'The Good Doctor' Season 1, Episode 10 'Sacrifice' Fall Finale Recap: Shaun Suffers a Breakdown, Claire is Harassed [SPOILERS]

We’re ten episodes into ABC’s “The Good Doctor,” and this time, the fall finale comes packed with big emotions (more than the usual dose) and shocking developments. It’s where the first half of the season ends on an overwhelmingly high note, albeit a cliffhanger. There’s a lot to process in tonight’s episode, titled “Sacrifice,” where each of our main characters faces a complicated position that jeopardizes their post at the St. Bonaventure.
Tonight we see the resident surgeons of the hospital excited to meet their VIP e-athlete patient, Bobby (The Good Place’s Manny Jacinto as the guest star). He’s the world’s best pro-gamer, and Dr. Marcus Andrews (Hill Harper) and Dr. Jared Kalu (Chuku Modu) couldn’t contain their excitement, seeing how they are huge fans. On the other hand, Dr. Claire Brown (Antonia Thomas) temporarily transfers to another team—this time working with stellar surgeon Dr. Matt Coyle (guest star Eric Winter). His genuine love for his team puts him in an awkward position with Claire, who soon confronts Dr. Andrews to report harassment. Meanwhile, Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) reaches a tipping point when Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) forces him to meet with a therapist. Shaun hasn’t been on board with this idea from the get-go, and he finally loses it when Dr. Glassman forcibly takes him to the therapy session.

Drawing Straws

The episode opens with Dr. Andrews meeting Claire, Shaun and Jared about the VIP patient. Dr. Andrews has room for two more resident surgeons to help both him and Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) do multiple ligament reconstructions on the patient’s elbow. One who doesn’t pick the part of the operation will assist Dr. Coyle in a double-incision fasciotomy. Dr. Andrews has them “draw straws,” with Jared and Shaun getting the VIP patient and Claire with Dr. Coyle. So the four doctors head over to Bobby, the VIP pro-gamer patient. Dr. Andrews is psyched as he tells Jared and Shaun about what Bobby accomplished in his career as a gamer. Apart from being a world-class gamer, Bobby is also wealthy. But just as they are about to board the elevator, Dr. Glassman calls for Shaun.

Later, Dr. Glassman introduces Shaun to Dr. Melissa Bourne (guest star Erin Matthews), a therapist that he’s been wanting Shaun to meet before. Shaun awkwardly says hello. Dr. Glassman thought it would be a good idea for them to meet before the official session, but Shaun is apparently uncomfortable with it. Glassman pushes him to give Dr. Bourne a chance, to which Shaun says yes—while visibly upset and trying to control his anger. He leaves and almost has an angry breakdown outside Glassman’s office.

The power of positive thinking

Dr. Andrews, Dr. Melendez, and Jared finally meet Bobby and tell him about his condition. His elbow ligament is torn (most probably due to his excessive gaming) and needs an operation immediately. Andrews assures him the best care, to which Bobby happily thanks him. Shaun arrives, visibly shaken. He insists that he’s okay and proceeds to assess Bobby’s arm. Shaun has him squeeze his hands as he tries to analyze the damage in Bobby’s elbow with his photographic memory. Instead of freaking out, Bobby obliges, figuring out that Shaun is living with autism.
Shaun tells him that there is a paradoxical loss of grip strength on Bobby’s left arm. He tries to explain the causes, but Melendez cuts him off and tells Bobby to prepare for surgery. As the doctors leave, Bobby asks Shaun what’s wrong. Shaun tells him about his condition, but Bobby already knew that. Bobby thinks they don’t respect Shaun and advises him to control his opponent and find the right strategy. Just like a video game, the stakes are high for Shaun, and this time, it’s Bobby’s arm.
In the operating room, the four surgeons work on Bobby’s elbow with expert precision. Breaking the ice, Jared commends Andrews for his op-ed in the local newspaper. Shaun tries to do the same by telling Melendez that he has beautiful hair. By kissing ass, Shaun hopes that by doing so would make Melendez consider his idea—which Melendez says no to nonetheless. On the other hand, Andrews has Jared step in operation. Jared is overwhelmed, and Andrews tells Melendez that he just wants to give Jared the opportunity to show them what he can do—an effort to throw shade at Melendez for shutting Shaun down.
After his shift, Shaun waits for a bus. But he remembers that his therapy session at home, so he runs back to the hospital, goes to the basement and sets up a makeshift cot for him to sleep. Glassman sends a text informing Shaun that Melissa is waiting at his place, which he deletes right away. The next day, Shaun sees Glassman boarding the elevator. He asks Shaun how the session went, to which he lies and says that it went well. Glassman has none of it and figures out that Shaun didn’t go home, sleeping in the hospital to avoid it. He offers him a bribe—meet with Melissa thrice, and he buys Shaun the surround system for his new TV. Shaun agrees, but still not at peace with the idea.

Back in Bobby’s room, he thanks the doctors for a job well done. He then asks Shaun what he did during the operation. Surprised and disappointed by the minimal work Shaun was able to do, Bobby asks him further. Shaun then tells him that his muscle weakness, along with his high body temperature, could be an early indicator of multiple sclerosis. He orders an MRI for Bobby. Outside, Melendez confronts Shaun about his diagnosis. The argument intensifies as Shaun asks Melendez if he respects him. To ease the tension, Jared sides with Shaun, saying that with Bobby being a pro-athlete, the slightest problem could lead to problematic results. Andrews agrees and has Shaun do the MRI.
During the test, Bobby congratulates Shaun for pushing through with his idea. He tells him that Shaun has to always aim for the gold and glory. Shaun takes this all and shares about his dilemma of not wanting to see a therapist. It’s a good exchange of thoughts between the two, with Bobby finally telling Shaun that doing whatever he feels like doing is always an option. Later, Shaun and Jared show Melendez the MRI results. It turns out that Shaun discovered an anomaly that’s encasing a vital part of Bobby’s brain. Melendez takes this to Dr. Jen Clavet (guest star France Perras), an oncologist (cancer specialist), for analysis. It’s a tricky spot for the malignant tumor to be in, but its removal is still possible. However, upon closer inspection, Dr. Clavet reveals that she met Bobby three years ago for cancer treatment.
Shocked, the three surgeons confront Bobby about his previous cancer operation. Bobby thought it didn’t have anything to do with his elbow injury, but Melendez believes otherwise, saying that it would have helped them figure out what Shaun discovered. On that note, Bobby comes after Melendez’ way of not listening to Shaun’s ideas. Shaun then asks why he didn’t tell them about it since previous cancer diagnosis isn’t shameful. Bobby goes soft and tells them about the power of positive thinking, that he’d instead not mind having cancer than sacrifice his passion for gaming. Shaun, however, tells him that a full body scan needs to be done to make sure that cancer hasn’t metastasized. During the scan, Shaun and Jared discover an even larger mass in Bobby’s brain.
That night, Melendez brings the results to Glassman to help him figure out what they could do to remove it. As he analyzes the scan, he thinks that it’s too risky, and an operation could prove to be very fatal. Melendez then asks about Shaun. Glassman tells him that if Shaun’s work is okay, then he is okay. They then inform Bobby of the findings, that the tumor’s position makes it inoperable. Bobby is devastated but accepts his fate. He’s a had a good run, and if his time comes, there’s nothing he could do about it.

That night, Shaun is back in his makeshift cot in the janitor’s maintenance room. A cleaner comes in and sees him. Shaun then asks the man if he is happy and contented with his life, and the guy says that he is, despite the fact that he’s working nights scrubbing floors. His family is doing good, and his kids are finally grown up with jobs of their own. It’s a moment of clarity for Shaun. The next day, Glassman finds him the maintenance room and asks what he’s doing wrong. He proceeds to scold Shaun about the sacrifices that he’s willing to make to avoid facing his dilemmas head-on. And then Glassman realizes something and promptly leaves Shaun hanging.
Glassman tells Bobby that something can still work for his tumor removal, the only catch is that he’ll be paralyzed from the left side of his body, leaving him with a permanent disability. Bobby agrees to do the operation. Andrews tries to make him understand the ramifications of the procedure, but Bobby doesn’t care. He’s prepared to learn how to live with the disability no matter what the cost—even losing his pro-gaming career. Glassman tells Bobby that he has his respect through a fist bump.
At first, the operation goes perfectly fine. Glassman even tells the staff about disabled greats like Richie Parker, a NASCAR racer and Rick Allen, Led Zeppelin’s one-armed drummer. However, Bobby’s temperature and heart rate suddenly rise. Glassman is too far in his brain, and forcibly retracting his tools could result in permanent brain damage. Together, they find that the anesthetic isn’t working well with his body, and they proceed to cool him down by using another one. Finally, the operation turns out a success.

Dr. Coyle harasses Claire

When Claire met Dr. Coyle for the first time, she’s instantly flattered. He’s incredibly caring and wants the best for his team—far different from Melendez’ relationship with his subordinates. He asks Claire about their patient’s condition, to which she answers expertly. The patient has a swelling foot, and a double-incision fasciotomy can relieve it.
In the operating room, Dr. Coyle’s lighter mood removes the tension in the area. He asks Claire about why she’s quiet, to which she responds by saying it’s always been like that when she works with Melendez. Coyle wants her to have fun while doing the procedure, so he lets her do the significant steps to wrap their patient up. The next day, Claire tends to the patient’s leg after the operation. It’s an excellent job by Claire, and Coyle couldn’t be more impressed. Together, they assure the patient that her leg is going to be okay. Coyle then gently rubs Claire’s back and commends her for a job well done. Later, Claire goes to Shaun and Jared and asks one of them to trade places with her because she doesn’t feel comfortable with what Coyle is doing. Neither wants to do it, and Jared tells her that maybe Coyle is just establishing rapport.

That night, Claire is back in her patient’s room to check up on her leg. Claire tells her that it’s getting better and the swelling will end soon. The patient then tells her about what she observed with Claire and Dr. Coyle. Claire is apparently uncomfortable with it, and something needs to be said and done. But then the patient’s heart rate suddenly drops, and she has difficulty breathing. Claire intubates her as Coyle comes in. He lets her take the lead, and the patient finally stabilizes. Later, as Claire checks up on her patient, Coyle once again makes a sexual advance towards Claire. She tells him to stop and that she’s not comfortable with it. Coyle gets mad, saying that she was asking for it and was giving hints. He leaves and tells Claire not to be an ass when being asked out.
The next day, Claire tells Jared about the incident, and he advises her to go to the HR and file a complaint. Claire doesn’t want to appear to be the wrong person by doing that, but Jared thinks that it’s the only way. Claire gets mad too because she feels that Jared is blaming her. Later in the day, Jared comes up to Dr. Coyle in the locker room and collars him, threatening to beat him down if he ever comes near Claire. Meanwhile, Claire finally musters up the courage to bring it up to Dr. Andrews, to which Andrews also meant to talk about with Claire.

Ending on a dramatic note

The episode ends with Bobby finally in recovery and telling Shaun that despite his condition, he can make it and no one can say to him what he can or can’t do. Shaun takes this as a huge piece of advice for his therapy dilemma. Meanwhile, Claire confronts Jared about his violent behavior against Dr. Coyle. She didn’t want him to save her and treat her like a damsel in distress because she could fight for herself on her own. But the big reveal here is that Jared got fired for assaulting a fellow employee.

Just when things seem okay now, Glassman forces Shaun to come with him to see the therapist. Shaun finally reaches a tipping point, and he yells no and screams at Glassman for being a controlling person. Glassman tries to calm him down, but Shaun hits his head while repeating Bobby’s advice of making his own decisions. Glassman accidentally gets slapped by Shaun as he runs away. Glassman tries to follow him home with the therapist, only to find all of Shaun’s things gone.

‘The Good Doctor: Sacrifice’ Fall Finale Overall Verdict

I cannot, for the life of me, even begin to take this episode easily. It’s a crescendo to Shaun’s final breaking point, and the massive emotional exchange in the last moments of the episode makes it one hell of a finale. The concept of making drastic sacrifices is stressed effectively in the episode, with casualties ranging from Shaun to Jared and Claire. “The Good Doctor” has always been a show that grips you and makes you feel all the feelings, but tonight’s fall finale slaps us in the face (pun intended) with gut-wrenching drama and a frustrating cliffhanger. Only time will tell how the narrative of the show moves forward with a loss as huge as Shaun leaving San Jose, California.
“The Good Doctor” returns Monday, January 8, 2018, at 10/9c on ABC.