Debts

"Debts"

Episode Information

Season 3

Episode 2

Overall 38

Airdate:

September 30, 2019^[1]

Viewers:

6.07^[3] million

Writer:

Peter Noah^[2]

Director:

Mike Listo^[2]

Episode Chronology

Preceded by:	Followed by:
"Disaster"	"Claire"

"We don't have a choice. Evolution demands that we propagate. So we play a game that we're going to lose most of the time because the upside is so wonderful. But if Shaun doesn't have to play that game, good for him."

—Morgan on Shaun not dating

"Debts"^[2] is the second episode of Season 3 of The Good Doctor. It is the thirty-eighth episode overall, and aired September 30, 2019.

Synopsis[]

As Dr. Marcus Andrews vows to help a good Samaritan who was injured while stopping a sexual assault, Dr. Audrey Lim faces a difficult decision when a young patient's parents suspect that Dr. Neil Melendez made a mistake. Meanwhile, Dr. Shaun Murphy fields advice following his disastrous date with Dr. Carly Lever; and Dr. Claire Browne gets a surprise visit from her mother.^[4]

Plot[]

Shaun is still upset about how his date with Carly went, all the while Lea tries (and fails) to convince him to try dating again. Claire also has Breeze at her apartment, after having been kicked out of her own apartment for being disruptive. Breeze tries to get Claire to let her stay for a while, to which Claire allows her to stay for week. Meanwhile, Claire and Shaun work on a man in his 30s being rolled into the hospital. His jaw is wrecked from being hit with a skateboard while protecting a woman from a groping on the subway.

Park tries to kiss up to Lim to get the lead on his first surgery by gifting her a pillow to continue to build a relationship with her now that she is his boss. He, Morgan and Neil soon check up on a baby who hasn't been able to eat without vomiting and they just performed surgery on, though the father isn't happy about whether it worked. He still apologizes, but Neil is understanding as Morgan starts kissing up to him because he's sleeping with Lim.

Shaun and Claire are with their patient, Josh, who needs extensive reconstructive surgery for the damage to his face. As the surgery is happening, Andrews claims that Josh was trying to prove how macho he could be. Claire gets annoyed since Josh was trying to do the right thing, only for Andrews to accuse her of being self-righteous for not helping other drug addicts like Breeze. They're also having great difficulty with the surgery, with Andrews seeing that they can only wire Josh up and leave him unable to talk and eat solid foods again.

As Shaun, Claire and Andrews inform Josh of the situation, Lim comes to see Neil about whether he did anything wrong about the surgery on the baby. Neil tries to say that he didn't, while Shaun comes to the lab to pick up artificial dermal regeneration templates for Josh and encounters Carly in the process. She attempts to talk to Shaun, only to find him uncomfortable and he confesses how he felt about their date despite Carly trying to reassure him. The baby is also found to have extensive swelling which might have been from Neil during the surgery, which Lim also finds out while telling Park and Morgan to do their work as opposed to sucking up to her.

Debbie visits Glassman at the clinic, asking him if he's ever had sex in his office. He pleads with her as it's embarrassing if he says "yes" but even more so if he answers "no" when Shaun comes to see them with lunch, as Lim somewhat defends Neil when the baby's parents ask that someone else take over from him. She also offers to be involved in the surgery, while Debbie and Glassman try to give advice to Shaun about dating as he goes to surgery. Debbie then states that Shaun needs to be pushed into it, fearing that he'll never change if he isn't.

Shaun, Claire and Andrews are talking about whether no good deed goes unpunished, Shaun agreeing with Andrews' statement that the brain encourages people to be selfish by having the bad experiences being the ones which are deeply cemented instead of the good ones. He then states that this surprises him concerning the people who do selfless actions, including when Andrews gave up his job for Shaun. This subsequently sets them on a mission to find a better solution.

As Morgan and Park's competitiveness continues, Shaun, Claire and Andrews try to figure out a procedure to help Josh (to no success). Morgan joins them to one-up Park who then comes in, while Neil tries to talk to Lim about Dina and Tom (the parents) despite him and Lim being on a date. He still stands by doing nothing wrong, despite Lim's comments and they get into an argument about it. Park and Morgan also try to help Shaun, but Andrews sees that they're still getting nowhere and attempts to quit.

Claire gets annoyed at how Breeze actually has no intent on finding a place for herself, while Breeze makes excuses Claire has heard before. Shaun still tries to figure out a surgery, which Lea comments on as he won't give up on it as opposed to dating Carly who visits him. She tries to tell him that they need to talk, going so far as to state that he owes her that much. The two go for a walk, and Carly tells Shaun that her little sister Andie has autism. When Shaun tells her that they are not all the same, Carly tells him she has questions too, but that getting to know one another is good for them. Shaun leaves after talking with Carly, claiming he has to go.

Shaun has gone to see Andrews, having realized a surgery they can do. They present the idea to Lim, who refuses to allow it as it's never been tried before, Josh could lose the other half of his face and he could die from sepsis but Andrews states it's either this or the original procedure. Lim sees that Andrews is doing this because he's wondering if giving up his career to rehire Shaun was worth it, though Andrews still wants to do it. Glassman goes along with what Debbie said about pushing Shaun to date, stating that he hasn't been used to dating after Maddie died and his divorce. But when he thought he would die and first had Debbie in his life, he saw that he wanted to live his life. Glassman sees Debbie as wonderful and wants Shaun to feel the same with Carly.

Morgan asks Lim if she may report the fact that it appears Morgan has been working more hours than she should. Lim then mentions that Park has asked to write a paper with her, which Lim has agreed to and threatens to not consider them for the first surgery if they're just sucking up to her. Josh is also informed of the surgery, which he agrees to without a second thought despite the risks. The surgery on the baby also goes ahead when it's revealed to be suffering from similar complications from it's earlier surgery, for which Neil is paged. It turns out that the baby's symptoms were caused by two different factors, a discovery they never would have made had Neil not performed the first surgery. Although they're unable to tell, Lim states that they're too at risk to find out and gives Neil the lead.

The surgery on Josh also happens when Claire asks Shaun about Carly, seeing her "intrusion" as a date. Claire also states that a date doesn't have to involve anything fancy, but just two people who like each other spending time together. Unfortunately, Josh's blood pressure starts dropping and his heart rate rises while Neil sees that the baby has much tissue damage. There's no sign of infection, but a section of the bowel needs to be removed while ordering for the baby to be given antibiotics. When Shaun doesn't see any bleeding, he finds a clot in the carotid which they are able to deal with as Josh's EG is good.

Neil and Lim inform Dina and Tom that their baby is alright, as is Josh who can talk. The woman he saved, Olivia, then comes to see him and they're left to get acquainted. Lim soon addresses how much the lead surgery meant to some of them (including Morgan) and they'll all get their turn, but starts with Claire. Unfortunately, Park and Morgan are still at odds ends when Morgan sees that Park is sabotaging her efforts to have a lead surgery. Park then refers to how much of a nightmare it would be working under Morgan. Andrews also comes to see Shaun about the surgery on Josh; he should've been treated the same as every other patient, but Andrews didn't since he was angry about what he did to get Shaun back. He was uncertain about if it was worth it and hated Shaun, but Andrews now knows it was worth it.

Neil sees Lim, concerned about their relationship, but Lim sees that they'll get better. Claire and Breeze also reconcile as Breeze makes dinner, while Claire allows her to stay with her while she gets back on her feet. Shaun also joins Carly in the lab, so as to have a more relaxed date which they both enjoy.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]

Sheila Kelley as Debbie Wexler
Sharon Leal as Breeze Browne
Mik Byskov as Josh Bunker
Ben Cotton as Tom Cantrell
Christina Sicoli as Dina Cantrell

Co-Starring[]

Tina Georgieva as Olivia
Doron Bell as EMT #1
Juliana Wimbles as EMT #2

Trivia[]

References are made to Smile, More and Trampoline.
Andrews calls Park and Morgan trying to convince Shaun to date Carly as them being on an episode of the reality TV show The Bachelor.
Park and Morgan are still vying for their first lead surgery, following Lim's announcement that third year residents are allowed this in Disaster. Claire being given the first lead one foreshadows her doing so in Claire.