A Blip

"A Blip"

Episode Information

Season 6

Episode 18

Overall 112

Airdate:

April 3, 2023

Viewers:

TBD million

Writer:

Sam Chanse

Director:

Phillip Rhys Chaudhary

Episode Chronology

Preceded by:	Followed by:
"Second Chances and Past Regrets"	"Half Measures"

"A Blip" is the eighteenth episode of Season 6 of The Good Doctor. It is the hundred-and-twelfth episode overall, and aired on April 3, 2023.

Synopsis[]

When a patient comes in with persistent and lingering COVID symptoms, the team discovers she may be dealing with something harder to treat. Andrews and Villanueva must contend with their hierarchy at the hospital and its effect on their relationship.

Plot[]

Glassman walks out of the elevator and Shaun is waiting for him. Shaun asks Glassman a series of questions that may explain why Glassman made an error in the amount of sutures required for a surgery. Glassman sends Shaun away when they reach his office.

In the locker room, Jared reassures himself that he belongs at the hospital.

In the break room, Asher, Jordan, and Jerome are talking to each other when Jared invites them out for karaoke so he can get to know them better. They all agree and Morgan walks into the break room. She warns Jared that she has great karaoke skills before telling the doctors she needs a consult on a patient with a dislocated patella. Asher and Jerome leave because they are called to the ER, leaving Jordan and Jared with the case.

In the ER, Shaun finds Asher who is checking on a female patient, Harper. The patient is suffering from COVID symptoms that she has had for a while. It becomes harder for her to breathe so Shaun orders her to stop talking. He then leaves.

Lea is working in her office when her printer starts printing a large amount of papers. Shaun walks in with new paper because he is the one using the printer. Lea notices the papers are Glassman's op reports for the last three months. Even though he is printing a lot, Shaun has made sure to order new ink for Lea's printer. She asks why Shaun needs the papers and Shaun tells her he needs to find out if Glassman's mistake was a blip.

Jordan and Jared are with their patient, Daphne, who has dislocated their patella for the second time. The patient is accompanied by her daughter, Orion, who is moving away. Morgan walks into the room and asks about the medication Daphne has been using. Daphne is unsure of the medication but Orion knows. Jared is told to do the exam by Jordan but he is hesitant because he was supposed to observe. Daphne is laid back and she falls asleep almost immediately. She makes a concerning noise and they look into her mouth. Daphne's tonsils have swelled and she will need them removed.

Asher, Daniel, and Shaun look at their patient's x-rays which show he has a malformation caused by Tet. It's a mystery as to who she's alive. In Harper's hospital room, she has to write down the information Shaun and Lim tell her because she forgets too often. They can operate on Harper's heart but it will require two surgeries; one that will remove the vessels formed to compensate for her heart malformation then another to repair the malformation. Harper hopes that the surgeries will relieve her of her long-term COVID symptoms but they won't help.

Andrews finds Villanueva in the cafeteria. They share a coffee and he gives her a folder that has an agreement that acknowledges their consensual relationship. She has to sign the paper so Andrews can take her out on a date. She signs the paper but she has to leave before they can confirm dinner plans.

Jared brings Jordan both hot and iced coffee to celebrate Daphne's successful removal of her tonsils. Jordan doesn't think that Orion should be responsible for Daphne. They are then paged to Daphne's room because she's struggling to breathe and her heart has began to fail.

Harper begins to have a Tet spell while in surgery. They work to stop the spasms so Harper isn't left with brain damage, which they successfully do. Following the spasms, Harper's surgeries will be more risky to perform.

Jordan and her team operate on Daphne who has been oxygen deprived for years which has caused her clumsiness. They discuss how Orion has to care for Daphne which Jordan still disagrees with because of how she grew up. They have to stop the surgery because something else is affecting her heart but they don't know what.

Alex tries to walk into Shaun's office but Shaun has neatly stacked papers on the floor that makes it hard for Alex to get into the room. Shaun can't see a pattern in Glassman's recent surgeries and he assumes Glassman to be making mistakes. Alex doesn't think Glassman is making mistakes but he has variations instead.

Harper is told about her new risks and she's started on a medication that might help.

Andrews finds Villanueva and talks to her about a restaurant to eat at. Villanueva is working those days because they are short staffed. Their conversation is cut short because Villanueva has to leave.

Shaun is watching Harper to make sure she doesn't throw up or have another spasm. Harper tells him that her focus and working memory have gotten worse. Shaun leaves the room and finds Glassman who is with a patient. He tells Glassman that his brain cancer might be back.

Later, Shaun talks to Glassman about his brain cancer potentially being back. Glassman doubts his cancer has returned and that his errors are not a reasonable source to determine if his cancer is back.

Lim listens as Harper talks about the recent poetry she has read, which she reads a lot of poetry because it's all she can remember. Harper suffers from a seizure.

Jared tells Daphne that her kidneys are failing because of her sleep apnea that was caused by her swollen tonsils. They think they can get her kidneys to heal on their own with the help of a bypass because Daphne is not eligible for transplant. There is another option for Daphne to do dialysis but she wouldn't be able to do it on her own. Orion offers to stay in San Jose to help her mom.

Harper asks her doctors questions about the medication that is making her surgery more risky. If she doesn't take the medication, her Tet will likely get worse. They have to repair the malformations before Harper's heart gives out. Harper wants them to find another way to fix her heart.

Harper's doctors struggle to come up with a new surgery that won't trigger her Tet spells. Asher tries to think like Shaun but Jerome keeps interrupting his thoughts. Asher imagines Jerome proposing to him but his thoughts are interrupted by Daniel who thinks a shunt might help. Lim decides to take the idea to Harper.

Shaun, Lea, and Jordan arrive at Jared's karaoke party. They're the only ones though and Jared is already singing by himself. Lea and Shaun don't mind the lack of people as much as Jordan does. Shaun sees the lack of people as an opportunity to talk medical.

Harper likes the shunt surgery. Lim tells Harper about her attack earlier that year and how she only wanted to walk again so much so she would risk her life. But that stopped when she grew to appreciate herself and by doing so, her life has improved. Harper, however, doesn't want to wait because she worries she may lose her mind.

Shaun has talked about medical stuff for a majority of the party. Lea finally tells him they're leaving because she can't listen to the conversation anymore. Jordan goes to leave as well but she tells Jared to focus on being a resident before planning parties. Jared talks about his childhood and how he would always throw parties because they made him feel like he was fitting in. They both have to leave because Daphne becomes septic.

The following morning, Shaun has revised his enough on Glassman.

Jordan encourages Daphne to do the bypass because her dialyses port became infected and could easily happen again. Daphne doesn't want to because of the risks the bypass has. Jordan tells Daphne that she deserves more than being stuck on dialyses for the rest of her life and her daughter deserves more than being her mother's caretaker.

Glassman walks into his office to see that Shaun has left his evidence on Glassman's desk.

Harper is scheduled for the shunt placement that day. She tells Lim that she has waited to go back to the old self but she fears her old set is not there anymore. Because of this, she wants to do the Tet repair so she can become okay with who she is now.

Daphne's surgery goes well so Jordan and Jared celebrate with tacos. They both enjoy themselves and Daniel spots them when Jared is wiping lettuce off Jordan's face.

Daphne is told her surgery went great and that she should recover fully. Daphne's happy because she can finally breathe without obstructions. She has a lot to do following the surgery and Orion offers to help but Daphne tells her to live her life.

Lea finds Shaun in his office. Shaun informs her that Glassman returned the files but Shaun will return to files in a different order so they are easier to read. She believes that Shaun shouldn't force Glassman to read the files and that Shaun is scared. She worries if he keeps pushing Glassman to read the files, Glassman will be pushed out of Shaun's life.

Villanueva tells Andrews that they can't have dinner because of their differing views on work.

Following the surgery, Harper's memory has gotten better and she's told her heart will recover with time.

Shaun goes into Glassman's office and tells him that Lea thinks Glassman is scared. Shaun has decided to not pressure Glassman into reading the papers and he admits that he's scared. He asks Glassman to do the scan because the data and evidence are right and he because Shaun doesn't want to lose his father right as he's about to become a father. Shaun asks Glassman to do the scan for him and Glassman agrees.