The Good Doctor is a show that didn’t interest me at first, but after people have told me how good it is, I decided to give it a try. I was afraid that the show would get old, and it’d be the same every episode. Thankfully, the show hasn’t been to repetitive in it’s episodes. I noticed this by watching an episode every now and then with friends. Each episode had an interesting spin to it. So I caved in, and started binge watching.
The Good Doctor is a very interesting TV show, that takes a common idea, and makes it unique. The show has several qualities that I enjoy about it, but with every pro there’s also a con. Today, we’ll talk about the pros and cons of The Good Doctor, and is it worth watching.
And of course…#spoilers for the Good Doctor.
Let’s get started.
The Good Doctor Pros.
There are many aspects of The Good Doctor that I enjoy. It’s creativeness and flexibility allows it to be more than just another doctor show. The show builds off of the characters and let’s you see not only their side of the equation, but lets you empathize with several of the surgeons. Most notable person they try to get you to sympathize with, is Shawn Murphy. There are other ones too, such as: Dr. Melendez, Claire, and Dr. Lynn. These characters are made in a way that lets you see their human side.
Now, the show mainly focuses on Shawn, but it’s more than just him learning how to socialize with people better. It’s about how his life is making making other people’s lives better. Leah and Dr. Glassman are great examples of this.
Leah gives Shawn confidence and a focus that no one else could give him. Her character has one of the most important roles, in my opinion. Her ability to teach Shawn things he never thought he could do, gives her a very unique role, but it evolves to be more than just that. Shawn is just Shawn. There’s no agenda with him. He’s just Shawn, and Leah, who’s life has been surrounded by deception, needs a person like that. Shawn helps Leah to see what a true friend is like.
Dr. Glassman starts off as a father figure to Shawn, but I’ve always felt like he under appreciates him. They do make it clear that Dr. Glassman is babying Shawn, but overtime, we see Shawn gain more independence, and Glassman give him more space. Glassman is an interesting character on the show, but my biggest problem with him is one simple thing, but we’ll get to that later. He’s a character who I think has a lot of potential. Even more than he has now.
I feel like Dr. Brown is another character who helps Shawn. She’s the only character, THE ONLY ONE, who I HATED in the beginning of the show, and I now enjoy. Like a lot. She’s one of my favorite characters because she’s not a winy little princess, but a bad*** doctor who genuinely cares about her patients, her job, and Shawn. The moment I gained all of the respect for Claire, was on season 2, episode 18, Trampoline, the finale of the season. The moment where Claire puts herself in Shawn’s shoes, is probably her greatest moment in the entire show. It not only shows how much she’s evolved, but shows that Shawn has influenced her in a positive way.
Now, I know I’m talking a lot about the characters individually. The reason for this, is because the characters are essential to the story line. I know you’re thinking, “Well, duh.” But what I mean by this is that this is the show spends hours and hours trying to teach you about these characters and to get you invested into their lives. These characters entire jobs, are to get you emotionally invested. That’s why I’m talking about the characters individually.
It’s also interesting that the show introduces new patients every episode, yet you create a bond with the patient. Why is that? Is it because they’re going through a relate able problem? Or maybe the actors are just talented? The answer to this question is a little bit of both.
Not every patient that comes through those doors, you create an emotional bond with, but one thing that you do is get invested in how our main characters feel about them. That’s why you get invested at all with the victim/patients. This show has spent many episodes developing our characters individually, and when they get invested in the patient, you do too.
The Good Doctor has a lot of pros that I enjoy, and I’m a fan of all the doctor/surgeons/surgical residents/presidents of hospitals.
The Good Doctor Cons.
As much as I like this show, no TV-show is perfect. The show sometimes can go in an emotional roller-coaster. This is the intended goal of the show, but I feel like they overdue it a few times. Certain episodes I walk away from with a bitter taste in my mouth or I’m just sitting there, thinking, “That’s not realistic…at all.”
Now, in case you’re one of those people who’s like, “Maybe they’re not trying to be realistic.”… Are you kidding me? The show is set in today’s time, it’s dedicated in giving you a bunch of medical facts that sound fancy, and give the doctors real life problems. They’re trying to convince you that this is legit, and they do…like 70% of the time. That 30% is an emotional mess that’s waiting to be thrown in the garbage. Season 2, episode 12, Aftermath, focuses on the doctor’s individual lives. It lets us see, not only what they do outside of work, but gain a better relationship with the characters as well, but the problem with this, is one simple thing. I DON’T CARE!!!
This is a great example of the emotion garbage that is not only unlrealistic at some points, but also just meaningless to the story. The only the that progresses through this episode is Melendis and Lynn’s relationship. That’s the only thing that is good in that entire episode.
I’m sorry if I seem to be a bit harsh, it’s just that I don’t want this show to end up like Pure Genius. If you don’t know, Pure Genius was a doctor show very similar to the Good Doctor. There were a few differences: There’s no doctor with autism, it focus’s on a doctor, played by Dermot Mulroney, and a few other differences. Now, this show was pretty fun to watch. Gave off the same feel that The Good Doctor does, but the difference is, Pure Genius was focused on the doctor’s lives. They did focus on the patients, but the show evolved around this main doctor getting hired by a billionaire, who’s in his mid twenties. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Good Doctor got a lot of it’s ideas from Pure Genius.
Pure Genius was cancelled. Among other things, one reason why was because the story line was getting boring. It was focusing more on the doctor’s individual lives rather than them at work. I don’t want the Good Doctor to do that.
The Good Doctor does have some cons, but they’re mainly speculations of what I hope they won’t do. I have some problems with some of the characters, but most of them I enjoy, as I do with the show.
Things That Surprised Me
One thing that surprised me, going into this show, was the way Shawn sees the body organs floating around, and how he solves the unusual problems. I think this is amazing. I didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did. It was an unusual pleasure.
Conclusion
In the end, is this worth your time? I would say yes. If you would like a dramatic show, with medical facts, and a doctor who has autism, I can’t think of a better show for you. 🙂 This show has many unique things that make it special: in good and bad ways.
I hope the writers watch their steps as they march on, but I’m excited to see season 3 and the episodes to come. Until next time!
Jmanthoughts 