'The Good Doctor' Season 1 Recap: Everything We Know Before the Winter Premiere

After a month-long hiatus, “The Good Doctor” is coming back. Fans are on edge since the show’s Fall Finale ended on a cliffhanger. So, before Freddie Highmore comes back as Shaun Murphy let’s have a little refresher. With just ten episode in, a lot of significant things already happened.

Shaun is ‘The Good Doctor’

Shaun’s introduction to the show focused more on his skills as a surgeon rather than his autism. In the first episode, Shaun saved a little boy’s life while on his way to San Jose Bonaventure Hospital. Despite his impressive abilities as a surgeon, the hospital board is still reluctant to accept Shaun into residency—even with a glowing recommendation from the hospital’s President, Dr. Glassman (Richard Schiff). So they let Shaun speak for himself and ask him why he wants to become a doctor—and this is where he puts the “good” in “The Good Doctor.”

We also find out a little more about Shaun’s past. He and his little brother, Evan (Dylan Kingwell), ran away from home because of their abusive father. Evan was the only person who cared for Shaun, and it was bittersweet when it was revealed Evan died while playing on an abandoned railway. Shaun didn’t give the board all the gritty details of his tragic backstory. Instead, Shaun tells them that he became a doctor to save lives. He couldn’t keep his bunny (his dad killed the pet) or his brother, but he can prevent others from dying. Shaun was able to impress the board and was accepted as a surgical resident of St. Bonaventure Hospital. However, it doesn’t mean that it’s a warm welcome from everyone.

From Reluctant to Impressed

From the pilot, we know there are a few people who were not pleased with the board’s decision to accept Shaun. Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) saw Shaun a liability. At first, he pushes Shaun away during surgery and makes him do scut work. But after Dr. Glassman’s insisting and Shaun’s passion, Melendez warmed up to him. It was during the sixth episode of “The Good Doctor” titled “Not Fake” we see Melendez start to respect Shaun. Melendez emphasized in the first episode that Shaun having autism would disrupt things because of his lack of social skills.

In “Not Fake,” there was an accident causing mass casualties. With the hospital filling up with more and more victims, it’s practically chaotic for someone who hates crowds. But Shaun was calm and did not let the pressure get to him, for the first time Melendez saw Shaun as a doctor. In the next few episodes, Melendez allows Shaun in assisting during surgery and patient consultations. Melendez defended Shaun when the parents of an autistic patient refused to have Shaun in the operating room. The two even had a VR heart surgery practice session. Even Dr. Marcus Andrews (Hill Harper)—who was the most vocal about Shaun—warmed up to him.

Claire’s Struggles

As the only woman on Melendez’s team, Claire (Antonia Thomas) has to prove herself constantly. Just like Shaun, her ideas are shut down by Melendez. We see her complain whenever she and Shaun end up doing the scut work, like picking up organs. It’s because she wants to do so much more as a doctor.

In “Not Fake,” Claire succumbs to the chaos of the emergency room. Hoping to prove herself, she does an on-site surgery, and by the time she makes it to the hospital, her patient dies. This mishap caused Claire to overthink her actions in the next episode. She second-guesses herself, afraid she’ll make another mistake. It didn’t help when she had to treat a patient who was a neo-Nazi white supremacist during the eighth episode, titled “Apple.” She learned the hard way about not letting her feelings influence her judgment.
But nothing came smoothly after that. Claire went on a crazy scavenger hunt for a misplaced sample, despite finding it she was served with papers for causing emotional stress for the patient. On the fall finale, Claire was put in an uncomfortable position by a male doctor. When he made a sexual advance on Claire, she refuses, and he blames her for sending “hints.” Claire tells Jared about what happened, and he only made the situation worse. In the end, Claire had to face Dr. Andrews after Jared’s tattletale.

Where is Shaun?

For the first few episodes of the series, we were captivated by Shaun and how his autism didn’t overpower his character. But it doesn’t mean he isn’t struggling. Ever since Shaun got caught up in a shooting situation, Dr. Glassman worries for him even more. He asks Shaun to meet a life coach who would help him understand social cues. But this idea makes Shaun uncomfortable—as if Dr. Glassman of all people saw something wrong in him. This dilemma caused Shaun to break down and physically assault Dr. Glassman. Hoping to catch up to Shaun, Dr. Glassman races to his apartment finding Shaun and all of his belongings gone.

The Fall Finale ended with emotions on high and tensions cutting deep. On the next episode of “The Good Doctor,” Melendez performs an interesting kidney transplant on a set of twins and Shaun takes a spontaneous trip with his friend Lea.
“The Good Doctor” Season 1, Episode 11, titled “Islands Part One,” will premiere January 8th at 10 PM on ABC.