Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore), a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, continues to use his extraordinary medical gifts at St. Bonaventure Hospital’s surgical unit. As his friendships deepen, Shaun works harder than he ever has before as he starts dating while navigating his environment and relationships to prove to his colleagues that his talents as a surgeon will save lives.
“The Good Doctor” is an American medical drama series, adapted by Daniel Dae Kim from the South Korean “Good Doctor” series where a resident with autism and savant syndrome navigates his way into being recognized as a good doctor despite the surrounding perceptions on autism and the social limitations that may affect his performance as a doctor. While both premises of the series remain the same, much of the details were altered in the American drama to separate the costs of having autism as a doctor versus having autism in intimate relationships. However, details aside, “The Good Doctor” as a series runs successfully due to a strong performance by Freddie Highmore as Shaun, the good doctor, and a refreshing take on autism for its strengths and capability of overcoming weaknesses.
“The Good Doctor” debuts its third season after a tense finale in Season 2 when Shaun is almost fired from his surgeon residency by Dr. Han (Daniel Dae Kim). Shaun also finds himself going on his first date with Carly (Jasika Nicole) and Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang) is offered the position as Chief of Surgeon, bringing to question her relationship with Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez).
Unlike the first two seasons, the third season is the curveball that will bat either a hit or miss with the audience. On one hand, it will bring up the question as to whether “The Good Doctor” series will start to resemble another medical drama series “Grey’s Anatomy,” where eventually all the characters except Shaun will start to die off one by one through tragic freak accidents until new seasons have an entirely new set of casts. On the other hand, the season remains steadfast in its purpose of having Shaun explore the nuances that comprise his relationships with coworkers and close friends. Furthermore, the third season is the first opportunity for Shaun to truly develop a romantic relationship, something that was lacking due to his limited one-side romantic affection for Lea (Paige Spara).
The third season is also one of the most tragic seasons released to date, especially for Dr. Claire Brown (Antonia Thomas). Unlike the other characters, Dr. Brown has to come to terms with the death of the last family member in her life as well as the death of the person she loves. The third season explores her stages of grief, but the tragedy lies in the fact that the person who helped her heal from her self-destructive behaviors is also the one to leave her behind in the season finale. The tragedy didn’t stop for Dr. Brown despite her increasing accomplishments as a surgery resident and her enduring optimism regarding patients. Rather, her self-deprecating attitude and cynical boundaries that keep others at a distance reveal the pain she hides and compels sympathy from those who struggle to be vulnerable out of fear of loss.
Unsurprisingly, Dr. Melendez and Dr. Lim later break off their relationship as the third season explores how power dynamics and relationship bias can create drama in work politics and hinder their ability to perform as good doctors. In fact, it is the death of a patient who could’ve lived that forces Dr. Melendez to come to terms with the literal fatal flaw of having an internal work relationship. The clashing of professional opinion between two people in a relationship is not an easy matter to resolve, but the breaking off of the relationship seemed to come to a resolution too quickly despite how much of a struggle it was to get the relationship started. Funnily enough, Dr. Melendez finds himself at another crossroads with another fellow coworker after being accused of favoritism in the hospital. It seems that the man is irresistible due to his comforting presence and charisma amongst his peers, which makes for an easy leeway from one relationship to another. Unfortunately, rather than further complicate matters and explore more of the imperfections in his decisions, the show concludes Dr. Melendez’s story with a tragic end – one that is dissatisfying despite its emotional impact.
Although relationships come apart, relationships can also come together. Dr. Alex Park may be the cynical but grounding voice within his peer of residents, but he remains ungrounded in his personal life as he struggles to balance his goals with his family. Dr. Park may have chosen his career at the expense of his wife and child, but after witnessing tragedy after tragedy in the hospital rooms, he is reminded of what remains important in life outside of his career. He represents the human in us that will long for a family to rely on despite being successful in other aspects of life and he demonstrates a growth where it is possible to have both instead of sacrificing one for the other.
While the other characters’ struggles are built on their relationships with other people, Dr. Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) is forced to struggle against herself, particularly her own body. It’s without a question that Dr. Reznick is confident in her abilities as a doctor in both mind and spirit, having both experience and ambition to back herself up. However, she is betrayed by her own body when she is diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, a condition that limits her hands and their ability to perform surgery. While Dr. Brown represents the struggle to accept the end of life, Dr. Reznick represents the struggle to accept a life with the death of her dream. It is a different tragedy, but also one that cannot be changed once the harm is done.
In the midst of the struggles of others, Shaun takes a front seat in confronting his personal relationship with others, namely his girlfriend and his dying father. Shaun’s relationship with Dr. Carly is enigmatic and fundamentally difficult due to his autism. Like any other relationship, Shaun and Dr. Carly struggle with their communication and boundaries, but unlike other relationships, Shaun’s boundaries are more specific and extreme. Watching them learn from each other and make compromises will bring about smiles, but also an underlying feeling of amazement at Dr. Carly for her patience in love. However, even her patience is tested by Shaun’s love for Lea and Lea’s continuing rejection of Shaun as a partner due to his autism. Shaun’s decision aside, it is interesting to note that Shaun makes a distinction between Lea and Carly as someone he is comfortable with and someone he has to impress, respectively. It brings about the question as to whether or not the type of love we desire is one that is comfortable or one that turns out to be more of a performance.
Like Dr. Brown, Shaun faces the death of a parent. Unlike his rabbit and his brother, Shaun does not carry any affection for his father. Thus, Shaun is not learning to love beyond death or carry on a life without his most important beings, but he is learning to live with the anger and resentment he carried against his father, who verbally abuses Shaun until the very end. This leads to one of two breakdowns that Shaun has in the third season, showcasing his ability of strong expression but also his relatability to the audience. Shaun may have autism but he is not living a sheltered life. He is a human being with the same capacity for significant growth and the same capacity to be overwhelmed by obstacles that would overwhelm the average person.
“The Good Doctor” is a well-rounded and engaging show due to its characters balancing each other out on the team but also in the life lessons that they learn from their respective stories. All of the cast members uphold their characters to the last detail of emotion. The third season has its silly moments such as having a patient stabbed by a marlin that ends up exploding, but it can also be fairly realistic in its approach to grief and human relationships full of blunders. Perhaps what the show does best is exemplify the strength of humans and their resilience in the face of adversity – through death and in sickness.
Now available on DVD
