State Of The #SHEA: Now That They Found Love, Part 1

Now that we found love what are we gonna do with it?

            -The O’Jays (and much later, Heavy D and The Boyz)

It took three TV seasons to do it, but TGD’s Dr. Shaun Murphy and Ms. Lea Dilallo are finally, FINALLY braving love’s journey together starting with Season 4 (when and how that happens is another story entirely; we’ll probably discuss that later, when plans get more concrete in nature).

So the question is no longer “Will they…?” or “For the love of God, WHEN will they…?”, but “Now what?”

At least, hypothetically, it’s “the” question. Some #Shea fans have plates full of ideas to bring to the table already and are past asking that. (Some of them/you have shared said ideas in the comments section of this blog, and you might see those comments in the blog posts… ‘cause y’all are smart and cool and all those good things.)

So I read through those comments (and other resources) and am working on a master “plate” of ideas for Shaun and Lea’s future. And as with the SOS Playlist choices, I’ve broken it down into some categories…

This installment (Part 1) considers some possibilities I’m simply breaking out into THE GOOD and THE BAD.

THE GOOD= things that count as lighter dilemmas & challenges; issues that are able to be resolved in some manner in an episode or two

THE BAD= deeper-rooted situations that have make-or-break potential, though obviously the hope is that Shaun and Lea now have a foundation to withstand such root “damage”

Note: I’m not looking at Shaun/Lea’s progress with the same eyes as the Shaun/Carly progress last season. The main reason for that may seem obvious to #Shea fans, but to keep it simple (and in the paraphrased words of David Shore), it was about “firsts” with Carly: first dates, first arguments, first make-ups, first physical encounters, first time someone called Shaun “her boyfriend”, etc. With Lea, Shore has already said it will be about navigating a relationship. So I’m not including that laundry list of “firsts” on the #Shea to-do list because, frankly, they’ve already done most of those in one way or another. (Except the obvious “first”, which I’m saving to discuss in another post. Don’t @ me for that, as the kids say. It’s a long hiatus we’re dealing with.)

The good…

Romantic gestures

We didn’t witness it much during the Shaun/Carly relationship (except for the flowers & chocolates he didn’t give her at the very beginning, and the “I’d like to have sex tonight, would you?” flowers that he DID). But with Lea, Shaun now has the ability to move past his previous efforts with her (in-house karaoke, and “don’t forget about the donut”) and go as big…or as little… as he likes. He’s already won her heart, so it will be interesting to see A) what Shaun wants (or feels like he needs) to do to honor his new girlfriend, B) what Lea might want to do along the same lines, and C) how each reacts to the other’s efforts (or lack thereof).

Shaun is now 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…

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*).—TONY

Will there be a formal “first date” that we see? I’m not sure—seems like it would depend on whether or not the writers want to compare such an experience to his first one, and I wonder if they feel that’s necessary (especially since Shore has said this “won’t be about firsts”). Personally, I think it could be fun to see, especially if it shows Shaun more at-ease than he was a year ago at that point. What might be more fun is if Shaun and Lea mutually agreed to do something “fancy” and then mutually agreed to bail midway through and go someplace more casual. Or… get their fancy dinner “to go” and head back to the Chateau de Shaun*.

OR, they could skip all this and head to Excite Ballpark for a San Jose Giants home game! (Yes, baseball fans, I had to look that up.)

Maybe the bigger question is… will Shaun continue to seek romantic advice from his fellow BV-ites? (I mean, it’s worked out so well for him in the past, right??)

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!")—Amy Danko

Or maybe he’d do better studying an article like this if he needs ideas?

Either way, I’d like to see Shaun make some effort in this arena. We’re likely to see him struggle here and there, but hey, he’s wanted this for a LONG time (even when he didn’t know he wanted it). Now that he’s got “this,” he may need to leave his comfort zone behind now and again.

I also think it would be stellar to see Lea take the lead on some dates. We know she’s likely mastered the bar/concert scene, but how about a visible downshift into something they can both enjoy?

  

(*Speaking of the Chateau de Shaun…)

To move Lea back in to the apartment or not move Lea back in?

The answer to this question (at least, for me) is simple: HELL TO THE NO. They’ve already lived together; they know how to make that work. They’re just starting on the “relationship” part; to even attempt to do so while housed under the same roof sounds like DISASTER: THE SEQUEL.

I don’t expect Shaun to get this. I kind of anticipate him fully anticipating Lea’s homecoming. In fact, I wouldn’t be shocked if this becomes an early obstacle that gets resolved by some top-level reasoning on Lea’s part. And if it happened to conclude with something along the lines of “the next time we live together, I want it to be for keeps”… hey, I wouldn’t be mad.

Getting Glassy’s blessing

Do Shaun and Lea need Dr. Glassman to approve their coupledom? No. Might they already have his approval? Probably (even if he doesn’t show it yet the next time we see him). But Shaun and Glassman will likely have other issues in season 4 that could put them at odds with each other, such as if and how Shaun should try for Chief Resident (one of those things readers have brought up in the Comments). And while a full-on Grumpy Glassy take on Shaun and Lea feels a little been there/done that by now, there’s plenty of room to play with that dynamic…

*  Shaun might skip the BV-ite advice for romance, but still come to Glassman for it. Or better yet, Lea could do the same. And even Glassman’s advice could turn out to be wrong, which would provide interesting results.

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!)—Amy Danko

*  Shaun and Lea could double-date with the Glassmans at least once (something I know has been suggested by Amy, and probably others). I’ll say it here, and probably many other places in the future… Lea and Debbie are a sisterhood just waiting to happen.

*  If Shaun starts coming to Lea’s workspace a little more often than he should (mini-makeout sessions, anyone?), Glassy could be required to set the kids down, perhaps directly between them 😉, and have a fatherly-yet-fully-professional chat with them.

So, you see, the potential for conflict abounds even if there is no glaring involved. (Whew.)

The bad…

Meeting Lea’s family  

Now that she’s on the same romantic page as Shaun, I don’t know if there’s any one thing that Lea Dilallo fans want more than details on what makes her tick—and, by way of that, getting acquainted with some other Dilallos.

We’ve had dribs and drabs to work with thus far: a grandfather she adored, an immediate family she’s described negatively, a brother (Donnie) that contributed, as did she, to the “tanking” of the family business (“and our relationship”). And, of course, we know she hails from Hershey, PA.

Originally I thought about one family member—Lea’s mom, maybe—coming out to San Jose for a visit and driving Lea crazy in the process. But when Andreas noted that there has been one road/out-of-town trip per season of TGD thus far (1.11 and 1.12 “Islands”, 2.14 “Faces”, and 3.10 “Friends and Family”,), I got to wishing and hoping that Destination: Hershey is on the S4 canvas. Home for the holidays, maybe…?

Because we’ve only got those drips and drabs to work with, opportunities abound with Lea bringing Shaun home to meet her family. If there’s wackiness, I want to see how Shaun contends with it. If there is unfinished business, particularly with regards to Lea’s relationship with her brother, I want to see what role Shaun might play (either as a problem-solver, a supportive partner, or both).

But mostly, I want to see if Shaun can mirror at least some of the attentiveness that Lea provided him when they went to Casper last season. A trip to Hershey could help mend some fences for Lea, but it could just as easily rip her open to more vulnerability than she ever bargained for. How would Shaun react in her time of need? And how much would it ultimately help her?

It could be another defining moment in their story. I REALLY hope TGD writers think so, too.

Lea’s aggravation as Shaun’s work overshadows their plans/conversations

We’ve seen it before with them—Lea starts talking about something from her side of life, and Shaun cuts her off by launching into his own train of thought, de-valuing her contribution in the process. Lea’s trying to make a point; Shaun abruptly “has to go” and the conversation is left unfinished and unresolved.

And NOW it could be more like Lea throwing her day upside down in order to plan a special dinner for the two of them…just to have Shaun sit at the table with a medical journal in hand, barely acknowledging her. Or he might get caught up in the Case of the Week at St. B, and not make it to dinner at all.

Or they have returned from Destination: Hershey but she’s still dealing with aftermath from the trip… and now that Shaun is back in work mode, she finds it nearly impossible to talk to him the way she needs to.

Part of this could be the struggles of loving a thoroughly overworked young doctor, and a bigger part of it could be those complications of loving someone with ASD that Lea wrestled with in the past. I sense it’ll take a delicate dance to keep things progressing on this matter—so much so that I don’t know if it’s the kind of thing they could simply “get right”.

Shaun makes errors at work, and unwittingly blames Lea and/or some element of the relationship

This one makes me anxious just thinking about it.

Perhaps Shaun leaves something important at Lea’s desk, and she discards it by mistake. Or, he’s got her on his mind (in a good way) when he misplaces something entirely, causing her to be on his mind again (in a not-so-good way). Or she forgets to pass along an essential piece of information, which both causes Shaun some anguish and reinforces Lea’s “flaky” reputation at a time when she needs it the least.

Or a disagreement between the two of them distracts him enough during surgery to make a bad judgment call—or prompts a more difficult than usual face-to-face with the patient’s family—causing Shaun to question his ability to be the best doctor he can while also struggling with the love of his life.

Look, I’m really not trying to think of ways to mess them up—if the long-term plan for TGD is to keep these two together (as I hope is the case), I’m confident they will build this relationship solidly.

(Honestly, they took #Shea to hell and back (waaaay back!) in the span of about four episodes. I think they’re more than ready—and capable—of telling the next chapters of this story.)

But as worst-case scenarios go, there’s plenty to choose from if the show chooses the road-more-rocky. Something small and insignificant could turn into something bigger and deeper in a hurry—seems the ideal conflict for an hour-long medical drama with overlapping personal story arcs, no?

And as I said at the start, there are plenty of ideas to go around… and I’ll dive into another round of ‘em soon. Got something to say about these, or want to share your own take on Season 4 storylines for Shaun and Lea? Please hit up the comments!