Oliver

## Episode Chronology

**"Oliver"** is the third episode of Season 1 of *The Good Doctor*. The episode first aired on October 9, 2017.

## Synopsis

Dr. Neil Melendez and Dr. Jared Kalu discover their patient isn't being completely honest with them which may cost him his chance at a life-saving surgery. Meanwhile, Dr. Claire Browne must learn to communicate with Dr. Shaun Murphy as they race back to St. Bonaventure Hospital with a donated organ.

## Full Summary

A man is getting on his motorcycle, while looking at some pretty women walking down the sidewalk, only to ride into the street and directly into the path of an incoming vehicle. Meanwhile, Shaun is sitting inside of his studio apartment, taking in all the sounds when a knock on his door reveals a neighbor who is in need of some batteries as her controller died in a middle of her game. They then talk a bit about Shaun living in Apartment 33 while the woman lives in 34 and that he’s a surgeon while getting her batteries. At the hospital, Claire takes a call and rushes to Shaun, Jared and Neil in the ER to tell them they have a liver; Neil asks for a longevity of the liver transplant, when he is given the answer to which Shaun questions that he didn’t know how long it would be. Neil puts Shaun and Claire on liver pick up while Jared preps their patient for the transplant.

Dr. Andrews is scrubbing in for a breast reconstructive surgery when Aoki comes in and talks to him about his 4 PM VIP patient. She wants to ace on this because the patient is really close to making the foundation his tax relief. She is looking for a fail safe on his procedure and wants him to make Neil his second. Andrews is shocked that Aoki is doubting his abilities but reiterates she needs everything to be perfect. On the roof, Claire asks how Shaun is doing with all the noise, he says he likes helicopters but admits he has never been on one; there is 7 hours and 44 minutes left for the viability of the liver as they are situated into the helicopter. Claire is upset that Jared gets to go the surgery while they are on "pizza delivery", but Shaun isn't really listening as he is visualizing how the helicopter works. Jared is questioning their patient, Chuck, about his activities and how he is feeling. In the middle of their review, Chuck gets a call from his daughter, stating that he needs to see her. Claire and Shaun arrive at the other hospital and learn the liver has been out of the body cavity for over 3 hours. Shaun takes the liver out of the cooler, sees there is nothing wrong and puts it back in. Claire calls Dr. Glassman for advice about Shaun and he tells her not to try and think about what's in Shaun's mind. He tells her if she wants to connect with him, she will have to find her own way in.

With only 4 hours and 45 minutes left of viability, they walk back to the helipad and Shaun says they aren't leaving. The pilot states that the clouds are rolling in too quick and it could be an hour or three, no-one knows how long. To urgently get another ride, Claire works on a police escort to get the liver across town to the hospital. Dr. Andrews walks in and says he wants to see his patient, John Wannamaker, alone. John complains about his condition, having a hole in his cheek, while Andrews explains he is going to graft from John’s leg to form a new cheek but admits it won't be cheap. Shaun and Claire are still at the hospital with 4 hours and 14 minutes remaining, while Shaun tells Claire to tell Dr. Glassman that he might be late for their lunch together. When she hangs up, he explains that he knew about the weather because he watches the weather channel. The police escort arrives and he stalls when he sees the lights, making him flashback to when he was placed in the back of a police car after he lost his brother and he was upset while saying "he promised me". Claire comes back to him, asks the police to turn off the lights and Shaun recovers, carrying the liver. He wants to know the name of the donor and Claire says its Oliver.

Neil comes to Andrews' office to offer to make time to help with Andrews’ surgery, only for Andrews to think Aoki had him do this. Neil says it's not a coupe but to ensure the hospital is first on his donation list. Andrews is aware of the stakes but still takes offence at Neil’s offer to help. Meanwhile, Jared returns to the Pathology Lab thinking that Chuck’s results are wrong; Chuck states that he doesn’t have alcohol in his system, only his results say otherwise (so he’s ineligible for the transplant) and Carly states that blood doesn't lie. Claire and Shaun are 70 minutes out when Shaun looks at the x-rays. He tells Claire about his neighbor but doesn't reveal anything else. Suddenly the temperature is going up and Claire says its urgent for them to find ice now.

Jared comes to see Chuck who admits he drank a glass of champagne three days ago at his daughter's graduation party. Claire and Shaun find a store but their ice machine is broken, so she begins to pack frozen vegetables as Shaun is fascinates by the slushie machine. He remembers when a police officer gave him one while they figured out what to do with him, then he turns to Claire saying the frozen food won't work but blocks her out again. While Jared and Neil talk about Chuck and the champagne he drank, Shaun tells Claire the liver has to be submerged to cool. They begin to fill the cooler with the slushie but he doesn't answer any of her questions. She realizes he doesn't like questions, and both smile as the temperature begins to drop. Neil and Jared realize Chuck was telling the truth and they can still work on him getting the transplant.

Andrews throws out his entire lunch and sits with Glassman asking for advice. He realizes that Andrews is upset that he is no longer the young star in the hospital but Neil is, while asking if Andrews is the chief that wants to be top surgeon or a chief who wants to be president; if it's the latter, then he needs to get rid of his ego and start acting presidential. As Andrews gets annoyed at this, Chuck wants to know if he deserves the liver; he has been dying for a long time, he didn't lead a great life and wasn’t such a good man or father. He admits to drinking too much and has an older son, whom he hasn't seen in over three years. He sees the people waiting and knows their faces and names, they all have stories and they are all in it together while he broke the rules. Before he can continue talking, he codes. Jared checks Chuck and discovers he has blood in his esophagus. Neil comes in and together they are able to bring his pressure up. In the locker room, Neil says he has 3 months to live at best; he needs to get this liver or he dies.

Claire jokes that she needs a police escort everyday to work due to traffic. Shaun grabs the x-ray again as he remembers when he saw a photo of a live while Dr. Glassman came to see him as a child before child services took him. Shaun opens the cooler and begins to feel the liver again. Shaun states that he can feel a clot on the liver, even though the scan showed none on it. Claire confirms it must have happened before they stored it and they inform the police they need to stop so they can perform surgery right now. As Shaun visualizes what needs to be done, he and Claire perform surgery on the liver to remove the clot. Right on the highway, they work together to preserve the integrity of the organ. The police officer jokes that this is better than delivering a baby in his car. Andrews talks to his rich patient, assuring him he will be just fine. Neil then talks to Chuck and his family, saying his liver failure has progressed considerably. He says he has 3 months and realizes that Chuck didn't tell his family. He says the final decision is out of his hands but he is going to do everything he can to convince the committee that in spite of his one drink, it is up to them. His daughter runs after Neil saying she gave him the drink and claims that she killed him if he doesn’t get the liver.

Neil and Jessica hold hands as he is about to see the committee. Andrews asks if he expects them to throw out the rules; he says Chuck hasn't earned it and this is a technicality. Jessica says if they move forward, the hospital could lose transplant privileges while Glassman says he could go either way. Andrews wants to know if saving this patient is worth the risk of not being able to save hundreds of others, to which Neil says he doesn't have hundreds, but only one; Chuck. Andrews thinks he has done his surgery, but suddenly there are complications and is told to do things quickly as their patient is being strangled in his carotid and calls for Neil. With 57 minutes remaining on the viability of the liver, Claire and Shaun arrive at the hospital. Claire is told that the surgery is off on the phone, saying Chuck has been moved on the bottom of the list and another hospital is getting the liver. An ambulance comes to get the liver and Shaun tells them Oliver’s name while it’s a good day; they saved a life, just not Chuck's and Claire agrees. Neil comes to see Chuck and his family packing up and leaving the hospital, while telling Chuck's daughter it is not her fault. He then joins Andrews who pats his shoulder as they see Andrews’ patient being wheeled out of his room.

Shaun returns home, places his backpack at his door and knocks at his neighbor’s door. He asks if he can have his batteries back that she had borrowed, while she says it's insane that he's a surgeon. Shaun asks her name and she introduces herself as Lea, while Shaun says his name and it's nice to meet her and walks back into his own apartment. Neil stares at the ceiling as Jessica sleeps beside him. Shaun goes outside with a can of cat food for the homeless cat outside his apartment and watches from inside. In another flashback, Shaun and Glassman are at when Glassman moved his pancakes away from him and handed him the medical book he was reading before. He offered for Shaun to stay with him that night while figuring out the rest the next day. The next morning, at the hospital, Shaun and Glassman enjoy breakfast together as they both have pancakes.

## Cast

* Nicholas Gonzalez as Dr. Neil Melendez
* Antonia Thomas as Dr. Claire Browne
* Chuku Modu as Dr. Jared Kalu
* Beau Garrett as Jessica Preston
* Tamlyn Tomita as Allegra Aoki
* Hill Harper as Dr. Marcus Andrews
* Richard Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman

Guest Starring* Graham Verchere as Young Shaun Murphy
* Paige Spara as Lea Dilallo
* Jasika Nicole as Carly Lever
* Tim Russ as Chuck
* Michael St. John Smith as John Wannamaker
* Blair Penner as SFPD Cop
* Donald Sales as Controller
* Serge Jaswal as Brad
* Trent Redekop as Cashier
* Victoria Bidewell as Liaison
* Kirby Morrow as Shaun's Father
* William Vaughan as Casper Deputy
* Adam Lolacher as Another Casper Deputy
* Shiren Van Cooten as Social Worker
* Jesse Reid as Surgical Resident
* Beatrice Zeilinger as Nurse Dina Vizcaino
* Teryl Rothery as J.L.
* Taylor Hastings as Surgical Assist
* Angela Moore as Nurse #2
* Judith Maxie as Chuck's Wife
* Hector Johnson as Chuck's Brother
* Ken Do as Handsome Young Man

## Trivia

* It is unknown if Claire made up the name of their donor "Oliver" since it has the word "liver" in it. While the donor does appear at the beginning of the episode, he is only referred to as "handsome young man" in the credits.
* Lea tells Shaun she needs batteries because her controller died while she was playing *Uncharted*. However, that series was only released on game consoles with rechargeable controllers. It is likely this was an oversight on the part of the writers.
* This is the first of several episodes to contain references to PlayStation, a family of consoles produced by Sony, whose television unit produces *The Good Doctor*.
* Claire mentions that she has been in the surgical program at the hospital for 6 months and that Chuck was her first patient.
* Claire claims that Jared got a golden ticket with what he was assigned to do, a reference to the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in which Freddie Highmore played the title role.

## References

1. ↑ http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily-ratings/monday-final-ratings-oct-9-2017/

## External Links

* "Oliver" at the **Internet Movie Database**