Trampoline

## Episode Chronology

**"Trampoline"** is the eighteenth and final episode of Season 2 of *The Good Doctor*. It is the thirty-sixth episode overall, and aired on March 11, 2019.

## Synopsis

As a barroom fight sends Dr. Shaun Murphy to seek treatment at St. Bonaventure's, Dr. Alex Park and Dr. Audrey Lim disagree over an elderly woman's post-operative symptoms. Meanwhile, Dr. Neil Melendez and Dr. Lim make their romance public, and Dr. Aaron Glassman continues to pursue a relationship with a good friend.

## Plot

Shaun is sitting at a bar, depressed about having been fired when he sees another patron Zack Cordell staring at him. Shaun attempts to ask if Zack is also sad, considering he is drinking at 10 in the morning, but his questions and statement that he's not fun like Lea aggravates Zack and he orders Shaun to "shut up". Shaun stands up and says if he has something to say, he will say it, only for Zack to just shove him to the ground and continue to try and order him to shut up. Shaun insists he is a surgeon and him stating that he doesn't like being touched which causes Zack to beat him up until he collapses on the floor with blood pouring out of his head.

At the hospital, Dr. Lim and Neil meet with the hospital administration about their relationship; but they are told that it's okay since neither of them works above the other. Meanwhile, Zack is brought into the ER, where Shaun lies that he found Zack unconscious. Claire tells him to come into the hospital and explain what happened; Shaun comes in once Claire reminds him that he is still a doctor. Lim comes to tell Neil about her meeting, revealing they are approved and share a kiss in front of everyone.

Morgan and Dr. Park meet their new patient, an elderly woman called Ida who suggests it is okay for Morgan to be gay and get married after finding that she isn't. However, she avoids any further discussion saying Park still has his wedding ring despite being divorced and his family lives in another state. Morgan wants to do another ultrasound as it looks like Ida has an infection, while Park hopes it will only be one more day with them. Meanwhile, Dr. Andrews is concerned about how Dr. Han dealt with Shaun. Han feels that Shaun has never been given responsibility; just things to do with someone always behind him. As Han sees it, he was the first person to challenge Shaun, who failed miserably, while stating that he knew someone with autism who dealt with the same thing.

Claire sits with Shaun to remind him that when things happen, they have to remember that moment isn't what defines them. Shaun reiterates that he wants to be a surgeon, while Claire admits she wants her life to matter, have fun and fall in love. Shaun feels he would be a good father and she agrees, but he confesses he doesn't know how to fall in love. He then attempts to practice asking out someone he likes with Claire while pretending to give her gifts. He continues to try to compliment her and they work together on his personal skills. She encourages him to say the words, but he feels noises will be distracting and "she" could say no if he asked. However, Claire says that someone will say "yes"; he will fall in love but his heart will be broken and he will fall in love again. He has been hurt, survived and become stronger and better, though he insists that it hasn't.

Dr. Glassman finds Debbie who gives him coffee, while he says he is having a great day as he is officially cancer free. She gives him a free coffee and presents her with a model car, one like the one they never got to see at a car show they didn't make it to. Glassman then states that he wants to commit when he presents her with an engagement ring, which she says is definitely bold but also stupid. At the same time, Park and Morgan do the ultrasound as Ida continues to give advice to Park about having another child when she suddenly can't feel her fingers. Meanwhile, Shaun tells Carly he is glad to not be back in pathology, as Claire feels Zack may have hit his head. This leads to Shaun being caught in a lie, when he accidently says he didn't find the man unconscious. Claire demands to know what the man did to him and why he is lying about this. When Claire realizes that Zack wasn't intoxicated, Shaun says that they need to do more testing on him. Unfortunately, Park and Morgan are at odds ends with Ida; although Morgan thinks they should do more tests, Park feels that Ida is simply lonely and doesn't want to go home. Neil then orders that Ida stays for the time being in case that she isn't faking and calls out Park while stating it's no fun releasing a patient and soon finding her in the morgue 24 hours later. Morgan then congratulates Neil on his relationship with Lim, feeling they are the perfect match.

Shaun is in the bathroom, checking the bruising he has on his upper torso and suddenly starts coughing blood. Shaun brings a sample to Carly, asking her to run a test on it while claiming it's for a patient. She then sees him looking terrified and so promises to speed up the testing. Soon enough, Park finds that Ida is somewhat lying which he is furious about; she admits she can't feel her fingers but they are tingling. Alex says that it's just symptoms of old age, to which Ida talks about how her daughter had leukemia and that it was pointless and cruel to let her live, but she said it wasn't the doctor's little girl that died. She didn't feel it was a miracle, but her daughter is apparently alive simply because she didn't listen to what the doctors told her to do. Morgan says they will let her know the test results as soon as they get back.

Carly tells Shaun that it could be pneumonia, but he admits it was trauma induced and the bleeding could get worse. She advises him on what medications the "patient" needs to get on immediately and he takes the script. Morgan and Alex tells Ida that all the tests came back okay; she may not want to listen to her doctors but she needs to be honest with them when Park notices something wrong with her drain. Shaun goes to see Zack, still believing he is sad, while admitting that he wasn't supposed to be at the bar but at a job interview Glassman got him at another hospital. He then states that he didn't want a new job while not understanding why people keep telling him to move on when he just wants to feel his own emotions. Shaun suddenly realizes the truth about Zack's condition and that he need immediate treatment for what Zack hears as "trampoline". Shaun then falls unconscious on the floor and help is called.

Shaun is intubated, where Lim finds out from Claire that Zack is the one who beat Shaun up and he's got lacerations from internal bleeding. Lim is worried about Shaun's condition, while Han once again reaffirms his decision to fire Shaun as he didn't even report to anyone that he was beaten up. Han believes decisions can't be made based on their personal experiences and he is there for his judgement and commitment. He also warns Andrews that he risks looking like a fool in front of the board if Andrews were to fire him now. Park and Morgan want to try one more test on Ida and he tastes what is in her drain. He finds out she's been dumping her veggie slushie she's been drinking into the drain to make it seem like she's sick. Morgan tells her she will be discharged that afternoon as she follows Park out of the room.

Claire comes to see Zack, saying she was busy dealing with Shaun after someone beat him up. Zack tells her about how Shaun had figured out that he had "trampoline", but Lim thinks Shaun could have been hallucinating or wrong. Zack's stats soon drop and the two rush to help him. Claire sits with Lim and Neil, explaining what Shaun said and feels they should wake him up to see if he can save Zack's life. Neil disagrees and says they have two very sick patients and he is not willing to risk Shaun's life to save Zack. Lim believes it is Lyme disease, though Claire disagrees but is overruled. She begins Zack's treatment with no response. She speaks to Nurse Villenueva, the nurse who first saw Shaun when he collapsed and asks her where he was standing to experience the exact same thing he was.

Glassman and Lea sit in Shaun's room, as Lea wants Glassman to fight for him to get his job back, but he feels Shaun should take the hits and move on. Glassman then attempts to her that Shaun really likes her, but would like to see him rejected by someone who actually cares about him. Claire in the meantime begins to visualize the way Shaun did, finally calling out for the OR immediately. Shaun wakes up, worried about Zack but Claire is able to tell him about the aneurysm and that he also has treponema, a bacteria that causes syphilis. He had surgery and is stable now. Glassman then tells Shaun to lay down and get some rest. Park and Morgan stand at the nurses' station where Morgan reveals Ida's daughter died three days before her birthday after the doctors told her. Her husband passed away a couple of years ago, but they separated after their daughter's death. Morgan feels this doesn't change anything medically and they prepare her for release, while Park offers his sympathy before she leaves.

Andrews visits Shaun who shares his medical stats, saying he is doing well. Andrews says Shaun missed his job interview at San Jose General and is no longer a surgeon at St. Bonaventure, which is something they cannot change. He tells Shaun that they need to face reality but Shaun says his brother told him if people want him to do something wrong, they say it is reality. Glassman soon sits with the board, talking about something Shaun had done, even after Zack did something violent and cruel to him. He made Claire a better doctor because she was able to see things through his eyes. They know Shaun doesn't communicate like the rest of them, but he does communicate and inspires. Han says he fired Shaun because he was irrational and unprofessional; not able to control himself and he stands by that decision. Han says the question is whether he himself should be working at St. Bonaventure, saying that he isn't willing to stay on if he can't control his staff. Andrews stands up with Glassman and feels his doesn't need the votes. He tells Han that while he has the power to fire people under him, Andrews has that same power and admits that he isn't ready to move on any more than Shaun is. Han then nods at the decision, accepting his fate.

Lim and Melendez worry about one of them being the next chief of surgery; so one of them will have to resign or pass up the opportunity if they want to maintain their relationship. Neil asks Lim if she's crazy enough to pass up the chance of being a department head and she responds with a "no". He also tells her that he spoke to Andrews' assistant and Aoki should be calling her any minute. The phone rings and Lim kisses Neil, who walks out as she takes the call. Lea returns home and finds Shaun wearing a suit and with flowers and chocolates in his hands, while proud that he got his job back. He approaches her and asks her if he looks nice, to which she says he looks very nice and he walks out the door with the gifts as Lea feels shocked.

Glassman soon knocks on Debbie's door, saying he knows what he wants and what he loves. He knows he loves her and they can continue going on dates but life is short and he wants to spend whatever time he has left with her. Debbie smiles at him as he explains their dates and how they could simply go forever. He asks her to marry him and she nods her head, saying "Yes!". Shaun walks to Carly's house, saying she has nice hair, giving her flowers and chocolates. He was wondering if she would like to eat dinner. She asks if he is asking her out, and he says yes, on a date. She tells him she would love to. Shaun walks away with the flowers and chocolates, jumping up and down the street.

## Cast

* Nicholas Gonzalez as Dr. Neil Melendez
* Antonia Thomas as Dr. Claire Browne
* Tamlyn Tomita as Allegra Aoki
* Will Yun Lee as Dr. Alex Park
* Fiona Gubelmann as Dr. Morgan Reznick
* Christina Chang as Dr. Audrey Lim
* Paige Spara as Lea Dilallo
* Hill Harper as Dr. Marcus Andrews
* Richard Schiff as Dr. Aaron Glassman
* Jasika Nicole as Carly Lever
* Gregory Calderone as Zack Cordell
* June Squibb as Ida Guelph
* Daniel Dae Kim as Dr. Jackson Han

## Trivia

* This episode marks the final appearance of Dr. Jackson Han due to him being fired from the hospital.
* This is the first episode that Shaun was a patient.
* This marks the final episode to feature Allegra Aoki as a series regular. From the next episode onwards she is demoted to recurring character.
* This is the last episode to credit Jasika Nicole as a guest star. In season 3, she is a series regular.
* This is the most watched episode of season 2.
* When Shaun awakens from his state in the hospital, Glassman calls himself "Auntie Em" and then Shaun "Dorothy" when Glassman sends him back to sleep. This is a reference to the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz.

## Multimedia

### Videos

The Good Doctor 2x18 Promo "Trampoline" (HD) Season Finale
## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Shows A-Z - good doctor, the on abc" - TheFutonCritic.com
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings/20190225abc01/