Spoilers ahead for Episode 2 of The Good Doctor Season 6 on ABC, called “Change of Perspective.”
The Good Doctor continued Season 6 with a much calmer episode on the heels of last week’s intense premiere that went full Grey’s Anatomy with an active shooter in the hospital. While there weren’t bullets flying in “Change of Perspective,” however, conflict was brewing as Dr. Lim tried to come to terms with her paralysis after Shaun made a controversial decision during her emergency surgery after being stabbed. While she seemed as fine as could be hoped for under her circumstances for most of the episode, she finally broke down in the final minutes, and her rant suggests that fans may soon need to choose sides.
In a fantastic performance from actress Christina Chang, Lim finally let herself feel everything when a bystander helped her with her wheelchair and then asked if she was okay. The doctor responded:
No, I’m not okay. I’m so sick of this chair. I’m sick of having to drive with my hands. I’m sick of not being able to get around because there are stairs everywhere. And I hate that my body won’t do what I want. I hate having to train like an Olympic gymnast just so I can get off the damn toilet. And I hate Shaun Murphy. This is all his fault.
Well, it’s good that Dr. Lim finally allowed herself to feel everything rather than bottle it all up, but there’s also not an easy solution to everything that has been bothering her. While viewers who watched the premiere (which picked up on the Season 5 finale going full ER with the stabbing cliffhanger for Lim) saw that Shaun made what he believed was the best call to save her life in surgery, it left her paralyzed from the waist down, and he was the only one who wanted to do that particular surgery.
In fact, if Glassman hadn’t had to leave the room for another emergency surgery, Shaun wouldn’t have had his way. There’s no way of knowing if Glassman’s method would have saved her life and spared her the paralysis, but she does know for certain that Shaun’s method has forced her to change her entire life… even though she's only alive because of it.
Shaun, Lim, and Glassman all have points that could be argued, and a conversation early in the episode between Asher and Jordan indicated that characters may even need to take sides within the Good Doctor universe. Jordan said that Shaun paralyzed Lim because he didn’t follow Glassman’s orders, while Asher argued that he saved her life and there’s no way to know what the outcome would have been if Shaun had gone the other route.
Asher and Jordan didn’t fight about it, but the promo for the next episode suggests that viewers may have to choose who they agree with between Shaun, Lim, and Glassman. Take a look:
Lim is evidently going to vocalize her concerns to Shaun and Glassman in the episode that will air on October 17, with Glassman coming out and saying that he wouldn’t have done what Shaun did while Shaun insisted to her that he saved her life. All in all, it looks like the next episode will be must-see for anybody who is ready to see the fallout of Dr. Lim’s breakthrough about the surgery.
Tune in to ABC to see new episodes of The Good Doctor on Mondays at 10 p.m. ET, and check out a Hulu subscription if you’re interested in revisiting past seasons of ABC’s hit medical drama. The show may get a spinoff, although a very different kind of show would result. For some more viewing options now and in the coming weeks, take a look at our 2022 TV premiere schedule.
