Potluck

"Potluck"

Episode Information

Season 5

Episode 14

Overall 90

Airdate:

April 11, 2022

Writer:

Mark Rozeman

Director:

Rebecca Moline

Episode Chronology

Preceded by:	Followed by:
"Growing Pains"	"My Way"

"Potluck" is the fourteenth episode of Season 5 of The Good Doctor. It is the ninetieth episode overall and aired on April 11, 2022.

Synopsis[]

When someone mistakenly brings a hallucinogen-laced dish to the hospital's company potluck, much of the hospital staff and doctors are incapacitated — leaving doctors Murphy, Glassman and Allen forced to take on all the hospital’s cases, further exacerbating Dr. Murphy and Dr. Glassman’s conflicting work styles.

Plot[]

Most of the hospital staff are attending a potluck when Lea asks Shaun if he wants the meatballs Morgan brought or the brownies Lim has provided. Shaun declines both options as the meatballs have garlic and the brownies have walnut. Lea tells him it's rude to have an empty plate the entire time but Shaun asks: "wouldn't it be ruder to take food and not eat it," and Lea agrees.

Morgan tells Alex that some of his furniture doesn't match with the rest of the furniture. The mismatching is what Alex likes about his furniture as he thinks it's unique. Morgan also likes the uniqueness of the furniture but thinks the color would look better in the den that is upstairs.

Marcus has a lot on his plate and Lim comments on it. He wanted to try everything that people have brought in and compliments Lim's brownies. Lim jokes she should have a lot of food as a lot of hospital staff has gone to New York for conferences.

Lea loads up Shaun's plate with food and tells him he doesn't have to eat the food when he complains about the mayonnaise. She wants him to move some of the food to a napkin and throw it away. Shaun comments he will need a lot of napkins if he does her method but he is then paged. Shaun tosses his food into a trash and leaves the potluck.

In the ER, Shaun approaches a male patient, Jake Khan, who was cut off his big toe while camping. Shaun comments that chopping wood is dangerous and he's handed the toe in a bag by Jake's wife. Jake informs Shaun that his toe wasn't cut off because he was chopping wood. Instead, his wife had cut the toe off with a machete because she woke up in the dark and mistook Jake's foot for a snake. Nurse Villanueva removes the blanket covering Jake's feet to reveal that Jake's wearing snake socks. The wife hopes Shaun can reattach the toe. To her delight, Shaun can as the machete was sharp and made a clean cut.

At the potluck, Jerome tells Asher that the casserole he brought is already gone. Asher tells him he had the chance to eat some of the casserole back at the apartment; however, Jerome got distracted and blames the distraction on Asher. Asher asks if Jerome is busy over the weekend and he is as some of Jerome's college buddies will be in town. Asher assumes he will get to meet them but Jerome informs Asher that the buddies want to catch up only with Jerome.

Shaun is in surgery reattaching Jake's toe with the help of Lim. Lim retches while in surgery and hallucinates a rattle snake crawling on the operating table. She instructs everyone to step away from the hallucination but they all watch in confusion. She asks if they can see the snake but Shaun informs her that there is no snake. He recommends she leaves the OR but Lim interrupts him by throwing up.

Shaun walks into the ER and watches as hospital staff throw up in bins and act erratic. Morgan notices Shaun and asks if he is experiencing the same symptoms of the hospital staff. Shaun isn't and she tells him that those who are sick were at the potluck. Lea hugs Shaun from behind and tells him that she missed him. Shaun walks away from Morgan with Lea still hugging him.

Jordan is listening to Asher's lungs when he asks if he's cool. Jordan tells Morgan to add 'insecure blabbering' to a list of symptoms as Asher is believed to be sick as well. Before Morgan can respond, Alex picks her up and is sick as well. He tells her she looks like a princess when mad and that he doesn't want to hide his furniture in the den.

Shaun does a checkup on Lea who claims she feels great. She then touches his hair as the checkup continues.

In the president's office, Glassman, Shaun, Morgan and Marcus discuss the sudden sickness of the hospital staff. They don't have enough room for sick staff and new patients. They don't have enough room for both the sick staff and new patients. Marcus then throws up in a bin, showing he is sick as well.

In the ER, the staff continues to throw up and behavior in a goofy manner.

Glassman is operating on a patient with Murphy. Glassman has casual talk with a nurse about golfing when Shaun interrupts, requesting that they move faster. Glassman doesn't move any faster and he continues his casual talk with the nurse.

Marcus blows air into a glove and tells a not sick nurse that he feels floaty. In another bed, Audrey tells Marcus that his sweater is swirling. She then talks about the conference where half of the hospital staff was sent and her annoyance about the situation is revealed. Marcus tells her she's passive aggressive and Audrey asks if Marcus wants her to be less passive aggressive. She tells him that she doesn't believe Marcus cares about the hospital because he loves the power being president gives him. Marcus laughs as Audrey is the real control freak and is putting on a facade of being a dare-devil. Audrey insults Marcus' clothes and they're too skintight. The nurse tells them both to stop talking.

Shaun tells Glassman that the surgery took too long but Glassman is okay with taking longer. Glassman is directed to a different OR to perform another surgery.

Morgan asks Lea what she ate at the potluck but Lea is hallucinating that Morgan's hair is on fire. Lea has been on worse trips and offers to help Morgan find out what dish is making people sick. Morgan doesn't want her help but Lea proves useful when she gives tips about the food. Morgan tells her to ask people questions.

In an OR, Shaun asks Jordan if urging someone to move faster makes them tense. Jordan. Jordan says it doesn't and that Shaun shouldn't tell Glassman what to do as Glassman is the senior doctor. Shaun mistakes Jordan's advice as her telling him that when he is not with a senior doctor, he can run things the way he wants. He leaves the OR before Jordan can correct him.

Glassman looks at a patient who has wounds on his face. The patient wants Glassman to finish up as he works tomorrow but Glassman tells him to take the day off. He asks what work the patient does.

Shaun talks to a patient who is experiencing rectal pain. Shaun asks if the patient has put something in his rectum recently and the patient admits he put a toothbrush in his rectum because he was bored.

Shaun helps another patient who has an electrical burn. Villanueva brings a cart with burn equipment on it but she brought the wrong stuff as Shaun was moving too fast for her. He tells her he will get the stuff himself.

Glassman sympathizes with his patient who has taken on extra hours because his work is doing pay cuts. He asks if the patient has been sleeping well.

Lea questions hospital staff about what food they ate. When questioning one of the staff, he begins to cry. Another patient can't remember what he ate and Lea finds it hilarious.

Glassman's patient is extremely tired when he sees his wife. Glassman asks if the patient is self-medicating.

In the lounge, cots have been set out for staff. Alex and Asher are relaxing in the lounge area on the cots. Asher talks about Jerome not wanting him to meet his college buddies. Asher realizes he called Jerome his boyfriend and realizes that calling him his boyfriend may have freaked Jerome out. Asher doesn't think he was being unreasonable in assuming Jerome was his boyfriend and he worries that Jerome is seeing other people. Alex comforts Asher and tells him to be who he is and if he can't be that then he shouldn't be with Jerome. He tells Asher to express himself and they will start now. Jerome then walks into the room.

A nurse finds Shaun and tells him he has to take some of Glassman's patients because Glassman is falling behind. Shaun doesn't want anything to do with Glassman's patients. He does agree to take the patients.

Morgan approaches Jerome who is standing out of the staff room. He informs her that they were locked out of the staff room. Jerome and Morgan break into the room and find Alex and Asher shirtless on the table singing "Making My Way Downtown." Asher calls Jerome his boyfriend and exclaims he's not afraid to call him that. Alex tells Morgan that he loves his furniture and invites them to dance on the table. Alex and Asher then fall off the table, injuring themselves.

Shaun is looking at a patient when his heart rate spikes and it's possible he's having a heart attack. Shaun brings his hear rate down but it spikes again the patient can't breathe. Shaun tells the accompanying nurse to get Glassman. Glassman tells the patient that he had a minor asthma attack because of the medicine Shaun gave him. Shaun is asked to talk outside in the hall when Shaun gets annoyed that the patient didn't tell anyone he had asthma. Glassman and Shaun argue about Glassman moving too slow and Glassman tells Shaun to take a break.