The Good Doctor Review: Empathy (Season 2 Episode 9)

With great character development and connected storytelling, The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 9, “Empathy,” solidifies itself back in the reputation created by Season 1’s success.

All season long, this fan has been disappointed time and time again by the mishandling of characters and their development. There have been snippets of development here and there, but nothing quite like what the show boasted.

When the show was first introduced to audiences they promised a show unlike any other because it would show someone living beyond their disability. Unfortunately, so far they have only shown Shaun to break away from his autism far enough to be a surgeon. 

It’s very rare for his feelings or understanding of emotions to change. So for “Empathy” to boldly show Shaun breaking down that wall completely is like he’s finally living up to his full potential.

The Good Doctor is finally giving us the greatest amount of single episode development for Shaun in both seasons combined. Shaun manages to push past the hardships caused by his Autism and creates an emotional connection to his patient. His development even extends beyond his job and into his lessons on driving.

This show has always been about breaking down walls and stereotypes. However, as stated before, no big measure of that has been shown since Shaun’s first few days as a surgeon.

On that level, it’s been a really slow build up. So slow that at times this show borders on boring and mundane.

Now, that the development has occurred it seems that the slowness of it all really illustrates how hard change is to Shaun.

Dr. Lim: Empathy can be a truly invaluable motivator, Dr. Murphy. One that connects a physician to their patient.

It’s a true lesson in patience and understanding — pretty dang ingenious if you ask me.

Seeing Shaun finally learn how to empathize with others allows everyone to see that Autism isn’t the be all, end all of Shaun’s abilities. He continues to allow those around him help him to learn and grow. 

For “Empathy,” it is a team effort between Drs. Park, Reznick, Brown, Lim, and Glassman; with a bit of Lea thrown in too. Seeing them all come together in some way for Shaun is gratifying to see after a feeling of disconnect so far this season.

Another big point of contention for me this season is the hit or miss, stop and go feeling of the relationships between Shaun and Lea as well as Dr. Glassman. Finally, we see major headway on both counts. 

First, we have Dr. Glassman trying to create an analogy to help Shaun understand why he is so upset at Shaun for taking his driving license away. This is one of the first big disagreements between the two friends since before Dr. Glassman’s surgery. 

It shows Shaun physically struggling with understanding what driving has to do with freedom and growth, while most neurotypical viewers had no trouble at all with the analogy. Showing his clear misunderstanding allows the door to be opened for some empathy for Shaun, not just from him.

Finally, this episode was a celebration of the Lea we met and fell in love with last season; the Lea who looks at Shaun and doesn’t see any kinds of barriers. 

Shaun: That soccer ball was a dropped Metzenbaum.

“Empathy” Lea is very soft-spoken and patient as Shaun tries his hand at learning to drive. She first tries to explain driving from a literal standpoint, a follow the rules sort of example if you will.

When that doesn’t work she connects it with Shaun’s life through his one greatest understanding, surgery. By creating that window of understanding through something that is well known to him, Shaun is able to successfully de-stress about all the stressors one encounters while on the road. 

It’s a sweet, heartfelt moment that cements Lea as Shaun’s closest and dearest friend. A title that has been put into question ever since she left for Hershey. 

Other than Glassman, Lea is the only person who understands Shaun on a level the show is trying to convey to everyone else.

If the slow game is what The Good Doctor is playing, then maybe just maybe I could stick around for the long haul. 

Further Thoughts:

• A breast implant into the skull of that young kid…crazy and cool.
• The pedophile castration argument is a hard one to choose a side on no matter where you stand. 
• Dr. Andrews officially solidified himself as a grade a douche-canoe by taking back the Chief position AND keeping the Presidency.

What did you think of this episode of The Good Doctor? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Be sure to check out our review of The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 8, “Stories” right here!

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

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