NOTE: this post contains spoilers for The Good Doctor season 6 episode 19, "Half Measures."
Shaun (Freddie Highmore) and Dr. Glassman (Richard Schiff) spend a lot of time together waiting for the results of Dr. Glassman's MRI. After discovering a spot on Dr. Glassman's brain, Shaun worries about treating a possible cancer recurrence. Understanding that a cancer recurrence would be terminal, so Dr. Glassman tries to share as much parenting knowledge he can with Shaun as possible.
He talks about regretting not being there as much for his daughter and missing many firsts. He encourages Shaun to learn to prioritize. While they assemble a crib they bought, one of Shaun's patients has a surgical emergency. This is his first opportunity to choose. He hesitates but Dr. Glassman helps him realize the surgery is more important than assembling baby furniture.
When the test results come in, Shaun and Dr. Glassman review them together. They are relieved that the cancer hasn't returned. Shaun is once again given the opportunity to prioritize career and family when he is given the chance to perform an interesting surgery or go home to Lea (Paige Spara). He passes on the surgery.
Elsewhere in the hospital, a patient comes into the ER with a severe injury. His body is almost totally severed. Dr. Lim (Christina Chang) and Dr. Andrews (Hill Harper) take lead on the case, and have interns Jordan (Bria Henderson), Danny (Brandon Larracuente), Jared (Chuku Modu) and Asher (Noah Galvin) research a surgical solution that will prevent amputation of the patient's lower body. Dr. Lim wants to give the patient every chance of avoiding amputation, but Dr. Andrews prefers a more cautious approach. This indicates Dr. Andrews’ lack of confidence in Dr. Lim's judgment and faith in the surgical interns.
Working together on the solution, Danny’s jealously of the budding connection between Jared and Jordan is evident. He gives Jordan a hard time while working together. Asher also snubs Jared a bit because he pre-judges him as being rich and entitled. Jared shares with Asher a surgical loss that haunts him because he thought that he took an unnecessary risk. Asher provides support by telling Jared that patients die sometimes even when they don't take risks. He believes that it's better to lose a patient while fighting your hardest,than losing the patient after not really trying.
The interns provide an out of the box solution for the patient, with Jared giving them the key to making recovery possible. The surgery still has a complication that makes Dr. Andrews want to amputate, but Jared steps in again after Asher reminds him to fight for his patient. Ultimately, the surgery is a success. Dr. Andrews tries to apologize for doubting Dr. Lim, but she demands that either he has confidence in her abilities and stay out of her way, or fire her.
Dr. Reznick (Fiona Gubelman) is finally medically cleared to have her embryos implanted. The next decision is choosing whether to have a baby boy or girl. She finds a man with a baby girl outside the hospital on her way to work. The man is agitated and refuses help from a security guard who first approached him. Dr. Reznick gets him to calm down and agree to have her take the baby. The baby has a serious condition that requires heart surgery and her mother is currently hospitalized fighting a septic infection. Dr. Reznick becomes the baby's advocate, debating with Shaun and Dr. Park (Will Yun Lee), who are the primary surgeons, about what's the best course of treatment.
Dr. Reznick seems to be personalizing her treatment decisions, not taking into account that the baby's mom is bipolar. While the mother is seeking treatment, having a sick baby needing consistent follow-up care may not be the best decision. Dr. Park tries to point this out. He doesn't push the topic though because he realizes that Dr. Reznick is trying to come to grips with who she'll be as a parent and what her parenting decisions will look like. They include Shaun in the context of balancing work and family. Dr. Park shares that as a surgeon some sacrifice is necessary, while Dr. Reznick emphasizes that family should always come first. The baby survives the procedure but her mother dies after having a cardiac episode. Dr. Reznick is emotionally bonded with the baby, reschedules her implantation appointment so that she can spend time comforting the baby while she's in the hospital.
The episode ends with Shaun showing Lea the new nursery. He discovers unused screws on the ground indicating that Dr. Glassman missed a step in assembling the crib. He thinks this indicates something is wrong with his brain.
What is really wrong with Dr. Glassman? Will Dr. Andrew and Dr. Lim's relationship recover from the breach it suffered working on the last case? Will Dr. Reznick abandon her IVF plans in favor of adopting baby Eden, who she has clearly bonded with?
New episodes of The Good Doctor air on ABC on Mondays, then are available to stream on Hulu the next day.
