"Intangibles" is the ninth episode of Season 1 of The Good Doctor. It aired on November 27, 2017.
Synopsis[]
As part of St. Bonaventure Hospital's international humanitarian program, the team takes on the case of a young boy from the Congo who has severe congenital heart anomalies. Dr. Neil Melendez has doubts about the safety of the procedure, while Dr. Shaun Murphy works out the best course of action. Meanwhile, Murphy’s latest encounter with his neighbor Lea has him confused.
Summary[]
Lea spots a woman leaving Shaun's apartment, having interviewed her for a housekeeper but he isn't hiring her because her clothes don't match. Lea looks at her clothes and calls him an "asshat", grabbing his arm and leaving him confused. At St. Bonaventure, Allegra Aoki is holding a press conference; their international humanitarian program has come to fruition and she introduces Neil and Dr. Avi Mehta who have screened hundreds of candidates to choose. They have ultimately decided on an inspiring young boy named Gabriel from the Republic of Congo with severe heart abnormalities. At the reception, both Neil and Mehta feel Aoki should have stuck with the list of candidates they selected but she tells Neil there were several intangibles that made her choose off the list. When he meets the candidate he understands that cuteness was one of them. Neil reminds her that cuteness and a sob story would work on donors but not the medical results and certainly not on him, though Dr. Mehta disagrees. Aoki asks Neil to do his own work up before he makes his final decision.
Claire, Dr. Andrews and his wife Dr. Isabel Barnes come to see a patient named Elisabeth McLaren, a podcast host who is at risk of losing her voice to cancer unless her tests come back benign. Claire jokes along with them when Elisabeth comments on how they work together like ping and pong; Claire jokes most married couples who work together are like Miss and Match. Neil and the intern team come to see Gabriel and as Neil is examining him, Mehta says Gabriel needs their help. Nothing is said again until they are in the hallway and Neil says it sounds like he has a blow dryer in his chest. Neil is sure they cannot repair the heart but Mehta doesn't know until they do all the tests and refuses to give up. Shaun meets with Dr. Glassman who is upset that Shaun turned away a housekeeper whose clothes didn't match, though Shaun comments that Glassman is only doing this because of Shaun’s reaction to the robbery he was caught up in. He then walks away, saying he is happy and doesn't think he could be more. He walks into Gabriel’s room with a machine for him, telling Claire about Lea and that he thinks she doesn't like him because of what happened earlier. Claire says Lea was flirting with him because when flirting, some people say the opposite of what they mean. She gives him tips to look for in flirting.
Andrews and Isabel are enjoying their dinner when they receive a call that Elisabeth's specimen has been misplaced but he assures her that they will find it. In the Pathology Lab, Claire searches the lab when Carly states that everyone is so quick to blame the lab as it might not have even made it to the cart on the way, even though Claire saw it placed in the specimen bottle. Shaun is with Neil when Mehta apologizes for further testing when he admits he has never seen so many anomalies in one heart. He suggests a medication that could give Gabriel a couple of years of life, while Neil plans to break the news to the mother and asks Mehta to tell Aoki. As Neil arrives at Gabriel's room, his mother, Georgieta, playing a drum that she taps at a heartbeat that reminds his heart to beat until the doctors are able to fix it. When Neil informs her the news, she says they wouldn't have come so far with a heart she didn't think he could fix. Claire searches every single sample and cannot find Elisabeth's, while Andrews and Jessica tell her she can feel sorry for it but cannot use the words "sorry" nor "mistake". Jessica informs Elisabeth about it, to which Elisabeth states that she will be damned if she has to have her voice box removed because someone screwed up.
Shaun confronts Dr. Glassman about him not being stupid. He then talks about flirting, while saying he likes to be alone. When Glassman says being alone and lonely are two different things, Shaun learns that Glassman is lonely and suggests that he learn the trifecta of flirting. Claire and Carly hunt around the hospital for Elisabeth's specimen and with a little prodding, a worker reveals he did stop at the cafeteria for a little while. Jared is packing up Gabriel's things and finds Georgieta in the bathroom, watching the toilet as she repeatedly flushes it. She comments on how much water there is and always more, while Gabriel's vitals drop and Jared calls for help as Georgieta begins to tap her drum. As Shaun comes to see Gabriel, Dr. Mehta calls for blood work every 15 minutes but Shaun has an idea and chases after Neil with Gabriel’s toy Mr. Potato Head. Meanwhile, Claire and Carly go to the cafeteria, where a worker there, Gwen, brings them a bio-hazard bag in a bin. Shaun comes up to Neil and begins to explain things but he tells Shaun to stop and follow him.
Shaun explains to Aoki the procedure that could save Gabriel's life; Neil says it was a terrible idea and won't work but since she was keen on making terrible decisions for him, he felt she should know. Shaun asks him if fear of failure is a good reason not to do this, to which Neil says that he isn't sending Gabriel home in a box. Elisabeth continues to argue with Claire, but when she apologizes, Elisabeth hugs her and thanks her for that. However, Neil is less than happy. Upon realising that Gabriel’s medication doesn’t appear to be working, Neil goes to speak to Georgieta who confirms that she's been keeping it; if he starts getting better, they will send him back to the dangerous village they live in. Neil attempts to sympathize, referring to having grown up poor and has a disabled sister whom their parents couldn’t get medication for, but he gives in and agrees to do whatever they can. While Andrews and Isabel are talking about Elisabeth, Isabel is angered when Andrews only blames the staff for the mix-up and states that he did his job correctly. Isabel wants him to feel horrible because it is the only thing that will make him change back onto the caring man she married, while angry that he wants to be president of the hospital as she feels he’s left her behind and begins to read text messages from him about not coming home for dinner or for her "not to wait up".
Claire has drawn in the whiteboard the trips of each specimen and where they all go. Shaun comes in and shows a chart of his own about all the flirting he has noticed in the hospital, including of her with Neil, when Neil interrupts them to ask that Shaun to elaborate on his idea for Gabriel's surgery. Together, they are in the OR working with a 3D image of Gabriel's heart and attempt to do a practice surgery. While in the pathology lab again, Claire talks to Carly, saying her goal was to be the best surgeon in history but her new goal is to not get washed out of the residency program. Andrews comes to join them, saying this is a team problem and should be a team solution, joining in on the search. Jessica approaches Claire and reprimands her for telling Elizabeth she was sorry and hopes they don't see the price tag on that and tells her they are out of time to save the specimen. Neil and Shaun continue to work on the 3D heart and succeed, while the team comes to see Elizabeth, informing her that they don't know if she has cancer or not. The options are having surgery she may not need, leaving her without speech or do nothing and die.
Georgieta and Jared lift Gabriel onto the surgical gurney and he is brought up to the OR to begin. Elizabeth sits in her room as she reads a bedtime story for her children as Claire looks on. Neil asks Shaun how everything looks with Gabriel's heart; he says it’s 14mm and it's perfect, but suddenly he doesn't think there is enough for outflow. Shaun reminds him on the model at 13mm and the model died, so Neil makes his call. Claire stops Elizabeth for surgery, as she suddenly realizes there could have been a mismatched name on the label, begging Andrews for a little more time. Shaun tells Neil he is at 13mm. Jared sees a reattachment piece and they find something they can work with inside Gabriel's heart. Claire works with Carly, again, hoping to find the specimen. Neil suggests taking Gabriel after bypass after 6 hours and 48 minutes. The team watches Gabriel's heart and monitors closely, after 12 seconds there is no action. Jared says he has been on nearly 2 hours too long but Neil insists they wait. Shaun is told to do the closing as Neil goes to see Georgieta, who is still tapping on the drum. He takes her hand and informs her that his heart is beating just fine on its own.
Elizabeth wakes up and Claire comes to see her. Claire informs Elizabeth that the specimen was saved in a solution that was meant for a bullet and it was fresh as a daisy, while Dr. Andrews informs her that she doesn't have cancer. Elizabeth hugs Claire and thanks her. Aoki watches as Jared and Melendez watch cartoons with Gabriel and Georgieta, while calling "intangibles" out to Melendez before she walks away. Shaun comes to see Glassman, saying he had a big day. Glassman praises him for learning something new today but sees he will learn faster with a life coach. Shaun still tries to refuse the offer, asking if Glassman is giving up on him. Glassman admits he can't always be there, while Shaun reaffirms he doesn't want a stranger helping him and walks out. Claire congratulates Neil outside waiting for Jessica, who joins Neil and gives Claire the court papers from Elizabeth and her lawyers. Lea and Shaun get off the elevator and he tells her she looks absurd in that sweater. She understands he’s flirting with her while telling him she has apples and offers him one, unlocks her apartment and he follows.
Cast[]
Starring[]
Guest Starring[]
|
Co-Starring[]
|
Trivia[]
- This is the first episode where the title is said by a character other than Shaun (in this case, Aoki and Neil).
- This is the first episode that hints at Claire having a crush on Neil (which she would later confess in Season 3).
- The events of Apple are brought up.
- Gabriel is given a Mr. Potato Head toy from the 1995 Pixar film Toy Story.
Multimedia[]
Gallery[]
.png "109Promo (1).png (7.99 MB)")
.png "109Promo (2).png (9.24 MB)")
.png "109Promo (3).png (7.52 MB)")
.png "109Promo (4).png (9.41 MB)")
.png "109Promo (5).png (7.68 MB)")
.png "109Promo (6).png (9.59 MB)")
.png "109Promo (7).png (8.33 MB)")
.png "109Promo (8).png (9.55 MB)")
.png "109Promo (9).png (9.2 MB)")
.png "109Promo (10).png (8.38 MB)")
.png "109Promo (11).png (9.32 MB)")
.png "109Promo (12).png (8.43 MB)")
.png "109Promo (13).png (9.81 MB)")
.png "109Promo (14).png (9.31 MB)")
.png "109Promo (15).png (8.31 MB)")
.png "109Promo (16).png (9.68 MB)")
Videos[]
