The Good Doctor Review: Believe (Season 2 Episode 16)
Shaun rarely gets off to a great start with most people, but new chief of surgery, Dr. Jackson Han (Daniel Dae Kim), is next level.
He’s already decided that while Shaun is a fantastic diagnostician, he’d be better served in the pathology department, where he can help more people while interacting with them considerably less. This is where The Good Doctor Season 2 Episode 16, “Believe,” begins.
Said first day is going about as smoothly as one might expect — akin to his first day of having a roommate who loads the toilet paper differently than he or leaves apple cores laying about.
Lee makes him a pancake breakfast to indicate fresh starts, and at least he likes those, but shouldn’t it at least cross her mind that it might look like coddling to the very man who’s decided they don’t have time for that with one of their own?
This can be the rub when it comes to the exceptional series: the entire staff behaves as if people in the direst of straits should be welcoming of a young autistic savant to the point of not even blinking an eye, never mind new chiefs of staff or those joining him in surgery their first day on the job.
By the time Shaun melodramatically places his scalpel in his locker, it’s clear the buttermilk was but a band-aid, and along comes a Dr. Carly Lever to give him a tour of the facility. As if sensing his dismay she is quick to point out that he is now a detective, adding, “Surgeons are just the beat cops.”
Shaun’s eyes dart to the ceiling the endearing way only his can as he endeavors to decide if he likes the sound of that or not.
Dr. Lever: Surgeons are just the beat cops.
Meanwhile, a mountain climber named Sadie is complaining of a premonition she just had that she was going to die, just as her hands and feet are going numb. Lim orders a brain scan and — voila! — an inoperable brain tumor.
Lim is also pulling double duty as Shaun’s cheerleader, telling Han that he simply needs to get to know Shaun better, like they all do, and did. Yes, the ever-brilliant Lim was even forgetful of the adjustment period even she weathered upon meeting Shaun.
Shaun further exacerbates things by visiting Sadie in her room, and sifting through her purse. But, hey, he is a detective now after all! Han catches him and all hell breaks loose. Or should I say “chaos ensues?”
Interestingly, while Shaun has always been prone to outburst and abrupt departures mid-conversation he’s never gone the distance and actually done something straight-up wrong. Rifling through this stranger’s purse smacks of something he’d be incapable of, much as he might want to.
Of course, Shaun’s brain kicks into overdrive, in that Guy Ritchie/”Sherlock Holmes” way only his can, where the viewer is treated to illustrations of how his works and he announces to Han that Sadie’s social media reveals a recent visit to a Japanese restaurant. She’s a freelance food critic, and her “C” grade strikes Shaun as possibly indicative of a parasite, as opposed to a tumor.
Han thinks it’s a long shot, but goes ahead with a biopsy, which would seem out of character really. After all, why would someone new to a staff that has someone like Shaun going rogue every other day, and who has already made up his mind about said individual, even hear him out? Especially after he has just suggested the possibility of termination.
Lo and behold, it is a parasite, of course. Shaun saves the day yet again.
Han cops to Shaun doing good work. Shaun is quick to correct, however: “Excellent work.” He wants his old gig back, but Han ain’t having it, and by the time credits are about to roll Shaun is looking on from the observation deck, scalpel still tucked away in his locker, as Lim removes the parasite.
This is an interesting place for Shaun to be right now, even if many of the characters — including him — behaved a bit uncharacteristically this time ’round. I like “Believe” alright, but I’m even more excited by where this season may end.
You see, I believe (pun intended) that Han might just be right. Shaun might be much more of an asset in his new position.
What did you think of this episode of The Good Doctor? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
The Good Doctor airs Mondays at 10/9c on ABC.
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Vinnie Penn
A morning radio host by day, and writer...well, the rest of the day, Penn's work has appeared everywhere from Maxim to Cracked and Parent, with him being Head TV writer/recapper for six years for MSN.com. He also did a season of VH1’s popular Best Week Ever and has appeared on Showbiz Tonight, That's What He Said (YourTango), and Fox & Friends. His latest book, "Route One Food Run," was released June 2018.