The Good Doctor Review: Newbies (Season 4 Episode 3)

The Good Doctor Season 4 Episode 3, “Newbies,” begins with a PSA from Freddie Highmore making the simple announcement: We’re done with COVID.

The episode that follows is strong — it handles the interpersonal relationships of the residents in a solid way, zeroing in on both Shaun’s mishaps as a boyfriend, as well as Morgan’s struggles to adapt to her new role as an internist, far away from the adrenaline rush of surgery.

The Good Doctor consistently delivers and remains a heartfelt medical drama, even if the marital theatrics between Debbie and Glassman seems to kill some of my brain cells every time it’s featured. 

This is why the carelessness in their addressing of COVID is so disappointing. A medical drama filled with so much heart should do better, especially when the episode that followed the two episodes of tragedy glorification is entertaining in full.

But, this is more than American entertainment, the treatment of COVID has extended into American politics, so should our expectations remain low? 

The Good Doctor tries to play the best of both worlds — giving only two episodes to relish in the opportunity of heartbreaking COVID stories, as well as a cameo from a character many fans can agree The Good Doctor shouldn’t have killed off, but then tries to pretend COVID never existed. 

While the current television market is oversaturated with stories centering on COVID, The Good Doctor is the first one that seems to address this story, and then…drop it.

And while stories that feel normal are appreciated and necessary, contrary to Hollywood’s beliefs, it feels disingenuous to bring COVID into the world of The Good Doctor, and then just neglect it. 

It would have served The Good Doctor better to pick a direction and stick with it.

Ignoring the poor transition from COVID episodes to standard The Good Doctor episodes, the content is typical for the series’ formula. “Newbies” focuses on two groups of doctors (with three applicants each), two medical cases, and it zones in on two personal stories for the residents and their mentors. 

Shaun has a case where an older teenager wants to correct a deformity on her breast before starting the next phase of her life. Of course, the surgery doesn’t go as planned — but by the end of the episode the teenager comes out of it alive, and with the deformity corrected.

The most noteworthy element of the case occurs when a bold applicant, who later gets accepted to the hospital due to her tenacity, calls Dr. Andrews, and the patient, on the operation — arguing whether this type of surgery and reasoning is sexist or not. 

The conversation holds value, looking at two different arguments concerning women’s bodies — should all women find acceptance with their own futures, or should they use the tools at hand to change their molds to what they wish for.

While The Good Doctor seems to make an argument for the latter, the applicant does make a good point — many plastic surgeons are men which can affect surgical outcomes. The male gaze is certainly different from women’s. 

Meanwhile, Shaun unsurprisingly has relationship problems. There’s no issue with Shaun overcoming the challenges of relationships but at this point, his personal plotlines have become repetitive, to say the least.

While it’s not evident if the repetitiveness is an issue with the storytelling or a part of his autism, it’s time for a little shake-up when it comes to what The Good Doctor focuses on when tackling Shaun’s personal relationships and conflicts. 

Because if The Good Doctor continues with this argument of the week between Lea and Shaun, a relationship that a portion of the audience wasn’t a fan of, to begin with, then why did The Good Doctor waste an entire season doing the exact same thing with Shaun and Carly (who was distastefully discarded as soon as her relationship with Shaun ended).  

Meanwhile, Claire’s grief for Melendez is gone with the COVID episodes after she spent the majority of season three learning to cope with her Mother’s death… thanks to Melendez.

While many were fans of ‘Melendaire’ and it’s easy to feel bitter that their story was seemingly wrapped up in the previous episode, “Frontline, Part 2,” albeit in a beautiful moment, fans of Claire can also breathe a sigh of relief as it seems Claire won’t be wrapped up in pain for another season, instead, allowing Morgan to take the spotlight as she grapples with her change in career. 

Claire, however, does have a C-plot where she proves her own leadership-potential as she confronts Lim about her favored choice of applicant, exposing Lim’s test for the surgical residents.

Even with Lia’s hurt feelings, the most chaotic aspect of the episode is still Morgan, who will probably spend much of the season adjusting to her new role as an internist. Her inner tornado results in several arguments with Claire, where she oversteps the bounds of her new role, even if she has the knowledge to challenge Clarie’s decisions. 

The familiarity of Morgan’s story is enjoyable. Not that she’s been through this situation before — but Morgan and Claire in this conflict feel familiar. It’s nice being able to go to an enjoyable, unchanged dynamic while other new relationships and characters are introduced into the show. 

Morgan, however, is intense in this episode, acting with an intensity that can’t be held for long or consistent if her journey forward is to remain digestible.

But even as Morgan is Morgan, she is perhaps one of the most relatable characters right now, as her entire dream has been unfairly ripped away from her. Converting to a completely different type of medical career won’t be easy, especially for a person like Morgan, but hopefully, it will be interesting and fresh. 

If we’re really lucky, Morgan’s new specialty can expand the sphere of The Good Doctor wider, especially with Carly and the pathology angle gone. 

What did you think of this episode of The Good Doctor? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Good Doctor airs Mondays at 9/8c on ABC.

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