A page dedicated to the Shaun/Lea Pairing of ABC’s "The Good Doctor"

Season 6 Recap: 6×19 Half Measures

This episode was a lot of love/hate. I hated it more than I thought I would because of where we all think this might be headed. On the other hand, I also loved some aspects of it, plus nice directing work by Freddie Highmore!

I was hoping it didn’t have to come to this, but unfortunately this recap will be a little more trimmed down than my usual ones. I am drowning in work for my actual paid job to the point where I’m having to pull massive overtime, which obviously encroaches on the time that normally goes into my nerdy hobbies. It’s been a struggle to keep up with the weekly airing schedule as it is, and with my weekends becoming more and more booked with post-pandemic social activities, it doesn’t leave me enough time to devote to writing up extensive episode analyses.

It looks like this work bottleneck will last for a while because I have several projects overlapping, and one of my paused weekly D&D games is also starting back up, so very likely the remaining season 6 episode recaps will all be abbreviated versions. It’s a shame that it had to hit the one that Freddie directed, but, you know… real life. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The Technicalities

Written by David Renaud
Directed by Freddie Highmore
Original airdate 10 Apr 2023

Patient Cases

Patient #1: Aaron Glassman

Treating physicians:
Jonathan Styles

Diagnosis:
Suspected glioblastoma recurrence

Case notes:

  • What Shaun thinks are deficits in executive function has Glassman agree to a brain scan
  • The scan reveals a spot on his brain that could be indicative of a recurring glioblastoma but could also be necrotic tissue from radiation treatment
  • A cerebrospinal fluid analysis detects no cancerous DNA, indicating it’s not cancer recurrence
  • However, something else may be amiss since the executive function deficits keep persisting

Patient #2: Brady Sullivan

Treating physicians:
Marcus Andrews, Audrey Lim, Jordan Allen, Asher Wolke, Daniel Perez, Jared Kalu

Diagnosis:
Severe chest and pelvic injuries with large metal sheet deeply embedded in his pelvic region

Case notes:

  • Oil rig worker, welding accident, large metal sheet embedded in pelvic region that nearly cut him in half
  • Options to save him are limited, Lim and Andrews debate how to approach the surgery
  • The residents are tasked with trying to find solutions to not only save his life but give him a shot at not having to lose his legs
  • While the residents try to brainstorm workable solutions, Lim and Andrews quarrel in the OR over whether to try and save his legs and his lungs
  • Andrews pulls rank and decides to remove one lung when Lim’s approach of repairing the blood vessels does work
  • Eventually, the residents come up with innovative approaches how to save Brady’s legs and the surgery is a success, but it will be a long recovery

Patient #3: Eden West

Treating physicians:
Morgan Reznick, Shaun Murphy, Alex Park

Diagnosis:
Aortic stenosis as a result of Turner syndrome

Case notes:

  • Baby brought to the hospital by someone from the homeless community, taken in by Morgan with low blood oxygen
  • Shaun diagnoses Turner syndrome, a genetic disorder where the individual is partially or fully missing one X chromosome
  • They run tests, Eden needs an aortic anastomosis surgery to permanently fix the heart issue
  • During the surgery Eden’s O2 sats drop, they have to insert a chest tube to drain excess lymph fluid
  • Surgery eventually goes well and Eden can recover

Patient #4: Jasmine West

Treating physicians:
Unknown

Diagnosis:
Delayed post-partum infection and resulting sepsis

Case notes:

  • Eden’s mother, homeless and living on the streets
  • Brought to St. Bonaventure with sepsis as a result of delayed post-partum infection
  • Initial prognosis was that she might pull through
  • Goes into ventricular fibrillation, team tries to resuscitate for an hour – unsuccessfully
  • Jasmine dies

Shaun’s Family Journey

  • Following up on last week’s unresolved crisis, Glassman gets the brain scan that Shaun asked him to do
  • Shaun realises that Glassman declined maintenance chemotherapy when he was first treated for the low grade glioma four or so years ago
  • Imaging shows there’s a spot on Glassman’s brain that could be scar tissue or a recurring tumour
  • Shaun and Glassman argue about what the most likely diagnosis is, the oncologist stops the discussion by saying they should run a CSF sample that will determine whether it’s cancer or not
  • Shaun hounds Glassman over lunch in the cafeteria what his best oncologic treatment options are when it hasn’t even been confirmed it’s cancer recurrence
  • Lea joins them and suggests they spend some more time together that night to look at the three crib sets she can’t choose between
  • At the furniture store, Glassman gives Shaun well-meant advice about diaper changing and sleep deprivation, early sensory stimulation for babies, and the preferred colour choice for their crib set
  • Glassman interrupts Shaun’s next tirade about cancer treatments and sits him down to talk
  • They speak about the inevitability of fate you can’t control and that Glassman is already trying to make the best of whatever little time he may have left
  • They later sit in the nursery and put together the new crib (the Angelic Dream set in the lighter natural pine variety and not the funereal dark walnut option) while talking about mistakes to avoid during parenthood and when to prioritise family over profession
  • When Glassman’s DNA results come in, there is no cancerous DNA detected – Shaun was wrong
  • That evening, Jerome comes into Shaun and Park’s office to let them know the new surgical robot is operational and he has a cool surgery that he’s gonna offer to Shaun that Park is also drooling over, but Shaun graciously lets Park have it so that he can prioritise family over profession this time around
  • Back home, Shaun shows Lea the furniture that Glassman has assembled while Shaun was performing life-saving surgery on the Turner syndrome baby
  • Lea loves the crib and the matching dresser and mobile, but Shaun is suddenly concerned – he’s found two screws on the floor that were missed in the assembly of the crib
  • Shaun deduces that, while Glassman doesn’t have brain cancer, there must still be something wrong with his brain

Morgan’s Journey

  • The reason why Morgan’s first embryo transfer didn’t take was likely due to a uterine infection which has now cleared
  • Morgan is ready to go for another try, her specialist says she has two options to choose from – a boy or a girl
  • When Morgan comes in to work, she happens upon an agitated homeless man holding a baby outside the hospital who is being hounded by a security officer to hand him the baby
  • Morgan steps in to talk the man down and he reluctantly lets her hold the baby whose mother was taken to the hospital in an ambulance earlier
  • Showing signs of low oxygen saturation, Morgan takes the baby inside to examine her
  • Shaun diagnoses the baby with Turner syndrome, she will need surgery to fix her cardiac defects
  • The baby’s mother is homeless and has bipolar disorder, she’s at St. Bonaventure because of a delayed post-partum infection and currently septic, intubated and unconscious
  • The baby was born seven weeks ago and is named Eden
  • Morgan finds out the mother had begun seeing a psychiatrist and started treatment for her bipolar disorder plus had put herself on a wait list for long-term housing, a clear sign that she was trying to get her life in order
  • Over surgery, Morgan discusses with Shaun and Alex whether she should choose a boy or a girl for her embryo transfer, eventually settling on a girl because they kick ass
  • Eden’s mother dies from the infection and sepsis, and when Eden is crying and needs to be comforted, Morgan decides to take care of calming Eden down herself
  • When her fertility specialist texts her about the boy vs. girl decision, Morgan decides to reschedule

The Fantastic Four

  • After Danny witnessed the possibly romantic moment between Jordan and Jared the other night, the atmosphere between Jared and the other residents is definitely colder than ice cold
  • Jared mentions he’s thinking about specialising in orthopaedics (oh, so specialties are suddenly a thing on this show now?), but Asher goes all high-and-mighty and says he’s not gonna switch his hip arthroscopy with Jared
  • Lim needs the four residents on research for their latest trauma case, for them to figure out how to reattach the almost totally severed body in a way that the patient survives the surgery and has a chance to recover from it
  • The (Not So) Fantastic Four get to work, Jared is sceptical that reattachment is possible at all while Jordan, Asher and Danny enthusiastically dig right into finding solutions
  • Jordan will focus on pelvic fractures, Asher on organ damage, Danny on the vasculature and Jared is left with exploring how to ensure healing
  • While looking at imaging scans of their patient, Danny and Jordan get a chance to talk about the taco truck thing, and we can see that Danny is clearly jealous
  • Meanwhile, Lim and Andrews fight in the OR whether to try and preserve the lobe of their patient’s lung that’s heavily damaged – Lim wants to save as much as she can despite major issues in the process, Andrews wants to remove the lung to give the patient a fighting chance
  • Andrews pulls rank on Lim, saying her paralysis history makes her compromised and biased and decides to remove the lung lobe against Lim’s instructions
  • When the team presents their research ideas to Lim, Jared voices his scepticism about the healing approach, and the rest of the team are salty that he’s being such a naysayer – with an extra stink-eye from Danny
  • Asher and Jared have a tête-à-tête outside as Asher is about to leave for the day, and Asher tells Jared that he can’t stand rich, entitled guys like Jared, even the ones he slept with in college
  • Jared shares a personal story with Asher how back in Denver, he talked his attending out of a life-saving but debilitating surgery in favour of an advanced experimental one, only to result in the patient dying on the table
  • Asher isn’t quite so jaded – he tells Jared that patients can die during low-risk surgeries too and that he’d rather regret fighting too hard for a patient than not hard enough
  • Jared’s big eureka moment comes from his fancy car—the Lamborghini—which uses vacuum to pull petrol into the pistons, so he suggests using internal suction devices to pull blood into the injured areas to increase healing rate
  • Lim and Andrews think the odds for success are low but they give it a try anyway – and after some trial and error, it works
  • After pulling together as a team and saving a man’s life and quality of life, the four residents are ready to celebrate
  • And celebrate they do, with another stab at karaoke and Jared and Asher performing a questionable rendition of the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody”
  • On the sidelines, Danny admits to Jordan that he is a little jealous, but that Jordan deserves to be with someone who’s ready to fully commit and who makes her happy, whoever that may be
  • As a resolution to the territorial fight between Lim and Andrews, he apologises to her that he’s been under scrutiny from the board lately and that he may have been a little stressed
  • Lim doesn’t quite accept the apology, instead she conveys a clear message that he either trust her or he better not mess with her

Things to Further Dissect

Glassman’s Fate

When I first watched the episode, I was incredibly mad. Like a lot of people, I jumped to the most obvious conclusion for what is going on, which would be dementia or Alzheimer’s, maybe even something fast-progressing like Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). In which case Glassman’s path would be gradual loss of mental function, and Shaun and Lea having to become caregivers along with trying to juggle the new challenges of parenthood. And I’d totally hate that because it would be super hard on Shaun and suck a lot of joy out of his life for a prolonged period of time.

I know what this looks like first-hand since I’ve seen my own grandmother succumb to Alzheimer’s, and my father’s best friend died of CJD. It’s terrible. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, least of all Shaun, not after all he’s been through and after the beautiful journey that he and Glassman have been on. It’d just be epically cruel and I’d loathe it with all my heart.

If this is the show’s ultimate plan, then the only Hail Mary might be an ongoing gene therapy trial that happens to fit Glassman’s exact disease presentation that could actually halt the progression of the disease, but these are rare and still super experimental. They also usually involve injection of the drug directly into the brain, which has its own risks and issues. And they don’t reverse damage already done, so it wouldn’t be a cure, it would be a stop gap to stay at status quo. Better than a slow deterioration journey for sure, but it would effectively end Glassman’s career right here.

Bear with me, though, because I’ve had another thought. Another brain disease that fits the bill with the early disruption of executive function is Parkinson’s disease. And while also an ultimately fatal diagnosis of a slow-progressing and debilitating disease, I think it’s a little less cruel than something like dementia or Alzheimer’s. I’ll talk more about symptoms and disease progression in future recaps, should my hunch prove to be correct, because boy, do I know about Parkinson’s disease!

There are a number of relatively effective therapies out there, there is good chance for symptom control in the earlier stages, and there is more hope on the horizon for new disease-modifying medication. The news about discovery of a biomarker for PD (alpha-synuclein) was in fact just published a few days ago that could accelerate treatment research, and there are already a few clinical studies out there for alpha-synuclein based medications that might slow the progression of the disease, provided they make it to market.

While I don’t like the idea of the show sticking Glassman with a fatal, incurable disease, I think PD would be my much preferred option compared to dementia or Alzheimer’s. Most likely it would also end Glassman’s career as a surgeon right here, but he could possibly still work in the clinic for a while and he’d stay in charge of most of his mental capacities. Plus Shaun would be hell-bent on keeping up with PD research and new treatment options in the future.

And while I’m trying to make my peace with the idea that Glassy gets stuck with something incurable, whatever it’s gonna be, there’s this thing that I was and still am super pissed about. Because, what the hell – they’ve been stringing us along for four weeks, and we still don’t know what’s going on. The possible cancer cliffhanger served its purpose that one time, but to keep us hanging for 3+ episodes is just bullshit.

Not sure this makes up for it, but at least here’s something fun, if you haven’t seen it yet: A wacky little bts video with Richard and Freddie from what I thought was one of the best scenes in the episode. 🙂

Parenting 101

Y’all know I’m a big fan of the Shaun and Glassman dynamic, and despite the tragic undertones, it was so sweet to see Shaunie and Daddy Glassman get more bonding going. I love that this episode very subtly but effectively showed us how much Shaun really loves Glassman and values their relationship.

I somehow missed to mention this in the last episode recap, but do you remember the beautiful scene at the end of A Blip when Shaun very purposefully sat next to Glassman at the desk after Glassman said yes to the brain scan? Physical proximity isn’t usually very important to Shaun, so when he’s the one to go and make sure he’s close to someone, when he deliberately goes into someone’s personal space, that speaks extra loud.

I found the scene very reminiscent of the very moving moment between Shaun and Glassman back in season 2 (2×13 Xin) when Glassman was nauseous and miserable from the chemotherapy and Shaun realised that sometimes it’s enough to just be there and offer comfort. Quite poetically, this time around, it was Shaun seeking comfort from Glassman by wanting to be right there next to him, close enough to touch.

Shaun also very aptly said it in A Blip, now that he’s really and fully embraced the idea of Glassman being his father, he’s scared to lose him, scared to lose the pillar he could always lean on, the person who’s given him guidance and helped him grow and find his place in this world. The idea of not having him there through the next big challenge of parenting is frightening, and so Shaun does what he does best when he feels a lack of control: He hyperfixates.

Last week he was hellbent on getting Glassman to do that scan. Now that there’s further indications that it might be cancer, they need to be prepared, and Shaun wants to leave no stone unturned. Understandably, Glassman is taking the looming uncertainty of a possible death sentence with more poise, and it’s also sad to see him realise he might not have a whole lot of time left to teach Shaun what he can still pass on.

I loved the scene in the furniture store – Glassman rattling off all the newborn baby advice he could think of while Shaun was laser-focused on locating the Angelic Dream set. But don’t think for a second that Shaun wasn’t listening to what Glassman had to say about changing diapers and sleep deprivation and sensory stimulation.

And how often across these six seasons have we heard Glassman tell Shaun, “Just stop and sit down,” and Shaun just quietly complying. It’s their shorthand for, “Shaun, this is going to be an important teaching moment,” and I love it every time.

The moment when Shaun resigns himself to give up on the cancer treatment hyperfixation and focus more on making as much as possible of the little time he may have left with his father was sad and poignant, and again spoke volumes to just how attached he’s become to Glassman.

I got a little smile out of realising that autism consultant Melissa Reiner said almost the same thing in her episode insights, which I looked at just after having written this up myself.

Shaun and Glassman’s parental bonding continued with another beautiful moment of them starting to assemble the natural pine version of the baby furniture set they both liked and Glassman sharing more anecdotes of his experiences raising Maddie. Apparently there was an incident involving a (partially?) shaved cat, and regrettably missed first words, missed first steps and missed first piano recitals.

One of Glassman’s biggest regrets that he wants to imbue on Shaun not to make is to have the wrong balance of priorities in terms of work vs. family. Shaun isn’t all that worried because he thinks he and Glassman are very different people, but are they really? The shot from above that Freddie (as episode director) chose, underlines how much they are not different at all, because their setup for unwrapping the crib legs is almost 100% identical.

And Glassman sees it too, remarks on it, and Shaun has to agree that he’s learned some very useful things from Glassman. Shaun’s little smile when Glassman says, likewise, is so wholesome, and then of course he’s whisked away to the hospital to operate on baby Eden – which Glassman tells him is way more important than assembling furniture.

Next we have Shaun waiting for Glassman when it’s time for the DNA results to come back, and Daniela remarked to me that for every single thing related to Glassman’s cancer, Shaun made sure to be there. He was there for the imaging scan, even sent the technician away, he was there for the discussion about how to proceed after the scan and suggesting treatment options (a little too much), and he was right there when the results came in. If that’s not familial devotion and love, then what is?

Of course we had the big relief moment along with Shaun when the results said: not cancer. Only for it to be thrown out the window later when Shaun discovers the leftover screws. Sigh.

How did the nursery end up being painted in heteronormative light blue after all when both Shaun and Lea said they didn’t want light blue? That’s so… heteronormative. 👎

What’s also sweet is how Lea trusts the guys to pick the right crib. She knows Shaun will pay attention to the important technical, safety and comfort details, and she probably knows Glassman will pay attention to the more practical and aesthetic details. The Dream Team right there, but only as a team!

One word on some of the fan sentiment here. Apparently there’s a number of fans who keep saying that Glassman should die already, that Shaun no longer needs him because he now has Lea, and he trusts Lea more anyway. I mean…. what?! Are you serious?

First of all, the idea that it has to be Lea vs. Glassman is just wrong and totally out of order. Parental and spousal love and support isn’t mutually exclusive. In fact, in a healthy relationship, having both there at the same time can be wonderful and enriching in all the right ways. To say Shaun should only have one or the other is a ridiculous and inappropriate notion.

See, the thing is, one can love their partner and love their parents at the same time for different reasons and with totally different motivations. I wonder if the people who say these things don’t have loving parents. Because how would you feel if people said they’d like it if your mother and father died, because you now have a husband or wife to support you and your parents have become redundant in your life? I’m just… I’m shaking my head right here.

Morgan, the Mum

So Morgan’s ongoing quest to have a child took a maybe somewhat predictable turn. Because, come on, as soon as she took that baby into her arms outside the hospital, we knew that there was an adoption storyline going to come our way. Not saying that I don’t like it, and it’s maybe even a little bit poetic that Morgan is (most likely) going to become a mother to a special needs child.

From what I’ve read, girls and women with Turner syndrome don’t usually have significantly detrimental impact on their life because of their genetic mutation, but as we’ve already seen, there are some physical complications that can arise, and people with Turner syndrome should be closely monitored for the known possible effects of the disorder. Eden would surely need a bit of special attention, and some of the bodily manifestations of the disorder, including loss of hearing, could also lead to challenges such as bullying.

We shall see where this storyline is going to lead us, but I like the idea of it, and wouldn’t it also be sweet to see the Murphy Munchkin make friends with Eden when they’re old enough for play dates?

Let’s all hate on Jared, shall we?

What’s up with that? I’m not the only one asking this question, and many people remarked that the whole thing seemed a little construed and shoehorned. Obviously, Jared’s arc for this last leg of the season is one of acceptance and fitting in, so I guess they were trying to get more groundwork done on that. I just kinda wish they weren’t being so on-the-nose with some of it.

Like others on Reddit, I can get down with the fact that Danny isn’t exactly a fan of Jared right now, what with Jared encroaching on the romantic territory, but what felt a little too forced was that Asher was so anti-Jared.

Granted, we’ve seen Asher being unreasonably judgemental before, so perhaps it’s not all that out of character for him, but there just seemed to be a whole lot of acid spewing at Jared that came out of nowhere, particularly since Asher was all excited in Old Friends to meet and get to know Jared. Jared worked with Jordan both times in previous episodes, and these last three episodes have all been consecutive back-to-back days, so we need to believe Asher and Jared haven’t worked together on a case so far. I’m a bit puzzled where the sudden antipathy is coming from.

Random Bits and Pieces

Also somewhat puzzling is the sudden animosity between Lim and Andrews. Him pulling rank on her was such a dick move, and another thing that came kinda out of the blue. Only a few episodes ago, he was trusting her with making her own hiring decisions, now he’s questioning her ability to school her residents? Yes, I can see how perhaps she wasn’t completely objective about the lung lobe removal. Yet, Andrews’ reactions seemed uncharacteristically harsh.

Is this a setup for something coming down the road? Another fight over hospital presidency? There’s been some speculation that Hill Harper may be leaving the show because he wants to run for Michigan’s next senator, which is yet unconfirmed but may be tied to this. We’ll see.

There’s two notable behind-the-scenes tidbits for this episode as well I want to spotlight. First of all, aw yis, Freddie Highmore behind the camera as director again. This was his fourth directing job on the show (strangely enough the show’s official social media called it his “directing debut”), and he did a wonderful job in capturing the emotions and ensuring the flow of the episode.

We’ve had a few duds this season where I felt very little connection with the stories and the characters, but this episode felt just right, particularly the Shaun and Glassman scenes. Not that I can truly judge since I’m not an industry professional or directing connoisseur, but I think you can see it in the final product if a director knows what he’s doing and also knows the characters, the show and its inner workings.

For anyone interested, here’s a few links to bts material of Freddie directing:

And while we’re talking about behind-the-scenes material, another interesting tidbit is that the daughter of the patient with the massive reconstruction surgery was played by Christina Chang’s daughter Samara. Christina posted a photo and a video in her Instagram stories that got reposted on Twitter, take a look.

Consistency Corner

I think the writers aren’t even pretending anymore that they try to be even halfway consistent or realistic with their timelines, because wtf was Glassman even talking about when he said he wouldn’t see his grandson being born?

Lea said two episodes ago she was 36 weeks pregnant, and likely another week has passed since, which gives her maybe four more weeks until she goes into labour. Glassman barely showed symptoms of a possible tumour, so now he’s suddenly going to drop dead in the space of four weeks or less? Wouldn’t he, as one of the most experienced and skilled neurosurgeons in the area, know about survival prognosis times?

The fact that Shaun and Glassman kept talking about recurrent glioblastoma is also an inconsistency. In the season 1 finale, it was established that Glassman’s actual tumour was a low grade glioma. He never had a glioblastoma. I’m not really all that well versed in oncology, but sounds to me like whatever might have been growing there wouldn’t have been a recurring GBM.

I mean, come on, these things aren’t so hard to pay attention to and look up, guys. Don’t you have a character facts TGD bible for that sort of stuff?

Favourite Scenes and Lines

  • Shaun being 100% concerned son and Glassman being loving dad, so basically all the scenes with him and Glassman were A+
  • Also loved the scenes with Shaun, Alex and Morgan in the procedure room, having actual important discussions about life and family
  • Also loved the scene with Asher and Jared where Jared got emotional, a rare show of vulnerability
  • Karaoke! Karaoke is always fun, even when the singing is bad

Sorely Missing

What’s sorely missing is finally a resolution to this whole Glassman’s fucky brain back-and-forth shit. Please.

Best Shaun Muffin Face

No Spoilers, please!

Quick reminder that I love feedback but try very hard to actively avoid any kind of spoilers for upcoming episodes. Please don’t mention any spoilers in your comments, which includes information from episode promos, stills and other official promo material. Thanks, guys!


6 Comments

  1. Julianna

    Great summary as usual, even if it is abbreviated. Thanks for doing this when you’re super busy!

    I don’t hate Jared, at all, but I hate his car. I have nothing against someone buying a car that they can afford, and also nothing against Lamborghinis, but a lavander one, really?

    As far as Asher’s attitude toward Jared, he said it himself: Jared reminded him of the rich entitled guys he went to college with. I can relate; they’re often assholes. I think Asher was triggered when he saw that ugly Lamborghini AND the $700 shirt. I’m glad they finally talked about it.

    An aside: Is it just me or do Jared and Danny resemble each other? Not exactly of course, but they both have that long face, similar haircuts, similar body types (although no one is as tall as Jared!). Sometimes with long shots I have to look twice.

    I too was puzzled about Andrews’ attitude towards Lim. True, they’ve never been besties, to say the least. Something has been bubbling under the surface for awhile though. I agree Andrews acted like a dick.

    On to the main issue: I stand by my wait and see attitude re Glassman. I don’t have a medical background, so I take your possibilities at face value; could be any one. But there’s another possibility; it could be nothing. I know I sound Pollyannish, but hear me out. First, as I said in reply to your tweet, I’ve learned to be skeptical about upcoming earthshaking scenarios; I’ve been panicked and fooled too often. Also, it could be that Shaun needs something to worry about. I know that sounds odd; why would he choose to worry about Glassman? But it’s been established that he’s worried about fatherhood — that’s been a theme since Season 4, and another worry — which must be about something serious to be a distraction that he needs — might take his mind off that (it won’t).

    Plus, about the two extra screws. Please. Who hasn’t been left with extra stuff after putting together furniture. I’m always surprised when I don’t have any extras, and ditto for the guy I know who often puts furniture together for me, who knows what he’s doing. He said he thinks manufacturers throw in extra screws, bolts, etc because people tend to lose stuff. Who knows? Yes, yes, I know the screws were in addition to the missed sutures, but Glassman explained the reason for that. I’m not saying it’s not something serious, but I’ll continue to be skeptical. Hopefully we’ll find out Monday.

    I too noticed that bit about Glassman not being around for the baby’s birth. Lea’s about to drop that baby; full term is commonly known to be 37 weeks, and as you said, she was 36 weeks 2 episodes ago. True, some women go an extra week or two, but it’s not nearly enough time for Glassman to go from zero to dead if he’d had the cancer diagnosis.

    I too love the Shaun/Glassman scenes; every one of them. Those two actors have always had a wonderful dynamic.

    As far as Freddie’s directing. I agree; everything just worked, organically. He has a light hand, but he strikes me as very detail oriented. He’s said he loves to tell the story visually. BTW, David Shore, when talking about Freddie’s directing, once said that Freddie likes cranes. We can see that in the overhead and downward camera shots.

    • TeeJay

      I agree, the colour choice on the Lambo is definitely an acquired taste, although I gotta say I don’t hate the lavender. Personally, I’d probably have gone with an iridescent colour-shifting foil job if he’s already spending tons of money…

      I still think the 180° from Asher between Old Friends and now seems odd. Jared was already a rich snob in expensive clothing and car the first time Asher met him. But I get why they wrote the episode that way.

      Not sure I’d agree with the physical resemblance between Jared and Danny. Sure, both have short hair with a well toned body, but I don’t see a lot of similarities beyond that. But hey, whatever floats Jordan’s boat. 🙂

      Maybe you’re right with the guess that the whole Glassman scare might just be a ruse to have Shaun overly worried and emotionally high-strung. Maybe it’s a setup for something to create underlying tension for these last few episodes and it turns out to be nothing in the end. I’m much prefer than over seeing Glassman being hit with some big tragic illness. We’ll hopefully know soon, and I really hope they’re not gonna string us along until the finale.

      It’s funny that there’s so many people convinced that Glassman will die in the sesason finale. Sure, it’d create impactful drama, but at what cost? Plus, we already know Shaun will have his big storyline in the finale with the birth of his son. I’d like to think that more likely whatever else big thing that is gonna happen would affect one of the other characters.

      As for the two screws, the way Shaun points at the bed in the scene implied to me that it wasn’t just two leftover screws, it was that they hadn’t actually been inserted where they should have been, with Shaun indicating a hole in the bed where a screw should have been. Because you’re right, sometimes they supply more screws than needed, but I think what concerned Shaun here was that he could see the two screws had not been put in the place they were supposed to be.

      I also think Freddie has a great eye for what works visually on the screen to tell a story. I felt that a few directors this season were lacking in that, or maybe their visual storytelling style just didn’t gel with my preferences. Interesting detail about the cranes, and yeah, I recall there were a few more overhead shots, like when the residents were working together. Do you recall the interview where Shore talked about this?

      • Julianna

        I’m not ignoring your question about the Shore crane comment, I just can’t find it. I’ll keep looking.

  2. Ed Kihanya

    TeeJay,
    First of all, I agree with Julianna: This WAS a great summary as usual, despite being abbreviated. I would also like to thank you for continuing to do this despite being super busy.

    Regarding Glassman’s fate, I too know what this looks like firsthand since I’m, along with my 2 older brothers, currently watching my father battle dementia (He’s currently in a nursing home and can’t speak coherently at this point, but is hanging on). To echo your sentiments: It IS terrible. To further echo your sentiments: I wouldn’t wish it on anyone either, least of all Shaun, not after all he’s been through and after the beautiful journey that he and Glassman have been on. It WOULD be extremely cruel and I too would hate it with all my heart. Speaking as a person on the Autism Spectrum myself (I have Asperger’s, which I found out recently is now called Level 1 Autism) (although I’m not a father), even though life is not meant to be problem-free, Shaun deserves some joy and happiness in his life after all that he’s been through, all that he’s overcome, and all the milestones that he’s reached, especially now that he’s about to become a father.

    Having said all of this, I too think Julianna may be right with the guess that the whole Glassman scare might just be a ruse to have Shaun overly worried and emotionally high-strung, because I, again as a person on the spectrum, know what it feels like to be be overly worried about a parent. However, at the same time, as I said earlier, I also know what dementia looks like firsthand like you, but you seem to have a good understanding of the writing on this show, so I’m curious: Does the fact that you think Julianna may be right with this guess mean that you think it might be unrealistic for the writers to base a possible problem with Glassman’s brain on 2 skipped sutures at the end of a surgery (which I know he explained) and 2 missed screws after assembling a crib?

    • TeeJay

      Thank you so much, I’m glad the recap was still useful!

      So sorry to hear you’re going through caring for a beloved family with dementia. It’s so hard to see them gradually losing their mental capacity. Wishing you all the best for your continuing journey through this. I really hope that modern medicine can make faster headway to find treatments and cures for these conditions, but gene therapy is on the rise and I’m hopeful this will further progress.

      I guess we have our answer now, after 6×20, so answering your question is a bit moot. But this is what I would have said before knowing what the issue really was:

      Of course it might have been possible that the show could have just been putting these scare tactics out there in order to produce prolonged emotional stress for Shaun, perhaps as a setup for him to be, as you say, high-strung and have a reason to snap or have a more volatile emotional outburst — perhaps somewhat similar to what they did with the Ethicure setup and then the big meltdown in Expired last season. That’s really the only way I would have been able to explain why they pushed for more brain related issues past ruling out the cancer recurrence.

      I think the point with the two missed sutures and the two missed screws is highly personality dependent. However, with how they previously established that Glassman as someone who liked meticulous planning and attention to detail (which you probably need as a neurosurgeon), I would have agreed with Shaun that it seemed out of character for him to make two significant errors like this in a short period of time. However, it was vague enough that it wouldn’t necessarily have been reason to worry, but we know Shaun — he gets a little too obsessed with details sometimes. In this case, it was probably a good thing.

      I’ll speak more to the actual result of the brain deficiencies in my next recap. 🙂

  3. Ed Kihanya

    TeeJay,
    You’re quite welcome for my compliment on your recap.

    Thank you so much for your kind words and well wishes for my continuing journey through my Dad’s dementia. It really means a lot.

    Now that I’ve watched 6×20, I can agree with you: Yes, we do have our answer now. I actually couldn’t watch it at it’s regular airtime because I don’t have cable, so I had to wait until the next day to watch it on Hulu as I usually do. I actually hadn’t even watched it yet when I read your response. Therefore, thank you for not spoiling it. Also, even though I hadn’t watched 6×20 yet when I read your response, thank you for saying how you would have answered my question and sharing your insight in the process.

    I’m looking forward to hearing what you have to say about the actual result of the brain deficiencies in your next recap.

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