The Good Doctor Review: Parenting (Season 4 Episode 8)
The Good Doctor Season 4 Episode 8, “Parenting,” diverges from the previous episode’s more light-hearted tone and provides a more heartfelt hour of television as the episode hones in on several important relationships.
By the end of “Parenting,” the air is clearer than before, perhaps too clear as Claire takes her concerns about Lim to Glassman, perhaps shaking up the Chief of Surgery position once again.
This episode packs several emotional punches, but it wouldn’t work without the strong performance of its cast, particularly Richard Schiff, Hill Harper, and Freddie Highmore. Each of them elevates the conflicts of the episode higher, making for what probably is the best episode of the season so far. Highmore (and Fiona Gubelmann in her only appearance of the episode) also helps balance the episode with bits of humor that also stand out.
An episode of highs and lows, “Parenting” dives deep into the emotional trauma and drama of these doctors, breaking relationships down and also building them up.
Lea’s parents are in town and she’s nervous. Neither of them explicitly says why until actually faced with her parents, but it’s more than just Shaun’s autism.
I’ve never been shy regarding my annoyance with Lea, and their kiss in the season three finale amidst Melendez’s death felt like a slap in the face, but Patti Carr writes Lea amazingly. The episodes where Shaun and Lea face something together fare far better than the ones where there’s some silly conflict between them, so these scenes were highly enjoyable.
Fiona Gubermann elicits the loudest laughs of the episode as she is so predictably Morgan while attempting to pretend to be Lea’s mom. This is her only significant scene of the episode, and while some other characters have gotten the short side of the stick when it comes to screentime (Park, a little bit of Claire, Glassman), she’s the only character that truly feels shoved into the narrative, when sadly, it feels like she’s lost her place there.
Glassman also has dinner with Shaun, Lea, and Morgan, but The Good Doctor takes the opportunity to poise Glassman as Shaun’s father-figure, bringing the tension between him and Lea to the surface. After all, his relationship with Lea carries much more importance than Shaun’s with Lea’s parents. Glassman is there, Lea’s parents are not.
When it comes down to it, Shaun’s emotional speech to Lea’s parents is the weakest and most overdone scene of “Parenting.” Yes, it’s important that Shaun know that his relationship with Lea is honest and supportive. It is significant that her parents come to accept him, unlike the other people Lea has brought home to her parents. But it’s through this experience that Lea is finally pushed to address Glassman’s feelings for her.
Finally, Glassman admits that he doesn’t hold ill-will towards her. Much of this is due to his love for Shaun and how she treats him, but his words are earnest and emotional nevertheless, as he describes that Shaun’s pain is his pain just the same.
This sets a new status quo for Shaun’s family, a new way forward with open communication. So, maybe Shaun’s speech is over the top. But at least Lea and Glassman clear the air and the audience gets a cool hemorrhoid metaphor out of it.
Andrews steps into a bigger role this season, but it’s hard to tell if the new residents are the vehicle for his spotlight, or if he’s there for them. Either way, it’s nice to see him in a less hardened role with a family member. The conflict he experiences on “Parenting” with his niece resonates with young people too – the struggle of the expectations placed upon them and the struggles to be one’s self in a world more cutthroat than ever.
And if there’s one thing this episode teaches us, it’s that the other female resident’s name is Jordan.
The case they work on together also fits the ‘parenting’ theme (‘uncle-ing’ in this case), as they treat the ruptured esophagus of a father of a gymnast who has a spine condition that will put her out of the sport. The two go back and forth through the episode, debating what type of treatment she should get and whether she should prioritize her sport.
The two end up prioritizing their relationships and helping each other which leads to the most jarring arc of “Parenting,” Lim’s continuing downward spiral.
Claire’s increasing presence in the past few episodes mostly centers around Lim. Claire’s role as a friend and an advocate is an expected one, but not as expected is Lim’s refusal to get treatment for her diagnosed PTSD.
It’s disappointing to see this unique and unexpected friendship disintegrate so easily. Lim’s behavior isn’t uncharacteristic of someone experiencing what she is, you would expect 1. For her to be more understanding about mental illness (She’s chief of surgery!!!!) and 2. For Claire not to be a punching bag for once.
Lim went quickly from treating Claire as a friend to a subordinate. However, Claire was the wrong person to treat like this. After losing her mother, and maybe drive by the outcome of the case of this episode, she goes to Glassman and makes a very strong argument. Again, this plot feels off in comparison to the content of the rest of The Good Doctor.
When a plot seems out of character, or when a narrative consistently treats the same character badly, the audience will notice.
Thankfully, “Parenting” does a good job of heartfelt and thoughtful scenes outweighing the weaker, trope-y secondary arc that could be interesting, but context pushed it back slightly so it misses the mark. But The Good Doctor continues to improve each week, so this arc may just be a blip on the radar on an otherwise earnest and well-balanced show.
If this improvement continues, hopefully, The Good Doctor will find the perfect balance to elevate its rating to a 5. But “Parenting” still shines with the heartfelt conversation, improvement in writing, and its fair share of chuckles.
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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Amanda Reimer
In addition to working as a freelance writer, Amanda also works with animals and stage manages various live performances. She has an invested interest in the perspective and experience of fandoms as well as anything in the science-fiction genre. She also loves spoiling her cats, Drummer and Kiki.