(Prelude to The Kiss, Part 2)
(Click here to jump to Part 1 if you missed it)
One of my favorite blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments in #Shea
history came just before one of the toughest scenes of theirs to watch (until
the rain of pain from the back half of S3, that is).
It’s from "Middle Ground" (2.2) when Shaun finally deals with his
feelings about Lea returning from Hershey… and rather than keep avoiding her
and deleting her texts begging to talk, he lets loose with the hurt felt in her
absence, concluding that she should “Please go back to Hershey, or anywhere other
than here!” before stalking out the door.
But ahead of all that, he placed a banana and a bowl of cereal
in front of her at the table as soon as she got out of bed.
That gesture was quickly eclipsed by the baseball he placed
on the table too—the one in its own case, the one that she initially gave to
Shaun when she left in S1. It served as the launching pad for Shaun to explain
himself, so its role in the scene was critical.
What the banana and the cereal represented was important
too, though. It showed kindness—or at the very least, a modicum of concern for
Lea’s physical well-being—even when he was angry with her. It’s not that I ever
really doubt that Shaun cares deeply about Lea, or even Glassman. But a
demonstrative nature isn’t on my shortlist of his most memorable traits—or
that of anyone with ASD, I’m guessing.
Such has got to play a huge part in Lea’s conflicting
emotions about Shaun over these three seasons. When she listed her character
flaws as reasons to disregard a love relationship with Shaun in “Autopsy,” she
wasn’t making up stuff to get rid of him—on the contrary, she was finally being
as brutally honest as Shaun has been with her. And while the naysayers can
wrinkle their noses all they want at what they perceive as a harsh, unfair
judgment of Shaun, they should also try to count the ways—over the course of
three years—that his words and/or actions towards Lea overtly expressed kindness
towards the woman he loves. I think we can count them on one hand, MAYBE two:
1) Shaun
said “I don’t care what happened in Hershey… but I care that you care” in “Tough Titmouse” (2.4). Those were the epic words that turned things
around between these two… though it only came after suggested-by-others
gestures fell flat, and Lea was literally on her way out the door again.
2) Shaun
secured the apartment Lea wanted badly in that same episode (but actually
secured it for both of them to share without getting her consent, so I’m not
sure this counts)
3) Shaun
proved Hubert the Fish died for reasons unrelated to Lea’s care in the final
minutes of “Hubert” (2.7).
4) Shaun
(eventually) gave Lea the privacy she requested with then-boyfriend Jake in
“Xin” (2.13), occupying himself with headphones before giving up and going to
check on then-ailing Glassman instead.
5) Shaun
convinced Glassman to interview Lea for the St. B job in “Influence” (3.14), but
arguably did it because he wanted Lea around more since they were no longer
roommates, so again… not sure that this counts.
6) Shaun
puts himself at risk when Lea is trapped in the earthquake in “Hurt” (3.19).
And yes, this incredibly heroic effort looks weird on the same list as stories of goldfish
and headphones, but that’s where we’re at.
It seems unfair to rattle off Lea’s list of overt kindnesses
in return— hiding/whisking Shaun away from the Glassman situation in the Season
1’s “Islands” two-parter, trusting/adjusting to his needs as a roommate in
Seasons 2 and 3, abandoning said roommate role at his insistence midway
through S3, cheerleading and commiserating as needed throughout the series, comforting him in his
most trying times. But that’s the point with neurotypical vs. non-neurotypical
in any relationship, but especially romantic love—it’s going to be lop-sided in
this regard. It will likely remain lop-sided, to some degree, for the duration
of the relationship. Even someone who is NOT “needy and so, so selfish” could
easily struggle. I know I would.
And even before love was out in the open between them—when
Carly was still front and center-- Lea’s simple needs as a platonic friend (to get
occasional time with him; to get his ear, his input, maybe even his advice)
were seldom met with much satisfaction that we saw. Furthermore, her ability to
remain a sounding board to Shaun through the first part of S3 gave her a BIG
window into what a romance with her best friend might be like:
bigger-than-usual communication issues (especially with everyday texting), social outing
issues, and demonstrative affection issues, to name just a few biggies.
So when the time finally came to talk about THEIR
possibilities together, Lea had seen things from several sides… enough sides,
she felt, to say there are things in the way here that will keep me from
moving forward with this.
And by things, I mean Shaun’s ASD.
So is that a form of prejudice?
When you look up synonyms for that word, you get slightly less
cringe-inducing ones like Preconception. Prejudgment. Predisposition. Bias.
Most of those options (including “prejudice” itself, of
course) contain the prefix “Pre,” meaning “before/earlier than/prior to.”
That’s why Merriam-Webster includes “an adverse opinion or leaning formed
without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge” in its definition of the
word.
That’s where the grey area lies in regards to Lea, I think.
Did she have sufficient knowledge to make her initial decision about Shaun? On
one hand, we say NO, SHE HADN’T GIVEN THEM A CHANCE YET. But on the other… it’s
not like she ruled out romance the minute she realized he was autistic. In
fact, it’s about as far from that possibility as one can get.
Which is why Freddie Highmore said (in this TVLine interview from February, released just after the “Autopsy” episode)
“One of the really important things [to remember], and
hopefully that comes across about this last scene, is [that the audience
shouldn’t hate Lea] for feeling the way that she feels. She isn’t prejudiced
toward Shaun because he has autism. It’s not as simple as that.”
But then David Shore said (in THIS TVLine interview from March, released just after the finale)
“Shaun was right in that prior episode: Lea was being prejudiced. He does have limitations and
he does have weaknesses, but we need to look at the whole thing. So, we wanted
something to force her eyes open to recognize — not to reassess Shaun, but to
reassess herself and to recognize that she was wrong.”
So what do we do with these seemingly opposing viewpoints?
In all honesty, I wish that word (prejudice) had only come up once—when
Highmore talked about it. It’s not as simple as that, he said. Right.
Exactly. But it’s a powerful word, a dramatic word, and it lent enough to the
situation at hand that Thomas L. Moran and David Renaud used it as the exclamation
point in Shaun’s tirade at the end of “Heartbreak.” And then Shore referenced
that tirade in his interview, and in doing so over-simplified the use of the
word (in my opinion)… which was exactly what Highmore cautioned against. And,
exactly what we DIDN’T need when angry fans keep seeking fuel for their
#SaveMelendez fires.
But take the idea of prejudice away and Lea was still
dealing with a hell of a problem: she loved Shaun, but felt she couldn’t be
with him, so she was on the verge of losing his friendship completely.
What turns that kind of problem around? A crisis, of course.
One that put her on the verge of the most perilous possibility of all: losing Shaun
completely.
But as that possibility ebbed and flowed throughout the
night, Lea also got an amazing gift—the opportunity to see Shaun from sides
never in her line of vision before.
We also got to see (and at times, hear) more Lea than we’ve probably
seen since the “Islands” two-parter…
+ She started out huddled in a blanket sitting on
the side panel of a fire truck, pigeon-toed, somewhat inconspicuous, trying to
relay essential information to Shaun.
+
As her distress rose she grew feisty, chasing
down/hounding a firefighter about how to do his job… until she was informed the
pressure was actually on her to get him out safely.
+ Pacing
back and forth with the radio in hand, Lea made her pitch to get him to
leave; when he said he couldn’t leave without Vera, she made up something out
of desperation. When he called her out on “lying,” she hung her head, knowing
she had one job to do and she didn’t get it done.
+ When
she heard Shaun’s lengthy explanation of Civil War amputation techniques and
his ability to cut safely even under current conditions, I can’t help but wonder
if it fed into a new understanding of why his “certain way of doing things”
(borrowing her line from the pivotal scene in “Autopsy”) helps make him such an
exceptional doctor.
+ When
Shaun directs her to count to 180—hey, that’s one minute for each year
they’ve known each other!—she gets a new “one job to do”… which was certainly
harder than it sounded (he had to shout “KEEP COUNTING!” when she got lost in his
heroic actions).
+ (It
also served as an awesome device to rachet up the tension a little more. Well played, TGD writers.)
+
As Lea gritted
her way to 180, only to be faced with that deadly, climatic silence on the
other end of the radio which sent her into a tailspin… that’s when the ball
fell squarely in Lea’s court for the first time.
+
Footnote #1: the way the water stopped rushing
when the two-way radio went silent would seem to indicate the entire space had become
flooded… but I think at last glance, the radio had still been several inches
above the waterline. Did anyone else notice that? (Though I suppose it could
be argued that the radio could easily have toppled into the water and shorted
out…)
+
Footnote #2: Some might argue that the
proverbial ball was initially in Lea’s court during those moments on the
walkie-talkie when Vera’s words seemed to be having their way with Shaun’s
mindset. I know I was one of the TGD fans Tweet-yelling LEA! You’re
UP! Start talking! out of fear that Shaun would send Lea on her way once he
got out of there. But I think we need to interpret her silence as both generous
and necessary. Generous because it allowed Shaun to keep his focus on his
patient—how would it have gone if she started professing her love over the
radio while he was sawing away?—and necessary because she probably couldn’t
figure out the right words to say in those moments anyway.
As a result, we got a Lea who is true to her so-called weaknesses
(“listen to me; I can’t even put a complete sentence together right now” from
“Autopsy”), and also a Lea who is growing out of one of them (selfishness). For
even when Shaun was safely out of the building, and all she wanted to do was
lay that kiss on him***, Lea still kept her distance until Shaun had completed
the job at hand (turning his patient over to the EMTs).
But back to that ball in Lea’s court.
+
It’s unclear how much time had passed between
“Shaun can you hear me?!?” and the firefighter calling Lea by name and
suggesting “it was time to go”.
But the shot of her standing stoically in front of the fire truck, arms
at her sides, keeping vigil for Shaun, telling the firefighter she couldn’t
leave yet, willing some good news to emerge from the badly damaged brewpub—that’s
when I saw a renewed spirit. She’d dealt with the very real possibility that
Shaun had perished as only she could at that point… with denial. As long as she
stood there, she didn’t have to accept anything.
+
And the moment she heard “we’ve got something,”
well… you know what she did. ZOOM .
Off she went, into the building, no helmet, no thinking, just instinct. That’s
our Lea.
“This was about Lea realizing she was wrong,” Shore said. So
what did Lea learn about Shaun? In a few words… everything we, as viewers, have
come to know and love best about Dr. Shaun Murphy. I mean, think about it—what
did she know about him from a professional standpoint prior to the earthquake?
+
That he’s a doctor doing his residency at St.
Bonaventure.
+
That he’s holding his own, three years into the
program (although she also knows of his struggles with Dr. Han a year earlier).
+
That he’s already delivered his first baby (during
the “Quarantine” 2-parter in S2).
+
That he got his first lead surgery last Fall.
+
That he’s prone to being pre-occupied with the
details of his latest patient to the point of disregarding their conversations…
sometimes walking away from them entirely.
I probably missed some stuff—those two-minutes-or-less
exchanges are sometimes a little too fleeting to properly absorb—but in a few
MORE words now, what did she learn?
+
He covers all the bases (pacing out the pain meds,
explaining what he’s doing, shifting focus as needed)
+ He knows his stuff
+
He’s innovative
+
He’s the epitome of grace under pressure
+
He does incredible work under the most trying
conditions
+
He takes huge risks, but they seem to pay off
It’s funny to think of how, early on, I thought an ideal “earthquake
scenario” would be Lea needing to make heroic efforts of her own to save Shaun
and/or get him through a meltdown—to prove, I guess, that she was as invested in
him as he was in her. Silly Kelli! What she really needed was to see him
as she’d never seen him before.
I know many of us have #Shea “playlists” of apropos songs
for the couple—and I ask that you HANG ON TO THOSE LISTS for future blog
purposes, please—but two lines of a John Mayer song I heard this week made me
think of them:
'Cause if you give
me just one night
You're gonna see me in a new light
You're gonna see me in a new light
It makes me smile because it underscores how unique this
twosome is. The song (entitled “New Light”) is about a guy who has been
friend-zoned by a woman seemingly forever, and he’s imagining that he could
change the entire trajectory if she’d give him a chance… give him “just one
night.” Shaun was basically asking that very thing of Lea during their argument
at the end of “Fixation” (3.17)… and my goodness, look what’s happened. One
tremendous, (literally) earth-shattering night later, she’s all his.
And they didn’t even see each other until the morning after!
Only in #Shea land, folks.
Part 3-- the finale to this finale recap-- coming next week!
29 comments:
Great job, Kelli! Putting us in Lea’s shoes for 3 seasons is no easy task but it was worth the effort. It has been said that Carly went great lengths to adjust to Shaun’s special needs.
You showed us that Lea has done the same – for a much longer period of time and in way more demanding situations. Shaun’s relationship with Carly lasted for some months and dealt with intimacy problems mostly, while Lea had to bear Shaun for almost 3 years and dealt with everything from returning used batteries to being denied much needed comfort. This perspective makes Lea’s reluctance much more plausible.
Most striking to me was your description of how Lea’s observer role of Shaun and Carly’s relationship issues – I had not fully realized that facet before. Thank you!
It’s funny, Kelli, that you underscored the breakfast Shaun prepared for Lea before unloading his anger. Funny because your explanation is so common to my spectrum-mind, that it never occurred to me that it should be explained to neurotypical viewers…
Come to think of it, this often causes problems in neurotypical/neurodivergent relationships. Individuals with ASD tend to prove their care and love in more mundane, practical manners, and Shaun did that as well with helping to hunt an apartment (although Lea thought it was kind of creepy because he followed her to the later shared apartment), or getting Albert the Fish autopsied. Later he displayed the same behavior with cooking for Carly (although cut short by her breaking up with him). The neurotypical partners often have difficulties to realize this is how love manifests in autism.
And I might add another gesture of care to the list: Shaun helped Lea to pack her stuff for a move twice – in 1.12 Islands Part Two and the infamous 3.12 Mutations (in both instances the 12th episode, what a coincidence!) – and took every time great care to safely pack her belongings in bubble wrap… (he even used bubble wrap for his screwdriver, 1.4 Pipes) ;) Indeed, Shaun’s ways of caring need getting used to …
This is a brilliant analysis, and as not just a Shaun and Lea fan, but a fan of Shaun and a fan of Lea as individuals, you have provided the best window into Lea's mind that I've ever seen.
Intellectually she knows that Shaun is a doctor, a surgical resident (when I watched "Oliver" the other day, before she gave him his batteries back, he told her he works at a hospital and she asked, "Are you a lab guy or something?" and when Shaun replied he's a surgeon, Lea blurted out her gut reaction: "That's insane!" I thought I detected a hint of chagrin on her face after she said that, but I might have been looking too hard, and Shaun didn't comment on it, just asked for his batteries back, and then asked her her name, and after she said, "I'm Lea," he introduced himself--"I'm Dr. Shaun Murphy. It's nice to meet you."--before going to his own apartment), but until the earthquake, she had never seen him actually BEING a doctor. So that was a REAL eye opener, because a lot of Shaun's qualities as a doctor carry over into his personal life, which she HAS shared as a neighbor/best friend/roommate for the past 3 years: his innovativeness; his ability to rise to challenges (he doesn't always handle them well, i.e. the entire situation with Han, but nobody handles everything well); constantly thinking outside the box; never quitting when it's something that is important to him; and probably the most important one for Shea's future, Shaun proved that he has the ability to put the needs of others ahead of his own, because he was simultaneously preparing Vera to have her leg cut off AND giving Lea the job of counting to 180 to distract her from Vera's screaming, and when she faltered, Shaun was the one giving her encouragement with his "Keep counting!"
Lea knows Shaun better than Carly ever did. She knows him on much deeper levels. And yes, it's understandable that she had reservations about being in a romantic relationship with him. I agree with Freddie's take that Lea is not prejudiced against Shaun, that it's not that simple. She knows that Shaun has a unique way of seeing the world and "needs things a certain way," and she didn't believe that she could measure up to that certain way. I still believe that part of her felt that she's not good enough for Shaun. She listed off her biggest flaws and expressed her reluctance "to put all that" on Shaun, even though his response was that he believes he can handle those things.
And Shaun does show his love and his caring and concern in unique ways, ways that most people wouldn't, and ways that most people wouldn't see if they didn't really know him. Having Hubert the fish autopsied and then taking the lab results and Lea back to the pet store and demanding a replacement fish because Hubert was defective, and proving to Lea that she was not responsible for the fish's death, will always be one of my favorites. He saw how distraught she was when she believed that she wasn't even capable of keeping a goldfish alive, so he set out to prove to her that it wasn't her fault, and he did.
I also believe that Lea's past relationships have not been long-lasting, and we know from what she has said that Shaun is the only honest guy she knows, and that she believes he's the most wonderful man she has ever known. He's also her best friend, probably the best friend she has ever had. So it's a real risk for her to take this leap of faith with Shaun, precisely BECAUSE she loves him so much, precisely BECAUSE he is her best friend and the most wonderful man she has ever known and the only honest guy she knows.
But despite the pain they had inflicted on each other in recent weeks, Lea got to hear Shaun in his own words state his bottom line: he doesn't want to move on from Lea because before he met her, there were so many things he never knew he could do, the most important one (to me, anyway) being that he never knew he could fall in love. I so clearly remember Shaun sitting on the bench outside St. Bonaventure with Glassman and firmly saying, "I don't want love." And look at him now. He has fallen in love with Lea, and he's telling a complete stranger this, and that this is why he doesn't want to move on: because Lea makes him MORE. More then he ever thought he could be before she came into his life. And Lea heard him say this. And she knows it's true because he's the only honest guy she knows.
I said when we were analyzing "Autopsy," "Fixation," and "Heartbreak" that only two people who love each other deeply can hurt each other as deeply as Shaun and Lea hurt each other in those episodes. And only a love that deep, that strong, and that true can forgive those hurts and get beyond them to something better.
Lea definitely saw sides of Shaun that she had never seen before during the long night after the earthquake. And she also learned that he hadn't changed his mind, that even the pain she had inflicted on him didn't make him stop loving her and didn't make him want to move on from her. And when he was in trouble, when it looked like he might have drowned in that basement, all Lea could feel was fear, pain, regret, and denial...because the worst thing would have been her losing Shaun to death and not being able to be brave enough to take the leap of faith that a romantic relationship with him would require.
And she's not as selfish as she thinks she is. If she were truly selfish, she would have leaped into things with Shaun with no regard for the future, but he means too much to her for this to be some ultimately unimportant fling. If she were truly selfish, she would have rushed right over to him as soon as she saw that he was okay, or at the very least as soon as they were out of the building. But she didn't. She held back, watching and waiting until he had finished tending to Vera and sent her off in the ambulance before she went rushing to him to kiss him and declare her love and tell him that he makes her more.
Will their relationship be easy, all rainbows and unicorns? Of course not! No relationship is. But they have a solid foundation of friendship, and a deep and abiding love, and we know that they can hurt each other deeply and the love doesn't go away, and they are able to forgive each other the pain they cause one another. All of those are VERY GOOD THINGS when it comes to being in a relationship.
Lovely post - and GREAT comments by both Amy and Andreas!
Over the past 2+ weeks, I've been racking my brain, wondering if the show went "too hard" between the pain-yet-hope of "Autopsy" and the love-you-with-all-my-heart kiss in "I Love You". Even if 3.16, 3.19, and 3.20 all stay the same, would it have been better if they softened the endings of 3.17 and 3.18 to keep fans from feeling like the ending moment of 3.20 was a simple mind change?
Ultimately, my big-picture answer is "no".
Firstly, I believe that the show knows that some minds are simply already made up. A "softer" story to close out the season would have just traded cries of "insincere mind change!" to "sappy-unrealistic!". I credit the show for taking the chance of a deeper story, even if they had to show some deep pain along the way.
Secondly, and more importantly, is an echo of what I said in a previous post. The ending of 3.20 was very specifically NOT a "moment". Kelli - these past two posts have been the epitome of showcasing how we've been on a multi-season journey. This episode's ending was the culmination of all of that! And hopefully the mark of a new long journey!
Amy and Andreas have both highlighted the times where Shaun demonstrated he cared - in his own particular way. And Kelli highlighted Lea's own actions. The one I cannot stress enough - and maintain is absolutely CRITICAL in arguing that these two "earned" what they got at episode's end - is Lea's decision to run back into that building. She wasn't just the recipient of Shaun's love. She instinctively and consciously put Shaun's life above her own, as she put her life on the line.
Better yet, the parallels were brilliantly-written. They BOTH put their lives on the line - even ignoring the very same fireman to do so. Yet, neither one directly "saved" the other, eliminating any accusations of their new relationship being borne out of debt or gratitude.
Tony, you highlighted again how Shaun & Lea mirror each other over and over again and earned their love – I could not agree more. It was earned hard and we as the audience had to earn as well seeing through this difficult season.
As you called it a multi-season journey, I might illuminate for this Lea-themed post another detail about the character. As always with her, Lea’s character development was done much more subtle than with Shaun – and it started early on in season 3.
With little screen time compared to Shaun, I believe the show relied more on the character’s appearance and wardrobe. There are many changes in season 3, such as her black nail polish of seasons 1 & 2 – gone (in fact, colored nail polish ceased in 2.12). The sneakers or ballerinas – replaced by boots. Her fancy sweaters and jackets – gradually replaced by button-down shirts and a blazer. Her jeans – replaced by dress pants and skirts. Her hair grew from tomboy to graceful length over the course of season 3.
The Lea at the end of season 3 looks very different to the Lea of season 2. Costumes matters a lot in filmmaking; it is a silent channel of communication. Lea in season 3 was a character in transition, growing up from a playful twenty-something to a mature woman.
Her last outfit in season 3 combined past, present and possible future in an intriguing way to a wardrobe that still does not sit quite right: the anthracite-gray blazer is signifying professionalism and adulthood, the long skirt with a foliage pattern playfulness, femininity and a transition period [it even might have been a nod to the “rain”-theme in the last song “Send The Rain (To Everyone)”, as in rain grows the crops], and the boots standing in for her new resolution, steadfastness and endurance.
Lea’s attire in the season finale reflects a character on the brink to something new.
Tony, I am grateful for the fact of your last line: this new chapter in Shaun and Lea's relationship is not borne out of debt, gratitude, or a sense of obligation. This has actually been building for 3 years, and the earthquake was the catapult event that put them on the same page at last.
And Shaun and Lea are ABSOLUTELY more than just a moment. This is a new beginning for them.
The show surprised me at pretty much every turn in S3 starting with "Friends and Family." It's only in looking back over the last 11 episodes ("F&F" to "I Love You") and having reached the point where I've seen them all so I can put them all together that I can point out that the trajectory of Shaun and Lea's relationship truly began to change in "F&F," especially with that closing scene, and progressed right on through the rest of the season, with each of them coming to some realizations, and managing to carve out time together moreso than they did in the first half of the season--Shaun meeting Lea for lunch at the restaurant, them having lunch together in the hospital cafeteria on Lea's first day working there, the two of them in their own world singing karaoke together, completely oblivious to Carly and Nameless Date Guy watching them--and getting to the point where they could admit, to themselves and to each other, "I love you," but where Shaun was all set to move forward and commit to Lea as her boyfriend, she was still holding back, afraid of ruining everything, afraid that she'd be too much for Shaun, until the greatest fear of all--not having him in her life at all--became a very real possibility, and then that, combined with seeing Shaun in a way she'd never seen him before, in "The Good Doctor" mode, made Lea know that the worst thing would be to never take this leap of faith with Shaun, so she did, and she is.
And yes, Shaun went into the building to save Lea at episode's beginning, Lea went into the building to find Shaun at episode's end, but neither of them directly "saved" the other.
The possibilities for Shaun and Lea's future are endless and without limit. These best friends are in love and are ready to really commit to each other and navigate their new relationship together, and I'm looking forward to seeing them do just that, hopefully for a long time to come.
I love your analysis of Lea's wardrobe evolution, Andreas! You're right--while she does still retain casual elements (her leather jacket at the end of "Autopsy," the pink sweater in "Unsaid"), for her first day of work at St. Bonaventure, she was in a plaid button-down blouse and black dress pants, which mirrors Shaun's usual non-scrubs work attire of a button-down shirt and dress pants, usually khakis. And not only did she wear jeans, but in season 1, those jeans were ripped as a fashion statement. Her outfit in "I Love You" was definitely one of the most mature (in a good way) outfits I've ever seen her wear.
And Lea will be working at the hospital in season 4, or at least I presume so, so the professional attire will continue to be shown.
Thanks for the praise Amy D, and for providing some English fashion terms I was totally lacking. ;)
I’m inclined to think that somewhere in season 4 Lea might seek a new position – hopefully within the hospital, because this is crucial for integrating her into the cast. Still, she’s an engineer currently working half-time as office/tech assistant. I can’t see her doing this for long. The character was always searching for a fulfilling work.
I've gotta say, I've wondered about that part-time status of Lea's. I know that's what she said in that cafeteria scene (as partial justification for why she was mooching Shaun's food), but she's been at St. B in the morning (finishing Shaun's pancakes I think), she was called away during her lunch hour so Shaun could show her his disarranged cabinets and TP flip, she was there mid-afternoon when Shaun went to her (after his tiny jail stint) to tell her his feelings... and of course she was leaving work at the same time as he was in "Fixation" which led to their bridge argument.
I agree that her role at St. B's needs to be better defined in S4, but if her "part-time" is one of those things that's 35 hours instead of 40... that woman better start getting some benefits outside of seeing Shaun at lunch!! :)
You’re right, Kelli. Lea has been there for long hours. Glassy’s computer glitches might have been bigger than his firewall alone… ;)
Since the earthquake I’m thinking of her taking responsibility of the emergency systems the hospital has in its belly. Basically, they use big diesel engines and at least a room full of batteries. Something an automotive engineer really knows by heart.
Reading your last three posts, Andreas and Kelli, I realized that you're right: Lea has been at work at the hospital at all hours, both day and night. So if she really is only part-time, that's one heck of a flexible schedule she has.
Well, we know Lea has a very compelling personal reason to stay in San Jose now (insert giddy fangirl/fanboy grin), and I never in a million years thought she would wind up working at the hospital, but now I hope that she stays on at the hospital, because it will further cement her place in the cast and the series, and I would love to see taking responsibility for the emergency systems in the hospital.
(And as someone who lives in Nikes, jeans, t-shirts--short sleeves in the summer and long sleeves in the winter--and sweaters and the occasional button-down casual shirt, I really don't know much about fashion, but if I have to dress more formally than I usually do for work or church, I'm always wearing an outfit like Lea wore on her first day of work at St. Bonaventure--blouse and dress pants, with some kind of sweater if it's really cold.)
Kelli and Andreas, excellent observations regarding Lea's current job status. I know that Lea is often criticized for being flaky and completely irresponsible, but I think that observations like yours point out how those criticisms are seldom based on narrative evidence.
For example: your observations seem to indicate that Lea is an overachiever when it comes to her professional duties. In season one, she alluded to the fact that the tech industry is a very competitive field. Yet, we can infer that Lea excels at it because she was offered a significant raise before she left for Hershey. Not only that, but she didn't appear to have any problem securing another prestigious position upon her return to San Jose.
So, even though her job at the hospital is PART time, chances are that she doesn't do anything job related PART way. With that said, an exceptional work ethic may account for the long hours that she's put in at the clinic and why we always see her there. Which, in theory, could mean that it's only a matter of time before someone notices her excessive efforts and sassy attitude - realizes that she's being underutilized - and gives her a job promotion...One where she may even have the opportunity to get her hands dirty from time to time.
Indeed, Angelica. The character of Lea was established as a hard-working woman from early on. In 1.4 “Pipes” she picks up Shaun at the bus stop late in the evening and explains “You're lucky I actually made it to the gym. I like to go when it's not crowded, but it's so hard to motivate after work. Half the time I end up not...” So, we can assume her work drains her frequently.
In 1.11 Islands Part One she further states: “I haven't taken more than one day off in four years because I always work. It never stops.” She did that right after sharing fond memories of skiing and fishing in Alaska as a kid with Shaun. Obviously, Lea tends to dive into work and excel at it even if she is disgusted with it. What Lea lacked wasn’t work ethics but life fulfillment.
Critics of the character either don’t remember that or chose to ignore it since it does not fit their narrative.
But there is a solid basis for the writers to develop Lea’s career aspirations now that she has found love. And I can very well see this become an issue for the couple, especially if Shaun and Claire start competing for chief resident, which is very likely now (Claire mimicked Shaun’s one-way valve with the beer engine in 3.19, that’s probably a set-up for something in season 4).
As a Lea fan from the very start, I can only agree with both of you, Angelica, Andreas. Lea is not a flake or a slacker when it comes to her work. She's just been searching for a job that gives her more fulfillment than a big paycheck.
I'd love to see her come into her own professionally at the hospital now that she's beginning a new and promising chapter in her personal life as well.
And I'm not sure if this is a pattern, but Shaun's tough moments/dark hours in each of the season finales so far have alternated between his personal and professional lives, with one of those lives being the predominant conflict resolved and then carrying over slightly into the other life.
In season 1, the crisis was personal, the possibility of Glassman being terminally ill with cancer (though it did affect Shaun's ability in the OR during one operation, but there was no serious disciplinary action for that that we saw).
In season 2, the crisis was professional, Han having booted Shaun to Pathology and then fired him altogether after Shaun tried to fight on his own for his surgical job, and the triumph of getting reinstated as a surgeon led him to ask Carly out on a date.
In season 3, the crisis was personal--where would he and Lea go from here, after three episodes of mostly angst following mutual declarations of love, resistance from Lea, and inflicting emotional pain on one another, and then the earthquake shook everything up both literally and figuratively, leading to a new beginning for Shaun and Lea.
I can't begin to guess what they'll do to end season 4, especially when we don't even know when season 4 will get to start, but if this pattern continues, Shaun's next season-finale-related crisis should be professional, and if that's the case, my theory would be the battle for Chief Resident.
This is a fair assessment Amy D. The Good Doctor always moves in patterns. Furthermore, the show must balance the private and professional live of its lead carefully. The drama on Shaun's love life can’t continue on the same level as it did this season. It would turn away too many casual viewers that value the medical drama more than the personal story of Shaun Murphy. My bets are on something about the position of chief resident, too. It is the next logical objective on the career path of all the residents.
Speaking of patterns, episode 12 brought some turmoil for Shaun and Lea in each season: in 1.12 Lea left for Hershey, in 2.12 Lea drove Shaun emotionally away by introducing Jake and in 3.12 Shaun made Lea move out. Obviously, this is about the time span the writers deem necessary to build up towards a shake-up in their relationship shortly after the mid-season hiatus.
Better we brace ourselves for another impact in 4.12.
Love that Amy D, you laid everything out quite nicely. And, Andreas: good point about the one way valve. Claire is definitely shaping up to be Shaun's stiffest competition next season. As such, it will be interesting to see if this new dynamic will affect their friendship. No doubt, each of them will be forced to settle into their respective corners at some point, so it will be interesting to see how this competition might bring out the best and worst in them.
And, as was previously mentioned, they were on a pretty level playing field until Claire whipped out that beer engine and displayed her ingenuity in the process. So, as you've pointed out, this may serve the purpose of establishing Shaun as the underdog once again. Seeing as how this is par for the course, then it's a good thing that he has Lea in his corner to serve as coach and cheerleader. Because I suspect that he's going to need her now more than ever in that respect.
Speaking of, Andreas you mentioned that there is a solid basis for the writers to develop Lea's career aspirations, and I concur. I know that Shaun, for the sake of drama, may initially struggle with this, but I hope that he will eventually recognize that Lea may need encouragement and validation in that department too.
Angelica, Amy D, you bring up great ideas for possible – and reasonable – plot points next season.
Competition is still not a game Shaun is proficient in. Claire, on the other hand knows how to play hardball. The audience tends to forget about that because of the empathy she usually displays towards patients and colleagues. Yet, like Morgan, cute Claire is also a master manipulator (just playing it nice). She blackmailed Dr. Coyle to act to get Jared back on the job in season 1.
In season 2 Claire manipulated a patient’s parents to declare their daughter incompetent because she opposed the procedure the patient had chosen. After Melendez had removed her from his team, Claire orchestrated a series of meetings with other hospitals just to force Aoiki and Andrew’s hands to bring her back on the team.
Competition with Claire is something Shaun has no means for because he only knows medicine, not politics – especially if Claire’s grief over her mother and Melendez’s death in such rapid succession makes her grim determined to succeed professionally at least.
Having Lea covering his back might prove invaluable for Shaun in this instance, because he neither can count on Lim nor Andrews or Glassman in this respective. They all must stand back in this matter to avoid another favoritism complaint. On the other hand, Lea banging heads with Claire is an eerie thought.
On the personal level, the next lesson for Shaun to learn very well could be how to give space to a romantic partner – such as enabling her to pursue a career of their own. Because, as sweet as Lea’s last line of season 3 was, she still has to clarify *how* Shaun makes her more…
Several comments since my last one, so I figured I'd hop back in.
I liked the comments about Shaun's late-season struggles alternating between personal and professional. I can easily see that trend continue, knowing that we're getting closer to the end of their Residency and that competitive decision-making that was hinted at back in Season 1.
Also of note, the first three seasons each had Shaun dealing with an over-arching adversity.
- In Season 1, Shaun had to prove that he belonged at the hospital. He had his doubters at the beginning!
- In Season 2, although not as explicit, Shaun proving that he could balance professional and personal (working long hours; tending to Glassman during his cancer; building his friendship with Lea)
- In Season 3, Shaun had to prove that the decision to bring him back / keep him on was worth it. Andrews summed it up perfectly in his "without a cost" speech early on. He also had to prove that he could persevere through the discomfort of those first relationship steps with Carly.
Which brings us to Season 4, and Shaun in a position of prosperity. Just as we can see who someone is when things are down, it's equally important to see how Shaun handles things when so much is going his way: career stability, newfound relationship with the love of his life; supportive colleagues. Better yet, how he handles things when they're going ONLY his way (Claire grieving yet again; Park feeling the greater work/family strain; Morgan wrestling with her future). That "only" might even be exclusive of Lea, if she does indeed struggle with her next career steps.
Interestingly, it could very well be Lea who's in "prove it" mode to Shaun. Especially if he starts hearing less-than-flattering comments about his new relationship from some of the others (*cough* MORGAN *cough*).
I hadn't made the connection about all the episode 12s of the series so far, and part of me wants to be nervous about 4x12 already, but the rest of me is saying, I got through the other episode 12s, so I can get through 4x12 too, whenever it comes.
Yes, I think Chief Resident will essentially be between Shaun and Claire. We already know Park is going to be struggling with finding a better balance between his work and his personal life, and if it meant taking even more time away from Kellan and Mia, I don't think Park would want it. Morgan is going to be fighting just to remain a surgeon, so while, if not for the rheumatoid arthritis, I believe she would go back to being as ruthless as she was in season 1 and just steamroll over everyone to try and get the Chief Resident position (which Park already said HE doesn't want her to get because she'd make a terrible boss), I don't think she'll be a serious contender either. But not only did Claire pull off the beer valve in the rubble of the brewpub, but in the season 2 finale, she experienced Shaun-Vision, as I call it, while Shaun was unconscious, and in the process, correctly diagnosed the patient Shaun was trying to diagnose when he collapsed, the same man who put him in the hospital in the first place, and her diagnosis saved the man's life.
Also, having lost her mother and now Melendez, Claire might feel that all she has left is her work, and if she has to step on Shaun to make Chief Resident, especially knowing that he has Lea while Claire doesn't have Melendez, I don't think she'd hesitate to do it, while justifying it to herself as "So what if Shaun doesn't get Chief Resident? He has Lea, and they love each other. Work is all I have left!" And oh yes, Claire can be just as mercenary as Morgan has ever been, she's just not as in-your-face about it, at least not so far, but tempered by her personal losses, that could very well change in season 4. And everything you mentioned Claire doing in past seasons to get what she wanted, Andreas, just gives weight to this particular conjecture of mine about her behavior in season 4 in the battle for Chief Resident.
I agree that Lea is in the best position to encourage Shaun if he and Claire go to war over Chief Resident, because no, Shaun does not play politics AT ALL, and yes, Lim, Glassman, and Andrews can't definitively take sides, though I could see Lim, at least, trying to advise/counsel both Shaun and Claire, and even though he couldn't be obvious about it, I think Glassman would be rooting for Shaun. But Lea wouldn't hesitate to call Claire out if she's really battering Shaun down: not because Shaun can't do it himself, but because it would be her instinct. The man she loves is taking it on the chin from this woman, and that's not going to go unchecked with Lea around. She stood up to Glassman when she was hiding Shaun before they went on the road trip in season 1, even threatening to call the police on him if he didn't get out of her apartment. So Lea certainly has it in her to clash with Claire if Claire gets too mercenary with Shaun (and now I'm picturing Morgan advising Shaun on how to deal with Claire too, and that would be both hilarious and awesome, I think).
I am going to be interested to see how Lea relates to the rest of the St. Bonaventurites in season 4. She really doesn't know most of them that well, and all of her scenes so far have been with Shaun and Glassman except for one scene each with Morgan, Melendez (RIP), and Lim, and there wasn't much conversation between Lea and Melendez or Lea and Lim, and Lea wasn't happy when Shaun told her what Morgan said about Lea being territorial because she ate food from Shaun's plate. Morgan and Claire, especially, never really related to Carly as anything more than Shaun's girlfriend, and usually they were in the position of defending Shaun to Carly, or trying to explain him to Carly, and she didn't take kindly to that. And Lim only related to Carly as a doctor when they were fighting to find an answer in "Mutations." Glassman and Carly never even had a conversation that we saw, but Glassman has known Lea almost as long as Shaun has, and he's now her boss.
I do wonder if we'll see Shaun asking the others for advice as much as he did when he was with Carly, because he knows Lea much better than the rest of them do. And Morgan, especially, has pre-conceived ideas about Lea that I wouldn't mind seeing Lea disprove (which is my way of admitting that I have the feeling I'll be yelling at the TV again in season 4, as I did in season 3, "Lea is NOT a flake, Morgan!"). I don't think Claire's going to be in a place to want to give advice or even really hear about Shaun and Lea because it will only remind her of her lost opportunities with Melendez. And as well-meaning as everyone's advice was to Shaun after he and Carly broke up, none of it was really helpful to him.
I'd like to see Shaun and Lea figure out their relationship themselves, without a lot of input from the other Bonaventurites, with the exception of Glassman, since he knows them both. And if they want to give Debbie a bigger role, I'm totally in favor of that. (Car chicks unite!) Lea needs at least one friend among the Bonaventurites, and I think the best candidates for that friend are Debbie (though we see her so rarely), Lim (someone else who cares about Shaun), and, this one may surprise you, Morgan. Morgan has a greater capacity for empathy than she would like people to know, and she too has issues with her family, although we know what those issues are, and they've only been vaguely referenced in Lea's case. If Morgan can get past her incorrect notion of Lea as a flake, I think it would be really fun if they became friends independently of Shaun. Then Morgan could give Shaun grief about doing some stupid guy thing while they're waiting for an MRI because she knows about his and Lea's argument from the night before. Remember, when Shaun and Lea were fighting when she returned from Hershey, and Morgan happened to overhear Lea call Shaun a jerk before storming off, without even stopping, when Morgan walked by Shaun, she said, "I was wrong. She DOES think of you as a real man." (Something like that.) So to see Morgan and Lea strike up a friendship would be fascinating to me.
I'm hopeful that we will learn how Shaun makes Lea more in season 4. There are endless possibilities for them...for everyone, really...and I'm looking forward to it.
Ah, great point Tony! You've presented the flipside of the coin - Shaun's personal life. It seems that for the first time in his existence, Shaun has everything that he needs and wants. So, I could definitely see him floating around on cloud nine for awhile and completely oblivious to everyone else's woes. But, as you say, it probably won't be long before someone like Morgan comes along to try and burst his little bubble and bring him back down to earth.
♪ I feel it all, I feel it all/
♪ I feel it all, I feel it all/
♪ The wings are wide, the wings are wide/
♪ Wild card inside, wild card inside/
♪ Ooh, I'll be the one who'll break my heart/
♪ I'll be the one to hold the gun/
(I Feel It All by Feist in The Good Doctor 2.7 Hubert)
Indeed, the possibilities of season 4 are vast, and there are many wildcards now. I like the idea of a period of prosperity and the unique challenges it might pose to Shaun and Lea.
And while they still have enough unresolved issues between them (3.18!) and their individual idiosyncrasies to stumble over, the biggest threat for their relationship might very well come from outside this time – and it all comes down to how Claire copes with her loss of Melendez.
I doubt that the show will send her on another downward spiral of alcohol and meaningless sex. Claire now has Morgan and Lim looking out for her. Honoring late Melendez’s sentiment about her extraordinary skills as a doctor seems to me the most likely avenue to explore. This will leave both Lim and Morgan personally between a rock and a hard place because they have grown soft on Shaun, too.
Andrews values Shaun’s skills and resourcefulness, but like Lea, he never believed in coddling him. He preferred Morgan for her leadership potential, but with Morgan’s hands seriously impaired, his silent support in this respect might shift to Claire now. Yet, he also could side with Lea on pushing Shaun further, just for the sake of Shaun’s overall development.
Yet, another wildcard is the question how – or better who – will introduce Shaun to the idea of becoming Chief Resident? Shaun himself could probably care less about the position, he’s happy with fixing people and having Lea on his side now.
I’m not privy to US hospital custom in this matter. Will Lim announce an official competition or take applications? I very well could see Lea and Glassman nudging Shaun to throw his hat in (without him realizing what he is getting himself into).
Morgan is another interesting wildcard now with her hands damaged. She could either go on full-mode cutthroat bitch for a last-ditch battle to remain in surgery or accept the inevitable transfer to another specialty, thus showing more kindness relieved from the pressure to compete with Shaun Claire and Park. Either way Morgan is my prime choice to interact more with Lea because they hold the most tension between them.
Great observations Amy D. I'd forgotten about the "Shaun-vision." This just proves that Claire has no problem assimilating unorthodox ideas and putting them into practice. She also recognizes a good idea when she sees one. Which is a good quality to have in a chief resident, I would think.
You also mentioned that Lim may play an advisory role to both Shaun and Claire in season 4. I believe that David Shore has mentioned that that will be the case, at least for Claire. I believe that he also said that Melendez's death is what would bring them closer together, or something to that effect. So, I'm sure you're right about Lim taking Claire on as mentee in his stead. Which is good, because she may be a voice of wisdom and temperance to Claire if she begins to develop tunnel vision as she sets her sights on chief residency. After all, it was Lim who decided to cut her relationship with Melendez short for the sake of her career, and we know that she regrets that decision now.
Last but not least there is Lea. I seem to remember Paige Spara saying that she feels that Lea has the utmost concern for Shaun's happiness and is very interested in the way that people treat him. So, as long as people treat him well, she indicated that she wouldn't have a problem with them. But Lea, herself, also said that Shaun is a grown man who can take care of himself. So, I can see Lea staying in her lane for the most part, even as she prevents anyone from intruding on her - for lack of a better word -"territory" as she did with Glassman that day in her apartment. But, it will be interesting to see where she draws the line and exactly how she will navigate their boundaries... which I suppose wouldn't preclude her from bumping a few heads as tensions begin to rise.
Amy D. I can't tell you how much I like the idea of Lea and Morgan becoming the best of of frenemies. I can also see your point about her trying to help Shaun out once she figures out that Lea is the real deal. Although, he's going to have to continue to take what Morgan says with a grain of salt. Not because Morgan is trying to be deceptive, but because she's often wrong about half of the things she says to him regarding Lea.
Lea and Morgan as “frenemies” with clueless Shaun in between… what a lovely thought, indeed Amy and Angelica.
Morgan’s problem with Lea came with knowing Shaun’s roomie only by what Shaun had told her so far. After being forced in the role of the competitive bitch for decades, Morgan could not help but think the worst of Lea’s actions only. Yet, she had no problem to acknowledge her error of judgement at the end of 2.3 “Tough Titmouse”. So, while the road is rocky because of their opposed personalities, Morgan and Lea have one thing in common: they care for Shaun’s wellbeing. Morgan was keen on making sure Carly was sincere with Shaun, she very well might be in Lea’s hair, too.
That's true. I must say, Andreas, for reasons that you've pointed out, Morgan is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.
Errata: Morgan corrects her judgement of Lea in 2.3 36 Hours.
Morgan is one of my favorite characters, and my second favorite female character after Lea, so I would love to have Morgan and Lea develop a frenemies relationship. They both care about Shaun, and they both have issues with their families of origin. That's plenty for them to bond over, as far as I'm concerned, but I'm not inside the writers' room, so I don't know if they'll do that, but I definitely want to see Lea interacting with more of the other characters.
I agree that Claire will go overboard in the other direction to honor Melendez's memory. She'll become hyperfocused on work, partly because it's all she really has left, and her mercenary ways might very well become more obvious.
There's just so much that can happen for everyone, and we don't know what, specifically, is planned, but I'm hopeful that good things are coming in season 4. Of course, we all want as much positive development for Shaun and Lea's new relationship as possible (at least, I know I do), but there's also work, and all the other doctors.
Season 3 has been hard for most of the characters.
Shaun was emotionally challenged more than ever before: two tries on lead surgery, a formal complaint in his file, learning intimacy, confronted his abusive father, had his first girlfriend, two heartbreaks, was on the brink to become criminal, had an identity crisis, endured an earthquake.
Lea had to fight her demons.
Claire lost her mother, went self-destructive, lost Melendez.
Morgan almost lost her mother and saw her dream of being a surgeon slowly slip away.
Park was torn between reconnecting his family and his career while he probably realized he would not be the forerunner for a job after residency.
Lim struggled with balancing her new career with her heart. And lost Melendez.
Andrews still struggles with his demotion and his ego.
Carly in the end took on the martyr-role Morgan insinuated.
And Melendez struggled with his feelings for Lim, Claire, losing a patient – and death.
There is a lot of luggage for the characters to carry over in the next season. Still, after season 3 went so grim, the writers might feel compelled to give the characters – and the audience – a little break from high drama and over a silver lining.
After the initial grieving process the characters (except Claire) might find themselves sail in calmer waters, just as Glassman was in a happier place in season 3.
Andrews’ diagnosis of Morgan’s hands might be false or she’ll able to switch to another specialty rather smoothly, keeping her close to the others.
Park’s family might move closer instead of him returning to Phoenix.
Lim and Andrews might further struggle for better balance in their switched roles but find themselves mostly busy mentoring the residents.
So, the overall-theme of the next season might not be “prosperity” for all characters but at least a dawn of new possibilities to be explored.
Post a Comment