Some Final "Newbies" Takeaways, and About That Moving-In Question...

 

So what did YOU think of the “Newbies” presented in S4.3?

Since the chosen four had been announced well before airtime as recurring characters this season, the odd ones out—Will Hooper (sp?) the annoying, obnoxious rower, and John Lindberg, the Guy from Iowa who’s even taller than Shaun and puts the NO in nonsense—were challenging to root for. To TGD’s credit, they kept us guessing nonetheless with Lim’s ploy to “test” the residents’ honesty hidden until the final minute of the episode.

In between all that, they got to test-run some new character dynamics… and not just for the newbies! All #Shea developments aside (which I already yammered about a few days ago), here were my top takeaways from “Newbies”:

 

+ WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE?

The thing about TV series that last longer than a few seasons is that they evolve. They have to. Otherwise things run the risk of getting stale, even if you have great characters made greater by the actors, writers, directors, etc. So let’s embrace “the newbies” and all they’re likely to bring to TGD… including, in some cases, followings all their own. (Looking at you, Noah Galvin…)

So who do you favor most?

Dr. Jordan “paid off half my student loans when I licensed my invention” Allen… self-assured, innovative, outspoken in a way that might get her in trouble

…or Dr. Enrique “Boardshorts” Guerin… laid-back, perhaps to a fault, yet “sensitive like a woman” according to Shaun

…or Dr. Olivia “dual Harvard degrees” Jackson… ambitious, quietly driven, but appears to lack confidence

… or Dr. Asher “don’t believe in God but have a God complex” Wolke… eager, go-getter, fiercely independent?

 

While I don’t specialize in ragtime piano like she does—I do well to play simple pop songs by ear!—I’m keeping my eyes on Dr. Jackson for now. I like seeing characters such as her come into their own, if they’re able.

Who do YOU like?

+ Meanwhile, as Morgan adjusts to a non-surgical career (currently as an internist, though she doesn’t seem to care for it), it’s interesting to watch each of her relationships at St. B get redefined…  

+ Dr. Glassman: from an informal advisor to a formal one (She reports to him)

 

+ Claire: from colleagues/rivals to colleagues/contentious advisors. “Newbies” underscored the fact that Claire—still able to do what she came there to do—is favored in an inadvertent power shift between the two women.

 

+ Lim: from a supervisor who tolerated her to a colleague that no longer has to (“Leave the OR gallery, Morgan. Now.”)

 

+ Andrews: TBD… although given that it was he who had to deliver the devastating news to Morgan about her hands, and her surgical career… one might expect that he will be something of a sympathetic counterpart to her relationship with Glassman.

 

+ Shaun: Big TBD, given that the last time they interacted was sometime before the San Jose Earthquake hit! (Promotional photos indicate that will change with the “Not the Same” episode, however.)

 

+ Park: Well… considering they’ll be “bonding over failed relationships” in next week’s episode… and David Shore has indicated they’re going to “have some fun” with regards to these two… it sounds like Park and Morgan’s relationship as colleagues is about to take on a few new dimensions.

 

 

+ With Morgan and Claire still uniting (well, for the most part) to head off Will Hooper’s mansplaining and talking over women… followed later in the episode with Glassman assuring Shaun that men are “worse, and also really stupid” when it came to dealing with insecurities, I had to wonder: were the men who wrote “Newbies” actively addressing their feminine sides, or simply keeping it real? I decided it might be more about them simply writing with an open mind to the obnoxious and yes, occasionally “really stupid” possibilities out there.

 

+ To all the introverts out there: how many felt a little thrill when, during the getting-to-know-you office party, Shaun tolerated only two small-talk questions before turning to Asher and asking “Why do you hate God?” YESSSS, Shaun, represent (in your own way) for the rest of us who can’t bear small talk, much less parties, and would vastly prefer jumping into deeper conversation with someone. I know that TGD played it for laughs—at least a few—but still, it was a dream introvert move and I applauded it.

 

+ Dr. John Lundberg was the one who called out Shaun’s

inappropriate line of questioning in that scene. He went on to assert his strictly business style in bypassing Shaun’s advice roundup to point out what Shaun and Park should’ve been looking at during their teenage patient’s scan. And if anyone was on the fence about Lundberg truly fitting in by that point, consider this: one never leads with medical info in a scan scene on TGD… that’s where half the character development happens! So let’s wish Lundberg well in his future residency on a procedural TV medical show… I’m sure there’s one out there somewhere…

 

+ While Park and the other senior residents were trying to evaluate the newbies “with a few drinks in them” in the break room, Andrews and Lim were kicking back in Lim’s office laying down the odds (at least, mentally) for each senior resident in a supervisory role. Shaun’s part in that conversation is what made it into the S4 trailer earlier in the season, but they spoke of Park when we joined the conversation (not by name, but they mentioned his ex-cop status) and covered their Claire concerns just after discussing Shaun. It would seem Andrews favors Park to do the best job, Lim favors Claire, and both are leaving Shaun out there as the wild card (no real surprise there). What might prove the most interesting about these predictions is the Lim/Claire connection… not only watching Claire prove that she really is tougher than she looks (as Lim told Andrews), but witnessing the ebbs and flows of the friendship as she gets to that point.

 

+ Finally, speaking of connections—when they still thought Lim wanted Will Hooper to be chosen, and Shaun said something about Lim probably thinking his arrogance helps him be a good surgeon (I’m paraphrasing)… did that take anyone else back to the pilot episode, when Shaun asked Melendez if he thought his arrogance made him a better surgeon? I couldn’t help but wonder if Shaun mused on that possibility because of Lim’s own past relationship with Melendez. A moot point, I know, given that Hooper is now out of the picture… but just an interesting parallel.

🍏🏎🍏🏎🍏

“Not the Same" (4.4) promises to be the episode where Shaun asks Lea to move back in with him-- or, more accurately, he tells her "she shouldn't come over anymore because she should live there" (as seen in the sneak preview). We've known this was coming since David Shore started talking up their "mature, committed relationship," so the only question for the time being is whether Shaun will convince Lea in one episode, or two. 

It all reminds me of when I posed the "to move back in or not move back in?" question over the summer... and how my answer at the time was a big HELL TO THE NO because 1) I feared it was too much too soon, and 2) I personally wanted them married before they took that step.

BUT... I've changed my mind!

One reason for this is obvious: we know it’s going to happen—kiss those put-a-ring-on-it-first wishes goodbye for now—so I might as well get used to this particular relationship “accelerant”. Another (maybe less obvious) reason is that we didn’t know this summer that the pandemic was going to dominate the first several months of their relationship… sending my “too soon” theory out the window.

What changed for me, though, is a way of thinking that accompanies the way of thinking that TGD is putting out there. IF #Shea is truly striving towards that mature/committed badge of achievement, they need to see how they fare as lovers under the same roof. Yes, as a fellow NT woman I’m thinking mostly about Lea’s needs in this situation, but we all know Shaun may have just as many (if not more) difficulties making the adjustment… especially since he’s not as able to anticipate them.

The big catch that often comes with living together before marriage—assuming the goal is the same for both parties involved, which remains to be seen with #Shea I suppose—is that chance that one or both people in the relationship are on their “best behavior” during that time. The difference with Shaun and Lea—which I didn’t really consider the first time around with this question—is that there is no “best behavior” cushion in an ASD/NT relationship; at least, there won’t be one for long.

Shaun “is who he is,” as Lea famously told him at the end of the “Fixation” episode last season. If she’s going to survive and thrive long-term with him, she needs the full immersion experience before signing on the dotted line. As does he.

And while I’d still appreciate if they took at least a couple of episodes to reach this conclusion, I’m also the one who pointed out TGD’s need to “catapult” the #Shea storyline from time to time… so I guess we’re in wait-and-see mode as to what form that will take this time!

 

Got a thought about the “Newbies” or “Not the Same” episodes you’d like to share? Or maybe you just want to say hello to fellow #Shea Shippers? I’ll see you in the comments!