She

## Episode Chronology

**"She"** is the fourteenth episode of Season 1 of *The Good Doctor*. It aired on February 5, 2018.

## Synopsis

Dr. Shaun Murphy is surprised to learn that his young cancer patient identifies as a girl while being biologically male. Shaun must quickly learn to understand his patient, her medical needs and how to work with her family, who all feel they know what is best for her.

## Plot

Dr. Shaun Murphy is getting dressed for work when his new neighbor Kenny knocks on his sliding door, finding out that he doesn’t have cable but is using an antenna. Kenny wants to run a cable line through Shaun’s apartment, telling him that it would be a lot better than the 10 channels he gets with the antenna; Shaun agrees.

At the hospital, Dr. Neil Melendez informs everyone that Dr. Morgan Reznick will be joining their team now that Dr. Matt Coyle is no longer working at the hospital; Dr. Claire Browne is happy to meet her. She asks Dr. Jared Kalu if he is the autistic one, but Shaun steps forward, telling her that would be him!

Dr. Lim says they have two cases that would be great for an eager group. Dr. Melendez says he isn’t interested but she says competition can foster team work and can lead to greater understanding and appreciation of residents strengths and weaknesses and improve patient care. She takes the files from Melendez and says the winning team gets first dibs on assisting on any surgeries for the next week. The residents line up and Dr. Lim chooses Dr. Murphy, calling him the “boy genius”; and Dr. Kalu. Melendez picks Dr. Browne and Dr. Reznick. The residents run off to meet with their patients as Melendez and Lim agree that the stakes will be the same as last time!

Dr. Lim, Jared and Shaun meet with this patient Quinn and want to exam her stomach. When Dr. Lim lifts her gown to check her stomach further, she quickly lowers it in shock and Shaun says, "that is a penis and she is not a boy. He is a boy!" Quinn's grandmother insists this is just a phase but Quinn says she isn't a boy but a girl. Dr. Lim asks if she is transgender and Quinn admits she is but Shaun doesn’t understand so Jared explains that she is mix matched. Quinn asks Shaun he does he know he is supposed to be a boy and he tells her that her question doesn't make sense because biologically he is a boy and that is the end of the story.

Dr. Melendez along with Claire and Morgan meet with Howard Shaw who passed out in class. He insists its because he hasn't eaten breakfast before work this morning and explains all the medication he has been taking lately due to various ailments; but they were not recently prescribed but were in his medicine cabinet. He winces in pain when touched, so Melendez orders an ultrasound of his stomach.

Dr. Marcus Andrews and his wife, Dr. Isabel Barnes-Andrews go to see the fertility specialist, who advises them to stop worrying and she will take some samples and they will go from there. She asks them to put their trust in her and just continue to focus on one another.

During his ultrasound, Dr. Browne reveals to Howard that his appendix has already ruptured and they need to rush him to the OR; he is more concerned with calling the school to get a sub-teacher and who will get his children but Dr. Reznick says they cannot wait or he will become septic. Resnick takes him to the OR, leaving the menial task of making the phone calls to Dr. Browne, who clearly isn’t happy.

Shaun comes to see Quinn who is going for an MRI, he is curious to know why "he" thinks he is a girl. Jared stops him from asking all the questions and they begin the test. Meanwhile, Dr. Melendez is able to remove Howard's appendix but when he asks Claire a teaching question; Resnick interrupts and takes over the answer, saying she is impartial since they have already published some of her work.

Dr. Melendez asks them to close up and as they do so Claire says she is happy there is another girl on the team but Morgan says they are not going to be friends, having sleep overs nor braiding each other's hair, because when the residency is over the hospital is most likely only keep two of them and Shaun is Glassman’s pet project so he is for sure in but after Jared's stunt he will be out, so every time Claire has a win, Morgan loses and vice versa. Claire thanks her for the heads up.

Shaun watches as Quinn continues her test. He wants to know if Quinn is complicated or confused; Jared tells Shaun he needs to stop calling Quinn a "he." Shaun reveals that transgender care was not part of his medical school curriculum; Jared admits it wasn't part of his too. As they watch the scans appear on screen, they realize that Quinn has testicular cancer.

Dr. Lim, Jared and Shaun inform Quinn and her grandmother that she has a mass on her left testicle, but the prognosis is good as they caught it before it spread. They also reveal that Quinn has osteopenia, which is a condition in which the bone mineral density if lower than normal; the doctors find out that Quinn has been taking puberty blockers, which is most likely the cause of the osteopenia. Quinn didn’t tell them before because neither her nor her parents wanted her grandmother to know.

Dr. Resnick and Dr. Browne check on Howard, who has an infection. Resnick says they can treat it with antibiotics but it means he will be in the hospital for a couple extra nights, he says he has to get out of there because he needs to be with his kids. Dr. Resnick tells him to consider this a blessing to be away from his kids, whom he hasn’t been away from since the day they were born. He looks at her and tells them they are his life and his wife died of ovarian cancer last year. He hates hospitals. Claire offers to find a laptop so he can Skype with his children and if he can find a couple teddy bears he can take home to them.

Dr. Lim tells Quinn the medication did not cause the cancer in any way but Shaun tells her she needs to stop taking them immediately because of the osteopenia. Jared says she will be fine without them, but she cries, as she knows they can't reverse her growing an Adam's apple or growing hair all over her body. Shaun tells her that girls grow body hair too.

Outside Howard's room, Morgan tells Claire she has game after offering the laptop and bears to him; Claire says its just human decency! Morgan says everyone has an agenda, sometimes it is conscious, sometimes its not, but it is always there. Claire says she is awfully cynical for someone so young. Howard's alarms go off and when they rush back in, he has spiked a fever and they have no idea what has happened. Claire begs for him to hang on as they are going to figure this out.

Jared and Shaun arrive at the lab for Quinn's results but are told they have to wait as the lab is totally backed up. Morgan comes in with a donut for Gus and he hands her Howard's results immediately, saying he put a rush on them. Morgan hands the file to Dr. Melendez revealing that Howard has a superbug that is resistant to all medication.

Quinn's parents have finally arrived and Dr. Lim explains that her lab results are normal and they can do surgery first thing in the morning. Dr. Murphy suggests they could remove both of Quinn's testicles when she worries about being the freak in ballet with a mustache. Quinn gets excited for a moment about it, but Dr. Lim apologizes for his outburst as her grandmother is angry he would want to castrate her grandson. The grandmother is insistent that Quinn is just going through a phase, but her parents are on her side, saying she will just have the reassignment surgery when she is old enough, so what is the difference? Dr. Lim offers them some privacy and leaves the room with Shaun and Jared.

As soon as they leave, Quinn’s grandmother says she will not allow her parents to do this to Quinn. Quinn’s father tells her to shut up, as this isn’t up to her. In the hallway, Dr. Lim tells Dr. Murphy that he is making her doubt her decision to draft him onto her team because saying inflammatory things to people, it will only upset them. She sends Jared and Shaun off to prepare an SDA (Shared Decision Aid), which is a paper that shows the pros and cons in making a decision for all the options available to them for Quinn’s care.

Dr. Melendez and Dr. Reznick return to see Howard, explaining about the superbug he has that is resistant to every antibiotic because he has been exposed to every antibiotic. He learns he did this to himself and because he wasn’t under a doctor's care, he most likely taking the wrong medication for the wrong symptoms. Dr. Melendez informs him they will have to perform a colostomy on him, which will leave a pouch on the outside of his body to collect the waste from his body; and from the damage they have seen from his colon it looks like it will be indefinitely.

In the doctor’s lounge, Jared tells Shaun they are not doing this work to be helpful; they are doing this because he pissed off Dr. Lim and Jared seems to be collateral damage. He says the competition is over and with Shaun constantly calling Quinn a "he", means they lost. Shaun laughs, saying it is only a game and not important; but Jared tells him it is to him as he is a pariah, and this score is part their resident evaluation and their jobs depend on them; or at least his job does. Shaun looks at him and suggests that they should do this scut work very well then

Dr. Andrews returns home from work and learns the fertility specialist called, she found an irregularity in one of the tests and wants to rerun it to be sure. Marcus tries to reassure her, but she says they are both doctors and know the results are not going to change. Isabel feels she waited too long, and now that she is in her 40s, it is all her fault. Marcus says she had goals and other priorities; he is so proud of her but they both knew it could come at a cost and feels they should have just started sooner. She realizes he has been stewing over this and wants to know how long he has resented her. He says he doesn't resent her, but he can’t tell her this isn't her fault.

Shaun is at home, watching TV, when Kenny walks in through his sliding door. It freaks Shaun out a little bit as he tells Kenny the door was locked. Kenny sits down, asking Shaun questions about his job and life; after explaining where some of the things in his apartment came from, Shaun lays back down and begins to watch TV, while Kenny sits in the chair watching it too.

At the hospital, Dr. Aaron Glassman and Dr. Lim come to talk to Quinn's parents, revealing that Quinn's grandmother filed a complaint that they are abusing Quinn; because allowing Quinn to believe that being transgender is okay is a form of abuse. Aaron says they don’t agree with her whatsoever and says Dr. Lim will testify against the grandmother but Quinn's parents tells Dr. Lim to perform the bilateral surgery and then the grandmother will have nothing to fight them over.

Marcus and Isabel return to see the fertility clinic, and learn that the issue is with Marcus' sperm; he has a low sperm count. She tells them it isn't great news, but its not a dead end either. She refers him to a urologist and Isabel reminds him they will get through this together.

Claire chases down Morgan at the hospital, demanding to know why Howard's labs came back and she never told her. Morgan says it doesn’t matter anyways because there is no way they are going to win this competition; Claire gets angry and says it is clear she has no sympathy for what the man is going through. Morgan reminds her, they don’t have time to get emotionally involved; their job is to go in, perform the surgery and get out. Claire suddenly comes up with a great idea, saying they could avoid surgery altogether but she wants to pull all the research she can before pitching it to Melendez.

Dr. Glassman, Dr. Lim, Ruth (the grandmother) and Quinn’s parents have a meeting; where they reveal they always used to force Quinn to present herself as a boy in public but she became so reclusive and hated herself so much she attempted suicide a year ago; something her mother had no idea about. Dr. Andrews arrives late to the meeting.

In the cafeteria, Claire joins Dr. Melendez and presents him with the idea she had. He isn’t convinced until Morgan arrives and pushes it, showing how much of a team player she really is. Claire confronts her on her attitude, and she admits she is a team player, only when it benefits her. She also tells Claire that she will be the only doctor who can handle the feces when it arrives at the hospital, to safe guard it, strain it and decontaminate it for the transplant.

Shaun is in Quinn's room, asking her what it feels like to be a boy; she prefers people ask questions than stare at her. She explains how free she feels. Shaun sits on the side of her bed and tells her that he doesn't know what it feels like to be anyone else but him; she smiles and says, "me too!"

Back in the board room, Quinn's parents listen as Dr. Lim argues with Dr. Andrews that Quinn should have the bilateral surgery. He feels they should preserve her right testicle, in case she does want to have children one day, and since there is nothing wrong with the right testicle, it is considered an elective surgery.

Dr. Glassman tells Ruth and Quinn's parents that ultimately they need to decide what is best for Quinn. Her mom says that no matter what happens, Quinn is still going to be a girl but her grandmother admits she might never be able to accept that. Aaron talks about his own personal tragedy and asks if it is really worth sacrificing a life over an idea that may never be?

Jared rushes into Quinn's room when her alarms are sounding. Her temperature is 104; Jared does an ultrasound and says she needs surgery right now! Dr. Andrews rushes into the boardroom, saying he needs a decision now, as Quinn needs surgery right now. In the end, the parents tell Dr. Andrews to do what is medically necessary as Quinn is a child and may want to have children one day. In the OR, the alarms on the monitors go off and everything seems normal, so they wonder if it is a reaction to the anesthesia.

In the surgical room, Claire says 6 syringes in and no signs of any leakage. Dr. Melendez tells her it was a job well done. Dr. Browne wants to write about the procedure and submit it for publication; Dr. Reznick wants to assist with it. Melendez says he read Reznick's paper and he was impressed suggesting Claire should read it when she gets a chance.

Quinn is not responding to anything, so Dr. Shaun Murphy visualizes saying it is possible there is internal bleeding. Dr. Andrews doesn’t feel they have a choice and cut her open again. Shaun says Jared was right and they find a pool of blood inside.

Dr. Melendez, Dr. Browne and Dr. Reznick visit Howard in his room, saying they expect a full recovery. Reznick as a surprise for him, saying there is a few preschoolers dying to see him. His twins come rushing in and he introduces them to Dr. Reznick and Dr. Browne, whose name he forgot.

Quinn finally wakes up from surgery and finds out they only removed the cancerous left testicle. She is upset that her parents also agreed to only have the one testicle removed. Dr. Andrews sits down beside her and tells her, she may never know that one day she might want to have a child. She says she doesn't need a bio-kid; she could always adopt if she wanted one. She promises she will be back when she is 18 for her gender confirmation surgery; he promises he will be there to help her.

Patient satisfactory scores are in, and they are very close. Dr. Lim congratulates Dr. Reznick and Dr. Browne. Morgan says her and Claire made a great team and walks away. Melendez tells Dr. Lim "to the victor belongs the spoils!" She gives him money and tells him not to spend it in one place, but he says he plans on framing it.

Shaun and Jared agree that they also make a great team. Shaun stops Ruth from going into Quinn's room, saying she doesn't like pink; but Jared says Quinn will like them, as Ruth brought her flowers. Shaun says Quinn is more of a purple girl!

Dr. Melendez asks Claire if she read Morgan's paper yet? She says it is on the top of her "to do" list. He says he didn't tell her to read it to rub it in; he wanted her to read it to know what she is up against. He says she is smart and special and encourages her to rise up and play the game on her own terms; don't wait for it!

Outside, Aaron finds Shaun sitting on the bench. He is happy that Shaun gets that Quinn is a she. Aaron says being a kid is tough enough but being a transkid is off the chart and could never imagine being so different on the outside than you are on the inside. Shaun begins to walk away, even after Aaron offers to drive him home. Shaun says that Aaron said he couldn't be his friend so no thanks.

Shaun knocks on Kenny’s door, asking for his help. Kenny opens the locked and closed door to the pool and Shaun just floats, telling Kenny he isn't going to do any laps. He is simply "understanding!"

## Cast

* Nicholas Gonzalez as Dr. Neil Melendez
* Antonia Thomas as Dr. Claire Browne
* Chuku Modu as Dr. Jared Kalu
* Beau Garrett as Jessica Preston (credit only)
* Tamlyn Tomita as Allegra Aoki (credit only)
* Hill Harper as Dr. Marcus Andrews
* Richard Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman
* Chris D'Elia as Kenny
* Christina Chang as Dr. Audrey Lim
* Marsha Thomason as Dr. Isabel Barnes
* Fiona Gubelmann as Dr. Morgan Reznick
* Sophie Giannamore as Quinn Darby
* Adam J. Smith as Howard Shaw
* Michelle Morgan as Quinn's Mother
* Keith Allan as Ty Darby
* Kristin Lehman as Finola

Co-Starring* Teryl Rothery as JL
* Adil Zaidi as Nurse Dhanoa
* Alvina August as Nurse Alana Paikin
* Nelson Wong as Lab Tech
* Zahf Paroo as Dr. Ashique Selim
* London Cardinal as Keira Shaw
* Waverly Cardinal as Sammy Shaw

## Multimedia

### Videos

The Good Doctor 1x14 Promo "She" (HD)The Good Doctor 1x14 Extended Promo "She" (HD)The Good Doctor 1x14 Sneak Peek "She" (HD)
## References

1. ↑ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/monday-final-ratings-feb-5-2018/
2. ↑ https://www.spoilertv.com/2018/01/the-good-doctor-episode-114-she-press.html

## External Links

* "She" at the **Internet Movie Database**