'The Good Doctor' Season 2 Episode 4 Review: Will Claire be able to bid goodbye to Melendez for good?
The deadly coronavirus pandemic held the world in a cold and ruthless grip in 2020, and it's still not certain when the threat of the virus will abate. 'The Good Doctor' tackles Covid-19 head-on, and deals with the emotional impact on people as well as the physical effects. The doctors are struggling to keep it together in the face of overwhelming grief and pain, but it's as easy as walking down a path of hot coals. And yet, they are determined to keep a positive face, just for their patients, though they are just as afraid of being exposed to the virus and causing a threat to those around them.
In the second episode, Claire continues to see hallucinations of Dr Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez), who died in the Season 3 finale, after succumbing to injuries in a building collapse. He appears as somewhat of a spiritual guru, only to advise her at the end that she's feeling overpowering grief and that she needs time to heal. Healing is a long process, but we start somewhere. This scene strikes a chord because till then we couldn't help wonder why Melendez should be killed off at all if he was just going to return as a ghost.
Meanwhile, Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) is facing difficulties or rather 'crankiness' as he adorably tells Glassman (Richard Schiff). The pandemic has kept him away from his girlfriend Lea, and it's not easy on either of them. He panics when she doesn't answer his phone, and worries whether she could have been infected as well. Uncertainty and exhaustion, relatable emotions waft through the episode as the doctors have to even say goodbye to one of their own. Nurse Petringa succumbs to Covid-19, but after seeing how well-loved she is by all the hospital staff. Morgan is the one who stands firmly by her side. Considering we got a ghost Melendez, it wouldn't hurt to have a ghost Petringa too!
All in all, it's a heartrending episode. It shows the painful goodbyes people have had to bid to loved ones in the face of the darkening pandemic, the hopelessness of being cut from others, and the chaos of lockdowns. But yet, the key is to just spread a little kindness. Everyone's suffering, and a little bit of kindness goes a long way.
'The Good Doctor' airs on ABC Mondays at 10pm.