S04.E08: Parenting

[helenamonster]

Quote

The team treats a teenage gymnast who experiences complications from her intensive training. Shaun meets Lea's parents for the first time.

Original airdate: 1/25/21

[Annber03]

LMAO at the "hemorrhoid surgery" bit. That was great. I do think there are valid issues to discuss regarding Shaun and Lea's relationship (mainly because there's still issues they themselves haven't fully dealt with, at least, not that we've seen, anyway), and I liked Glassman explaining to Lea why he's so protective of Shaun. But I did like Shaun trying to keep the peace throughout and speaking to Lea's parents later on. That was a good speech he gave them. 

(And I'm glad they called out the "vaccines lead to autism" nonsense point blank, too.)

I knew Claire was concerned about Lim because she was seeing so much of her own past troubles in Lim's behavior, but I hadn't really thought about her comparing Lim's situation to that of her mom's. But that makes so much sense and definitely adds to the deep concern she's showing her. I agree that it's risky for her to be telling Glassman about such personal things, but she is also right that Lim's behavior could have a potential impact on her work and that of others, so it is good that someone else be aware of it. I just really hope they'll be able to pull Lim back from the brink, 'cause I don't want her going anywhere. 

Lots of tension throughout the episode in general, really. That case with his dad and daughter was pretty intense, too. 

I also liked Morgan and Olivia talking. And we got Shaun and Claire working on a case together again, which, yay :)! Been some time since that's happened, I missed that. 

[thuganomics85]

Man, between this and Wonder Woman 1984, I've been seeing a lot of Kristoffer Polaha again lately!  I thought he and the actress playing his daughter did great work here (honestly, it seems like the performers playing the guest actors this season have been really bringing it this season.)  The dad was definitely someone who allowed his grief to make him completely embrace the "coach" role and not be an actual father, but I'm glad he seems to be turning it around now, and will hopefully be a better dad going forward.

Ironically, I don't think Glassman or even Lea's parents' concerns about Shaun and Lea dating are completely without merit, but I do think it is a case of the three needing to accept that both of them are adults and nothing is going to change (at least now), so they should just simply do their best to be supportive for now, and be there for them if (or when) it does fall apart.  That said, I'm not totally surprised that Lea's parents did find Shaun charming in his own way.  But them being anti-vaxxers is a major blemish, so I certainly hope they get their asses educated soon.  Still, Julie Warner and Barclay Hope (glad to see him with regular hair after all those awesomely ridiculous wigs he wore on Riverdale) did good work.

Glad Olivia got some focus this time and is starting to find her voice: especially when it comes to Andrews.  I do think he truly is trying to make her a better doctor, but his approach to things simply isn't what is best for her, and I'm glad she stood up to him.  I also agree that Jordan is honestly the current newbie who is more on his wavelength.

Yikes, this Lim stuff is going to get rough, huh?  Even though I think Claire is right to bring her concerns to Glassman since this could possibly effect how she runs the hospital, I have to imagine Lim will think of it as an ultimate betrayal, if she ever finds out about it.  Have a feelings things will be getting dicy soon!

 

[KaveDweller]

I do think Glassman and Lea's parents have some valid concerns, but parents could find concerns around most relationships that their 20-something kids are in. I did like that Lea's parents concern wasn't about Shaun, but about Lea's ability to handle it. That is a different angle than I expected. But Glassman suggesting they barely know each other and are moving too fast...…they've known each other a lot longer than he knew his wife when he married her.

I don't like Claire going to Glassman about Lim. That is not going to end well. Also, this is a reason why you should not try and be pals with your boss. You find stuff out that impacts your job and have to act on it. 

They are kind of running out of things to do with Morgan, aren't they?

[bros402]

Claire going to Glassman is gonna backfire on her within 2 episodes, if not the next episode.

They also need to figure out what to do with Morgan.

[rmontro]

Morgan said something to Olivia that kind of bugged me.  She said:

"Either you're an awkward, inconsistent loner who's irritatingly apologetic about your best qualities - OR - you're a quietly brilliant surgeon whom others ignore at their own peril.  If you're the first one, quit now and stop wasting resources".

Someone who is socially awkward can't be a good surgeon?  What about Shawn?

 

3 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Yikes, this Lim stuff is going to get rough, huh? 

I probably wouldn't have noticed this if I hadn't had the captions turned on, but at the end of the scene where Claire told Glassman about Lim's PTSD, it said "Thunder rumbles in the distance".  Pretty ominous, eh?

[possibilities]

I hate Asher's hair do.

[Drogo]

9 hours ago, rmontro said:

"Either you're an awkward, inconsistent loner who's irritatingly apologetic about your best qualities - OR - you're a quietly brilliant surgeon whom others ignore at their own peril.  If you're the first one, quit now and stop wasting resources".

Someone who is socially awkward can't be a good surgeon?  What about Shawn?

I don't think Morgan meant socially awkward, I thought she meant clumsy or unskilled and annoyingly self-deprecating.   Mostly I think she was telling her that if she's not confident in and excited about her abilities and treatment ideas, no one else will be either. 

FWIW I think Morgan would consider Shawn under the second description. 

Edited January 26, 2021 by Drogo

[tennisgurl]

All things considered, Shawn's first meeting with Lea's parents could have gone a lot worse. Other than her dad coming in hot with that anti-vaxx nonsense (which hopefully Shaun can dispel right quick) they seem to be alright, and I am glad that it seems like they're problems with Shawn and Lea is less about Shaun and more about Lea, which is pretty valid considering Lea's own apprehension about dating Shawn. Most of the issues that Glassman and Lea's parents seem have are pretty understandable, which is pretty typical when it comes to parents worrying about their 20 something kids. They know their kids are adults, but they still worry, especially with Glassman. His reasons for still worrying about Shaun made a lot of sense, especially given Shawn's history. Shaun actually handled the dinner and Lea's parents quite well, his awkward joke actually did manage to break the ice during dinner, and his speech to her parents later when he was trying to make the peace between them was really good. I kept wondering if they would bring up Shaun's terrible garbage parents, but Glassman is really his only parent worth mentioning. 

The case with Coach Dad was quite intense, I am glad that they seemed to end in a good place. It seems like the dad was so grief stricken after losing his wife and so afraid of being a single parent that he defaulted to "coach" mode instead of dad mode, and it took him being hit with how young and needing of a parent she is to get him to finally be the parent she needs. Claire really does have the most intense side eye, the look she gave the dad when he said he wanted his daughter to choose what surgery she wanted was...ouch. 

Speaking of Claire and her side eye, its obvious that Lim is spiraling and that's setting off Claire's issues with her mom and her own downward spiral, plus her natural caretaker nature and friendship with Lim, but this is probably why its not a great idea to become close off work friends with your boss. It can lead to these kinds of tricky situations where you can find out personal things about them that leave you in an awkward position. I understand why Claire went to Glassman, especially as Lim seems to have no desire to deal with her issues and that can bleed into work, but I don't think this is going to go well. Lim will see it as a huge betrayal at the very least. 

It was great seeing Shawn and Claire working a case again, its been a long time. The interns also got some good subplots, especially Olivia finally talking with Andrews and putting her foot down on him, consciously or subconsciously, favoring her and putting so much of his own stuff on her. 

[MoreCoffeePlease]

Why was the Dad/coach being checked out by the doctors? Did he exhibit symptoms of something?

Poor Claire. 

[Drogo]

5 minutes ago, MoreCoffeePlease said:

Why was the Dad/coach being checked out by the doctors? Did he exhibit symptoms of something?

Dad and daughter had both been eating diet noodles which were banned for being dangerous and indigestible, so they were checking him out too. 

[jabRI]

Dad/Coach also said the noodles 'did a number' on this stomach, so totally needed to get checked out also.

[Fable]

I’m not keen on where the Lim/Claire thing is going.  I really think Claire should stay out of it.  The road to hell is paved with good intentions after all.  Perhaps Claire should have mentioned to her that she was concerned enough to see Glassman about it because I really don’t see Lim taking being blindsided too well.  I also don’t like seeing Lim coming unraveled because she is always so practical and in control. 

Shaun seemed to handle meeting Leah’s parents well enough, but I still think Shaun and Leah come across as a couple of teens playing house rather than an adult couple.  I did get a chuckle when Glassman saw Leah in the cafeteria, and he seemed like he needed a moment to decide whether to talk to her or make a run for it. 

[possibilities]

I was shocked that konjac noodles were this week's scapegoat. They are not banned in the USA, they are widely available and I never heard of anyone having trouble with them. I looked around after the show, and it turns out that in fact a woman in Australia ate 4 packages of them in one meal and they expanded in her gut and caused dangerous problems, but basically they are in fact just fiber. You could eat too much of any fiber and cause swelling or a blockage. You can even kill yourself by drinking too much water at once, so it's not the noodles or the water that's a problem, it's total lack of moderation. They are also called shirataki noodles, or glucomannon. They are not normally considered in the least bit dangerous. Just FYI!

[statsgirl]

Three parenting stories -- Lea's parents with Glassman as Shaun's dad #2, coach and his daughter, and Andrews and Olivia. All three resolved which seems strange to me.

I liked that Lea's parents thought that she was the problem, too immature to be in a relationship with Shaun. I agree with them but there is nothing that they can do about it, she's old enough to make her own decisions. Surprisingly, I thought that they were nice people.

On 1/26/2021 at 10:50 AM, Drogo said:

I don't think Morgan meant socially awkward, I thought she meant clumsy or unskilled and annoyingly self-deprecating.   Mostly I think she was telling her that if she's not confident in and excited about her abilities and treatment ideas, no one else will be either.

That's what I thought too. It was Morgan's version of a "Buck up" speech. Olivia came to the residency as a star but she's become increasingly weakened, possibly because her uncle is interfering and pressuring her too much.  I hope that she can finally shine again.

I don't think that Claire had any other choice but to go to Glassman. She tried to get Lim to get help; Lim went to a psychiatrist who prescribed her medication which she refused. (I was watching with my daughter who said "She should have gone to a psychologist" (I'm proud).) At this point Lim is freezing and clearly making mistakes. She's a potential danger to patients. Claire had to do something about the situation, and Glassman is Lim's boss. There was no one else she could have gone to. If Melendez had been alive, she could have gone to him. But he's gone. 😪

 

[tinkerbell]

I think we can all be grateful that Shaun didn't ask Lea's parents the "sex in the shower"  question.