Season 6 Wishlist Analysis

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

First of all, I think we all want Lim and Villanueva to live. Is that realistic? Probably not — personally I don’t think Villanueva will make it, but Lim will.

✔️

My prediction was thankfully wrong, and that wish was granted. Both Lim and Villanueva made it out alive.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

Dare we hope for Shaun and Lea to have a healthy baby? I would warrant that if this were on the horizon for season 6, then perhaps more towards the end of the season, or maybe the season 6 high note ending.

✔️✔️

Yep, this was granted on the double, with some bumps along the road. And definitely a high note ending, the friction with Glassman notwithstanding.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

I know it’s probably a bit boring, but I’d love to see Shaun and Lea do more normal things together, being comfortable with each other and living their best lives as a newly married couple. I dig Happy!Shea, I want more of it.

⚪

There was the odd little thing here and there, like the dishwashing thing and the doggy episode, but I think we were shortchanged on seeing enough domestic life Shea this season.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

It would be lovely to see Shaun discovering new things that he’s good at or just Shaun being super sweet when he’s supporting friends and family. Some of the best episodes in the past were always those where Shaun was trying to figure out a personal conundrum and in the end coming to a realisation or a solution that made us all go, “Aww, Shaunie.” We haven’t had a lot of that lately.

⚪

Not sure we had a lot of that. Again, the dishwashing episode (A Big Sign) had an Aww-Shaunie arc, and perhaps his personal journey with the acceptance of Danni in Hot and Bothered counts towards it as well. Shaun came around on Lea’s insistence to buy a house (which then never happened) and on accepting adopting a special needs dog, but none of these felt like we were seeing Shaun’s positive and inquisitive essence that I sometimes miss a little bit.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

David Shore hinted at some things to come this season, including Shaun becoming attending and getting accustomed to the new responsibility and lack of safety net. I’m excited to see this unfold, particularly with the two new residents who both sound like they have a personality and a half!

⚪

Did we really see a lot of that? The promotion to attending itself was pretty much glossed over, and his role as mentor was not delved into as much as they could have (and pretty much did away with after Danica left). I don’t think I’d give this a green tick mark.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

Speaking of which, I’m eager to meet these two new people and get to know them better. They sound like they’ll be interesting additions to the mix. And it’s kind of a no-brainer that we’ll find out more about who they are.

✔️

Okay, so yeah, we met them, and we did get to know them a little better, but I feel like it wasn’t enough that it felt satisfying. Danni only got to be there for half a season, and Danny, despite being there the whole season, still felt pretty bland by the end of it.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

Knowing that these two new residents are both called Danni/Danny and have the same initials (full names: Danica Powell and Daniel Perez), I bet we’ll see some name mix-up shenanigans. I’m sure this will drive Shaun crazy. Could be humorous, but I hope they don’t overdo it.

❌

Lol, not even once. Come on, guys. It could have been amusing.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

This is a totally selfish indulgence wish, but I’d love to see Shaun deal with the sniffles for an episode. All the fevered hijinks and epically cranky Shaun, plus Lea trying to deal with it all. I think it would make for a fun, lighthearted entertainment episode.

❌

Sadly, this one didn’t happen, but instead we got to see some Lea whump. I’ll keep this on the wishlist for next season.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

Not so lighthearted, but somehow I felt cheated out of a lot of the really important ASD topics last season. Hints were dropped at Shaun and Lea having to work on their issues, yet we saw none of it actually on screen. Shaun still has all that childhood trauma and abandonment issues that will always simmer under the surface. I’d love to see that being showcased a little more.

❌

They touched on several issues related to Shaun’s ASD across the season. There was the beautiful arc with Shaun and Glassman solidifying their bond at the beginning of the season, and later the possible cancer recurrence arc, but there was very little that spoke to Shaun’s underlying childhood trauma.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

On the subject of childhood trauma, will Marcie (Shaun’s mother) be back? Will there be any attempts at reconciliation? I think it could be interesting to see Marcie back in the mix, but would depend on how it’s being done.

❌

Nope. Marcie wasn’t even mentioned this season.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

Daniela said she would like for Lea’s parents and Glassy to meet and interact with each other. That would definitely be interesting and have a lot of potential in terms of good comedy. I very much agree!

❌

No mention of Lea’s parents either, but instead we got a lot of affirmation that Glassman is actually the Peanut’s grandfather. I guess that’s something…

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

Daniela would also like the show to build on the basis of the Shaun/Glassy father-son relationship that’s been finally openly addressed in the season 5 finale. She wants to see proud Daddy Glassman supporting Shaun in his new adventure as a newly appointed attending.

✔️

We certainly got to see a good amount of that, particularly in the beginning of the season during the whole Lim paralysis arc, including beautiful dialogue such as, “No matter how mad I get, I never stop loving you.”

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

On that note, both Daniela and I would like the subject of Shaun calling Glassy “Dr. Glassman” being addressed. We know that the writers often don’t like to dwell on such details, but it would be really nice if they did.

❌

Well, they didn’t go there, did they? 🙂

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

Speaking of Glassman, I’d love to see him having more positivity in his life for once. Not quite sure what that would be, not necessarily another romantic interest. How about a fulfilling hobby on the side, like, say… getting involved with a horse sanctuary on the outskirts of the city?

⚪

I’m torn between a grey circle or a red cross for this one. It was nice to see Glassman and Shaun reconnecting and positively evolving their relationship, but with Glassy’s house burning down and him losing surgery (and pretty much also losing Shaun over it for the time being), I don’t think we can call that adding positivity to his life

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

Let’s leave the hospital a bit more, how about that? The episodes where that happened were always interesting, like the road trip in season 1, the trip to Wyoming in season 3 (as heartbreaking as it was) or Lea and Shaun’s camping trip in season 4.

⚪

I guess we got two episodes this season, the doggy one and the lawyer one, but I can’t say the dog episode stood out much. Not necessarily a thumbs up from me in that respect.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

Daniela mentioned that Lea, Jordan & Glassman’s little business project was an interesting detail they put there in season 5, and it would be great to see that evolve throughout season 6. It could be a useful plot device to focus more on their interactions and relationships.

✔️

While the business project was swept under the rug, Glassy and Lea certainly got a good amount of bonding in, so I’ll give this a green check mark.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

I’d love to see more of Asher, and Asher with Jerome. Please don’t break them up, they’re cute together. Asher’s inquisitive rebel boy energy gives me life!

✔️

Asher and Jerome are still going strong at the end of the season, and I’m glad we had some storylines that featured them more prominently. I hope it stays that way!

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

I’d love to see Jordan grow, and see more of the Jordan and Lea friendship. Jordan brings Lea’s fun side out a little more. I’d also love to see Lea get her own plot line, if only in one episode. Decrypt in season 4 was a nice one.

❌

Can’t say we saw a whole lot of that. There were little glimpses here and there that Lea and Jordan are still friends, but nothing that dug deeper.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

Oh! Can we also have Freddie Highmore write or direct again? We do love when he gets more involved.

✔️

Aw yis, Freddie directed one episode this season, and it was lovely to see little glimpses of him behind the camera.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

I honestly have no idea what to wish for in terms of Alex and Morgan. I don’t think I want her permanently in New York, though perhaps we might see her going there for a while and finding out it isn’t working out for her, so she’ll return. I wouldn’t want them to have Morgan stay in San Jose just for Alex’s sake and then blame him for her unhappiness over a missed opportunity.

✔️

Clearly, they were playing the long game with Parnick this season. I’m glad that they didn’t go the route of having Morgan be guilted into staying in San Jose, and I’m glad that they’re back together — and with a baby in the mix!

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

As for the Lim storyline, personally my prediction is that we’ll see her struggling with the physical repercussions of the attack and what I imagine will be Dalisay’s death and feeling guilt over it. Coupled with the PTSD, I could imagine it would be a hard journey that we’ll see unfold at least during the first half of the season. Although I wouldn’t want to see Dalisay die, I think it could be an interesting arc for Lim.

✔️

It was quite a journey for Lim in season 6, and although I didn’t like the cop-out they wrote in terms of getting her back out of the wheelchair, I was very partial to the early season 6 journey with her stuggling emotionally and Lim and Shaun being at odds.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

In more general terms, I want more organic and less plot device-y writing. It was sad to see Lea being used as a plot device a lot in season 5, and particularly the second half of the season felt incoherent and aimless. The reality TV show arc was largely a poorly executed amalgamation of missed opportunities. I hope season 6 has a bit more underlying direction and cohesion.

⚪

They did better this season than season 5 for sure! Yet, I don’t know that I’ll truly give it a green tick mark. The cast is still a bit overcrowded, which doesn’t always lend to meaningful character exploration. I’d like to see them improve on that further in season 7. Lea was also written inconsistently this season, which I wasn’t a big fan of.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

I assume/hope they will at the very least mention or explain Danni’s disability, since the slightly different gait of person with a prosthetic leg will be noticeable. I think this could offer some common ground for Shaun and Danni, or at the very least some discussions about the parallels of their situation, even though ASD isn’t necessarily considered a disability.

✔️

With Savannah’s visibly uneven gait, they’d have been hard-pressed not to mention the prosthesis. I’m very glad they wrote that into the show. It’s a bit of a shame we didn’t get to see that many story touchpoints with Shaun regarding her disability.

Season 6 Wish

Granted?

Season 6 Reality

From what we know about Danni, she’s competitive, very mature for her age and doesn’t shy away from defying authority. I could imagine they’ll write her as a person (very much like Shaun) who doesn’t want to be defined or limited by her physical constraints. So what I think would be interesting to see is her overdoing the pushing for independence, and it would be super sweet to see Shaun actually being the one to tell her that sometimes it’s okay to admit you need help and let the people who offer help you.

⚪

While we did get some insight into Danni and her strong personality, this turned out differently than what I had envisioned. Since the relationship with Shaun was mostly antagonistic, there wasn’t as much room for mutual bonding in that regard. I’m still disappointed that they gave Danni the boot after half a season. I think there could have been a lot of interesting stories still to tell.