I "got" everything about Shaun in this episode. How losing something dear, whether it be a toy scalpel, or your mentor and best friend, can just throw you totally off to the point where you make a huge mistake.
I "got" how totally focused Shaun became when trying to figure out a way to save his friend. I have always believed that "where there's a will, there's a way," and Shaun proved that right when he reasoned out and sought a viable answer all over the glass windows in Glassman's office. He begged a now hopeless Glassman to get a biopsy. Glassman said no, and Shaun, very distraught, left the office to vomit.
In this episode, we see Shaun really struggle with his friend's impending death. And because he's a surgeon, he can't just lock himself in a dark room until the overwhelming feelings go away.
In his struggle to manage the overstimulation, he loses focus at a critical moment in a life or death surgery. He gives that autistic blank stare that sometimes happens when we become momentarily lost in thought. And the patient nearly dies.
So, Shaun's struggles are mounting, and Freddie Hightower does a brilliant job of conveying how thoughts race through our minds in times like these, and he didn't have to say a word for me to relate. What a great actor he is, because I totally believe in Dr. Shaun Murphy. There are some Shaun Murphys in our world, and we should take some time to listen to them when they speak.
But the end...wow...what a phenomenal moment--when he bursts in to Glassman's office and announces he's found his toy scalpel that he holds and rubs when wanting to soothe himself in a stressful situation.
He notices Glassman has a band aid on his hand and Shaun immediately notices it (of course). He asks if Glassman got the biopsy, and Glassman said yes. I think that was a crucial and special moment for those who were paying attention. Glassman, by getting the biopsy, showed Shaun that he trusted him, and that he had not lost ALL hope.
Good thing, too, because the cancer, which had been diagnosed as inoperable and terminal in less than four months, turned out to be curable after all.
And after Glassman detailed the next steps, of surgery, radiation and chemo, he added, "And just maybe, we'll get to go to the Super Bowl next season."
That moment was simply awesome. You could see Shaun's mind spinning at this revelation, then with just a second's pause, he opened up his arms as if he hadn't done so in years, and rushed forward to crush Glassman in a fierce hug.
I burst into tears watching it. It was that powerful.
I get not liking people touching you. I don't especially like hugs, unless they're from my kids. But occasionally, I will receive a hug, and I try not to reject them because I appreciate the nice gestures. This was a huge leap for Shaun, and will hopefully open him up to showing more affection (hopefully to Lea) in the future.
And I realize I probably need to show more touching kind of affection to those I care about. I'm going to try.
In other news, wanna know a word I absolutely hate? ASPIE. It's a ridiculous word for a complex set of traits. I will never use that word in a sentence that doesn't have the words "I hate the word "ASPIE," in it.
Here's a little meme thing...that sound for me is the word "ASPIE," and I hate that word with a passion.
I've been watching a show called "The Good Cop" about a detective who live with his dad, who just got out of jail for being a corrupt cop. It's funny and good.