Fractured

## Episode Chronology

"*There are worse qualities in this world than trying to see the best in people. If you're a good person, every now and again, you're gonna feel like an idiot. Today you were wrong. And I am still grateful that I work with you.*"
—Neil to Claire trying to cheer her up after her good day turns into a bad one

**"Fractured** is the eleventh episode of Season 3 of *The Good Doctor*. It is the forty-seventh episode overall, and aired on January 13, 2020.

## Synopsis

Following his father's death, Shaun must deal with the effects his intimacy with Lea will have on his relationship with Carly. Meanwhile, the team operates on a patient who is refusing all anesthesia during surgery for fear of relapsing.

## Plot

Due to what his father told Shaun on his deathbed, he was previously mid-meltdown after a final confrontation with his dying estranged father. As Shaun's self-destructive behavior escalated, Lea was there to comfort him. As it turns out, she spent the whole night in his hotel room, consoling, comforting, and holding him; all aspects of affection which Shaun struggles to receive previously from his girlfriend, Carly. The next morning in a conversation with Dr. Glassman, Shaun realizes that things with Lea feel different than things with Carly, but he’s not sure what that means or what he wants.

Upon returning to San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital, two critical patients arrive; Shaun and Dr. Morgan Reznick are tasked with a mother who came in with a clearly broken leg. However, she refuses to accept pain killers claiming they’ve made her sick in the past. Much to Morgan's shock, the patient claims the injury hurts less than childbirth. Meanwhile with quite the opposite situation, Dr. Claire Browne and Dr. Alex Park take on a young man with a super bloated and tender stomach. At first, he refuses care, stating that he's unemployed, but Claire convinces him to take some meds and stay in the hospital long enough to ensure that they are working.

It’s not long before Shaun and Carly reunite, however, it's not a happy one. Shaun is there to deliver some samples for his patient's test to the pathology lab, where he runs into Carly, who is left wondering why she's being ghosted by her boyfriend. She mentions how for the entire duration of his trip back home, Shaun completely ignored her messages and didn't reach out to her once. Carly is visibly frustrated but remains compassionate towards Shaun, reiterating that she understands his challenges with interpreting emotions. Shaun, however, is uncomfortable with their conversation. He demands that she take his test samples before rushing away from the confrontation.

Shaun makes his way to the MRI room to meet up with Morgan, who is more than ready to give him an earful about what she thinks he should do. She tells him how, "Carly is smart, pretty, and the fact that she's willing to deal with all of your stuff means you should be thanking whatever God you pray to that you ever met her." She then tells Shaun that Lea is a flake and tries to convince Shaun that breaking up with Carly for Lea would be a big mistake.

Shaun and Carly eventually run into each other again. This time, the pair is alone in an elevator. Carly uses this as an opportunity to further press Shaun about what’s going on between them as well as what's going on between him and Lea. At first, Shaun isn't responding, but eventually, he blurts out that it's different because he likes Carly, and that when he is around her, he wants to impress her. But he doesn't feel like he needs to impress Lea like he does with Carly.

Thus, Shaun's dilemma isn't getting any easier since ultimately he doesn't know who's right for him. While he's mentally weighing their pros and cons, he asks an unlikely person for advice; Dr. Andrews, who speaks quite lovingly of his wife, Isabelle, and tells Shaun that he knew she was the one because of a feeling in the pit of his stomach; nerves, his heart beating faster when he saw her, etc. This conversation leads to Shaun physically monitoring his pulse, first around Lea. Which ends up being a steady heart rate.

Shaun finds Carly in the cafeteria, where he begins to read her what seems to be all of the "pros" he came up with for why he likes her. Carly tells Shaun that while it's great, he wants to impress her, that means absolutely nothing if he can't just talk to her. It's here where Shaun finally opens up and tells Carly about how Lea was able to comfort him and hold him. Carly is quite upset by this, knowing that she has waited for so long for him to be comfortable with her. Carly needs some space and storms off. Shaun is visibly upset too and goes to Dr. Glassman for advice.

Unfortunately for Shaun and Morgan's patient Kerry, her injury requires surgery, and surgery typically requires medications. Kerry revealed earlier that she is a recovering drug addict and refuses to receive any medications, details which her family does not know. As such, Shaun and Morgan approach Dr. Andrews with their dilemma. Dr. Andrews challenges them to find a different surgical approach to repairing the injury. Ultimately, Kerry reveals her drug addition to her husband and expresses her concern that she's not strong enough not to relapse. Kerry reaches full Superwoman status when she undergoes a painful and grueling procedure without assistance from drugs.

Park and Claire seek Dr. Melendez's help after learning that their patient's bloated stomach is as a result of illegally smuggling drugs. Luca's stomach is bursting with drug-filled balloons causing significant issues within his body. Dr. Park wants to get the cops involved, something which Claire promised the patient they wouldn't do. Claire empathizes with Luca recalling her struggles growing up with her mother and their tight financial situation. Claire convinces Alex to give Luca a second chance. They will need to keep whatever "medical waste" is extracted from his body, but promise to discharge him before the pathology report comes back revealing the substance and thus prompting them to contact the police. Ultimately, it was all a lie since someone faked a seizure while someone broke into the storage locker in pathology. The only item taken was Luca's specimen, and conveniently, Luca also goes missing. After giving a fake name and fake address, there's no way to track him down. Claire is devastated by this, but Neil offers some comfort. He tells her that, "there are worse qualities in this world than trying to see the best in people. If you're a good person, every now and again, you’re going to feel like an idiot. I'm still grateful that I work with you".

At the end of the day, Shaun finds Carly outside the hospital. The two discuss how they first met, and how, at that moment, Shaun's honesty was what attracted Carly to him. She tells him she wants to be with him but doesn't see how that’s possible while he's still living with Lea. Carly gets up to leave to give Shaun some time to think. He grabs her hand to stop her from leaving and Shaun tells her that she's right and that it's time for him and Lea to part ways. He then proceeds to tell Carly that he loves her and the two of them embrace.

## Cast

* Nicholas Gonzalez as Dr. Neil Melendez
* Antonia Thomas as Dr. Claire Browne
* Fiona Gubelmann as Dr. Morgan Reznick
* Will Yun Lee as Dr. Alex Park
* Christina Chang as Dr. Audrey Lim
* Paige Spara as Lea Dilallo
* Jasika Nicole as Dr. Carly Lever
* Hill Harper as Dr. Marcus Andrews
* Richard Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman
* Moises Arias as Luca Jones
* Kelly-Ruth Mercier as Dr. Donna Malkin
* Adil Zaidi as Nurse Jag Dhanoa
* Elfina Luk as Nurse Dalisay Villanueva

Co-Starring* Adil Zaidi as Nurse Jag Dhanoa
* Kelly-Ruth Mercier as Dr. Donna Malkin
* Nakai Takawira as Sharon Gaston

## Trivia

* This episode serves as the winter premiere for Season 3.

## Gallery

### Videos

The Good Doctor 3x11 Teaser Promo (HD)The Good Doctor 3x11 Sneak Peek "Fractured" (HD)
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.thefutoncritic.com/showatch/good-doctor/listings/
2. ↑ https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/monday-final-ratings-jan-13-2020/