S04.E07: The Uncertainty Principle

[helenamonster]

Quote

Morgan discovers her patient’s wealth and obsession with extending his life is a dangerous mix that could end up costing more than he can afford.

Original airdate: 1/18/21

[Fable]

Really, another episode around Shaun’s sex life?  Are these writers 12? 

[Annber03]

Why do I get the feeling that cowbell is going to come into use down the line? 

I'm glad CRISPR guy's girlfriend gave him an ultimatum at long last, 'cause, yeah, I don't think I could deal with his attitude for that long, either. Probably for the best (and no surprise) that they broke up in the end. Also, the idea of messing with one's gnome like that sounds...really creepy. I can definitely see where that would go very badly very fast. 

I am glad that the other guy and his wife were able to resolve their issues in the end-the end of their story got to me a bit. He did make the right choice. I also liked the way the episode split the team up into the women working together on one case and the men on another. Made for interesting conversations among them about the various topics throughout-I liked the whole concept and theme of uncertainty running throughout the episode. 

Claire's decision to keep things platonic with Enrique makes sense, though I do wonder if the "just friends" thing will hold, and for how long. I hope she continues to keep an eye on Lim going forward, too. 

[tennisgurl]

The only thing that can cure the latest Shaun and Leah issues? More cowbell. 

Oh great, another Shaun sex plot, because the writers are really enjoying giggling together like middle schoolers. It was at least a pretty chill subplot, no real relationship drama beyond Shaun and Leah having their differences and dealing with them. I also laughed a bit at everyone's long suffering reactions to Shaun asking everyone's opinion on shower sex, like everyone in this hospital is just aware that they are always going to get dragged into Shaun's lately relationship drama. If I ever go to the hospital, I am going to be very disappointed if none of my doctors are talking about their sex lives or trying to use my own medical issue as a thinly veiled allegory for their own personal struggles. 

The two main patient plots were interesting, they tied into each other and everyone else's issues quite well. You had the guy who was so obsessed with living forever that he was willing to seriously mess up his life as it is now, willingly living with chronic pain and, even worse, choosing his longevity over his own wife. Messing with your genes just seems...like its going to end poorly in a very dramatic kind of way. Like, accidently making yourself into a mutated seal who becomes a supervillain kind of dramatic way. 

The other story was also about being obsessed with the future to the detriment of the present, but with the venture capitalist husband being unable to deal with the possibility of losing his wife and burying himself in his work. They kind of made it seem like he was just a corporate jerk at first, so I am glad that the actual issue was more complex, and I am glad we got a happy ending where the husband finally decided to fully commit himself to being with his wife, not obsessing about the possibility of losing her. I guess Claire telling him to divorce her now was a big enough shock to the system to get him to make the right choice. 

I am glad that Claire is at least looking at being friends with Enrique, even if I suspect that it might turn into something else.  Of course, I cant see Claire ever being into polygamy, and Enrique seems pretty committed to it, I it wouldn't probably last very long if it did become more than platonic van pals. I do quite like Claire and Morgan, weird best friends. 

Hopefully Claire can check in with Lim soon. 

"Your like a stalker, its like you and God had an acrimonious divorce." 

[PinkRibbons]

Lim needs Claire about a billion times more than Claire needs yet another workplace romance.

[chitowngirl]

5 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

The only thing that can cure the latest Shaun and Leah issues? More cowbell. 

More cowbell makes everything better 😆

[thuganomics85]

Yeah, it's only going to be a matter of time before the cowbell comes into play during a dramatic moment that will put the Shaun/Lea relationship in peril.  Now, if only I was invested in that relationship...

Both of the cases were pretty interesting here.  The one about the guy who wanted to live forever was nuts!  Even looking past the normal issues that always pop up when it comes to the idea of immortality (seriously, I really can't think of any time someone ends up being immortal on a show/film and it ends up being a good thing for them in the long run!), the entire idea and method behind it almost felt like an origin story for a villain in a superhero film!  And if I'm understanding the ending correctly, he pretty much was willing to end his relationship for it as well.  Yep, I think we've got ourselves a supervillian here!  Since the show is also shot in Canada, I so hope the actor ends up popping in on one of the D.C. shows on the CW, because that would be perfect!

At least the case with the cancer patient had a happier ending.  I thought they did a good job at showing that the husband wasn't a one-note jerk, but someone who allowed his fear of losing his wife to push her away, and he needed a shot to the nerve to step up, and the idea of leaving her was what was needed for him to get there.  Both of the guest actors did great work, I thought.

Why am I not surprised that Enrique lives in a van in the hospital's parking lot?  That is totally Enrique!  And, sorry, Claire.  It's only a matter of time before you two hook-up, despite your claims that it will only be a friendship.  Really, the only question is those two will get there before Reznick and Park do.

Glad that Claire at least knows that there is something more going on with Lim.  But I imagine it will be a few episodes at best before Lim truly gets the help she needs.

Andrews definitely has thawed out a bit compared to the past, because the Andrews from the earlier seasons would have been fuming over the antics of Shaun's polls that are "totally not about his sex life" and so forth, but now he has seemed to have just accepted that his what his life has become now, heh.

[KaveDweller]

That guy wanting to extend his life was creepy. And living with pain for 40 years on the off chance the technology to extend his life is developed?Does not seem worth it to me.

11 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Oh great, another Shaun sex plot, because the writers are really enjoying giggling together like middle schoolers. It was at least a pretty chill subplot, no real relationship drama beyond Shaun and Leah having their differences and dealing with them. I also laughed a bit at everyone's long suffering reactions to Shaun asking everyone's opinion on shower sex, like everyone in this hospital is just aware that they are always going to get dragged into Shaun's lately relationship drama. If I ever go to the hospital, I am going to be very disappointed if none of my doctors are talking about their sex lives or trying to use my own medical issue as a thinly veiled allegory for their own personal struggles. 

I laughed at how Lea was all, "yeah, I got some questions about the shower sex poll."  Also at Shaun's "Don't you think people thought the poll was hypothetical and abstract." But other than that I am very sick of Shaun's sex life and Shaun not being able to talk about anything else. I liked him better when he talked more about the patients.

Also, did Shaun really just realize that sometimes people change and relationships end?

And does Carly still work at the hospital? I guess the actress is off the show, but how much would it suck if you were stuck working with your ex and he kept announcing the details of his sex life with the new girlfriend to your colleagues? I hope Shaun was at least smart enough to not send her his poll.

[bros402]

This was a good episode - both patient plots were interesting. Although when Claire visited Reznick in the ER for the patient with the ring, I was like "wait that looks exactly like the barium shake I got in 2019, why is she doing an ultrasound---ohhhhhhhhhh, laxative"

Do you think Shaun sent his sex survey to just the entire floor he works on and if so, does the floor have a group text where they chat about the random crap Shaun and the main cast do? I imagine they have had quite a bit of talk about Park & Reznick shenanigans.

I hope we see more of Claire & LIm's friendship, it is a good plot,

[greekmom]

On 1/18/2021 at 11:07 PM, Fable said:

Really, another episode around Shaun’s sex life?  Are these writers 12? 

It's getting to the point as a viewer I am uncomfortable with Shaun sharing the TMI. Plus it's a workplace. If this was real life he would have been giving the ax a long time ago due to the stuff he's been discussing at work - ADS or no ADS.

[cinsays]

On 1/18/2021 at 11:07 PM, Fable said:

Really, another episode around Shaun’s sex life?  Are these writers 12? 

yeah, kind of an immature and tiring theme.

[cinsays]

1 hour ago, greekmom said:

It's getting to the point as a viewer I am uncomfortable with Shaun sharing the TMI. Plus it's a workplace. If this was real life he would have been giving the ax a long time ago due to the stuff he's been discussing at work - ADS or no ADS.

I really hate that they let him talk about all his personal business while operating on someone. Keep your mind on the task at hand. And, also not liking the personal discussions while dealing with the ring gal when your focus should be on her. Talk about these things on your break.

[bros402]

17 hours ago, greekmom said:

It's getting to the point as a viewer I am uncomfortable with Shaun sharing the TMI. Plus it's a workplace. If this was real life he would have been giving the ax a long time ago due to the stuff he's been discussing at work - ADS or no ADS.

Yeah, you think they'd have Glassman or someone in HR explain to Shaun what is and isn't appropriate giving concrete examples - I have ASD and I find getting concrete examples and being able to ask questions about what should and should not be done is helpful.

[KaveDweller]

9 hours ago, DarkHorse said:

Season 4 and Shawn still hasn't worked out that you just don't speak about your sex life so freely, especially at work? His character hasn't progressed at all and I am wondering if this show is actually meant to be a comedy but the writers are too PC to admit it? Shawn has been told a number of times now not to talk about things like that. 

I also can't see how Leah can be attracted to him at all, he is like a 14 year old. 

Shawn is shocking around the patients too. 

I would think Shaun would understand, because he is usually big on rules. It is really simple....don't discuss sex at work. Not actual examples and not theoretical polls. 

I also thought Shaun has made some inappropriate comments to Asher (is that the new resident's name)? He asked him several pointed questions about being "a homosexual" a few weeks ago. Then this week when talking about the being with the same person after a thousand years, Shaun referred to Asher as an unknown like his opinion wasn't as valid as the other doctors answers. A gay person can obviously still say whether they can picture themselves with the same person for that long.

[statsgirl]

20 hours ago, bros402 said:

Yeah, you think they'd have Glassman or someone in HR explain to Shaun what is and isn't appropriate giving concrete examples -

My guess is that the showrunners think that Shaun's problems with sex and navigating his relationship is funny and entertaining. For me, it's not. Every time Shaun starts in on one of his personal problems, I just want to fast forward and move on. And then he asks Claire (Claire! who recently lost both her mother and Melendez) if she worries about losing someone she loves. But the inappropriate behaviour with the patients (e.g. asking the rich guy if he will still love his wife in a thousand years and then telling him he won't) is the utter worst.  If Shaun can learn all that complicated anatomy, he can learn basic social rules.

I hate all the inappropriate personal talk though, including Claire and Morgan talking personal issues in front of patients. I don't want to watch the ASD version of Grey's Anatomy.

I'm glad the husband decided to stay because I was having a hard time working up sympathy for him.  It's going to be much harder on her worrying and having to go through each cancer treatment until she most likely can't do it any more.

Why is Olivia wearing hard shoes with 3 inch heels?  All the medical staff I've seen wearing really comfortable running shoes or clogs.

This seems to be the Harllmark cast version of the show. Benjamin Ayres (rich man), Ashley Williams (cancer woman) and Matthew MacCaull (husband) all had Hallmark Christmas movies this year. They looked much prettier there, kudos to both make up crews.

[bros402]

3 hours ago, statsgirl said:

My guess is that the showrunners think that Shaun's problems with sex and navigating his relationship is funny and entertaining. For me, it's not. Every time Shaun starts in on one of his personal problems, I just want to fast forward and move on. And then he asks Claire (Claire! who recently lost both her mother and Melendez) if she worries about losing someone she loves. But the inappropriate behaviour with the patients (e.g. asking the rich guy if he will still love his wife in a thousand years and then telling him he won't) is the utter worst.  If Shaun can learn all that complicated anatomy, he can learn basic social rules.

I hate all the inappropriate personal talk though, including Claire and Morgan talking personal issues in front of patients. I don't want to watch the ASD version of Grey's Anatomy.

I'm glad the husband decided to stay because I was having a hard time working up sympathy for him.  It's going to be much harder on her worrying and having to go through each cancer treatment until she most likely can't do it any more.

Why is Olivia wearing hard shoes with 3 inch heels?  All the medical staff I've seen wearing really comfortable running shoes or clogs.

This seems to be the Harllmark cast version of the show. Benjamin Ayres (rich man), Ashley Williams (cancer woman) and Matthew MacCaull (husband) all had Hallmark Christmas movies this year. They looked much prettier there, kudos to both make up crews.

Yeah, I don't understand why the showrunners are doing it this way - I mean, they haven't understood autism from the start, but it is just silly. Like if they had had the shower sex by itself, sure, have Shaun express his discomfort and maybe ask some of the members of the team for humor's sake.

and yeah, him asking Claire of all people was just WTF? Now if he had asked Park, sure.

Exactly - Shaun should be able to read some basics of ABA and other autism therapies in medical journals and absorb it that way.

[KaveDweller]

22 hours ago, statsgirl said:

My guess is that the showrunners think that Shaun's problems with sex and navigating his relationship is funny and entertaining. For me, it's not. Every time Shaun starts in on one of his personal problems, I just want to fast forward and move on.

To me the problem is it is overdone. In the episode with Lim, the first time Shaun asked about giving a stuffed frog to Leah for her birthday, I kind of smiled in amusement. The second time he asked about a gift I rolled my eyes. And then when they brought in the sex toys I almost threw something at my TV.  They need to tone it down and only do it every few episodes. It is annoying and makes Shaun look like a teenage boy who can't think about anything but sex.

[juno]

24 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

It is annoying and makes Shaun look like a teenage boy who can't think about anything but sex.

Or if you are being a bit cynical like me it makes him look like an incredibly self absorbed man that thinks only of himself and doesn't consider for a moment the feelings of others. Maybe it is just me but I am finding this season full of characters that are incredibly selfish and are putting their co-workers and patient's health last.

[statsgirl]

1 hour ago, juno said:

I am finding this season full of characters that are incredibly selfish and are putting their co-workers and patient's health last.

It worked for Shore for 8 seasons of House.

17 hours ago, DarkHorse said:

There is no way I would let him treat me.

Same, in spite of his magical imaging skillz. It's a shame because instead of making Shaun a better doctor, they are making him a worse one.

[bros402]

20 hours ago, DarkHorse said:

Exactly it doesn't make any sense, he even walked out mid surgery too, I know he wasn't the head surgeon but it was still so random and weird. Anyone else would get their butts kicked for that but Shawn is "special" so it's ok.

 

Like at least if Shaun had gone "I know what it is, I need to look it up now before I lose my train of thought" you could excuse that in a TV show

[aemom]

On 1/21/2021 at 6:17 PM, KaveDweller said:

I also thought Shaun has made some inappropriate comments to Asher (is that the new resident's name)? He asked him several pointed questions about being "a homosexual" a few weeks ago. Then this week when talking about the being with the same person after a thousand years, Shaun referred to Asher as an unknown like his opinion wasn't as valid as the other doctors answers. A gay person can obviously still say whether they can picture themselves with the same person for that long.

Shaun was looking for people who were in relationships for input on whether or not people can love someone forever. 

Shaun glossed over Enrique because he's poly, he said too late for Park because he's divorced, and that Asher was unknown because he hasn't had a relationship yet. Shaun said that Andrews was the only person there who had a lasting, long term relationship - so could he love his wife forever?

[kicotan]

On 1/20/2021 at 6:19 AM, cinsays said:

I really hate that they let him talk about all his personal business while operating on someone.

My mom was a nurse for 50 years-everything from ER to OR.  She said as soon as the patient was out, most of the talk wasn’t about the operation.

On 1/22/2021 at 6:04 PM, juno said:

Or if you are being a bit cynical like me it makes him look like an incredibly self absorbed man that thinks only of himself and doesn't consider for a moment the feelings of others. Maybe it is just me but I am finding this season full of characters that are incredibly selfish and are putting their co-workers and patient's health last.

Unfortunately the medical profession has plenty of self absorbed, incredibly selfish people more interested in the bottom line or their career than patient health.  Mega-monopolies of private, non profit health corporations control access to healthcare, as well as the actions of their staff, sometimes based on religious principle first and patient care, second.  Looking at you, Dignity Health.

[MoreCoffeePlease]

Enrique really annoyed me when he wasn't really acknowledging that Claire was saying she wants to be friends, and only friends. Listen to and respect and believe women! 

Not loving the show as much as I used to. 😔

 

[nokat]

On 1/19/2021 at 9:01 AM, tennisgurl said:

"Your like a stalker, its like you and God had an acrimonious divorce." 

I loved that line. Actually the whole conversation.

[nokat]

On 1/21/2021 at 10:39 PM, bros402 said:

Yeah, I don't understand why the showrunners are doing it this way - I mean, they haven't understood autism from the start, but it is just silly.

I thought the premise was good. I was excited about it. I haven't liked the Leah romance (maybe because I just don't like Leah). He would need to be told apparently many times about inappropriate work conversation. He's obviously brilliant but still naive about revealing sex talk at work?

If you want to see a better made show about autism I suggest the movie Temple Grandin.  Then watch the actual Temple.

Edited January 26, 2021 by nokat

[Emma9]

On 1/26/2021 at 12:25 PM, MoreCoffeePlease said:

Enrique really annoyed me when he wasn't really acknowledging that Claire was saying she wants to be friends, and only friends. Listen to and respect and believe women!

Especially since it means Reznik was right that he just did the whole 'Oh, you thought I was asking you on a date' shuffle to save face when she shot him down (at the expense of making her the one who felt conflicted and foolish). If he had actual interest in her but was cool with being friends too, the time to say so was then - once - and then let it go.

[possibilities]

Claire should not be socializing so much with people who supervise her and people who she supervises. It's a bad idea whether it's a date or not, and she's doing it not just once but over and over and over again. I hope they address this, because it's become a pattern.

[tinkerbell]

On 1/20/2021 at 8:19 AM, cinsays said:

. And, also not liking the personal discussions while dealing with the ring gal when your focus should be on her. Talk about these things on your break.

I agree. I kept putting myself in the position of a patient being given a barium drink and going through an exam, while being subjected to a discussion of doctors personal lives. I would be infuriated.