It will be the third week since the new surgery chief, Dr. Jackson Han (played by Daniel Dae Kim), told Dr. Shaun Murphy (played by Freddie Highmore) to stay out of operating rooms on The Good Doctor season 2. Now off the job he loves doing the most, things might pick up for Shaun, in the episode airing on Monday, March 4, titled Breakdown.
The surgical team will be working on removing a patient's tumor next, according to the episode synopsis of The Good Doctor season 2 episode 17. But since Shaun is still not allowed to work on any surgeries, he instead has to pour his efforts on helping out a baby with injuries.
The teaser to next week's episode, however, shows Dr. Neil Melendez (played by Nicholas Gonzales) telling the chief that Shaun might just be the one guy who can help with the patient in surgery. Shaun is also shown demanding for his old job back from Dr. Han.
The upcoming episode will also feature Lisa Edelstein in a recurring role as Dr. Marina Blaize. Jasika Nicole and Elfina Luk will serve as the other guest stars.
There are about two more episodes left since The Good Doctor season 2 concludes its run. So far, viewers have been divided in their opinion of Dr. Han, but Highmore explained that the biggest villain in his character's life isn't overtly evil.
"He just considers [Shaun] to be more of a liability than an asset to the hospital in terms of his weaknesses," Highmore explained via Entertainment Weekly. While Kim also explained his character and said, "Jackson Han is someone who represents the challenges [Shaun] may face in the future."
Meanwhile, last Monday's episode of The Good Doctor season 2 (episode 16) showed Dr. Han that Shaun could stand up for himself against people who tell him he cannot do something worthwhile because he has autism. However, it still didn't help Shaun be back on board the surgical team.
Dr. Han assigned him to the Pathology section to work with machines and analyze lab test results. While there, Shaun did figure out a way to make Pathology more efficient, and he also had a breakthrough with a patient.
For a moment, this gave Shaun some hope that being assigned to this new job does not seem like a dead end. However, in his heart, he still desires to be a surgeon, so he's still frustrated about what Dr. Han did to him.
Will this struggle for Shaun finally conclude in The Good Doctor season 2 next week? Viewers have to tune in to episode 17 at 9:00 p.m. on ABC to find out.
