NOTE: this post contains spoilers for The Good Doctor season 6 episode 18, "A Blip."
After Shaun discovers that Dr. Glassman used fewer sutures than normal in a surgical procedure, he becomes obsessed with discovering why it happened. He reviews six months of Dr. Glassman's post-operative reports and even gets input from the surgical interns.
While monitoring one of his patients, he realizes that Dr. Glassman may be having issues with his executive function. This leads him to deduce that his brain cancer has returned. Shaun tries to force Dr. Glassman to get an MRI. Dr. Glassman refuses to, explaining that his last scans were clean. Concerned about Shaun's obsession, Lea suggests that Shaun's reaction is more about him worrying about becoming a father and being scared. She suggests that he could be projecting these feelings onto the only real father/son relationship he's ever had.
Jared is doing his best to fit in. He and Jordan are assigned a case with a female patient who comes in with her adult daughter. Jared's fear of failure causes him to be hesitant in approaching the patient, even just for a physical exam. After an initial physical exam and subsequent testing and scans, the patient is diagnosed with sleep apnea and other health issues resulting from sleep apnea.
The patient's daughter is solely responsible for her mother's care, which is often laborious for the daughter. Jordan is particularly sensitive to this arrangement, as being the only girl in her household made her the default caregiver to her brothers. The patient decides to do a less risky course of treatment because she's afraid. This however means that she needs more help maintaining her health, and her daughter decides to forgo an overseas job in favor of caring for her mother.
While dealing with the case, Jared hosts an elaborate karaoke party, inviting all his colleagues in the hope of fitting in. Only Shaun, Lea and Jordan show up. This causes his fear of not fitting in to resurface and he confides in Jordan about his insecurities resulting from his childhood. The conversation sparks between the two colleagues a brief moment of attraction.
Later, the previously mentioned patient becomes septic while doing dialysis and Jordan revisits the idea of surgery with the patient. She reminds her that fear isn't a real reason not to take chances, and the surgery wouldn't only mean a full life for her, but also for her daughter. The patient consents to surgery. When there is a hiccup in surgery, Jared speaks up with a suggestion that solves a surgical problem and saves the patient's life. The patient recovers well, realizes how much life she has ahead of her and even encourages her daughter to take the job overseas.
Shaun, Asher, Danny and Dr. Lim treat a woman who comes into the ER with apparent breathing and heart issues. She also has long COVID, resulting in cognitive issues, and the doctors discover that she has a rare heart condition that is usually diagnosed in childhood. The patient is hopeful that her heart condition is linked to her cognitive issues but Dr. Lim tells her otherwise.
Apparently, this patient’s heart condition if left untreated will kill her, but surgery to treat it may result in more cognitive deficits. The patient is against the surgery because she still has hopes of continuing her research as a scientist herself.
Dr. Lim shares her experience about being paralyzed, hating it at first until she learned to love her life and experiences being wheelchair-bound. She explained that she loved her new life so much, she declined a surgery to regain mobility because of the risks. Furthermore, Dr. Lim encourages the patient to accept her new normal and this would help with the yearning for her old life.
This conversation ironically helps the patient decide to do the surgery, even though she may worsen her cognitive function. Despite a complication during the procedure, the patient retains her speech and memory function. She decides to focus on her current life and learn to love it.
Dr. Andrews starts a relationship with one of the nurses, having routine coffee dates and even signing a hospital document disclosing their relationship. They try to plan a dinner date but have scheduling issues because the nurse has to work double shifts due to staffing issues. Dr. Andrews lets her know that her schedule will soon be freer because he has hired travel nurses. She responds by letting him know that travel nurses aren't the solution, to which Dr. Andrews argues his point by citing budgetary constraints. The relationship ultimately fizzles as the nurse believes that Dr. Andrew's hiring decisions reflect how he feels about the worth of nurses in general.
The episode ends with Shaun being totally open with Dr. Glassman about his real fear of losing his only real father while he becomes a father himself. Shaun's vulnerability affects Dr. Glassman who decides to do the scan.
Continue watching The Good Doctor season 6 on ABC on Mondays at 10 pm ET. Episodes become available to stream the next day on Hulu.
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