(NOTE:
When I write for my skating-fan audience, as I’ve done primarily until this
past January, I do as my fellow fans do and “try not to tempt the SkateGods” by
assuming something really good is going to happen for a deserving athlete. So
likewise, I’m trying to keep assumptions for the season finale of TGD to a minimum.
Think of it as a protocol thing.)
It
has been a long, long, LONG wait.
By
the end of the “I Love You” episode of The Good Doctor Monday night,
will #Shea fans feel their ship is officially setting sail?
Or
did it set sail at the end of “Autopsy” (when the ILY’s were first spoken), but
immediately hit choppy waters where it has been toiling ever since?
(I’m
not as highly experienced a “shipper” as some of you, so forgive me if I screw
up the terminology here and there)
Whatever
you call it… whatever is taking place in the finale between Shaun and Lea… we
have been given only the bare minimum of clues in the promos… and zero
promotional photos. (There are plenty of promotional photos for “I Love You”;
just none of Shaun and/or Lea.) Which is why the visuals I have here are pretty
shabby, taken from their momentary appearances in the promo. But I thought we’d
rather see these than nothing at all…
Speaking
of which—what do #Shea fans want to see aside from the obvious? We can probably
all agree we want to know, without a doubt, that the time has come for the
stars to align and send Shaun and Lea over the bridge from friendship to
boyfriend/girlfriend (might as well use Shaun’s preferred terminology for now).
But what about specifics? Understanding, as usual, that their on-screen words
and actions will have to be efficient and impactful… here are some of the
“details” that have been suggested thus far:
Lea encouraging Shaun over the walkie-talkie to get out of there because
they REALLY need to get a few things straight...
In my wildest dreams, when Shaun emerges from the building, totally
drenched, Lea runs to him, launches herself at him, he hugs her back like he
hugs Glassman while she cries, then she looks into his eyes and tells him,
"You DO make me MORE, Shaun!" Or something like that.
Shaun and Lea talks. He explains to her that he can’t leave Vera. Lea, sad
and very concerned understands. She says: “I love your bravery and compromise,
and for that and other things I love you. Come back to me”. It’s kind of
cheesy, but would encourage Shaun in that situation.
TONY (from the “Comments” in my previous post):
As to something specific I'd like to see in the
finale, here's my single-biggest hope: Lea correcting Shaun's "but I don't
make HER more" statement. Because he very much does, and she KNOWS he
does.
Sonya
@gl1tterycake
I don’t want Lea to die.
That’s about it.
If I may dream… Lea tilting her head as in 2.4 (“Tough Titmouse”),
acknowledging Shaun’s attempt to compromise with her needs, and both singing
karaoke. ;)
AMY: (from the “Comments” in
my previous post)
Faced with the prospect of having the choice taken away
from her in the most cruel manner imaginable, faced with a world with no Shaun
Murphy in it at all, this is where Lea has to decide if whatever it is she's
afraid of is worth never taking the leap of faith into a romantic relationship
with Shaun at all.
Lea saying she loves Shaun with the earthquake and Shaun being in danger
made Lea realize she loves him and would accept him he is willing to give him
an opportunity to try their love.
I just want to see them hug/hold each other.
I resisted adding my two cents to
any of these, but on Erin’s I had to say Honestly? Same here…
Because an embrace involving Shaun is always much more significant
than that of a neurotypical person, so an embrace involving Shaun and the woman
he loves, moments after a life-threatening situation has passed—yes, more than
anything else I want to see that need
to see that would like that very
much (channeling Shaun’s words again).
But while I’ve got you here, I DO hope for a few other things:
1) That Lea is able to
play a major role in getting
Freddie Highmore has alluded to something “worse than
the buzzing light in ‘Quarantine’” befalling Shaun during the earthquake; since
he got through part one without excruciating difficulty, I’m guessing
something—the rushing water, the perilous situation in general, a sensory
factor we are yet unaware of—will endanger him even further. If so, Lea may
need her voice and words to become the verbal version of her epic “Friends and
Family” embrace… and also use her noodle (possibly some engineering skills if
applicable?) to help guide him the hell outta there.
2) That Lea tells him he's
wrong; he DOES make her "more" and tells him how (including
reiterating that she loves him)
A LOT
of us are hoping for this counterpart to the “Hurt” episode of course! It’ll be
interesting to see how what the writers (of both episodes) chose to handle
this.
4) That SOMEONE on the
show is witness to Lea’s ability to do these things for Shaun.
This may not be possible, I
know. Previews show most of the doctors (including Lim and Claire) back at the
hospital tending to Melendez and others; Glassman has been back there for most
of this crisis. Park will still be on-site, but obviously be tending to his
young patient (who I’m going to guess doesn’t make it). So this is maybe a selfish wish on my part that
Lea’s worth and deserved importance in Shaun’s life is clear to more than just
us.
And if that’s not possible,
I’d take the endorsement of Vera (Shaun’s current patient)… assuming she makes
it out of there alive. Honestly, giving her physical state, I’m almost as
concerned for her as I am for her doctor.
5) A race into each others’
arms…
Hopefully generated by
whatever words have been exchanged at that point as much as the celebration of
survival.
6) A BONUS : Lea- “Can I kiss you?” Shaun- “Okay”
(Self-explanatory)
That’s it for now… we’ll
surely have plenty to discuss in a few days!
4 comments:
Oh, I know all about not tempting the wrath of whatever might be on high, to paraphrase from The West Wing, Richard Schiff's best-known series gig before The Good Doctor, so that's why I said my Lea-running-into-Shaun's-arms scenario was "In my wildest dreams." That was my way of letting the universe know, this is what I'd love to see, but I'm not at all expecting it to happen realistically, and I don't want to jinx anything!
I LOVE the thought of Lea using her engineering skills to get Shaun out of there. At the very least, I feel like she HAS to give him some reason to fight and not give in to whatever his sensory overload or whatever danger causes him to react in a human (be it neurotypical or neuro-atypical) way to the possibility of dying. Letting him know that she's there, that she heard what he said, that either they need to talk or she feels the same way or he does make her MORE--because he does; he really does--just she has to give him SOMETHING here.
Also, I really like the fact that Lea is the only one on site who will be there for Shaun. From the promo pics we have been given, it looks like Glassman is involved in saving Melendez, along with Lim and Claire; Morgan presumably saves her ectopic pregnancy patient and then gets back into a hospital gown to be examined by Andrews and see how much damage she did to her own post-op hands; and Park is with young Casey, whom I agree will, sadly, not survive the episode. Lea being Shaun's touchstone here is a wonderful callback to "Friends & Family." She can help him again, she can literally save him, and this time, they pretty much HAVE to talk about it afterwards, unlike in F&F.
Also, perhaps somewhat selfishly, if this goes the way we're all hoping it goes and Shea embark on official couplehood in season 4, instead of asking everybody for advice, as he did for the duration of his relationship with Carly, since none of them think very highly of Lea (with the possible exceptions of Park, Lim and Melendez, since they seem to know the least about her, but also know her importance to Shaun), Shaun can hold his head high and proudly defend the woman he loves from all of her detractors, from Glassy to Morgan to Claire.
There’s a peculiar line in the beginning of 3.19 while the host gives the three of them a tour to the brewery, Lea rambles on brewing ingredients and the female host notes to Glassman “Lady knows her stuff.” Which Glassman does not grace with an answer.
The little exchange is a reminiscence of Shaun’s persuasion of Glassmann to hire her for his tech glitches in 3.14 of course, but it also reminds the audience that beside being Shaun’s love interest for years, Lea is an intelligent and qualified woman. Qualities of her the show only teased so far. Perhaps, beside using her voice as a beacon of hope for Shaun, we really get so watch her using her technical knowledge for once, too while talking on the radio?
I agree that it’s a good thing that almost all the others St.B’s have left the disaster site. The rescue of Shaun will be done between Shaun and Lea (and some nameless first responders). As the damage was done between these two, they will have to be two doing the healing.
Just a few bread crumbs tossed for thought...
Does Lea have something “specific” (i.e. a traumatic event, condition, or the like) in her past that she is hiding/not dealing with/haunted by? Will we learn about this particular demon or does Leah simply have some maturing to do?
Season 1 ended on a warm note, albeit with a bit of uncertainty. David Shore gave us a “happy” ending last season. I remember reading in an article that he thought we deserved it and Shaun deserved it. The writers are always dealing, however, with the fact that their show is called “The Good Doctor,” so until we get word that the series has been cancelled, Shaun always will be back. Perhaps we are in for a bit of a true cliffhanger for our main character this season? David Shore teased that everyone will be changed. Might Shaun be impaired in a new or different way...coma, concussion, bodily damage (a la House)?
Just a few morsels to chew on as we pass the time until tonight...
Barbara, that thought about Shaun crossed my mind too while reading all the interviews beforehand, but then I discarded the idea for several reasons:
– Shaun was already hurt and unconscious in the last season finale (the show is all about repetition, but probably not that blunt)
– with ASD and savant syndrome Shaun is burdened already, a bodily impairment would seem to be an overkill
– a serious injury would result in a setback in his residency due to rehabilitation
– the series was very dark lately; they might use a more positive hookup for the audience returning to season 4
What will change for Shaun, I would guess, is his self-awareness. Much like Andrews told him this season, he can’t work wonders, he’s limited. The victim of this earthquake very well could be Shaun’s over-confidence.
And Lea? All we have learned so far is very consistent: she has a problem with her self-esteem and leads an unstable life without Shaun. Herself and her loved one in peril provide momentum to mature. For me, this seems to be enough to play out in a dramatic but still believable way.
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