The Good Doctor Season 6 Episode 19 Review: Half Measures

Okay, we can breathe again, at least for the moment.

The Good Doctor Season 6 Episode 19 featured an intense surgery after major clashes between Lim and Andrews, but that wasn’t the scariest moment.

Please tell me I’m not the only one who held my breath when Glassman opened his test results!

The chances were high that Glassman would be fine — or at least cancer-free. Richard Schiff leaving the series would be huge news and hard to keep under wraps, so it was unlikely that Glassman was going to die before the end of the season!

Still, until he had the results in hand saying he was cancer-free, there was no guarantee.

Thank goodness there was good news! The Good Doctor had already done this emotional storyline once, only for Shaun to find a last-minute cure, and I couldn’t deal with the idea of going through that again.

Shaun: It has been 24 hours.
Glassman: I know. I need a minute.
Shaun: A minute will not change the results.
Glassman: That’s true.
[Shaun and Glassman look.]
Shaun: No evidence of cancerous cells! I was wrong! Your cancer has not returned!

Glassman’s assertion about his likely prognosis if cancer returned was depressing enough. We didn’t need to go down that road, especially not after how hard-hitting the original cancer storyline was.

Of course, we’re not out of the woods now that Shaun thinks Glassman’s latest misstep means something neurological is going on. The fact that he was wrong about Glassman’s cancer returning won’t deter him; he’ll push for more tests that are probably unnecessary.

Are Glassman’s mistakes indicative of dementia or some other type of cognitive decline? It’s possible, but so far, he’s made minor errors that don’t necessarily mean anything.

Glassman wanted to retire a few years ago, but everyone insisted he return to the hospital. His minor errors could result from normal aging; he might not be as able to handle a fast-paced environment as he once was.

And as far as the crib assembly goes, anyone who’s ever tried to follow directions to assemble something knows how easy it is to think you’re finished and discover screws on the floor that go somewhere or other.

Shaun seems to be suffering from a version of medical school syndrome. Instead of worrying that he’s got every disease he’s studied, he’s using his extensive medical knowledge to conclude that Glassman has a serious brain disease when there might be nothing to worry about.

Glassman will not keep consenting to unnecessary tests to satisfy Shaun’s never-ending anxiety that Glassman could be dying. Shaun’s driving him crazy with this, and he needs to stop before it causes a rift between them.

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Elsewhere, did anyone NOT predict that Morgan would end up adopting baby Eden or, at least, getting attached to her?

Morgan agonized over whether she wanted to have a boy or a girl. But from the second that homeless guy handed Eden over to her, it felt natural for Morgan to take care of her.

Characters adopting orphaned babies has become a familiar trope lately. Blue Bloods‘ Maria Baez and Law & Order: SVU’s Olivia Benson adopted babies they first crossed paths with at work.

Morgan’s not a cop like the other two characters, but the basic premise is the same. She was the first to hold that baby, interact with the social worker, and learn that the infant was named Eden.

So the chance was high that she had just met her daughter.

Lim’s case was fascinating. I couldn’t help thinking of the OR 2.0 on Chicago Med; technology like that could have helped mitigate the risks of the surgeries Brady had to undergo.

Still, this was a riveting story. I especially liked Lim standing up to Andrews.

Andrews: I’ve been under the microscope with the board lately. I’ve been stressed and things were said that probably shouldn’t have been said.
Lim: Things weren’t said. You said them. If you don’t trust me, fire me. And if you do, stay out of my way.

Andrews has never been my favorite doctor. He is too quick to jump to conclusions, and he’s also extremely conservative in his decision-making.

He’s also more prone than the average doctor to letting his biases dictate his decision-making.

Throughout The Good Doctor Season 1, he was convinced that Shaun’s Autism was a liability the hospital shouldn’t take on. Five years later, he’s gotten past that, but now he’s making decisions on similarly irrational bases.

Lim: Are you saying my objectivity is compromised because I was in a wheelchair?
Andrews: That’s exactly what I am saying. How could it not be?

He accused Lim of being biased because of her experience with being paralyzed. But it seemed he was talking about himself.

At first, he didn’t trust Lim because she was trying to prevent unnecessary paralysis in a patient. Then he decided the residents were no good for spurious reasons.

He knows that Asher’s on probation because he broke hospital rules to save a life, that firing Powell was the right decision, and that Jared is a talented doctor.

He’s still smarting that Jared won a wrongful termination lawsuit against him four years ago. Get over it already!

Perez can also get over his jealousy of Jared. Perez chose not to date Jordan; now, she can move on with whoever she likes.

He said she deserves someone who will commit 100% to her, but did he mean it? Let’s hope so!

Your turn, The Good Doctor fanatics. Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know your thoughts.

Don’t forget you can watch The Good Doctor online on TV Fanatic.

The Good Doctor airs on ABC on Mondays at 10 PM EST / PST.

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Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.

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