Since it was yet another week during TGD season 4 without a new TGD episode to analyze to pieces, it’s been another week of waiting in vain for certain breadcrumbs (to borrow this time from Park’s Hansel & Gretel reference in “Waiting”) while being pleasantly surprised by other ones.
Perhaps the best surprises weren’t total surprises after all:
On Monday, The Good Doctor got renewed for Season 5-- an announcement made ahead of all other scripted series renewals for ABC, which is extra nice even though the rest will be announced in a matter of days/weeks...
The remainder of the S4 schedule confirms that there are NO MORE PLANNED PRE-EMPTIONS… episode 16 will air Monday, 17 will air 5/17, 18 will air 5/24, 19 will air 5/31, and 20 (the season finale) is set to air June 7.
ARE YOU READY?
ARE YOU EXCITED?
ARE YOU A LITTLE BIT SCARED? If only because, well, you know how these things go, especially with The Good Doctor?
If you’re any or all of the above, you’re in the right place.
Let's knock through the remaining episodes now in an extended game of Hey, what do WE know?...
What do we know about 4.16 “Dr. Ted” (airing Monday 5/10)?
In the ABC promo that aired just after “Waiting” we learn that Lea will need surgery… that Shaun wants to be a part of the surgical team (at bare minimum) but Lim denies him, and Glassman supports the decision… that Shaun is understandably distressed… and that he appears to be relinquishing his beloved toy scalpel to Lea for the duration of the procedure (I presume). Something that Shea Endgame pointed out here is that,while it sounds like Claire says the sentence “We found something about the pregnancy; you’re going to need surgery,” there are edits made between “We found something” and “about the pregnancy” and “you’re going to need surgery.” Which indicates that, while the ABC promotion wizards/demons are making it seem as if there’s a problem with the baby, chances are strong that the surgery to come is more for Lea than Sheababy. (Perhaps if it was an unedited sentence, Claire would be saying We found something happening with your ______ that is being exacerbated by the pregnancy, and as a result you’re going to need surgery.)
The CTV promo has been released as well and, for once, it travels a very similar path to ABC’s promo. One notable difference is that while we only hear the “We found something…” part of Claire’s lines, we do hear Shaun say “You could lose the baby.” But, as SheaEndgame also pointed out, just about any surgical procedure on a pregnant woman carries the risk of harm to the unborn child.
If there are scenes that immediately follow what we saw at the end of “Waiting”, they aren’t in the promo materials because Shaun and Lea are wearing something completely different, even when Claire is doing the scan (which presumably happens just before they get Lea formally admitted/hospital gown on).
And in fact, the day after I made the above note, TVLine offered a "sneak peek" indicating Claire is checking Lea out 24 hours AFTER her collapse,with the comment that Lea’s OB has attributed the collapse to a common occurrence known as round ligament pain. I’d never heard of that, even through two pregnancies of my own, so I looked it up..
The most recognizable symptom of round ligament pain is an intense, sudden spasm in your abdomen or hip area. The pain usually occurs on the right side. Some pregnant women experience round ligament pain on both sides (as Lea describes to Claire in the clip that accompanies the TVLine article).
If they really do skip from the end of "Waiting" to this particular scene, I kind of feel like they'll have taken much ado about nothing to a whole different level. Not because what's ultimately going to happen with Lea isn't serious, but because what they showed us at the end of “Waiting” looked a whole hellaserious more than a common pain. Maybe that’s the point; maybe we’re supposed to remember that moment (as Shaun surely does) and say Um, that looked a lot worse than “a normal occurrence”...? But it’s still hard to picture Lea getting assisted to the St. B ER (on a gurnee, I hope? Or at least a wheelchair?), only to say five minutes later “Guys, this is really embarrassing, but I feel just fine now” and head back out the door. Especially with Shaun’s blessing. You know?
Something else I thought of was that BTS (behind the scenes) shot of Bria Henderson, aka Jordan, posing with The Striped Tomato (via IG) the same week that Paige Spara posted her Lea-in-a-hospital-gown pics (via IG). So maybe we’ll see Lea and Shaun parking and walking through the lot en route to the hospital first? With some dialogue to help connect the “collapse” (sounds so dramatic but I just don’t have a better word for it) to the examination by Claire to follow… most likely guided by Shaun’s doubts overriding the OB’s (off-screen) assurances. Just a thought.
What does "Dr. Ted" refer to? WE HAVE THEORIES…
- Many people figured that "Dr. Ted" is a teddy bear, and the fact that someone caught a little glimpse of Lea holding a teddy bear at the hospital in one of the promo shots helped reinforce this theory.
It could be a teddy bear that Park's new quasi-girlfriend brought over from pediatrics...
Or a teddy bear Lea has had since childhood that perhaps she got when she was in the hospital as a kid…
But the theory so many of us liked was that of the bear originally belonging to Glassy's daughter, and him bringing it to her for good luck. Of course now that we've got such an image in our heads, we're going to be bummed if Glassy doesn't even share a scene with Lea in "Dr. Ted," much less give her the titular stuffed bear.
One morning, Ted wakes up and bumps his knee. He needs a doctor!
Since doctors are scarce in Ted’s room, he becomes one. Doctor Ted diagnoses his mother’s freckles as measles and prescribes an operation. He diagnoses the principal’s bad breath and prescribes a shot.
No one appreciates Ted’s medical talents until an accident strikes and Doctor Ted saves the day!
Will Shaun, who is in fact wearing his medical scrubs in one of the promo shots, pull a “Doctor Ted” and save the day where Lea is concerned? We shall see! (Though I’d argue if he insisted on tests that detected the need for surgery in the first place, he’s already done a bit of day-saving!)
🍏🏎🤰🍏🏎🤰🍏🏎🤰
What do we know about 4.17 “Letting Go” (airing Monday 5/17)?
The synopsis, which is: Dr. Claire Brown and the team must face hard truths about what lines they are willing to cross when one of Claire’s idols becomes her patient.
The promo photos have not yet been released… which based on experience, I take to mean they would be too revealing of certain ongoing plot points (such as the progress of Lea’s pregnancy). Is that a sign she’ll lose the baby in “Dr. Ted”? While this certainly doesn’t count as something we know for sure… I think mama-and-daughter-to-be will be fine heading into “Letting Go.” Among other reasons: the layout of the promo, the sneak previews we’ve been privy to, and the fact that they already gave our nerves a pretty good test run at the end of “Parenting.” (That doesn’t mean it’ll be drama-free from here on out, of course. I’m just thinking of the PACING of said drama.)
One big thing to note about ALL the remaining episodes is that the previews of plot summaries are likely to get increasingly vague. The above synopsis, for instance, makes no reference to Shaun or Lea specifically. But can you imagine the #Sheababy storyline absent from an episode at this point?
As a reminder, the summary for 3.18 “Heartbreak” (where Shaun and Lea had their miserable moments with the baseball bat) was... Claire and Shaun treat a patient with a rare form of dwarfism. Reznick, Lim and Park treat a young man who had both arms torn off in a previous farming accident. Shaun reacts to an emotional situation.
And 3.19 “Hurt” (earthquake pt.1)? The city of San Jose is rocked by a massive earthquake that puts the staff of St. Bonaventure Hospital on high alert as they race to assess the damage and account for the safety of their colleagues and friends. Meanwhile, Dr. Neil Melendez and Dr. Aaron Glassman are attending a charity event when their lives are threatened by the earthquake. (No mention of Lea here; guess she was a generic “friend”)
What do we know about 4.18 “Forgive or Forget” (airing Monday 5/24)?
That Sheila Kelley (aka Debbie) posted a picture of her with this particular script several weeks ago, indicating that Debbie will make an appearance in this episode. And if that’s the case, one assumes Glassman (Debbie’s husband) will play a bigger role than he has in the past several… which have largely consisted of two-minutes-and-under counsel for Shaun, as we’ve noted (and lamented).
That multiple scenes from 4.18, including some involving Shaun and Lea, were shot on location in Vancouver’s 220-acre Central Park, as we discussed at length in this post from April 17.
What do we know about 4.19 “VENGA” (airing Monday 5/31)?
That title, which was announced this past week… and translates to “Hurry up” or “Come on” in Spanish, according to Google. (Our Spanish-speaking TGD contingency had a lot to say about this on Twitter, as you might imagine! Which I encourage to continue in the comments on this post!)
🍏🏎🤰🍏🏎🤰🍏🏎🤰
What do we know about The Good Doctor season finale with title TBA, 4.20 (airing Monday 6/7)?
Specifically? Not a damn thing, other than that airdate. (And that ABC’s lead-in for the TGD season finale is the season premiere of The Bachelorette… do with that what you will)
BUT--!! What do we know about the remainder of the season in general???
Several things, actually… it’s just difficult to string much of it together into something cohesive yet. But…
The “new” promo I mentioned earlier indicated that the season finale will be another two-parter.
Both remaining “newbies” (Wolke and Jordan) have their final episode-- for the season, at least-- with episode 18. Since Richard Schiff (Glassman) has posted pictures from California in recent weeks, speculation is strong that both Glassman and Debbie conclude for the season with episode 18 as well.
The “driver’s blog” that gets mentioned in the comments from time to time has posted a number of interesting photos, including one of an airport terminal for "international departures" including Argentina and Chile...
And photos of the cast, some which look to be in a bar (in character, or behind-the-scenes?) that indicate there is a whole lot of ON-LOCATION SHOOTING happening.
A number of additional behind-the-scenes photos posted
this week to various IG accounts…- All of which indicate every other member of the cast, aside from the ones I mentioned above, are involved in the shooting of the 2 part finale.
- In one or more remote locations.
Which may (going back to that driver’s blog photo) include South America-- not actually shooting there of course, but somehow “set” there.
Oh, and lest we forget… part one of this 2-part finale is titled with the Spanish word venga.
HAVING FUN WITH THIS YET???
I know the theories fly with every one of these breadcrumbs, but especially with the pregnancy storyline in full swing, I’m pretty much stumped.
There have been thoughts of the core characters spending time away from the hospital for reasons more personal than professional, but in several of the IG posts the cast is wearing the same St. B windbreakers they’ve worn away from the hospital when helping in a disaster (“Hurt”/”I Love You”), transporting an organ from one hospital to another (“Oliver”), and other remote calls...
Does any of the story circle back to Claire’s desire to go overseas (as seen at the end of “Teeny Blue Eyes”)? But how could it if so many are involved?
Is the St. B staff on a medical mission trip of some sort? If so, how is Lea’s presence explained? (Though I’m certain the writers could create a need for an IT person on-site if need be)
If they ARE on a trip, and Lea DOES go into labor on said trip… will they have advanced the pregnancy enough so that Sheababy isn’t born premature? (But if they do,what’s the reasonable explanation for Lea travelling so late in her pregnancy? And if they don’t, how can a preemie survive in such a situation?
Is anyone willing to consider the possibility that Lea and Shaun have lost the baby by the time of episodes 19 and 20? (I know; I’m not willing to either. But to truly brainstorm the options means putting all the possibilities out there, doesn’t it?)
Is there any way that what happens in the finale makes not only a place-hop, but a time-hop?
Does one of the characters get hit with a rock and then have “the strangest and/or longest dream?”
If I sound like I’m out of ideas… it’s because I AM. Time to keep the guesses coming via the comments!
And if you’re stumped too, just keep reading, and take heart… we’ll know what they’re up to soon enough.
13 comments:
Thank you, Kelli, for the status update. I foresee two general routes now the events to the final can take: either the residents go on a doctors exchange program (with Lea just tagging along as Shaun’s girlfriend) – or it is a relief mission of sorts. The latter is the more dramatic and considering how often Boardshorts talked about working abroad and finally leaving for a program that basically trains him for such relief missions, we should brace ourselves for another crisis intervention. Although, the team probably won’t be called without some warning or time for preparation. The absence of that many staff members has to be planned (though, the internal medicine department might not miss their resident all that much…). So, it might be some sort of a Doctors Without Boarders mission, bringing in fresh reserves in the aftermath of natural disaster or a national health crisis. Lim might have even signed the residents up for that as part of their training going into their final year.
The idea of a pregnant Lea traveling with the doctor’s bunch is of course quite puzzling, especially considering the possibility of a premature birth happening, but the crew wasn’t just filming out in the nowhere. According to the driver’s blog, a lot of the season finale is filmed at Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam, British Columbia, a facility that was closed down in 2012.
Filming at a former hospital means that it is easy for the production crew to turn it into a hospital set again. “Scrubs” was filmed entirely in a former hospital. So, we should not expect the St. Bonaventure crowd to sleep in tents –though, the camping trip taking place before the finale might connected to that plot as in the characters taking a break before leaving for the assignment.
I always read the blog and love everyone’s comments. Thank you for having this space.
I agree Kelli, all we had was bread crumbs, but the scenario is heading for exactly what you said.
Everything indicates that there will be a medical mission to South America, in which everyone will, except Glassy and novices.
#Sheababy could be born in camp in episode 418.
This explains the overproduction of several days of filming in the countryside and a beautiful cabin being taken backstage by the road.
If there’s a time jump, it might explain Lea’s presence on the mission wearing a badge in one of the behind-the-scenes photos.
#Sheababy will be under the care of Lea’s mother,, or even Glassy and Debbie,maybe explains Richard’s presence at the airport to Shaun and Lea’s farewell to Baby Maddie will be?
I love to think that there will be no more hiatus,I’m excited to see the final episode.
The past 10 days were very difficult and I didn't feel good enough to comment on your post about "Waiting", so I just stuck to Twitter. But I enjoyed reading it and reading the comments, as with all other previous posts!
And thank you for this one, even if we don't know much, it's interesting to read the list of all the little tidbits we know so far for the remaining episodes.
Regarding dr Ted, given the very short snippet released by ABC of Glassy in Shaun and Lea's apartment, we'll very likely get the long-awaited scene between the 3 of them! Unless Lea is at the hospital and Shaun is alone at the apartment, but I don't think Shaun would be able to leave the hospital while Lea is there...
And "dr Ted" could refer to several of the theories you listed:
- litterally, the bear being called Ted and originally belonging to Glassman's daughter
- figuratively, Shaun being the dr Ted from the children's book and ending up saving Lea and the baby while at first not being listened to and accepted in the OR by Lim and the others.
About "Letting go": someone on Twitter saw that the actress playing Lea's mother had this episode listed in her credits on IMDB...If so, the episode may partly deal with Lea dealing with her past or her mother accepting Lea's life?
As for the synopsis, I was quite bemused when I read it because it's so short and it's so weird that there is nothing on neither Shaun or Lea so close to the finale...so I thought that anything they would say about them could reveal too much, and indeed the synopsis for 3.18 and 3.19 were similar in that respect.
Regarding the finale, I agree with Andreas that it's most likely a relief mission linked to a natural disaster given the alleged foreshadowing of dr Guerin leaving to work for DSW and because a whole team of surgeons wouldn't leave the hospital for weeks unless there was urgent help required. As for Lea being there while supposedly in her 3rd trimester...a few days ago that was something that made me consider Lea possibly losing the baby, but now when I read your question "Is anyone willing to consider the possibility of Shaun and Lea losing the baby by episode 19and 20?" I answer: "nope, no way, they wouldn't do that!!" Although maybe it's in part denial that it might happen ^^ But there are several things that point out to them actually having the baby, like the mother talking of giving birth away from the hospital. I now also believe they could find a reasonable explanation for Lea to be there while 6-7 months pregnant, or it will just require a bit of suspension of disbelief...After all in the finale of season 3 they had Shaun save a woman by cutting her leg underwater and them being rescued despite the place being almost completely flooded! And as Andreas pointed out, if they are on a mission far away but close to a hospital, then there wouldn't much risk to Lea being there while in the 3rd trimestre.
One thing I don't think will happen though, is a time jump with Lea already having had her baby before 4.19 and so her and Shaun both leaving their newborn baby for weeks. And a bigger time jump with the baby being like 6 month-old when they leave in 4.19 seems also unrealistic because between 4.3 and 4.19 more than 1 and 1/2 years will have passed and so most of the crucial 5th year of the doctors' residency will have passed.
In any case, I absolutely love that we'll see the characters all working together - with Lea!! - out of the hospital, too bad Glassy won't be with them on the field, but as president of the hospital it makes sense that he stays in San Jose.
Thank you Kelli. Another excellent post.
I loved the backstage photos posted by Paige, Christina and other actors.
And I’m hopeful that in this final stretch of season four everything will go well and be fine for #Shea and #Sheababygirls.
Thank you, Kelli.
Great job as usual!
This time I'll be very brief, because I'm more confused than ever. So, I don't feel like I can contribute much to the discussion.
I felt reasonably optimistic, until the last two ABC promos boosted my anxiety level once again. I know that promos are unreliable, still when you read something like "I couldn't protect Lea" and "The only thing I can do for her now is gain more time", it's impossible not to worry.
However, this seems to confirm that the problem (whatever it is) is about Lea and not the baby.
Then, in the middle of all that, we have Glassy (magically out of his office and in Shaun and Lea's apartment), talking about relaxing (WTF!)
I'm trying to remember that they're going camping very soon, so things can't be that bad. Right?
But then I also think about the last two episodes, where everyone will apparently go to South America for a relief mission of sorts, in what looks like a developing country (judging by the photos, at least).
Can you imagine Shaun being OK about going there with pregnant Lea in her last trimester? It doesn't sound right at all.
And why is Glassy at the airport to see them off?
Everything is very confusing and unsettling.
About 'Letting Go', I read that some fans found this episode listed in Julie Warner's IMDb but, as a matter of fact, she's not listed among the episode's guests in the ABS's press release. Can it be a mistake?
I also checked Sheila Kelley's IMDb and 'Forgive or Forget' is not mentioned, even if we know for sure that she's going to be in that episode.
Future episodes shouldn't be listed, from what I gather.
So, confusion, confusion, and more confusion.
Let's hope for the best!
And yes, Kelli, of course I will be watching for all Glassman's exchanges with eagle eyes ;)
As frustrating as some of the breaks may have been throughout the season, one thing I admit that I've enjoyed was the additional time here speculating about what's to come. We've been given these tidbits - something that my old boss would say would allow us to "know enough to be dangerous."
We know some of the basics between now and June 7 (places they've filmed, and who's out there), but still enough up in the air to prevent us from having any sort of certainty. So at least we haven't had these breaks for nothing.
Daniela, I'm actually glad to see Glassman in a setting other than his office! And in the Shea apartment no less! People want to see a girl named Maddie, but I think we still need a pivotal moment that lets us see why Lea would choose to honor Glassman in that way (I think a lot of those same folks are hung up on this being "Shaun's baby", when in reality it's "Shaun AND Lea's baby").
Syl, I agree with the skepticism of a time jump that's too big. Add in the first two episodes of the season, and that would be more than 2 years between the beginning of 4.1 and the end of 4.20. That would just be too much, in my mind.
Kelli, great point about the beginning of this next episode and what I hope doesn't just become a forgotten void of time. May I offer a counter-thought. Assuming the person Lea saw after her collapse in the last episode was her OB, if she gave Lea all of the assurances that it wasn't anything that would preclude her from going home, I can see Lea choosing to do so. Even if Shaun had objections, I can imagine Lea saying "be the dad, not the doctor, listen to the OB" and Shaun doing so while dedicating every minute back at home to compiling his list.
As we've seen with past seasons, I think we'll be at the edge of despair. Maybe the show will even leave fans expecting the worst (as they did near the end of "Teeny Blue Eyes" with the idea of even carrying forward with the baby). But with Season 5 already good-to-go, I still think things will work out in the end of this season and give us the interesting setup for the future.
Finally, let me just say that the people who make this show happen deserve nothing but the greatest praise. A full season worth of episodes (20!!!), working through so many production and logistical challenges since before the season even began. And I know ABC has to be grateful for having new episodes to air as early as November!
That's me gone, for The Good Doctor to kill a baby for ratings and entertainment on the first day of mental health awareness week makes me sick and it is not a world I want to live in. How could they do this on today of all days. I hope they are all hanging their heads in shame to air this episode which causes such anxiety Do they not know when people who suffer from high anxiety die from heart attacks and suicides. Soothsayers who said this would happen you can now have a party as got your way their baby is dead all for the sake of ratings. I hope viewers stop watching from now on as what The Good Doctor did is beyond cruel. David Shore said The Good Doctor is an entertainment drama well if their view of entertainment is to kill an unborn child they are warped. Did they not consider mums who have lost their baby's and what effect it would have on them? I lost my baby daughter at the same amount of weeks as Lea did on the show and you never get over it. Goodbye you won't have to suffer having my emotional postings any longer. Take Care and Stay Safe Luv Mo x
I have a friend who was pregnant and was so excited about the pregnancy. Like Lea
You lost your baby.
I was so sad for her.
What happened to Lea hurt me.
As sad as I am about what happened - and have no doubt I am very much so - I think my sense of anger is even greater.
Not so much at the writers/producers, as I'm sure they have something up their sleeve for the season finale that will leave us with a sense of hope.
But anger at the people celebrating and doing high-fives at this plot development. How much of a scummy, miserable degenerate can some of these people be? Cheering this outcome - the death of a baby (yes, fictional, but still!!!). I have no respect for these low-lives, and REFUSE to call them fellow fans. They are pure GARBAGE as far as I'm concerned.
And treating us as if this were revenge for what happened at the end of Season 3. When in fact, this very blog took a moment to mourn before even getting into the Shea discussion. We didn't celebrate that death. We didn't dance in joy because of it. So to see the whataboutisms going on right now makes me sick. It's also a good answer to the question "how low can you go?" Apparently, very!!!
But anyway, Kelli, I thank you for the opportunity to vent. And I still believe that something hopeful is ahead. After all, triumph through adversity is the theme of the show. But after what happened, it's got to be something BIG to carry that kind of impact!!!
Ahw Tony, that is gross. I know why I’ve lost any respect for Melendez and his fan faction over the past year.
Though, I might suggest that you change your preferred social media channels. I’ve been active on Twitter since the episode aired and haven’t seen anything like that happening there. Even on Reddit, there hasn’t been any schadenfreude so far.
On a general note, for all that don’t use Twitter - and in best tradition with this blog again – I have some soundtracks for you all that I found quite adequate for the mood post-episode and for what presumably lies ahead of #Shea.
„Edge Of The World" from WarGames (1983)
This came to my mind since the writers pulled sort of the nuclear option with the pregnancy. Although conceived for a totally different context, the lyrics and the mood describe what Shaun and Lea might feel right now: standing on the edge, gone too far. Yet, they are still standing together and are hopefully find a way to share their grief in the near future.
As we can conceive from the promo for 4.17, Lea will enter a state of depression and isolation, while Shaun tries to outrun his emotions with work.
“Scully's Serenade” from The X-Files depicts just that, the grief and loneliness of a woman who lost two children (one dead, one given away), unable to reach her loved ones. It is a classic character theme that might as well describe Lea’s state of mind:
https://youtu.be/Q-7J-yEd8Xs
“Starspeak” is a variation of Scully’s Serenade that is more plot-oriented; in my mind this includes Shaun’s maladaptive behavior:
https://youtu.be/QYqbFrYVqxQ
Let the tunes soothe your nerves. ;)
Remedies
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