"Smile"[2] is the seventeenth episode of Season 1 of The Good Doctor, and aired on March 19, 2018.
Synopsis[]
Dr. Shaun Murphy questions the need for an elective surgery that will allow his young patient to smile for the first time. Meanwhile, Dr. Claire Browne and Dr. Morgan Reznick discover that their patient lied about her identity.[3]
Plot[]
Shaun, Dr. Andrews and Dr. Park meet with Gretchen Milman, a patient who has Moebius Syndrome. She and her father Russ hope an elective surgery will give her the ability to produce facial expressions (the sole limiting factor of her condition), most notably a smile. Shaun realizes that she wants to be a comedian because she wants a risky surgery that could kill her, his comments about which annoy Andrews and Russ. In the meantime, Morgan and Claire treat a patient named Lucy Callard, who has a post-op infection but hasn't been taking her medication. Glassman still tries to reconnect with Shaun who finds that Glassman has a crush on Debbie Wexler, the hospital barista who likes Glassman as well.
Gretchen and Shaun compare their lives when she finds that he's autistic and questions his thoughts about the surgery, to which he tells her the risks and believes to be costly and unnecessary. While Morgan claims she didn't have good parents like Claire when Morgan thinks Lucy is a parasite and that Claire is oblivious to it, they find Lucy gone as Gretchen claims Shaun talked her out of the surgery. Andrews is again angry with Shaun whom Andrews tries to convince that smiles are contagious, though Shaun doesn't think so. Jared also meets with Celez to check her tilapia skin grafts, which he can remove the next day.
While Gretchen states that Shaun inspired her with what he said (though Park finds it hard to believe), Claire soon hears Lucy has supposedly returned. Gretchen confesses that she knows the procedure is very expensive and not covered by insurance, though Andrews and Russ try (but fail) to convince her otherwise. Claire and Morgan find a different woman who is the real Lucy and had her identity stolen. At the same time, Andrews tries to get the head of insurance Jim Ransler to cover Lucy's surgery (to no success). Neil, Morgan and Claire try to work to find the woman who stole Lucy's identity while Shaun sets up Glassman with Debbie.
Andrews is able to get the insurance company to pay for most of the surgery and Russ offers to cover the rest. Morgan and Claire give Lucy her required medication for her shingles and tell her to go home, all the while keeping her identity theft a secret. They soon find that the imposter has returned via an ambulance, which causes Claire and Morgan to argue about what to do concerning her. Glassman orders for her to be treated and then arrested once she's stable. Jared also removes Celez's skin grafts, only for them both to find that they like each other.
When the imposter awakes, Claire states that they know the truth and finds that the woman didn't buy her prescription despite the fact that the real Lucy told them her medication was denied apparently due to the imposter. Morgan still refuses to believe the woman who states an apparent sob story concerning a son in college, despite Claire's concerns. Claire also realizes that Lucy has had shingles before and also denied medication, which is really because she's a pain medication addict. Concurrently, Shaun realizes that Gretchen has not woken up from anesthesia and goes to page Andrews.
Andrews orders to give Gretchen a CT scan, all the while angered when Shaun questions if he feels bad about allowing the surgery. Claire tells Neil that the imposter has Multiple Organs Dysfunctional Syndrome, so he orders some low level steroids. Glassman and Debbie soon have something of a date in the cafeteria, albeit rather awkward until they bond over their common love in cars. Jared is also unsure about Celez and expresses this to Shaun, who suggests that Jared follow Lea's advice to "call in sick". Unfortunately, the doctors think Gretchen is brain-dead but Park develops a hypothesis; she may have an extremely rare deficiency leading to the long wake-up time.
Claire tells the imposter she is dying, so the imposter introduces herself as Beatrice. Testing on Gretchen reveals Park is correct, while Morgan confronts Lucy and talks her into going to rehab. Gretchen awakens, leaving her and Russ thrilled by the result of her surgery. Although the insurance company isn't happy about this, Aoki nonetheless praises Andrews and calls his actions "presidential". Jared also presents Celez to Shaun, stating the situation about doctors being unable to date their patients and follows Shaun's advice from earlier.
Beatrice soon dies, to which Morgan and Claire ultimately elect not to try and revive her as they feel there is "nothing left to save". Jared has also been accepted to Denver Memorial Hospital while Shaun arrives at Kenny's apartment, having been invited for pizza night. Kenny reveals several of his friends showed up unexpectedly, and he borrowed Shaun's TV so they could watch a game. He declines Shaun's request to join in, citing Shaun's "quirks" as uncomfortable, and takes the pizza for himself (to Shaun's dismay). Glassman and Debbie go to a restaurant together at another chance at a date where they continue their love of cars. Glassman tries to ask for the cheque, but keeps saying doorstop instead. He feels faint, which leads to Debbie asking a waitress to phone an ambulance.
Cast[]
Starring[]
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Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
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Trivia[]
- This episodes marks the final appearance of Kenny. In the Season 2 episode Tough Titmouse, Shaun mentions that he was arrested.
- It's been five months since Not Fake.
- Glassman is still trying to reconnect with Shaun as colleagues from She, following his statement about them not being friends in Seven Reasons.
- Shaun mentions the flirting trifecta Claire taught him in Intangibles.
- The plot surrounding Andrews’ claim that smiles are contagious and Shaun’s attempts to test this with a smile that was rather unsettling (to varying results) are similar to a similarly-titled fourth season episode of fellow ABC show The Middle.
Multimedia[]
Gallery[]
Videos[]
References[]
External Links[]
"Smile" at the Internet Movie Database
