

And Fifth, the treatment of Carly as nothing but a disposable body for Shaun to learn sex on and who isn't even given a second thought after she's served her purpose.  Also,  in hindsight a character whose existence was for no other reason than to help with the elevation of Leah.  Her romance with Shaun wasn't even about her and Shaun at all.  Since nothing she did or said (except assuring Shaun he was in love with Leah) seemed to be deemed of any value to Shaun.  I mean, everything he learned about being a person is all because of Leah, amirite?  What a disservice the to character and the actress.

I have no confidence anything will get better.  So yeah I am dunzo.

Such a great post.  Thanks for putting into words exactly how I feel.  Hearts x 1000.

[Court]

I hated this episode. Like many others, I'm done with this show. One should never trust Shore. 

[TurtlePower]

8 hours ago, Court said:

I hated this episode. Like many others, I'm done with this show. One should never trust Shore. 

Maybe they're done with this show, too. It seemed awfully "end-y" to me, but I actually liked how it seemed so final. As Jim Parsons said about Big Bang Theory ending, "They've chewed all the meat off this bone".  

Maybe I'm wrong. I've been wrong a lot this season. 😂

 

[Robert Lynch]

So they are going to add more people to replace the ones that are gone?

[Mikita]

2 hours ago, Robert Lynch said:

So they are going to add more people to replace the ones that are gone?

It won't really matter to me. As much as I love Antonia Thomas, I think I'm done.

[Gemini Gipsy]

On 4/1/2020 at 10:36 AM, dogdays2 said:

IF the Melendez thing was somehow related to #MeToo,

Seriously? That's their excuse in all of this? The Me Too Movement? Because Melendez was Brown's supervisor? Please tell me I misunderstood this, and this is not the case because that's SO ludicrous.

So just because something that is looked down upon, illegal, immoral etc. then it shouldn't be written about? Are we really that fucking sensitive? Impressionable? Offended? 

Murder isn't acceptable, yet we see it all over our screen. Racism isn't acceptable by any stretch of the means, yet we see it on our screens as a part of shows and movies all the time. I could go on but you get what I am saying here. 

Bottom line, saying they had to kill of a character because of the Me Too movement is a big fat cop-out. Not to mention there were several other avenues they could have taken had they found it so damn inappropriate and offensive. I find bitches offensive, yet Leah is still alive. *shrugs*

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by Gemini Gipsy

[Fable]

I can’t believe Shore is trying to pin this on the “MeToo movement.  Give me a break!  The scripts didn’t just magically create themselves.  You people are the ones who wrote that storyline.  If it was so problematic and you could see no other way out (which I strongly disagree with), why did you go there in the first place?

[rmontro]

On 4/2/2020 at 11:48 AM, DearEvette said:

I was upset when they decided to get of Jared's character and wasn't really on board with Morgan.  But I was ok with the group.

I actually like Morgan, oddly enough.  She's not the kind of person that would be pleasant to be around in real life.  But as a character onscreen, I find her antics entertaining enough.

 

20 hours ago, catrice2 said:

Yes, this is the thing I hate most about the Carly writing. That it was for Shaun to learn how to have sex so that Leah wouldn't have to be bothered to go through that part

Half of that was a waste of time too, because Shaun didn't have any problems being in physical proximity with Lea like he did with Carly.  But one thing he did learn with Carly was how to "focus" so she could see fireworks.

[Trini]

There are a couple of interviews in the Media thread where Shore explains his reasoning for killing off Melendez. Something about needing to have people die if you're telling life-or-death stories.

He doesn't actually mention '#MeToo', but that seems to be the reasoning behind not pursuing Claire/Melendez. (But they did pursue it, though?? Probably only because they knew they were killing him off.)

 

I haven't made a firm decision yet if I'm still going to watch, but there are definitely more cons than pros. Might be a while before we get the next season anyway....

Edited April 4, 2020 by Trini

[statsgirl]

9 hours ago, Robert Lynch said:

So they are going to add more people to replace the ones that are gone?

Probably, that's what Shore did on House. The problem was that he replaced them with inferior characters.

Shore said in an interview that they want to

Spoiler

explore how Shaun handles being a supervisor

That's something I would be more interested in if Melendez was still around.

On 4/2/2020 at 8:15 PM, catrice2 said:

Yes, this is the thing I hate most about the Carly writing. That it was for Shaun to learn how to have sex so that Leah wouldn't have to be bothered to go through that part...and be considerate of trying things the other person likes...and Shaun was rude to Carly....I also hate the way they try to make it seem that rudeness is part of Autism.

Now that you say it, it really does feel like Carly was a disposable character, a step for Shaun to prepare for the princess.

Carly had the patience and understanding to create a real relationship with Shaun. Good thing for Shaun since Lea didn't.

[catrice2]

21 hours ago, Gemini Gipsy said:

Seriously? That's their excuse in all of this? The Me Too Movement? Because Melendez was Brown's supervisor? Please tell me I misunderstood this, and this is not the case because that's SO ludicrous.

So just because something that is looked down upon, illegal, immoral etc. then it shouldn't be written about? Are we really that fucking sensitive? Impressionable? Offended? 

Murder isn't acceptable, yet we see it all over our screen. Racism isn't acceptable by any stretch of the means, yet we see it on our screens as a part of shows and movies all the time. I could go on but you get what I am saying here. 

Bottom line, saying they had to kill of a character because of the Me Too movement is a big fat cop-out. Not to mention there were several other avenues they could have taken had they found it so damn inappropriate and offensive. I find bitches offensive, yet Leah is still alive. *shrugs*

 

No, he didn't say it was the entire reason, but that 15 years ago they could have done that story, but not now.  And that they always had that dilemma that they didn't know how to resolve it.  

[DearEvette]

21 hours ago, Trini said:

There are a couple of interviews in the Media thread where Shore explains his reasoning for killing off Melendez. Something about needing to have people die if you're telling life-or-death stories.

He doesn't actually mention '#MeToo', but that seems to be the reasoning behind not pursuing Claire/Melendez. (But they did pursue it, though?? Probably only because they knew they were killing him off.)

The more he talks the less sense it all makes.

Life or Death stories.  They are doing those by default because they are doctors and their patients can live or die.   Also if he wanted to do more high stakes life or death stories for his main characters, then he  could have written a series about people in a much more dangerous profession than 'Physician'.   Hell Commercial fisherman have more fatalities than any other profession.  Also, Loggers, construction, workers, any sort of First responder.  Doctors don't even make the top 25 of dangerous professions in the US.

They already dealt with #MeToo explicitly with Claire in season one.  Also implicitly with Lim and Melendez.  Bringing it up as a reason to dodge a possible romance between Claire and Melendez by killing off Melendez strikes me as a dodge itself.  One way to not deal with a romance between and subordiate and boss is to simply not write in such a way that you create a romance between them.  They could've kept Melendez and Lim together.  Hell they could have kept Melendez married.  Or barring any of that, NOT telegraph 100% yards away romantic feelings between them?  Not hard.  Or if you want to write a romance between them, then learn how to write a romance that navigates that particular conflict in a responsible and still entertaining way. 

 

[statsgirl]

On 4/3/2020 at 6:08 PM, Trini said:

He doesn't actually mention '#MeToo', but that seems to be the reasoning behind not pursuing Claire/Melendez. (But they did pursue it, though?? Probably only because they knew they were killing him off.)

The reason is that Shore doesn't want a functional relationship on his shows unless it is entirely offscreen like Andrews. The excuse is #MeToo.

[Trini]

6 hours ago, DearEvette said:

One way to not deal with a romance between and subordiate and boss is to simply not write in such a way that you create a romance between them. 

I mean, DUH.

6 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Or if you want to write a romance between them, then learn how to write a romance that navigates that particular conflict in a responsible and still entertaining way.

My idea is that they keep him ALIVE, he gets whatever miracle surgery, but the resulting complications means he has to resign from his position - then he's no longer Claire's superior. And just like they found a way to keep Glassman near the hospital, Melendez could get another job at the hospital.

[bros402]

2 hours ago, Trini said:

I mean, DUH.

My idea is that they keep him ALIVE, he gets whatever miracle surgery, but the resulting complications means he has to resign from his position - then he's no longer Claire's superior. And just like they found a way to keep Glassman near the hospital, Melendez could get another job at the hospital.

Yeah, they could've just had him be a regular surgeon, and uhhhh Andrews (That's Hill Harper's character, right?) be the surgeon who was in charge of residents.

[Evenshorter]

I thought this was more of series finale rather than season finale.

[Robert Lynch]

5 hours ago, DarkHorse said:

Terrible episode even for this show. Everything was way too easy all so they could get Shawn and Leah together. 

I felt the most for the woman who lost her leg. Was amputation really necessary, couldn't he have found some kind of breathing tube for her? Also it seems not long after he was done they were rescued which means they must have had some idea where they were and Leah was on the radio. Surely something could have been done to prevent amputation. 

I didn't care about anything else that happened. 

I think this will be the beginning of the end for the show. Like so many other shows where the two main characters get together after a long period of "will they, won't they" once they do get together there is little intrigue left. 

Judging from the next season, we possibly won’t see this until 2022 due to Covid-19. 

[catrice2]

I don't think ratings will drop or they will lose a lot of viewers.  Monday nights are mostly dead anyway and some people just like a routine and things that are familiar.  I am not as upset about Melendez as I am the awful writing for some of season two and all of season 3.  I wondered what really happened to the show?   If I a completely honest it is more that I feel let down by the portrayal of Autism and what they did with the Carly character. That bothered me this season just as much as the pointless killing of Melendez.  I don't know, once I was through with Grey's Anatomy after the second or third season I never looked back....and it wasn't about who lived or died, it was just the storytelling.  

Edited April 5, 2020 by catrice2

[Robert Lynch]

It’s kind like what happened to Doogie Howser, M.D in the last season. They got rid of Doogie’s girlfriend, his surgeon friends, and  changed the whole format. By season 4, it was a different show.

[rmontro]

On 4/3/2020 at 6:08 PM, Trini said:

There are a couple of interviews in the Media thread where Shore explains his reasoning for killing off Melendez. Something about needing to have people die if you're telling life-or-death stories.

So kill somebody else off then.  How about Lea?  🙂

I agree with DearEvette, they have life and death stories every week.  His comments make no sense.

[statsgirl]

1 hour ago, rmontro said:

His comments make no sense.

They never do. He does what he wants, and when people object he tries to justify it.

I'm realizing that Shore has three good years of a series in him, and then he blows it up because doesn't know what else to do with these characters, and he gets some new ones. Unfortunately he tends to get rid of good characters and keep inferior ones.

[bros402]

15 hours ago, DarkHorse said:

I felt the most for the woman who lost her leg. Was amputation really necessary, couldn't he have found some kind of breathing tube for her? Also it seems not long after he was done they were rescued which means they must have had some idea where they were and Leah was on the radio. Surely something could have been done to prevent amputation. 

Amputation was necessary - there was no way to detach the rebar from the concrete (Or whatever it was in). Even if Shaun had some oxygen for her - there was nothing for him. He somehow managed to bring her through the tunnel he entered the area from. That is how they got out.

[catrice2]

On 4/5/2020 at 5:27 PM, DarkHorse said:

It had that feel to it, like everything was tied up and the story has nowhere else to go. 

 

Possibly. That is a risk for the show though as people's tastes change and a break that long will have people forget and lose interest in the show. Not to mention if they do give it a go in 2022 a lot of people who aren't already at that stage might watch it and think "wow, this is really bad, I can't believe I used to watch this crap".

The writing is terrible and far too convenient. What happened? I think in part they ran out of things to do with Shawn. A lot of shows have this problem, in reality Shawn (or in general a character) needs to progress even if they don't realize it. But with TV the whole point is that they are challenged in some way, so they can't progress like someone would in reality. So there will always be inconsistencies. 

The Carly/Shawn thing was terrible from the start. They lacked chemistry and given that Carly looks a lot older than Shawn it had a mother/son feel to it at times which increased the discomfort level. I just looked up their ages and Jasika is 11 years older than Freddie.

Carly then continuing to be very insecure about Leah was weird and seemed out of step for her character as well. It was like she just wanted out and so did the writers. Of course it was all designed to lead to Leah and Shawn being together. Overall way too easy. 

In terms of Autism, I still wouldn't Shawn anywhere near me if I was ill. That thousand yard stare of his is just weird.

Yes, I agree. I felt like the actress was the wrong choice for Carly....even if she was ultimately not supposed to last.  Although Highmore does a great job, I always left like Shaun shouldn't look so young  He was not my physical choice for the role....Melendez' girlfriend was not a great choice, wish there was a different Glassman and Leah, as well as Morgan.  I just feel like there were better actors for those roles.....just my opinion

[bros402]

6 hours ago, DarkHorse said:

I just doubt Shawn's credibility. If he told me we are on planet Earth I would want a second opinion. 

Why do you doubt his credibility? He has always been shown as a rather skilled doctor - at least in terms of problem solving and diagnosis - and he has demonstrated skill with surgery.

[morakot]

On 3/31/2020 at 5:49 PM, vavera4ka said:

yup.

i'm out.

Monday evenings just opened up.