‘The Good Doctor’ Season 3, Episode 2 ‘Debts’ Review: Good Samaritans

After last week’s tentative shift in the narrative on The Good Doctor, it seems that the show is back to serving the heartfelt moments that fans grew to love. This week’s episode titled “Debts” is all about the good samaritans. And surprisingly, out of all people, it is Andrews (Hill Harper) who is serving up some pretty touching moments with Shaun (Freddie Highmore). If you doubted him on his return to St. Bonaventure last week, you’ll be quite surprised as to how he’s dealing with himself now. It was a good moment. And it’s a pretty solid warm-up to (hopefully) much much better episodes in the season.

In tonight’s episode of The Good Doctor, Andrews dedicates himself to helping a patient who’s injuries seem to be unfixable. Meanwhile, Lim (Christina Chang) and Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez) face a strain on their relationship when one of Melendez’s patients, a baby, shows symptoms of problems caused by the operation. Elsewhere, Shaun and Carly (Jasika Nicole) try to find a common ground to finally talk about their feelings.

The Reward of Good Deeds

Early in the morning, the St. Bonaventure emergency room is graced with a man missing half of his face. As it turns out, the patient named Josh Bunker (Mik Byskov) was caught in an altercation with a creep who was trying to grope a woman on the subway. When Josh stepped in, the creep hit him with a kid’s skateboard. Somewhere in the altercation, the wheel’s fell off leaving the metal axel which tore off Josh’ cheek and shattered his mandible.

Jack Rowand/ ABC

After an initial try at reconstructive surgery, Andrews determines that the damage to Josh’s facial skeletal structure is too much. He wouldn’t be able to eat solid foods or speak ever again. Faced with the news, Josh responds valiantly and jokes that he needed to lose weight anyway.

Meanwhile, Melendez and his team are brought in to check on one of Melendez’s patients, a baby recovering from an operation for his pyloric stenosis. Receiving news that the baby’s pains might be caused by an operational mishap, Lim directly asks Melendez if he made a mistake. With confidence, Melendez denies it. Despite this, Lim holds her doubts and personally checks up on Park (Will Yun Lee) and Morgan (Fiona Gubelmann) who’re both dead set on kissing up and getting the first surgery. Afterward, Lim talks to the parents taking responsibility and citing that Melendez might have erred on the side of caution. To make the parents more comfortable with proceeding with another operation, Lim offers to do it herself.

A Reminder of Selflessness

Later on, Shaun drops by the pathology lab to get some results. Carly tries to talk to him about their date. But, Shaun says it outright that he had a horrible time and doesn’t want to do it again.

Jack Rowand/ ABC

Back in the operating room while stabilizing Josh’s jaw, Andrews, Claire (Antonia Thomas), and Shaun discuss selflessness. Shaun and Andrews both agree that humans are programmed to be selfish that’s why Shaun finds it puzzling why people do unselfish things. And as he reminds everyone, Andrews is one of those people, saving Shaun’s job despite the consequences. Speechless, Andrews continues to work, but Shaun’s statement seems to have hit a spot. Pausing, Andrews stops the operation saying “We can do better.” If they can’t find a solution, they’ll just have to make one.

Deep into the night, the three with the addition of Morgan and Park who are still sucking up brainstorm for solutions. And soon, their brainstorming becomes a lull of dating stories and scientific theories about love. Discouraged and seeing that their search is leading nowhere Andrews tells everyone to go home.

Talk About Feelings

At home, Claire finds her mom waiting for her with dinner. Just that morning, Claire’s mom Breeze (Sharon Leal) was on her daughter’s doorstep asking for a place to stay because she was kicked out. And as Claire finds out, it’s because her mom has started drinking again and neglecting her meds. Despite Breeze’s efforts to reconnect with her daughter, Claire responds coldly and tells her mom to be out of there by one week.

Jack Rowand/ ABC

Meanwhile, Lim and Melendez go out for date night. Unfortunately, Lim’s words earlier to the baby’s family stung Melendez. And he accuses her of being afraid to seem like she’s favoring her boyfriend and going against her better professional judgment. With their professional relationship bleeding into their personal relationship, Lim and Melendez’s date night is officially ruined.

On the other hand, Shaun continues to search for solutions at home. Suddenly, someone determinedly knocks at the door and Shaun finds Carly. After a little bit of convincing, the couple finds themselves walking at the park trying to discuss what they really feel about each other. Like Shaun, Carly is confused as hell, but she thinks there’s something between them. Unfortunately, it’s hard to make sure with just one dinner so Carly indirectly asks Shaun out, but he simply says he has to go and leaves her.

The next morning, Glassman (Richard Schiff), who by the way accepted Aoki’s invitation to be president again, also urges Shaun to take the chance. Like a father, Glassman explains that getting hurt and not knowing what you’ll get is all part of the deal. And no matter what happens, it’s all worth it to find the person that makes Shaun happy.

Breaking Boundaries

Back in Josh’s case, Shaun has found a solution, however, the procedure has never been done before. When he and Andrews bring it to Lim, however, she’s very hesitant about it. She also questions Andrews’ motivation for it. But, Andrews refuses to back down and assures Lim he’ll make sure Josh is fully aware of all the risks. And despite her misgivings, Lim doesn’t order him to stand down.

Jack Rowand/ ABC

After presenting the risks, Josh immediately agrees to the procedure. And he gets through it successfully despite suffering a clot mid-operation. Upon waking up, he’s surprised to find out that the woman he helped on the subway has been waiting for him. Soon, the two are getting on with each other.

Later on, Andrews takes a moment to talk with Shaun. He admits that in the beginning, he resented Shaun because he thought that saving his job cost him too much. But, earlier that day, Shaun made Andrews proud of his sacrifice. And as parting advice, Andrews reminds Shaun that there are very few things that come in life without a cost.

Settling Differences

On the other hand, Lim finds out that Melendez did indeed make no mistake in the operation of their infant patient. Instead, it’s intussusception that has been causing the baby insistent vomiting and pain. Unfortunately, because of too much swelling, they can’t cure the baby without opening him up. And Lim invites Melendez to take the lead on the surgery. The baby suffers minor complications on the table, but he inevitably pulls through. Afterward, Melendez and Lim admit that navigating their relationship this way was very tricky. But, Lim assures them both that they’ll get better at it.

Jack Rowand/ ABC

Meanwhile, Claire comes home again to a mom and a home-cooked meal. And after a moment’s hesitation, she tells her mom that she can stay with her for a while longer. The only condition Claire has is for her mom to take her meds and to get better.

Like Claire, Shaun has also come to a decision. Following Claire’s example, Shaun heads to the pathology department and greets Carly with a bag of chips. He asks if she has a couch. When she says no, Shaun looks around and settles on the floor silently inviting Carly to do the same for a simple yet very sweet little date.

The Good Doctor continues Monday, October 7th, with “Claire” at 10/9c on ABC.