The Good Doctor Season 5 Episode 14 Review: Potluck

That was different.

The doctors became the patients on The Good Doctor Season 5 Episode 14 after almost everyone accidentally ingested a hallucinogenic drug.

Shaun’s pickiness served him well, as he was sober. With most of the staff incapacitated, there weren’t many people left to balance him out. No wonder he and Glassman butted heads!

It turned out that Asher’s sweet potatoes were tainted because he accidentally used Nurse Jerome’s magic mushrooms instead of cilantro.

I’d think there’d be consequences even though it was an accident. But since getting Andrews high helped heal his relationship with Lim, maybe he doesn’t care.

The whole thing was a silly plot device to get a bunch of doctors high and ramble about nonsense, though in several cases, they brought up important truths while high.

Morgan and Lea played detective, trying to find out where the poison had come from, while Shaun and Jordan had to take care of many patients with minimal help from super slow Glassman.

Talk about a ridiculous premise!

I’m not sure why Lea was deemed sober enough to help with the investigation, other than that the plot required it. She talked in a baby voice and otherwise acted weird, just like everyone else.

And why was it so vital for Morgan to find out which food contained the drugs right then? If her goal was to find out what poison everyone had injected, surely doing a tox screen on someone’s blood would have been an easier road to the truth.

The idea of the doctors almost all becoming patients was an interesting one, but it was primarily played for laughs.

Park and Asher’s decision to get up on a table and take off their shirts was among the silliest moments of the hour, and it was predictable that someone would fall.

Park’s appendicitis following the fall came out of nowhere, though. The writers were trying to up the ante, but it didn’t quite work. It felt too contrived, even if Morgan showed how she feels about him by begging Glassman to prioritize his surgery.

I know it’s a little crazy out there but in here it’s just like any day. This poor man fractured his skull falling off the roof so now we have to put him back together.

Glassman

The most compelling story was Shaun’s latest fight with Glassman.

Glassman felt more like a family doctor than an ER doc, taking his time to talk to a clinic patient about all the reasons behind his refusal to take a day off following his injuries and getting the patient to admit to amphetamine use. Meanwhile, Shaun represented the worst of modern medicine: the doctor who is in such a rush to see the next patient that he doesn’t spend adequate time with the first.

Ironically, Shaun made the same mistake that got him so peeved with Salen: he put speed over patient care.

Shaun’s problems with Salen revolved around her cutting corners and allowing medicine to expire. He was furious that she had put anything above patient care.

But he was more or less doing the same thing. He was in such a rush to move on to the next patient that he didn’t take a complete medical history and gave the patient medicine that exacerbated his asthma. That wasn’t so far off from letting doctors use expired medication to save money.

I almost wish Salen was still around just for her reaction to this latest turn of events.

That said, Glassman’s approach wasn’t appropriate for ER work. He can spend as much time as he needs with each patient in his clinic, even if it means the next patient has to wait. That could be a selling point for the clinic, as people hunger for one-on-one time with their doctors.

But that won’t do in the ER, where there are a ton of patients coming in with serious conditions that require immediate attention.

That doesn’t mean the doctor should be in such a rush they miss vital things, as Shaun did, but they also don’t have time to spare in this situation.

Shaun was more right than wrong, even if Glassman was offended by the idea that he was too old to keep up with Shaun’s pace.

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Glassman: You didn’t have time to get a complete medical history. I warned you about this. You were stressed and it caused stress for the patient.
Shaun: I had to move faster. You were too slow. I know you can’t keep up with my pace but this medical strategy is not working.
Glassman: Keep up with your pace? You need to take a walk. Go get something to eat.
Shaun: No thank you. I need –
Glassman: You need to take a break. If you don’t want to eat, go for a walk. NOW!

Glassman proved it by the end of the hour, as he was exhausted after an all-nighter while Shaun was energized.

But Shaun’s approach to the issue left a lot to be desired. He acted like he was the one in charge and berated Glassman — who is his boss as well as his friend — instead of trying to find a solution that worked for everyone.

Shaun was lucky that it was Glassman and not a doctor who didn’t know him well. Does he need reminding of what happened when he butted heads with a new Chief of Surgery who promptly took him off the roster?

Meanwhile, what on Earth was going on with Lim and Andrews?

They zipped through the stage where they hated each other and ended up having an honest conversation about Spiderman and lost relationships.

On TV, hate-to-love is so common that I assume that’s what’s going on whenever two characters can’t stand each other.

Let’s hope that The Good Doctor doesn’t go there and that Lim and Andrews keep things professional. Lim’s sneaking around with Melendez was one of the all-time worst stories, and we don’t need a repeat.

Your turn, The Good Doctor fanatics. Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and share your thoughts.

Don’t forget you can watch The Good Doctor online right here on TV Fanatic.

The Good Doctor airs on ABC on Mondays at 10 PM EST / PSt.

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Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.

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