The Good Doctor episode 14 review: Shaun Murphy’s sensitivity training

One of the most important things to remember entering The Good Doctor episode 14 is that Shaun Murphy isn’t inherently prejudiced; we also don’t think that he is transphobic. Instead, what we think is going on here with Freddie Highmore’s character is really a case of ignorance and a lack of understanding due to his autism. He didn’t know the rules and, clearly, had never been around a transgender person.

Ultimately, Shaun needs a serious education about transgender people — we do think he is susceptible to learning, and maybe that is in part what Monday’s new episode is about.

When the latest patient arrived at the hospital, Shaun immediately began using improper pronouns and also took his curiosity to extremely invasive levels. For the good first half hour of the episode he was pretty relentless in here. Eventually, Shaun’s behavior caused him to have to take a behind-the-scenes role in the case. He had to figure out a way to understand her, which eventually he did in a very touching scene near the end of the episode.

While Shaun was working on how to bond with the patient, the patient’s parents were facing a different problem — a lawsuit that was filed by her grandmother, who felt like her parents were abusing the daughter for allowing her to make a decision on her testicular cancer diagnosis. They had to fight for her and also figure a way to make sure she was cared for. This was difficult, but they managed to at least save her life. She can always come back later for gender confirmation surgery.

Related – Want to see when The Good Doctor returns with all-new episodes to ABC?

Meet Dr. Morgan Reznick

She was the newest doctor at the hospital, and what we ended up seeing with her before long was that she had a lot in common with Shaun. The difference here, though, was that she was making deliberate choices to rub people the wrong way. She had zero bedside manner and told Claire more or less to her face that she was trying to beat her out of a job.

Morgan just couldn’t understand the point of being nice to a patient who was going through hell. The only people that she wanted to be nice to were the people who could tangibly help her advance her career — take, for example, Dr. Melendez. She was very friendly towards him and the other doctors above her, going out of her way to pay attention to their every need.

Here’s the crummiest part of everything when it comes to Dr. Reznick — even though she was a jerk, she’s the one the patient remembered to thank after the operation. She’s also the one who bonded with his kids. What was important at the end of the episode was Dr. Melendez pointing out to Claire that he did understand a little more about what Morgan was up to. Still, it doesn’t change hospital dynamics.

CarterMatt Verdict

We’re not going to lie — The Good Doctor episode 14 did make us very nervous in the early going that Shaun was just going to make offensive comments the entire hour. Yet, he came around and we like to think that this was an episode about the importance of education and figuring out ways to care for one another regardless of background.

Also, how great is Chris D’Elia as Shaun’s new neighbor?

What did you think about The Good Doctor episode 14?

Share some of your thoughts/reactions now in the comments! Also, you can like CarterMatt on Facebook to get more insight on the series. (Photo: ABC.)