‘The Good Doctor’ Season 2, Episode 4 ‘Tought Titmouse’ Recap: Hallucinations and Separation

Talk about one heavy episode! The Good Doctor has since been making us gasp and cry and gape in shock since the first season, but tonight’s episode, titled “Tough Titmouse,” makes our emotions swirl. The emotional stakes continue to pile up as we see Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) go out of his way to learn the ropes of maintaining relationships and helping others. It’s nice to see him grasping how it has to be when a fight happens, and friendship is on the brink of collapse. Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff), on the other hand, suffers from an eye-opening (and honestly cleansing) hallucination of his daughter Maddie (Holly Taylor). Meanwhile, Dr. Claire Brown (Antonia Thomas) struggles to give her patient, Kitty Kwan, the operation that she wants because it puts Kitty’s future and relationship with her parents at stake.

Rebuilding Relationships & Helping New Ones

“Tough Titmouse” opens with a few dilemmas for Shaun to encounter. The first one is with a patient named Mac (Isaiah Lehtinen), who’s intellectually disabled. He’s brought in with a piece of fence lodged in his shoulder. Throughout his surgical ordeal, Shaun remembers his time with his foster mom, Bill, and how she taught him how to tough it up. As soon as Mac’s injury is fixed, his mom, JL, reveals to Shaun, Dr. Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez), and Dr. Alex Park (Will Yun Lee) that she is thinking about putting Mac in an institution that cares for kids like him. It’s not that she wants to get rid of him, it’s just that the burden is too heavy for her now. Moved by their situation, Alex tries to recommend a place and supports JL’s decision. But it’s not until JL suffers another accident that things go a bit unbearable for her. Because of Mac’s violent outbursts, it’s getting harder to manage him. Alex still pushes for JL to put Mac in an institution, but Melendez thinks that it’s not their place to advise her. Alex then shares to Melendez about a kid he once knew who needed professional help but never got to it because it was too late.

Bettina Strauss/ABC

Meanwhile, Shaun has a heart-to-heart with Mac to tell him about their defense mechanisms when scared. Shaun remembers the time when Bill taught him to suck it up and be strong, calling him “Tough Titmouse.” Later, Melendez finally gets behind JL’s decision, saying that people might judge her for giving up Mac. Shaun assures that Mac will hate her, but he’ll be scared and learn to get over it soon enough. “I know you’ll find the strength to keep going,” Melendez says. Later, JL reveals the news to Mac who appears to have a violent fit, but it just turns out that he’s scared of being away from his mom. Later that night, it’s then revealed that Melendez has a sister, named Gabby, with down syndrome. Gabby is also committed to an institution. Melendez visits her and plays with her.

Another dilemma for Shaun is his struggle to reconnect with Lea. Last week, when Lea finally had the chance to talk to Shaun, she called him a jerk and a jackass for hurting her. During the operation with Mac, Shaun asks his co-surgeons how to apologize well. The anesthesiologist suggests “going big.” And so Shaun goes to great lengths to apologize. First was finding a better and cheaper apartment for Lea to live in, re-enacting their karaoke session during the road trip, and trying his best to win her over with big gestures. None of these impress Lea, though. After repeated failures, Shaun resigns and finally becomes honest with her. Lea’s main concern is how Shaun doesn’t care about what happened to her in Hershey. So Shaun breaks from his silence and reveals, “I don’t care what happened in Hershey,” Shaun says. “But I care that you care.” This finally patches things up, leading the two to celebrate by singing karaoke in Shaun’s apartment. He also surprises Lea that he bought the flat that Lea liked for both of them to share.

The Adrenaline Junkie

Claire is also put in the crosshairs in this episode. Kitty is a free-climber who accidentally fell during a stunt, leading her to break her neck and acquire cervical fractures. When her parents arrive, Claire and Dr. Morgan Reznick give Kitty two options—fusing her spine (but it wouldn’t allow her to climb again) or the odontoid screw procedure where it could still maintain her full range of motion and would help her to climb again eventually. Kitty enthusiastically says yes, but her parents disagree. They want Kitty to live and stop doing things that could potentially harm her, but Kitty intends to follow her passion. Claire sides with Kitty’s parents but doesn’t show it.

Eike Schroter/ABC

Because of this dilemma, Claire tries to bring it up to Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang), but she tells her to back off because it’s the patient’s decision, and doctors don’t have that call to make. Claire wants what she thinks is best for Kitty, so she convinces Kitty’s parents to declare her as mentally incapable of making decisions for herself. Morgan senses Claire’s hand in this. Kitty then begins resenting her parents for doing this. A representative for Child Protective Services mediates the spat between Kitty and her parents. Kitty defends herself by saying she’s well enough to make decisions for herself, but her parents enumerate the instances where Kitty’s passion for extreme sports has led to her almost dying. After deliberating with Morgan, Claire, and Dr. Lim, the representative decides to rule in favor of Kitty’s parents. This is the last draw, and Kitty tells them to get out of her face. Kitty then tells Claire to have her parents out of the room after her procedure, saying that she never wants to see them again.

Claire brings the news to her parents, who accept Kitty’s decision. Claire then reveals that she might have been pushing them to bank on Kitty’s safety rather than what she wants. “You’re trying to save your daughter, but I think you’re going to lose her forever,” Claire says. Kitty’s mom says that they are willing to take the risk because the gifts they’re giving her are multiple shots at a well-rounded life, and that’s enough for them.

Hallucinations and Closure

The most heartbreaking and heartwarming part of tonight’s episode is Glassman’s hallucinations. After failing to get some proper rest and sleep, Glassman succumbs into ICU psychosis. His daughter, Maddie appears, and it forces them to confront their past and wade through all their issues. It’s something that Glassman has been carrying for a long time, and now is the time for him to get some closure.

At first, their conversation revolved around happy memories, but Maggie finally drops her happy demeanor and demands for them to talk about the issues and the events that led to her death. Glassman tries to deflect, and even Shaun and the other doctors notice his early onset of hallucinations. When Shaun asks about it, Glassman reveals that he’s seeing Maddie. He then asks Shaun to keep it a secret. The father and daughter spat intensifies, however, and Glassman breaks down as Maddie reveals all her feelings. Because of Glassman’s passion for work, Maddie grew distant and began using drugs. She never went to rehab because Glassman thought he could do it himself and make her better. But there came a time when they had a massive fight, and Glassman locked her out of the house. Maddie left and was eventually found dead. Glassman’s wife also left him. Throughout the argument, Glassman slowly realizes his mistake and begs for forgiveness just as the doctors come in to fully sedate him. As Glassman drifts off, he tells Maddie that he loved her, and Maddie says the same too.

Glassman wakes up to Shaun after a 13-hour sleep. “Was seeing Maddie therapeutic,” Shaun asks him. “She told me she loved me,” Glassman replied. “Or maybe it was just me telling myself that.”

“You always tell the truth,” Shaun says.

‘The Good Doctor: Tough Titmouse’ Overall Verdict

There were so many things that had to be unpacked on tonight’s episode of The Good Doctor. Throughout the hour, I couldn’t help but be invested in all the dilemma and emotions. It’s definitely one of the heaviest and most heartwarming thus far in season 2, and it does cement itself as quality hospital drama. I’ve always been convinced that this show would go beyond the boundaries of the usual human drama, what with Shaun’s condition and the patient’s problems coming along the way as well. “Tough Titmouse” deserves all the love that we could shower upon it.

The Good Doctor continues next Monday, October 22nd, with “Carrots” at 10/9c on ABC.