The Good Doctor Review: Smile (Season 1 Episode 17)

For a doctor who doesn’t understand emotions, Shaun is definitely in for a life lesson with his newest patient.

On The Good Doctor Season 1 Episode 17, “Smile,” we see just how much our main team of doctors has changed because of Shaun. Or in Shaun’s case, because of everyone else.

Now, I mentioned quite a bit in my review of The Good Doctor Season 1 Episode 16, “Pain,” that the biggest growth seen on this show has been between Shaun, Dr. Andrews, and Dr. Melendez. Well, this episode really focuses on the full extent of Dr. Andrews’ and Shaun’s growth.

One of the things The Good Doctor has never shied away from is telling stories that have a real connection to their audiences. “Smile” is no different.

With the underlying issues of health insurance plaguing both patients, one can’t help feeling connected. Health insurance is a real problem in our country. Many people can’t afford it so they go without it until it’s too late.

Such is the case with Lucy or at least the fake one, she has a son with a college tuition and she can’t afford both so she picks her son over her health. She isn’t the only one in our country currently facing this issue.

It’s nice to see a show about breaking down walls and barriers deciding to tackle a barrier that is seemingly arbitrary. This barrier can be the opening of doors for some and death for others.

It’s this insurance issue that really has Dr. Andrews stepping up. In the past, we have only seen him make decisions for his patient’s on a medical level. He’s been kind of held back from the human side of patient care.

Dr. Andrews: She can’t smile. That’s a function.

He’s growing into a more self-aware doctor which makes him more likable both as a character and a doctor. While some might think this development is coming really late in the season, I disagree. If The Good Doctor had shown his character strength before all his flaws we would probably like him less than we do now.

By seeing the not so great sides to him first we are allowed to cheer for his moments of growth when they happen. We see him evolve into a better, more present surgeon. Most of all we have seen him become a more conscientious colleague and husband.

Personally, it’s my belief that Dr. Andrews is a great personification of the doctor we all hope we get when we go to the hospital. He is kind, he listens, he goes to bat for you. In today’s world, this is definitely something we all need from our doctor.

Hill Harper’s integrity of character in how he portrays Dr. Andrews is what brings the character beyond the dialogue. His microexpressions give us hints to how Andrews is feeling or what he is really thinking. Harper is really good at softening his face in all the right moments.

Are we sure he really isn’t a doctor?

Shaun: That smile isn’t real. All the other ones are!

Character growth is always important and The Good Doctor has really cornered the market in that. Between initially cold doctors becoming stronger team players and a social inept doctor making friends they really know how to keep us invested and interested.

Just like the growth of Dr. Andrews is slow coming and realistically paced, Shaun’s evolution follows a similar timeline. Again, if Shaun had changed overnight it wouldn’t be believable and people wouldn’t trust the show to tell an authentic story.

As it is Shaun is still learning and growing as he goes along. For example, he puts all his trust in Kenny because his previous neighbor is the amazing Lea who is trustworthy. Shaun knows from experience that neighbors are nice and don’t take advantage.

Kenny clearly sees this in Shaun and takes advantage of him. As sad as it is to say this, Kenny has been showing signs of it for weeks now. Shaun will most likely learn from this experience as well. If Lea was such a positive influence on his sociableness, I can hope that Kenny won’t have the opposite effect.

The worst thing The Good Doctor can do is revert Shaun back to his pre-Lea days because of Kenny. It’s easy to see from his interactions with others he is way beyond that version of himself now. Kenny will set him back a bit, but I hope it won’t last long.

Shaun: I don’t think the internet is very helpful for solving personal situations.

This moment is small but, it plays out to a bigger picture. Shaun is freely offering up advice and human interaction with his colleague, Dr. Kalu. All season we have seen these two work side by side and barely say a word to each other.

Kalu definitely has many things to work through and it’s really heartwarming to see him break down a few of his walls to Shaun. This can be interpreted as him finally offering Shaun the same level of respect Shaun has always shown him.

One of the strongest performances on this whole show, especially in “Smile” is Freddie Highmore. He truly understands each and every tick or nuance of someone with Autism/Savant syndrome. He shows just a small amount of emotion and all the right moment’s.

It makes us believe that Shaun really is growing and learning. Emotions are starting to make sense to him. Highmore really highlights that in how he shows Shaun trying out these emotions in the littlest moments.

Blink and you just might miss those moments, that’s just how good he is.

As for Kalu and Shaun, if only the bonding had come sooner. Sure all of these characters have to develop and march along at their own pace, but the potential for so much greatness between them is stunted by the lateness of the interaction.

Who knows maybe season 2 will have opportunities to explore this more. After all, Shaun and Kalu really do have many shared experiences or feelings to offer.

All in all this episode is beautiful in its weaving of the story. It continues to tell us the stories we want to hear while opening our eyes to possibilities we never knew before. We continue to care because the characters continue to grow and change.

Further Thoughts:

• It’s nice to see Morgan and Claire finally working together as a team. Morgan definitely seems to be learning from Claire about patient care.
• I have a bad feeling that Kenny is going to officially steal from Shaun next.
• Dr. Glassman, he can’t die. However, his illness will definitely be a game changer for Shaun.
• It is so sweet to finally see Dr. Glassman happy.

What did you think of this episode of The Good Doctor? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below! Be sure to check out our review of The Good Doctor Season 1 Episode 16, “Pain” right here.

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The Good Doctor airs Mondays at 10/9c on ABC.

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