S01.E11: Islands - Part I

[Guest]

Quote

Dr. Marcus Andrews enlists Dr. Neil Melendez on a very sensitive kidney transplant between a pair of twins whose lives intersect in more ways than one. Meanwhile, overwhelmed by Dr. Aaron Glassman's attempts to have him meet with a therapist and the demands at work, Dr. Shaun Murphy decides to take an impromptu trip with his friend Lea and leave everything behind.

[Pink-n-Green]

I forgot that this show was coming back tonight so it was a nice surprise to see it on my DVR.  I just started watching a few minutes ago but the only thing I'm really thinking is, who on the writing staff has a connection to Pittsburgh?  Nobody who has not spent time there would ever know what "nebby" is!

[Beroglide]

ugh it's the bad guy from the Mentalist... I've forgotten everyone's name on that show.

Also, wish I had a lady friend like Lea.

Edited January 9, 2018 by Beroglide

[SayMyName]

Lea is awesome.

I wonder how many episodes Pennsylvania will be.

[Annber03]

First things first, I love those twins :D. Their interactions with Claire and Neil were so good. I feel for their mom, too-I totally understand and admire her being all, "This is your decision, I trust you girls" about this, but man, the thoughts that must be running through her mind in regards to these surgeries regardless. Seeing her sitting alone in the waiting room got to me a bit. Really hoping this story will have a happy ending. 

As for Shaun and Lea, yeah, so letting somebody without a license drive a car was clearly not a good move, even if they hadn't gotten into an accident. But that issue aside, it was fun to see her and Shaun bonding a bit on their road trip. I like how they got to open up a little more about their personal lives, and I like Lea's attitude about her work. And their bonding over music was fun, too. The karaoke bit was great :D. Just wish it wasn't so brief!

But oh, man, Shaun's reaction to her announcement she's moving. That broke my heart. Aw :(. Will be very curious to see how that plays out.

I also feel for Jared. I totally understand Andrews' reasoning behind not reinstating him, though. I liked that Jared even went so far as to try and talk to Dr. Creep personally, futile though his efforts would've been. A guy who sees nothing wrong with pushing himself on women clearly isn't interested in appeals to reason, after all. Still, I appreciate that Jared acknowledges his screw up. 

On a lighter note, really enjoyed all the interaction between Neil and Claire this episode. It was so nice to see him being supportive of her professionally and openly complimenting her, and I like that he felt so comfortable talking to her about personal matters, too. I definitely don't think Neil's solution will fully resolve his issues with Jessica, but I do like the idea of him helping children in general. 

Also got some more interesting, and heartbreaking, tidbits of Claire's past this episode. Hope this is setting the stage for the show to delve much more deeply into her pre-doctor life in general at some point. Seems there's some good storyline material there. 

So anxious to see how all these situations will resolve themselves (or not) next week!

[chocolatine]

Aw, Shaun! The breakfast scene broke my heart. This is why he doesn't want love.

This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I'm glad Jared didn't get his job back. I hate it when TV characters get away with egregious behavior because the audience is supposed to root for them (*cough* Grey's Anatomy *cough*). Of course if the actor is a series regular they'll have him come back eventually, but at least they're not making it a quick and neat resolution.

Edited January 9, 2018 by chocolatine

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

I loved everything about the hospital. The twins were precious. I hope they will fully recover and live a long and healthy life together. The one twin who didn't want the surgery was afraid to loose the connection. So sweet.

Now going against the tide here. I hate the road trip. Taking off like that without informing anyone where he is going is selfish. Being upset doesn't make blowing off work okay either. I didn't enjoy the antics on the road trip because I keep waiting for something bad to happen. A person who've never driven before driving an obviously expensive car without a permit is not fun to watch. This road trip would have been better if Lea knew Shaun better. Everything about that trip felt forced. 

If the previews are anything to go by, my patience with Shaun will be at an all time low. Squandering this opportunity because why? And as pushy as he's been, Glassman he cares about Shaun and goes out of his way to lookout for him. He is being an ungrateful asshole.

[possibilities]

I honestly thought Jared's excuse that "wouldn't you have done the same?" reinforced that he doesn't deserve to be reinstated. What kind of thug thinks the only possible response to that situation would be what he did? He had so many other options. He could have gone to Claire and apologized and asked how he could best support her. He could have used his words. In what universe would grabbing Doctor Abusive and shoving him against the lockers wind up actually helping anything? That wasn't any kind of taking responsibility, it was just plain doubling down on the condescending imperious BS that was his original mistake when he belittled Claire and dismissed her original complaints. I understand that he's contrite, but I don't think he understands fully what the problem is with is behavior yet either.

I didn't recognize Lea at first. I thought her voice was different as well as her appearance. I actually thought at first that it was a new character, and then that maybe they recast the role.

Claire had a good week.

I thought Shaun was going to call in sick after Nebby said he had a family emergency, and the moral of the story was going to be that once again his interference caused problems, that Shaun was handling the situation just fine and he attempt to rescue him backfired and got Shaun into trouble. I kind of wish it had gone that way, but I guess they're not done saying that Shaun really does need Nebby.

Question for anyone with medical knowledge: would you really wait til they're that old to separate conjoined twins? I would have thought it would become more difficult the longer you wait, but I honestly have zero actual information to back that up.

[Blue Plastic]

The road trip was okay but of course Lea shouldn't have pressed Shaun to drive and Shaun shouldn't have run off for an overnight (?) trip and left work behind without at least calling.  I thought the actress playing Lea looked a lot like a younger Famke Janssen in this episode (never thought that about her in previous episodes).  A little confused as to where they're going with Shaun and Jared.  If they keep being separated from the hospital where all the rest of the characters are...that's not going to work very well long term is it?

Seeing Shaun at the motel made me think of "Bates Motel."  There were a lot of cute scenes between Shaun and Lea but I just kept expecting them to run into an 18 wheeler or have some other horrible thing happen, between Shaun driving when he doesn't know how and might not have the capacity and Lea closing her eyes and singing instead of looking at the damn road.  Also, Shaun is obviously already very attached to Lea so he's probably going to get his heart broken.

I really liked the twins and hope they will recover.  Even though their mother was undoubtedly worried sick, she didn't start throwing a fit and yelling at her daughters and/or the hospital staff, and even though one of the twins briefly changed her mind about the surgery they didn't get mad at each other about it and it wasn't a long, drawn-out disagreement.  The show didn't take the drama that was already going on with the twins' health and then try to amp it up to 11 with a bunch of crying, screaming characters or the legal staff having to step in because the family can't agree, etc. (this time, heh).

[Poohbear617]

Hey, I am very new to the.show, I have not had time to catch up and have only seen 3 episodes.  I have a few questions.

1) Does Lea know that Sean is autistic? She knows he is awkward, but seems unaware of more than that. I saw the episode where she ate his apple and got mad at him for suggesting she get headphones. Here she did not seem to CARE that Sean is sensitive to sounds as she cranks the radio and unaware of his difficulty in lying, and needing more thorough instructions on things like burning rubber. It surprised me to find out she is an engineer and sits in professional meetings etc. For her job.

2) is dr. Andrews  the main villian? Why does he hate Sean when others have given him a chance and why does he want Glassman gone.

 

3) what is the history with Sean and dr. Glassman. Sean said dr. G looked after him when his brother died, did he move sean in?  The episode I saw before Christmas I thought he talked about having a daughter.

[Annber03]

1 hour ago, Blue Plastic said:

Seeing Shaun at the motel made me think of "Bates Motel."

I saw somebody make a joke about that elsewhere earlier! They were like, "Aw, Shaun and Lea kissing at the motel....wait..." and then showed a picture of Norman from "Bates Motel" :p. I honestly didn't even think of that connection until I read that comment, but it gave me a good laugh. Guess that shows just how well Highmore's settled into his role of Shaun, though, to where I don't immediately think "Norman" when seeing him at a motel or something. 

45 minutes ago, Poohbear617 said:

Hey, I am very new to the.show, I have not had time to catch up and have only seen 3 episodes.  I have a few questions.

1) Does Lea know that Sean is autistic? She knows he is awkward, but seems unaware of more than that. I saw the episode where she ate his apple and got mad at him for suggesting she get headphones. Here she did not seem to CARE that Sean is sensitive to sounds as she cranks the radio and unaware of his difficulty in lying, and needing more thorough instructions on things like burning rubber.

She did specifically say in this episode, when he expressed concern about taking their car out on the road, "You're autistic. You're not blind." So yeah, she's aware :). 

I do understand your concerns, though. On the one hand, I like that she doesn't treat him any differently because of his autism, I think that's a good thing, but on the other hand, yeah, there were times she definitely could've eased up a bit and let him take things at his own pace. 

Edited January 9, 2018 by Annber03

[DearEvette]

9 hours ago, Deputy Deputy CoS said:

Now going against the tide here. I hate the road trip. Taking off like that without informing anyone where he is going is selfish. Being upset doesn't make blowing off work okay either. I didn't enjoy the antics on the road trip because I keep waiting for something bad to happen. A person who've never driven before driving an obviously expensive car without a permit is not fun to watch. This road trip would have been better if Lea knew Shaun better. Everything about that trip felt forced. 

I have to agree here.  I was rather bored by the road trip to be honest.  Leah's character felt like the show decided to their version of the manic pixie dream girl while dragging Shaun along for the ride. 

I loved the hospital parts though, (still lament that Dr. Hottie has to be a pervy sexual harasser.  sigh.) enjoyed the twins although since they they made a point to say they shared a a major nerve in the brain and they are now separated, I wonder if it now somehow affects the musical twin?

I am wondering where they are going with the Jared business?  I did like Claire confronting Dr. Harrassment, but interesting that they are holding the hard line with Jared.

[rhys]

Are the twins really conjoined?

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Poohbear617 said:

Why does he hate Sean when others have given him a chance and why does he want Glassman gone.

I think the implication is he is gunning for his job.

Menlendez and Claire would make a much better couple than his fiancee.  Though I'm glad (so far) the show isn't doing attendee/resident relationships.  But still.  

I didn't really care for the road trip or her "Let me teach you" ways.  I did like how they are showing lots of gray in the relationship with Glassman.  He's not right, but he's also not completely wrong.

[possibilities]

RE Andrews as the villain: in the beginning, everyone was like that towards Shaun (except Glassman). But they all changed their minds after getting to know him. Even Andrews has given him a little recognition a few times and backed him when it suited his own purposes. He does definitely want Glassman's job, and has been very up front about it. When backing Shaun in a previous controversy, he told Glassman that if Shaun succeeds, Andrews will take the credit and if Shaun fails, he gets Glassman's job, so either way it's all about Andrews. I have yet to see them try to give him a likability rewrite like they've done with the other characters.

I agree that Lea's behavior was a mix of good and bad. I think she was wrong to lobby him to skip work, turn off his phone, drive without even a permit, and behave recklessly with the loud music and burning rubber on a road where frankly even if there wasn't any traffic so far, there certainly could suddenly be another car. She knows Shaun panics when startled, so she's clearly a somewhat reckless person. I also think that if she was considering leaving town she might have considered telling him this before kissing him, especially knowing that she could clearly see that he had very little confidence or experience with this kind of thing.

On the other hand, Shaun is an adult. He can decide whether or not to go along with her reckless ideas. She has always been impulsive and rude, and she didn't force him to do any of the things they did together. I think he's attracted to her for her impulsiveness and her lack of interest in the social niceties/veneer/lying that he finds so confusing, and he's looking for people who treat him like a person, take interest in him, and believe he can handle things, since so far he's never had that very much. Glassman appears to have been his absolutely only friend/support person since his brother died when they were very young. So it's surely quite intoxicating to have someone be drawn to him and take an interest and encourage him to loosen up, even if she's a bit of an over-correction compared to Glassman's constant controlling and criticism.

I think Lea is a mixed bag.

I want Shaun to find other people who are exciting and supportive without also being flaky and reckless. But I get why she's appealing to him. His only relationships have been with people who mentored him, and they both feared for his safety and discounted his judgment all the time and controlled his life relentlessly. Lea is the first person who's actually acted like she believed in him and wanted more for him personally and socially. I don't think her mistakes with Shaun are personal to him. They're just about how she is all the time. So she may be the only person Shaun has ever met who didn't treat him like the autism was his primary characteristic. That's heady stuff.

 

RE Claire.... I think she was right to go after Dr. Abusive by looking for others who he'd harassed. I think she should do it whether or not it helps Jared. But I think threatening him like she did was a strategic mistake. It's never a good idea to show your cards like that. He's going to be at war with her now. He now fears her and will want to sabotage her any way he can. He knows she could destroy him and will want to try to protect himself by destroying her first. It might not work, because if she has a lot of witnesses, that might ruin his credibility. But blackmailing someone is not going to look good with the administration either. This guy has been been getting away with his behavior for a while, and had probably grown quite confident that he was going to continue to do so, especially since Andrews apparently did nothing after hearing he harassed Claire. She should have quietly found the other people he targeted, and brought the case without warning him. Now he's planning his defense, and a guy like that will make it an offensive one. And really, it's not his fault that Jared got fired. She can forgive Jared, but as Andrews said, Jared is still at fault and Dr. Abusive is not going to take Claire's threat lightly.

Edited January 9, 2018 by possibilities

[DearEvette]

2 hours ago, possibilities said:

On the other hand, Shaun is an adult. He can decide whether or not to go along with her reckless ideas. She has always been impulsive and rude, and she didn't force him to do any of the things they did together. I think he's attracted to her for her impulsiveness and her lack of interest in the social niceties/veneer/lying that he finds so confusing, and he's looking for people who treat him like a person, take interest in him, and believe he can handle things, since so far he's never had that very much.

I think this is why the road trip portion of the story did not connect with me.  It felt like it was more about her than it was about him.  We have seen Claire and then Claire and Jared both try to connect socially with Shaun, move him out of his comfort zone a bit.  And each time he was very clear about where his boundaries were.  When they invited him for a beer, even though Shaun was reluctant they explained about they why of it.  They had all three just bonded in a difficult medical situation and it was the first time Jared at least began to see Shaun as a peer.  We got to see Shaun connect the dots with that and accept it as a part of the socialization process.  I don't feel like this storyline  had Shaun really involved. He just seemed, I dunno,  confused mostly.

[Deni]

I feel so sad for Shaun that Lea is moving. I know how hard it is to make new friends, then to have them leave. Also, when Lea told Shaun to kiss her, it reminded me of the scene when Jenny made Forrest Gump touch her breast. Innocent “older” guys are so cute.

[maryle]

And, lea for me enable him and call name his mentor they both know to be his only father figure all this time like she herself admitted it at one point but dont encourage Shaun To talk with him even There.

I dit love all the rest and I am happy that claire was finally participing in the major case, I like the resolution of Dr. Merendez et his fiance cause I was afraid they were going for the cliché triangle and even if I now like the other resident I found realistic that he was still fired.

 

 

 

I know I am probably the only viewer who hate the Shaun and lea odyssey, but  I thought that Shaun and lea were brat yesterday! The truth is in reality a resident cannot just not show off and have a big wig protect him and make excuses.  
Shaun himself said a resident cannot not answer to his cell.But, he never cares to listen the Dr glasman message even after the crash to know if there an urgency concerning one of his patients or reassure him about his Well being.  I am sorry but it's the first time I doubt Shaun has the maturity needed To be a doctor, yet!

And, Lea for me enable him (more than help to appreciate life!) and call name his mentor they both know to be his only father figure all this time like she herself admitted it at one point but don't encourage Shaun To talk with him even There. It was more like watching to teenager escape school for a day except Shaun is in formation to become a doctor by ils choice and must like and résidence respect the rule or face some responsability. And, I hope je does

I did love all the rest and I am happy that Claire was finally participating in the major case, I like the resolution of Dr. Merendez et his fiance cause I was afraid they were going for the cliché triangle and even if I now like the other resident I found realistic that he was still fired.

[orza]

The episode was a dud for me. The road trip story line seemed liked someone had been reading too much shipper fan fiction. The naive, inexperienced man is taken in hand by the more experienced woman trope is a bit creepy, or at the least eye roll worthy, if you are not a dedicated shipper. I don't know what they were going for with Lea but she came off as immature and irritating. Sending her off to Pittsburgh is the right call.

The twins were a bit too chipper for people staring life-threatening surgery in the face.

I don't see Andrews as any kind of villain or bad guy. He got overruled and was forced to take on someone he considers not qualified for the job. I think he's right about Shaun and don't see anything wrong with him taking advantage of opportunities to get rid of him as they present themselves.

[Bobbin]

As to why the twins weren't separated much earlier, they stated that the necessary imaging technology didn't exist before that let them see what they're doing and practice the surgery on partially conjoined brains.

[tennisgurl]

Lea is a bit of a mixed bag in her interactions with Shaun. On the one hand, she is clearly pushing him too hard too fast, and convincing him to skip work and drive without a license is clearly going to go badly, especially with someone who needs order as much as Shaun does, but on the other hand, I did enjoy seeing them bonding, and it was nice to see him get to act a bit more like a "normal" guy for awhile, and get to be away from work and his regular life. Plus, it must be great for him to be around someone who just treats him like a normal guy, and not The Autism Doctor. It was also heartbreaking to see his reaction to Lea telling him she wants to move away. 

Really, what Shaun needs is some middle ground between Lea and Glassman. Glassman cares for him deeply and has his best interests at heart, but he is also rather over protective of him, and tends to still treat Shaun like a kid, and not an adult who lives on his own and works at a hospital, and Lea clearly likes him and wants him to have fun, but she also doesn't fully seem to grasp the severity of his problems, and is probably pushing him too hard to do things he isn't fully ready for. I think that his work friends could be that middle ground eventually, but first he needs to figure himself out a bit more. 

I mean, at least Lea introduced him to music. That is a big win in and of itself. 

I also liked the plot with Doctor Asshole and Claire, and while I like Jared and know he will be back, I am glad that it isn't easy for him to get his job back. Just shoving assholes around isn't the way to deal with things, especially in a hospital, and he doesn't seem to totally get why what he did was wrong. I also liked the twins, and hope things turn out alright for them. 

5 hours ago, deaja said:

Menlendez and Claire would make a much better couple than his fiancee.  Though I'm glad (so far) the show isn't doing attendee/resident relationships.  But still.  

 

I thought the same thing! I guess I dont really want that, because I dont want more inter doctor drama, Greys Anatomy style, but they do have a nice chemistry, and I dont really care for Menlendezs fiance. They seem awkward together, even beyond the issue of having kids. 

[thuganomics85]

While I get that it came out of Glassman's concern and feelings for Shaun, him barging into Lea's apartment without and invitation and refusing to leave, did make me feel uncomfortable.  Granted, he actually had the right idea since Shaun was hiding there, but it was still too much, especially since I don't think those two characters have met yet.  Sure, we the viewers know what Glassman is a mainly harmless old guy who just wants to protect Shaun, but she didn't.

I enjoyed parts of the road-trips, but just like Glassman needs to realize that there is a point where you can be too protective, Lea needs to realize that there is such a thing as being too wild with Shaun.  Tequila shots, drunken karaoke, and listening to crazy music is one thing, but you probably should avoid having your inexperienced driver crush drive the classic car on the road.  They're really lucky it didn't end worse for them.  And I have to think that in real life, Shaun would be done as the hospital now.  Considering how tough residency is suppose to be, I can't see you just not showing up, even if your mentor claims its for "family."  Granted, I guess it helps that your mentor happens to be a bigwig at said hospital, but I have to imagine both Andrews and Melendez will not be very pleased once he returns.

The stuff with the twins was pretty good.  I like that the mother was actually supportive and let both of them make their own decisions when it came to the case.  A nice little victory for Claire too (finally), although they just had to leave some suspense in there by not having them wake up.  I hope it works out, but I really wouldn't be surprised if one of them ends up dying, leaving the other one guilt-ridden.

I have to imagine Jared will eventually come back, but so far, it is looking like a tough obstacle to defeat!

I actually like the idea of Melendez/Jessica working out by him taking a mentorship with children, but I suspect their relationship is still in trouble, especially with the way he is making eyes at Claire!

Edited January 10, 2018 by thuganomics85

[Lady Calypso]

I didn't really enjoy this episode all that much. A lot of it was frustrating to watch.

I agree that the road trip part was not done well. I only have liked Lea sometimes and been irritated by her the other times. I was of one of two minds here. I totally got what Lea was going for with Shaun and taking him out to "clear his head", so to speak. I think that her treatment of him is an excellent thing. Most shows would have had his potential love interest be rude or be unaccepting of his autism, or try to change him too much. Yes, Lea was trying to change Shaun in a way by pushing him to do things he's never done before. But I feel like, as much as the road trip seemed to be about Lea, she also was trying to do it for Shaun as well. She treats him like a normal person, and that is a lovely change of pace with shows with characters like this. 

However, I don't think Lea fully got that her pushing Shaun was too much. I think her intentions were to try to help him by letting him be a normal person for a day, but there were situations she didn't understand would upset him or push him too far. So when the car accident happened, that was taking it too far. There's a difference between letting him drive and letting him drive wild and potentially illegally. 

And yeah, it really sucks that Lea seems to be moving away. As much as her character was underdeveloped and maybe too forceful with Shaun, she's the only one to treat him completely normally. Well, besides Claire, who really does treat Shaun pretty well. Shaun losing Lea as a friend is going to be tough, especially since he has trouble making friends like that in the first place. Plus, Lea being there meant that they were avoiding a potentially dangerous love interest trope with Shaun's love interest initially treating him like crap. I do fear that Shaun's next love interest will turn out to be a hate-turned-to-love situation. Lea's been somewhat of a different character with Shaun, and I enjoyed that aspect, even if I haven't always enjoyed her. But it is episode 11, so it's still early on in the series.

Yay! Claire got a win! Now, let's hope nothing blows up in her face. She's had bad luck after bad luck for five episodes now. 

Glassman is definitely overprotective of Shaun. He cares, and it's great that he does, and I'm sure he's seen things with Shaun that we haven't yet. But he also needs to back off because Shaun is not only an adult, but someone who is still searching for himself. 

Poor Jared, but him not being reinstated is the right call. He did threaten a superior, after all, and even though Douche Doc came forward, Jared still needs to understand that his own actions have consequences, whether or not the reasons are valid. It's nice that the show didn't reverse his firing. Sure, he'll end up being rehired at some point, but it's not an easily fixed thing. 

I liked the twin stuff as well. 

[possibilities]

1 hour ago, Bobbin said:

As to why the twins weren't separated much earlier, they stated that the necessary imaging technology didn't exist before that let them see what they're doing and practice the surgery on partially conjoined brains.

Thanks. I somehow missed that.

[Fable]

Count me in as not enjoying the road trip.  I generally like Lea, but it bothered me that she was encouraging Shaun to behave so irresponsibly.  She was likely well intentioned but seems like a good-time girl, not someone who has Shaun’s best interests at heart.  I hope the show isn’t setting them as a long-term romantic pairing. 

Glassman has annoyed me the last couple of episodes.  Pushing his way into Lea’s apartment and rummaging around was way out of line.  He is obviously overprotective when it comes to his relationship with Shaun and sometimes comes off as tone deaf, for example bringing the therapist to the apartment after the outburst at the hospital when Shaun had just told him, in no uncertain terms, that he was not willing to have therapy, but at least he genuinely cares about Shaun’s well being. 

[TwistedandBored]

I liked watching the episode. I even actually enjoyed the road trip but I didn't enjoy how Shaun wanted to be a grown up but instead would act like someone who still needs to be handled with care. Being grown up is calling off from work and actually facing your problems but Shaun has developed a habit of running away from them which I think is really bad. It doesn't help that Glassman is being an over protective parent.  Glassman should be supporting Shaun's ideas instead of overriding them. I think both of them need to change how they react to one another. 

 

I loved Cliare's story this week. She really did have a good week and I want to know more about her background too. 

 

Jarod's story was weird. I didn't like how he tried to get his job back. I also didn't like how he just seemed to be blaming the whole thing on Claire making him feel guilty about his first reaction and that is why he hit the guy. No dude. You hit that guy to make yourself feel better and didn't even care about the consequences. Owned it.  

[JenMcSnark]

I appreciate the poster upthread who said that Shaun didn't call in because of his problem with lying.  I didn't get that but it makes perfect sense now.  It does make me think a less of Lea that she would tell him to do that when she's always said she appreciates Shaun's direct honesty.  And of course, letting him drive on a highway supposedly to Yosemite.  That road is not for newbie drivers of any sort. 

However, all that said, I am this show's bitch, because I just love it.  I cried at least twice during this episode.  Freddie Highmore is amazing. 

[Texasmom1970]

21 hours ago, Deputy Deputy CoS said:

I loved everything about the hospital. The twins were precious. I hope they will fully recover and live a long and healthy life together. The one twin who didn't want the surgery was afraid to loose the connection. So sweet.

Now going against the tide here. I hate the road trip. Taking off like that without informing anyone where he is going is selfish. Being upset doesn't make blowing off work okay either. I didn't enjoy the antics on the road trip because I keep waiting for something bad to happen. A person who've never driven before driving an obviously expensive car without a permit is not fun to watch. This road trip would have been better if Lea knew Shaun better. Everything about that trip felt forced. 

If the previews are anything to go by, my patience with Shaun will be at an all time low. Squandering this opportunity because why? And as pushy as he's been, Glassman he cares about Shaun and goes out of his way to lookout for him. He is being an ungrateful asshole.

You are not alone I did not e joy the road trip either. I will go one step better I thought I liked Lea, the more I see of her the less I do.

[Pink-n-Green]

12 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I have to agree here.  I was rather bored by the road trip to be honest.  Leah's character felt like the show decided to their version of the manic pixie dream girl while dragging Shaun along for the ride. 

That's so funny because I thought of this thread while I was on the elliptical machine this evening and considered asking the commentariat if it thought Lea was the show's version of the manic pixie dream girl!  I'm glad to see I wasn't far off.  I dunno, though, can someone be an engineer AND a MPDG? 

[tennisgurl]

Even though this wasn't my favorite episode (I like watching Shaun at the hospital) I still really liked it, just because I have really grown to enjoy this show, which is actually a pretty big deal for, considering I am not usually a huge fan of hospital dramas  unless they have some aspect I really like. I only came to this show originally because I love Freddie so much, but I am super glad I did, because even beyond Freddie's wonderful performance (which is as good as I expected) I have come to just generally love the show, the writing, all of the characters, and how much it pulls at the heart strings without (usually) feeling manipulative, but also throwing in some fun jokes and such. Thats pretty impressive, and I am just really happy I gave this a shot!

[jhlipton]

On 1/8/2018 at 8:47 PM, possibilities said:

I honestly thought Jared's excuse that "wouldn't you have done the same?" reinforced that he doesn't deserve to be reinstated.

You may be right about the rest of your comment, but I thought Dr Abusive would have done the exact same thing (albeit without any regrets) because he sees women as property.  So I didn't have a problem with that line at least.

14 hours ago, deaja said:

Menlendez and Claire would make a much better couple than his fiancee. 

Actually I liked Mendelez's line that he couldn't imagine a life without his fiance or a life without kids.  Relationships are hard work, and often people have to compromise and find solutions.  I'm glad that this show rarely does the "easy" fix (with Claire losing a patient, with Jared and with Mendelez).

3 hours ago, Pink-n-Green said:

can someone be an engineer AND a MPDG? 

I think that the modern incarnation is an engineer and MPDG -- I've seen them on three or four shows so far.

[aemom]

Freddie should submit this episode for Emmy consideration next year because his acting was phenomenal.  His reactions to the various things that happened were spot on.

There was some talk about why Shaun didn't call in sick and autistic people tend to have a very hard time with lying.  Lying involves shades of gray and they tend to be very black and white thinkers which is why they tend to be successful in the computer industry (computers are all about zeros and ones).

His reaction to Lea moving away was heartbreaking.  I've heard from several parents in the past who's autistic children were absolutely devastated when their first romantic relationship ended.  They just couldn't understand how someone could love them and want to be with them one day and not the next.  "She must have been lying when she said that she loved me, etc."  Shaun was starting to have romantic feelings for Lea and I think that this completely took him for a loop.  He couldn't cope and had to leave the restaurant stat.

Leaving the hospital and leaving Lea at the restaurant isn't that he is running away from his problems, but that the emotions in those situations become so strong and so overwhelming that they have to get away from the situation before they mentally explode.  This is why it's important not to push them too hard because you risk pushing them off the psychological ledge.  They need time to calm down, process, and cope.  They feel emotions far more intensely than neuro-typical people.  Glassman needs to back off and Shaun needs time to figure out what to do next.

[possibilities]

17 hours ago, jhlipton said:

Relationships are hard work, and often people have to compromise and find solutions.  I'm glad that this show rarely does the "easy" fix

I love that, too.

When this show began, it didn't show any signs that it would be deep or complex. What a great surprise that it actually sometimes is.

[Trini]

One thing that I'm surprised at : they've completely dropped the childhood flashbacks. Child actors grow, so it was going to happen eventually; but at the beginning, it seemed like they were going to be a bigger part of the show. I'm not complaining; the show doesn't need the flashbacks, but I thought Shaun's backstory/childhood was going to be explored a little more.

[surreysmum]

10 hours ago, Trini said:

One thing that I'm surprised at : they've completely dropped the childhood flashbacks. Child actors grow, so it was going to happen eventually; but at the beginning, it seemed like they were going to be a bigger part of the show. I'm not complaining; the show doesn't need the flashbacks, but I thought Shaun's backstory/childhood was going to be explored a little more.

This is pure speculation, but I think we're coming due for a big Glassman-and-Shaun episode (or even arc), probably associated with whatever crisis is pretty obviously stirring under the surface for Glassman. I wouldn't be surprised if we got the next chapter of the flashbacks - the part where Glassman became Shaun's surrogate father - embedded in there.

Count me happy that the manic pixie dreamgirl appears to be leaving the picture. I was neutral about her at first, but this episode completely put me off her. (Doesn't help that I'm not a fan of MPDGs in the first place. Only Orlando Bloom's undeniable youthful good looks got me through "Elizabethtown").

[Diane M]

On 1/9/2018 at 7:11 AM, rhys said:

Are the twins really conjoined?

Are you serious?  No, they aren't, but they are twins.

[Chas411]

They're going there with Claire Melendez yes? Especially now whatshername doesn't want kids.

[DearEvette]

33 minutes ago, Chas411 said:

They're going there with Claire Melendez yes? Especially now whatshername doesn't want kids.

On the one hand, I really don't want them to.  I liked what was looking like a good developing mentor relationship.  He was beginning to recognize and use her strengths, not just dismiss them.

On the other hand, man, they had more chemistry in that little conversation than Melendez had with wifey all season.

[Chas411]

I feel like it's really predictable though to go the student/superior route. Add Jared into the mix and you just get a sucky triangle.

Something is off with Melendez and blonde though so I don't expect them to last.

[possibilities]

I agree that Melendez and Claire had some chemistry in that scene, and also that it far out-shone any Melendez has had with his fiance or, for that matter, any that Claire has had with Jared. However, at the same time, I am totally against Mentor-Mentee "romance" and one of the things I've liked about this show is that they have not been leaning on those kinds of Grey's Anatomy shenanigans.

I was hoping that they were showing that scene between him and Claire, which I agree had some sizzle, to contrast it with the scene with Dr. Abusive, and show how two adults can negotiate a potentially awkward personal conversation at work without one of them being a harasser or the other being "overly sensitive." The chemistry underlined that it's possible to have chemistry without losing track of appropriateness, and that Claire specifically knows how to handle an interaction with a boss who is willing to respect her boundaries.

I loved it for that reason-- the demonstration of a situation that could have ended badly actually ended just fine because everyone was an adult, and behaved reasonably. It doesn't have to be a disaster, and it's only a problem when one of the parties is hellbent on abusing his power.

I really hope that's why it was there, and the show resists the temptation to turn this show into another show about "naughty doctors breaking all the rulz."

[MakeMeLaugh]

I just saw this episode last night. Sorry in advance but I hated this episode so much that I wanted to apologize to the people I’ve been urging to watch this show in case this was the first episode they saw. Besides the fact that to me the acting was terrible for everyone but Freddie Highmore, the storylines drove me crazy. Conjoined twins accepted to the top two universities in the world! Of course. Mom letting them decide re surgery! Of course (I guess then she won’t feel bad if one or both die because it wasn’t her decision? Gah. And was there another parent who might need to weigh in?). I don’t get any feel at all for this hospital being a world class teaching institution so it was also hard for me to imagine the same old surgeons we see do every other surgery could do this so rare once in a blue moon delicate procedure with some random expert who looks and acts just like the lawyer who doesn’t want to have kids. And the doctor who wants to have kids discussing his romantic dilemma with Claire while surrounded by visual aids of conjoined heads, as you of course would. And I fully expected Claire to get her hair tousled, they were so patronizing to her about talking to the twins when one got cold feet (and so much for letting them make their own decision). 

I was so hoping Dr. Shaun Murphy would just run special snowflake Lea over right away. Missed opportunity, Show.

Please just give me more Glassman and Shaun.

Yes I’m cranky. 

[SnarkyTart]

8 hours ago, MakeMeLaugh said:

I just saw this episode last night. Sorry in advance but I hated this episode so much that I wanted to apologize to the people I’ve been urging to watch this show in case this was the first episode they saw.

I hear you.  This is my favorite new show on TV, and I haven't missed an episode yet.  But I've hesitated weighing in on this episode because it was so disappointing to me.  None of it was good, but the storyline I most hated was Shaun and Lea.  It was such lazy writing, as in "Let's work in every worn-out trope we can fit into one episode!" So, we got naive, socially inexperienced young man: Driving for the first time, singing karaoke for the first time, getting drunk for the first time, being hungover for the first time, his first kiss, his first heartbreak.  Aaargh!  The writers are so much better than this!

Second most hated scene was Dr. Glassman trespassing in Lea's apartment and acting like a genuinely disturbed asshole barging past her, looking in her closets, under her bed.  Oh my God, she should have called the police and had him arrested.  I'm pissed that the writers did this to Dr. Glassman. 

And the overly-chirpy twins?  No words.

[Neurochick]

Who is Lea and when is she going away?

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

1 hour ago, Neurochick said:

Who is Lea and when is she going away?

Watch the next episode :)

[doctor destiny]

Another one of those more questions than answers episodes though I liked this one a lot better than other commentators.  Shaun doesn't like lying but he is a pretty good liar by omission.  He doesn't say that he hasn't phoned in to Dr Melendez.  He changes the subject.  Likewise he turns the question of his time as a student away by asking about what Lea does.  Because lots of things don't add up.  Is it possible that Shaun went to college early given his already strong technical knowledge and abilities?  Could he actually be 25 and not the 8 years at university 27/28 year olds that are his peers?  Where DID he go to medical school and why was he living in Casper afterwards? What happened after the pancake breakfast?  Where did he live?  Will babyface Highmore do his own flashbacks to med school in future series?  Or will all this be swept under a carpet because it all doesn't quite add up?

Overall I liked this episode.  Yes it tried to push too many new things in too quickly but both strands of the story were strong IMHO.