The Good Lawyer

Not to be confused with The Good Lawyer (TV series).

"The Good Lawyer"

Episode Information

Season 6

Episode 16

Overall 110

Airdate:

March 13, 2023

Viewers:

3.41 million

Writer:

David Shore & Liz Friedman

Director:

Ruben Fleischer

Episode Chronology

Preceded by:	Followed by:
"Old Friends"	"Second Chances and Past Regrets"

"The Good Lawyer" is the sixteenth episode of Season 6 of The Good Doctor, as well as the embedded pilot for a cancelled spinoff series of the same name. It is the hundred-and-tenth episode overall, and aired on March 13, 2023.

Synopsis[]

Dr. Shaun Murphy seeks legal representation to help him win a case and puts his faith in a promising young lawyer, Joni DeGroot, who has obsessive compulsive disorder.

Plot[]

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This episode weaves together several compelling patient and doctor narratives, exploring themes of family, difficult choices, and the profound impact of medical conditions.

The story opens with Shaun and his wife grappling with the possibility of their baby, Steve, having autism. Shaun, a doctor, observes Steve's lack of vocalization ¹, a fascination with ceiling fans ², and limited eye contact³, leading him to suspect autism. He advocates for early testing and consultation with a pediatric neurologist ⁴, even suggesting an fMRI study⁵. His wife, however, is hesitant, desiring to simply enjoy their baby ⁶and fearing that a diagnosis might unfairly label him⁷. Their disagreement creates tension, with Shaun emphasizing the importance of early intervention ⁸and his wife expressing anxieties about her adequacy as a mother⁹. Despite her reservations, Shaun's wife ultimately agrees to the study¹⁰.

Another central plot involves Tayo, a child born with a unique third arm ¹¹, which his father endearingly calls his "aburo" or "little brother"¹². This extra limb, however, is compressing his trachea, causing severe breathing difficulties¹³. Doctors explain that one of his arms must be removed to save his life¹⁴. This news sparks a heart-wrenching debate between his parents: his father wants to remove the smaller, third arm to preserve the larger, functional one ¹⁵, while his mother insists on removing the larger arm¹⁶. Tayo, caught in the middle, expresses his sadness over his parents' conflict ¹⁷and worries about making them unhappy¹⁸. A blood flow test is performed to aid in the difficult decision ¹⁹, leading to the heartbreaking conclusion that the larger arm must be amputated^20202020.

A third narrative focuses on Mason Landover, an astronaut recently returned from an eight-month stint on the International Space Station²¹. He's experiencing severe pain ²², significant bone loss ^23232323, and a dilated heart chamber causing arrhythmias ²⁴—all attributed to the rigors of zero gravity^25252525. More profoundly, Mason undergoes a dramatic personality shift, suddenly yearning for a settled life and children ²⁶, a stark contrast to his wife Ana's career-driven aspirations²⁷. It's later discovered that he has hydrocephalus, an accumulation of excess fluid compressing his brain ²⁸, a delayed consequence of his time in space ²⁹, which explains his newfound domestic desires³⁰.

Finally, this episode delves into the challenging case of Hannah, a patient battling addiction. Dr. Park attempts to guide her toward recovery, offering Tylenol for pain ³¹and encouraging her to enter rehab³². Hannah initially resists, maintaining she has her addiction "under control"³³. However, after an overdose at the doctor's house ³⁴, Dr. Lim (not Dr. Park as previously stated) makes an unconventional and risky decision: to personally administer controlled doses of oxycodone to Hannah ^35353535, prioritizing her immediate survival above all else³⁶.

Beyond the medical cases, the episode explores the personal lives and relationships of the medical professionals. Dr. Reznick's somewhat awkward public proposal to Dr. Park ³⁷ adds a touch of levity. Dr. Lim shares a deeply personal story of her daughter's overdose with Hannah³⁸, hoping to convey the profound dangers of addiction. Ultimately, Dr. Park and Ana, Mason's wife, find common ground and reconcile. Ana decides to prioritize their relationship and the possibility of starting a family, while still pursuing her career by taking a sabbatical³⁹, signaling a hopeful future for them.

DRAFT: Shaun is being sued. Glassman takes him to a law firm that he has used in the past. They meet with a partner, but Shaun is resistant to settling out of court, as he knows he did nothing wrong. The lawyer explains that if the plaintiffs win, Shaun will likely lose his license to practice medicine. He instantly decides to settle. However, in the hallway Shaun comes upon an unusual lawyer whose office is in a closet. She has OCD, constantly having to tap things three times. She is great at research, so the firm has kept her on, but will not allow her to take a client or go to court. Shaun decides that she is the perfect person to defend him.

Joni has flashbacks to her childhood, waiting with her sister for a judge to rule on a case affecting their lives. (It is eventually revealed that it inspired her to become a lawyer, and that the lawyer who helped them is the law partner involved with Shaun's case.)

In the present, the lawsuit is about Shaun's actions when he and Dr. Park were driving home and came upon an accident. Joni walks them through the incident, having them tell her exactly what happened.

Park worked on a woman belted in a car, but another man was thrown from his vehicle as he was not wearing a seatbelt. Shaun found him in the nearby woods and determined that the man's hand required immediate amputation. He called for Park to help, but Park could not leave the woman. Shaun made a makeshift backboard and brought the patient to the road.

Joni stops his story at this moment, pointing out that Shaun could not have brought the man directly to the road, as she has seen the site and a large tree branch blocked the way. Shaun explains that he took the man on a slightly different route, and at one point had to tilt the backboard. Once he reached the road, he prepared to do the amputation, even though the ambulance could already be heard approaching. He performed the amputation, finishing when the ambulance pulled up.

The lawsuit asserts that the amputation was unnecessary. The other doctors believe that Shaun may have acted correctly based on what he knew at the time, but they think that testing would have revealed that the amputation was unnecessary.

Later, Joni catches Shaun in the lab just as he is about to test the amputated hand to find out if he acted correctly. She stops him, explaining that anything he finds out must be shared with the opposition, and could damage his case.

In court trying to get the case dismissed, Joni begins all right. But when a chair makes a loud noise, she gets stuck in a fugue. Her compulsion needs to have it happen three times. She freezes and doesn't respond to the judge or anyone else, so the day is a failure.

Returning to court for the lawsuit, Joni again freezes when a chair squeaks. However, the law partner has accompanied her this time, and realizes that Joni's compulsion must be met. She pushes the chair to make it squeak again, then does it a third time, which snaps Joni back to reality.

Joni cross-examines the amputee plaintiff, finding inconsistencies and hypocrisy in his statements. Although he claims his concern is for his family, she points out that he is not an innocent victim, apparently having no regard for his family when he chose to drive drunk and did not wear a seatbelt.

Joni impresses the jury. In her closing argument, she discusses the way she and Shaun make people uncomfortable due to their unusual behaviors, and asks the jury to ignore that and just judge the case.

The jury finds in favor of Shaun. His friends have a celebration, and when Joni walks up to Shaun she says she knows exactly what he wants to do. They go to the lab to test the hand, and the results show that Shaun was right.

Cast[]

Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy
Fiona Gubelmann as Dr. Morgan Reznick (credit only)
Will Yun Lee as Dr. Alex Park
Christina Chang as Dr. Audrey Lim (credit only)
Paige Spara as Lea Dilallo
Bria Samoné Henderson as Dr. Jordan Allen (credit only)
Noah Galvin as Dr. Asher Wolke (credit only)
Brandon Larracuente as Dr. Daniel Perez (credit only)
Hill Harper as Dr. Marcus Andrews (credit only)
Richard Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman

Kennedy McMann as Joni DeGroot
Felicity Huffman as Janet Stewart
Bethlehem Million as Abbie
Michael Weston as Bob Patton
Jordan Belfi as Gavin Ross
Karen Robinson as Judge J. Kileen
Daniel Bacon as Dr. Rutenberg

Janene Rose as Emily Patton

Hazel Bartlett-Sias as Young Joni

Avery Grant as Young Abbie

Maria Meadows as Joni's Mother

Femi Sobaki as Bailiff

Robin Horn as Mutton Chop Juror

Trivia[]

This episode marks the first and only episode not to feature Morgan Reznick since her introduction.
This episode marks the first episode that features less than half the main cast, with only Shaun, Glassman, Lea and Park present.
This episode serves as the backdoor pilot for The Good Lawyer.
Jordan Belfi also plays a lawyer in FOX and ABC's 9-1-1.
This is Andrews and Lim's last absence in the show.
- However, Andrews would depart permanently after the season finale (Love's Labor).