'The Good Doctor' Season 1, Episode 16 'Pain' Recap: Changing the Course of Life [SPOILERS]

“The Good Doctor” continues giving us the usual dose of life’s complications and the irony that comes with it. Season 1, episode 15, titled “Pain,” shows us the beauty in the broken, and the overwhelming power of reconciliation—that there is and will always be hope. Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) and his team deal with Hunter’s (Ryan Robbins) case involving a complication in his paralysis that can give him a chance to walk again. The only catch? The operation could kill him if it doesn’t work out. On the other hand, Dr. Marcus Andrews (Hill Harper) and his team take on the case of a couple where the wife suffers from an infection caused by complications from her cosmetic surgery.

An unusual condition

“Pain” starts with Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore), Dr. Alex Park (Will Yun Lee), and Dr. Claire Brown (Antonia Thomas) begin their workday as Shaun shares about what he did with his new neighbor friend Kenny and his girlfriend over the weekend. He had to spend an entire day with them and pay for everything since he lost a bet he had with Kenny. Dr. Melendez then informs them about a new patient, Hunter Denoble, whos experiencing severe neck pain. Hunter’s X-Ray also shows that he has anterolisthesis (a herniated disk). Hunter also happens to be one of Melendez’s patients when he was a resident surgeon. He suffered a fracture in his neck ten years back and was never able to walk since.
They meet Hunter in his room where Melendez performs a preliminary test to find out what’s causing him pain. As Melendez moves to Hunter’s neck, a burst of pain suddenly shoots out from his legs—something that he’s never felt in ten years. Later, after their checkup with Hunter, Claire gets a surprise visit from her mother (Sharon Leal) as she sings in front of the resident doctors. However, Claire is unamused and apparently doesn’t want to see her mom.
Meanwhile, Dr. Andrews examines his new patient. Her cheek implant got infected, and it’s visibly showing on her face. She only came in to get antibiotics for it, but Andrews thinks it’s dangerous and would need surgical intervention. Worried, the patient asks about her other cosmetic procedures and implants, to which Dr. Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) assures her are okay. Andrews then tells her that he’d have to replace the implant to minimize the risk of re-infection.

Will he be able to walk again?

As Shaun, Alex, and Claire perform a scan on Hunter, Shaun compliment’s her mom’s voice. They then ask about why she didn’t want to see her, and Claire tells them about that one time where her mom used Claire’s savings (intended for a laptop) to buy a designer dress. Suddenly, as Hunter’s scan finishes, Shaun notices a spinal column tumor. Melendez then informs Hunter about it. Apparently, the mass is the one allowing Hunter to feel the pain in his legs. Once they finish mapping out the location of the tumor, they can remove it, and Hunter can walk again. This news gives Hunter and his wife Cora (Anna Belknap) a new sense of hope.
Shaun takes Hunter for a cardio test. Hunter appears to be in a chipper mood, and even refuses Shaun’s help in pushing his wheelchair. They then bond over their disabilities, to which Shaun gains more insight about how other physically challenged people think differently. Hunter knows that Shaun was treated differently the first time he worked on the job. “We waste our time and energy trying to prove that we belong,” Hunter said.
Later, Melendez and his team examine the final mapping of Hunter’s spinal tumor. It’s an arachnoid meningioma, and it’s wrapped around the spinal cord—making it difficult to remove. It’s proximity to the brainstem could prove very detrimental to Hunter’s other motor abilities. They then bring this discovery to Hunter, who’s crushed to find out that he won’t be able to walk again. The best thing they could do is to leave the tumor inside since it’s done growing. Hunter then asks about the risk of the surgery, to which Melendez tells him about the 15% chance that the procedure might kill him. It was painful enough for Hunter back in the day when Melendez first said to him that he wouldn’t be able to walk again. But now that there’s a slight chance for him to do it, Hunter decides to go for the surgery, much to his wife’s shock.
Melendez goes back to Hunter and tells him about the details of the operation. He’s very determined to walk again, but his wife doesn’t want to push through with it, given the risk. Cora walks out and says that she doesn’t want to see him like this and that Hunter is only doing this for himself. Meanwhile, CLaire’s mom tries to make amends with her and tells her about how she got help. Claire’s mom is now on medication, and she’s on her way to feeling better psychologically. She offers to spend more time with Claire and gives her a bouquet of flowers.
During Hunter’s Cardio test, Shaun marvels at how healthy his heart is. Hunter then asks Shaun if he gets why Hunter wants the surgery so bad. However, Shaun doesn’t understand why he would risk losing a person who accepts him the way he is over a small chance to walk again. Meanwhile, Melendez talks to Cora about Hunter’s surgery. He believes that she isn’t just afraid that the operation might kill her husband, but also how it might work. It’s “a fundamental change in who he is and a fundamental change in who they are as a couple.” Melendez encourages her not to risk giving up on the great life that Hunter has.
Later, Alex, Claire, and Shaun evaluate Hunter’s situation. They talk about the risk they’re taking, and Shaun butts in about going to the carnival. This brings Alex to his discovery about Kenny—apparently, he’s got a rap sheet with minor misdemeanors and a couple of felony cases. He sends it over to Shaun, who’s visibly surprised. Cora then comes back later to Hunter. He tells her how he can’t do this on his own, and the two reconcile over their differences. Cora now supports Hunter’s desire to walk again.
That night, Shaun compliments Claire and asks her if she would date a person with a disability. Claire says yes, but still, Shaun doesn’t understand why people could opt out of an unnecessary burden in that kind of relationship. A nurse calls them in for Hunter’s surgery. Claire then looks at the bouquet her mom gave her and considers her mom’s offer of spending time with her. The doctors then wheel Hunter into surgery, and Cora kisses him as an assurance that she’ll be there waiting for her husband. During the procedure, Hunter goes into neurogenic shock. They need to stop the surgery. In the end, Hunter still couldn’t walk, but his relationship with Cora got even stronger.

Losing a life

After Andrews and his team remove the infected implant from their patient, Morgan tells Jared (Chuku Modu) that she knows about an opening at Denver Memorial Hospital. She’s offering him a way out since Andrews still isn’t happy with how Jared fought for his job. Morgan is only offering help (albeit arrogantly), but Jared considers the idea while thinking about Morgan’s competitive nature. Andrews and his team then meet the couple, as they thank him for surgery well done. However, they’d have to monitor her condition to make sure the infection didn’t spread.

Later, Morgan examine’s the patient’s butt enhancement and finds it a little sore, she then calls Andrews in to check on it. Before Andrews got the call, he was consulting something about his sperm count. It’s not enough for him to have babies, so the doctor suggests a risky procedure that could up his testosterone levels and sperm count but could also make him infertile. Andrews cuts the meeting short to attend to his patient.
In the patient’s room, Andrews asks who found out about the infection. Morgan promptly gives the credit to Jared, to boost Andrews’ impression of him. As soon as Andrews takes a look at her, he tells his patient that they need to operate on her now. However, she refuses despite the fact that she might die. Later, as Morgan and Jared wait for their patient’s test results, Morgan explains to Jared that she’s giving him credit on purpose so he could see how Andrews is never going to give back the respect Jared lost when he fought against his termination. The test results come in, and they find that her neutrophil levels are very high.

Andrews goes back to the couple to inform them about the test results, the surgery has to be done right away, but the patient wouldn’t budge, no matter how much her husband forces her to do it. Later at the cafeteria, Morgan confronts their patient’s husband and tells him that she feels that their marriage is rocky. It turns out that his wife is on her way out of their relationship, and it’s getting harder for both of them to work it out. Morgan encourages the husband to reaffirm their marriage so they can finally operate on her and save her life.

The husband returns to his wife’s room and finally convinces her to do the operation. He also affirms their relationship and promises to make things work. Come the night of his wife’s surgery, however, it turns out that the infection has already spread through all of her implants, causing her to flatline. Try as Andrews may, they couldn’t bring her back anymore.

Relationship Complications

That night, at home, Andrews thinks hard about his patient’s death as his wife snuggles beside him. Andrews tells her about the operation that could help them have kids but also render him infertile. His wife, on the other hand, assures him that there are different ways to have kids that don’t put their sex life at risk.
Meanwhile, Claire meets with her mom for dinner. Everything goes smoothly, and it seemed like her mom is finally okay, but then she drops the bomb—she needed money from Claire for her new apartment’s “downpayment.” Claire is slightly shocked but gives the money to her anyway. Later, she leaves the restaurant crying.
Back in Shaun’s apartment, Kenny surprises him inside with Chinese takeout. Kenny found $20 in Shaun’s drawer and used that to order the food. Shaun, however, tries to read through the rap sheet that Alex sent him. Kenny prods him to eat and even offers to play a game with him. Eventually, Shaun softens up again and plays the game on the couch with Kenny.

‘The Good Doctor: Pain’ Overall Verdict

There’s something about “The Good Doctor” that makes you evaluate your life choices and helps you think about being a better person every after episode. “Pain” succeeds in making the viewer see the intricacies of the choices we make and how it ultimately affects us. Some can be detrimental; some can improve you. But no matter what the option is, it all comes down to how you’re able to deal with pain and the joy that weirdly comes with it after. Tonight’s episode is another one of those times where you’d need to have a tissue roll with you because the emotions and the overbearing sense of hope could overwhelm you. I guess I’d put this episode way up there. After all, pain always comes and goes, and it’s just a matter of you dealing with it in the end.
“The Good Doctor” continues next Monday, March 19th with “Smile” at 10/9c on ABC.