Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Good Doctor’ Season 7 On ABC, Where Freddie Highmore’s Autistic Surgeon Deals

Opening Shot: Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) is in a mask and a gown, putting gloves on. As we pan back, his wife, Lea (Paige Spara) puts their newborn son Steve on a changing table.

The Gist: It’s been two weeks since Steve was born, and Shaun’s tightly-scheduled routine is working out well, at least in his mind. He has Lea timing this latest diaper change, and it’s his fastest one ever. It’s his first day back at work at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital, and he wants to make sure that the reminders on Lea’s phone to feed Steve and put him down for naps are configured correctly.

As he gets to the elevator of his apartment building, he runs into his neighbor and mentor, Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff). The two have not been on speaking terms since Shaun recommended that Dr. Glassman be removed from surgical service after he had some minor strokes. The interaction is uncomfortable to say the least.

At St. Bonaventure, Dr. Jordan Allen (Bria Henderson) is still in pain over her paramedic boyfriend moving away, and while she plans on going out with her buddy, Dr. Asher Wolke (Noah Galvin), another friend, Dr. Jared Kalu (Chuku Modu) is freezing her out.

When Shaun comes back, he immediately tells the chief of surgery, Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang), that he wants to join her on her case, a heart transplant for a 12-week-old baby; Shaun figured that he can relate better now that he has a baby, as well. When he examines the baby boy for the first time, he sees a tiny scratch on his ear, and requires it be treated to avoid an infection that might make him wait on the transplant list.

In the meantime, the 11-week old daughter of Dr. Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann) is having difficulty due to a valve defect that has already been operated on once. After a procedure fails, Dr. Lim tells Dr. Reznick that the baby girl will eventually need a new heart, but other interventions can buy her time, albeit at some risks. With Dr. Reznick is her on-again, off-again, Dr. Alex Park (Will Yun Lee), wants to be part of the baby’s life, and supports Dr. Reznick as the surgical team, including Shaun, try to figure out which baby will get the incoming donor heart.

At home, the precise routines that Shaun has set up for Dave get thrown out the window because, well, anyone who has cared for a baby knows that they don’t exist on a clock. Lea is OK with keeping things a bit more flexible when Shaun isn’t there, but the idea that Steve isn’t on schedule fills him with anxiety. The night before the transplant, Steve’s lack of sleep drives Shaun to sleep in his office at the hospital, and the restless night brings about an idea of how both babies can be operated on when there’s only one heart available.
Our Take: We absolutely hated The Good Doctor when it premiered back in 2017, basically because the potential of Highmore’s role as a surgeon on the autism spectrum seemed to be wasted in a muddle of horny medical residents and humdrum cases of the week. Of course, the viewing audience showed us that we were full of it, making the show a hit that is now entering its seventh and final season. And, while the show has certainly improved since its debuted, there’s certainly a lot about it that annoys us.

By this point, with six-plus years of storylines and cast turnover, Shore has the right combination of characters and stories to make The Good Doctor a show that’s an entertaining watch. Just the machinations Drs. Lim and Glassman go through to avoid becoming the hospital’s acting administrator is the type of thing that plays well between characters that have been around each other for a number of years.

And the goal of giving Shaun a backstory where he uses his unique skills in both the cases he works on as well as managing life as a neurodivergent person is evident as he adjusts to fatherhood in the beginning of this season. Shaun’s brain works differently than most of the people around him, but it’s certainly admirable that Shore and Highmore portray Shaun as more than just a novelty, but as a person who has all the same life experiences that everyone else has.

We can’t help but cringe a bit at the fact that the neurotypical Highmore is still portraying Shaun in a bit of a heightened way, as if he still needs to use a monotone to light up a neon arrow that reminds the audience that “Shaun is on the spectrum, people!” Autism isn’t just one thing; it’s as varied as the number of people who are on the spectrum. The awareness of the general public about neurodiversity, especially autism spectrum disorder, has increased since The Good Doctor premiered, which makes Highmore’s portrayal seem all the more like a caricature, despite the work done by Highmore, Shore and the show’s writers to make his portrayal authentic.