Shaun’s communication issues always seem to threaten his career.
On The Good Doctor Season 3 Episode 6, he was so close to having a perfect first surgery, only to ruin everything at the last second because he didn’t like the way a nurse handed him a clamp.
It was an infuriating last-minute fumble that snowballed into a huge deal.
Shaun’s reactions were classic Austism reactions.
In his mind, telling the nurse to hand the clamp to him “more efficiently” was a clear command even though she had no idea what that meant.
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The nurse’s frustration made him more frustrated, and he kicked her out because she wasn’t following what he believed to be clear orders — but they were anything but clear to anyone who wasn’t in his head.
And then, to make matters worse, he didn’t understand why that he needed to apologize. That was a problem because, for those of us on the spectrum, a fake apology is the same as a lie.
That was why Shaun tried to lecture the nurse instead of apologizing. Lim told him to make it right, so he tried to make the nurse understand his issue so that things would be right.
Andrews: I don’t remember Brown getting a whole rehearsal team.
Lim: Surgical residents are not homogenous. They each need different types of training.
Andrews: And in Murphy’s case, that means less training wheels and more scabbed knees.
Andrews viewed the whole thing as proof that he was right about Shaun not being ready to be a doctor, so it was surprising that Lim took such a hard line about it.
The nurse had a right to tell Shaun to stop talking and that she didn’t want to sit with him any longer, but filing a complaint seemed extreme. Either way, what happened to it?
Lim told Shaun to apologize properly, which would have required ignoring the nurse’s desire not to have contact with him. That didn’t seem like a great course of action.
It would be a shame if something like that derailed Shaun’s career.
The incident was unpleasant, but it also could have been better utilized as a learning experience.
Lim tried to do that by talking to Shaun about the need to apologize, but because she is so busy, she rushed to the punchline without explaining how she got there.
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That doesn’t work with Shaun. Many people with Autism refuse to do things that don’t make sense to them no matter who says to do them.
Had Lim taken the intermediate step of explaining to Shaun that surgeons need to be able to work in teams and that meant smoothing things over when someone got upset — along with explaining that the nurse didn’t know that “efficient manner” meant a 45 degree angle — things might have been different.
Because she didn’t, Shaun tried to explain himself instead of apologizing, and that only escalated the situation.
Interestingly, though, Shaun wasn’t the only one with communication issues.
He was just the only one whose hob was threatened because of it.
Melendez also got himself in trouble by not talking to Lim before making a decision, though he quickly corrected that.
Melendez: I didn’t think you mind. We both complained about Andrews and his red tape.
Lim: I’d hope you have a better relationship with me than you did with Andrews.
And Glassman gave Debbie one excuse after another for not wanting her to work for him before he told her the truth.
I was with Glassman on that, though. He and Debbie working together mean more visits to his office that result in sex during working hours, which I find an obnoxious TV trope.
Glassman doesn’t seem to have good boundaries in general. That patient was more accepting of Shaun’s storming in to rant in the middle of an appointment than I would have been.
But the worst communication issues award goes to Claire.
Claire had better shape up quickly. When Morgan is the voice of reason, something is wrong.
Claire is continuing to have drunk sex with random men, which is an issue that hopefully will get more than a throwaway line soon.
She also is continuing to insert herself into Shaun and Carly’s business, not that she was the only one to do that on The Good Doctor Season 3 Episode 6.
Granted, Morgan pushed her to do it, but still. Carly already told Claire to butt out once, and I was surprised she didn’t do it again.
Dr. Brown had a dental emergency this morning. I am doing my best to be caring and empathetic in her stead.
Morgan
Morgan and the nurses caused the issue between Shaun and Carly.
Shaun didn’t think Carly excluding him was a big deal until everyone started theorizing about what it meant about the relationship.
But at least it gave Carly another chance to show how perfect she is for Shaun.
Carly didn’t let Shaun get away with telling everyone else about his problems with her, nor did she let him walk away after he apologized.
Their honest conversation was heartbreaking.
It was halting and awkward, but Shaun and Carly worked through that snafu and became a stronger couple for it.
What did you think, Good Doctor fanatics?
Did Lim handle Shaun’s conflict with the nurse properly?
Is Claire ever going to stop spiraling downward?
And just how cute a couple are Shaun and Carly?
Share your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget you can watch The Good Doctor online if you missed anything.
The Good Doctor continues to air on ABC on Mondays at 10 PM EST/PST.
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Jack Ori is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.