Parenting

## Episode Chronology

**"Parenting"** is the eighth episode of Season 4 of *The Good Doctor*. It is also the sixty-fourth episode overall and aired on January 25, 2021.

## Synopsis

The team treats a teenage gymnast who experiences complications from her intensive training. Meanwhile, Shaun meets Lea's parents for the first time.

## Plot

A 14-year-old girl named Darya and her dad arrive at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. Part of the reason for her visit is due to Darya doing a bit too much in gymnastics and taking hormones to have a more womanly figure. But complications arise as Darya’s dad releases his responsibility of making medical decisions to her, and when he reverses the decision, Darya announces that she’ll have herself emancipated.

This leads to Dr. Lim, who is already stressed out and having no desire to give Darya some sort of grace, treats her like an adult as a result. This includes, after her father falls ill, pushing Darya to make a medical decision for her dad. Which, when she can’t do, so this in turn leads to a reset in Darya and her father’s relationship. One which has long been fractured by Darya’s father being more comfortable as her coach, after Darya’s mother died, than her father.

Elsewhere, Lea admits that she isn’t necessarily invested in what her parents think of her relationship with Shaun, because, usually, it is negative when it comes to her, they are still her parents. So, she allows them to meet Shaun, and Dr. Glassman and Morgan try to help Shaun prepare.

Shaun confronts Lea’s parents, Mike and Pam, and they do make it clear it isn’t all in Lea’s head or that she is pushing her own narrative. However, after Shaun breaks things down and tells them off, it seems they take heed of Shaun’s words and try to work on their relationship with Lea, rather than solely focusing on criticizing her decisions.

Dr. Glassman also makes nice with Lea, albeit with a strained effort, but he does note he thinks she is smart and funny. It’s just his fear of something happening to Shaun remains so high that his fear of the worst has him avoiding Lea’s actions when she is at her best.

When it comes to Olivia and Claire, despite talking to their superiors, in Olivia’s case, her uncle, the title doesn’t mean much in their discussions. With Olivia, Dr. Andrew’s desires for her are conflicting with her instincts. He wants her to be more like Jordan since she is bold and much easier to brag about than the quiet, though still brilliant, Olivia.

Luckily, Morgan, who seems to avoid the area she is supposed to work in whenever possible, pops her head in and presents her with an ultimatum. This pushes Olivia to think less of who Dr. Andrews wants her to be, which includes him using some emotional manipulation, in the form of a 20-year-old rock, or be who she is and put value into that. Which ultimately leads to Dr. Andrews and Olivia, to an understanding.

That can’t be said when it comes to Dr. Lim and Claire, who now feels comfortable enough to call Dr. Lim by her first name, Audrey. But, as much as Dr. Lim doesn’t mind talking to Claire, her harping on and on about her going to therapy, claiming the PTSD label, and even taking medication, becomes a lot emotionally for Dr. Lim to deal with at this time.

Claire ultimately reveals that her investment in this matter comes from seeing what her mom went through. With that in mind, Dr. Lim tells Claire that she doesn’t want to be Claire’s means of making up for what she couldn’t do for her mom. So she puts Claire in the position where she feels the need to speak to Dr. Glassman who is a bit unsure if he should know Dr. Lim’s personal business and what to do once Claire reveals what she does.

## Cast

* Antonia Thomas as Claire Browne
* Fiona Gubelmann as Morgan Reznick
* Will Yun Lee as Alex Park
* Christina Chang as Audrey Lim
* Paige Spara as Lea Dilallo
* Hill Harper as Marcus Andrews
* Richard Schiff as Aaron Glassman
* Summer Brown as as Olivia Jackson
* Noah Galvin as Asher Wolke
* Brian Marc as Enrique "Ricky" Guerin
* Barclay Hope as Mike Dilallo
* Kristoffer Polaha as Anton Denys
* Julie Warner as Pam Dilallo
* Eden Summer Gilmore as Darya Denys

## Trivia

* Claire is shown to be on a first name basis with Lim who is still avoiding getting treatment for her PTSD. As a result, Claire reports Lim's condition to Glassman.

## Multimedia

### Videos

The Good Doctor 4x08 Promo "Parenting" (HD)
## References

1. ↑ 4.08: "Parenting" Live Ratings - Showbuzz Daily