Would you want your doctor to wear a Halloween costume?
There’s a lot of that going on at St. Bonaventure. The Good Doctor Season 6 Episode 5 falls on October 31, and the series is taking full advantage by having many staff members wear costumes.
That may confuse Shaun, but it won’t distract him from his primary goal: reversing Lim’s paralysis.
Shaun’s idea is sure to be controversial with the hospital and viewers.
Hopefully, The Good Doctor will address the question of whether Lim wants the surgery at this point. Many disabled people can’t get surgery to reverse paralysis and learn to accept their condition; some viewers may not appreciate the suggestion that such surgery is even desirable if it exists.
Lim seemed to adapt better to being paralyzed on The Good Doctor Season 6 Episode 5. Her mood was up, she was doing things independently, and she was beginning to forge a relationship with her neighbor.
Of course, she can still have a friendship, or more, with him if she has this paralysis-reversing surgery; however, it seems like this idea would cause more disruption to her life just as she was getting used to living in a wheelchair.
In any case, Lim will have a big decision to make. Shaun is confident he can do the surgery safely, while Glassman thinks it’s too big a risk. It’s the same conflict that they had over the original surgery; only this time, Lim is awake and able to participate in deciding whether the surgery is appropriate.
Glassman and Lim both blame Shaun for Lim’s paralysis without evidence that Glassman’s more conservative approach would have worked better. They don’t even know whether Lim would have survived a different surgery.
And didn’t Glassman push for Shaun to be hired in the first place because he knew that Shaun has innovative, risky ideas that others don’t usually see — and that most of the tie they work?
Whatever Lim decides, let’s hope this is the end of this annoying story. Yes, the paralysis turned Lim’s world upside down, but this argument over who’s to blame is getting old.
Shaun is arguably following Glassman’s advice to take responsibility for the problem by finding a way to fix it. Whether or not Lim decides to go for the surgery in the end, his willingness to go the extra mile to help her should count for something.
Glassman’s skepticism that Shaun can do this without causing further harm falls on the unfounded side of the equation.
Even if Glassman is right that Shaun’s decision contributed to Lim’s paralysis, the M&M report showed that it wasn’t due to any mistakes Shaun made during the procedure.
Their disagreement is over whether Shaun should have done this procedure rather than the one Glassman suggested, not over his abilities to perform complex, risky surgeries.
Glassman has always been more conservative than Shaun; Lim and Andrews have mediated many such disputes over the best way to proceed.
The only question here is whether Lim can make an objective decision about her care, given how the paralysis has affected her life and her belief that Shaun caused her condition.
Lim will need to get the input of people she trusts if she is going to make the best decision for herself.
Glassman is as biased as Shaun — will he pressure her to refuse this surgery?
Her new friend might be a better option. So far, he seems level-headed, though Lim may not feel comfortable confiding in someone she barely knows.
Meanwhile, Shaun will be spread somewhat thin since he will also be involved in a story involving a young kid with a hereditary disease.
According to spoilers, Shaun, Asher, and Powell will all work together on Halloween night and have to go down an “uncharted path” to save their patient.
God only knows what that means. They’ll probably need permission from Lim or Andrews; will either one of these administrators be comfortable with Shaun’s unorthodox methods when he’s working on someone they don’t know personally?
And if Shaun doesn’t get permission, then what? Glassman is unlikely to back him up if he tries to make a case to the entire hospital board to let him do the procedure, considering the bad blood between them over Lim’s paralysis. But it wouldn’t be much of a story if Shaun accepted a ‘No’ and stopped trying to pursue his treatment idea.
Hopefully, he won’t go behind Andrews’ and Glassman’s backs again. That would only give Glassman more ammunition for his anger at Shaun and his disinterest in allowing Shaun to operate on Lim for a second time.
Things may get awkward on a personal level, and not just because of the goofy Halloween costumes.
Shaun and Jordan are not wearing costumes; according to a clip in the spoiler video, Jordan rebuffs Perez when he asks her why she doesn’t celebrate.
Why would she want to talk to him after he aborted their kiss and said he couldn’t do this? Jordan’s got to be feeling rejected and embarrassed.
Working with Perez after this won’t be much fun!
Your turn, The Good Doctor fanatics. Hit that big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button, and let us know your thoughts and theories.
The Good Doctor Season 6 Episode 5 airs on October 31; meanwhile, you can watch The Good Doctor online any time you want.
The Good Doctor airs on ABC on Mondays at 10 PM EST / PST.
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.