Freddie Highmore is at His Finest in ‘The Good Doctor’

Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) isn't just an ordinary surgeon...

Forget Just 'Good', The 'Good Doctor' Premier is GREAT.

There are medical dramas galore on cable but the newest one takes a different tack. Inspired by a Korean drama of the same name, ABC’s The Good Doctor follows young twenty-something Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) who flies out to be surgeon in residence at a hospital planted right in the middle of Silicon Valley, California. But here’s the rub: Shaun is autistic. High-functioning as he is, the board at the (fictional) San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital is less than enthused by Shaun’s condition. Shaun’s autism is balanced out by the fact he also has savant syndrome, but don’t go mistaking him for Rain Man. Shaun is very much his own man.

Nearly the instant his plane touches down on California soil chaos ensues. After retrieving his luggage from the baggage claim, Shaun witnesses a glass ceiling that maintenance workers are tinkering with shatter. Shards rain down and end up puncturing the chest, and lung, of an eight year old boy. Shaun watches as another doctor on the scene, in plain clothes as well, leaps into staunch the bleeding. His efforts actually result in the kid nearly suffocating! Finally after much internal debating with himself, Shaun intervenes and assesses the damage on his own. A very Sherlock Holmes moment ensues, as Shaun takes in the boy’s condition. Textbook definitions and observations pop up on the screen, showing us a glimpse of the knowledge and brilliance swirling around Shaun’s head-- and illustrations of body parts, like his heart, lungs, and veins are sketched onto the screen, adding an eye-catching and especially attention grabbing element.

This occurs again in St. Bonaventure Hospital when the doctors fire off medical jargon. Instead of leaving us to wonder what they’re saying, Shaun’s mental images of the anatomy and what’s going on inside the body are sketched onto the screen. We don’t get lost by the wordiness, when we physically see it being illustrated in front of us in real time. This is a brilliant decision on the part of the producers-- making us both more connected to Shaun and engaged to see what happens next! You go Good Doctor showrunners!

The main plot is straightforward enough: the President of the hospital, Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff)  is willing to stake his job on Shaun’s ability as a surgeon. Having known Shaun since he was just a kid, he can think of no better qualified doctor to take on at his hospital. To convince the grumbling board to get behind him, he concedes that Shaun will have a six month trial to prove himself competent, and if for any reason Shaun doesn’t measure up, he’ll be dismissed. Then, Glassman drops another bomb, if that does happen: he himself will resign as hospital president. Yikes. No pressure Shaun.

Considering this is the pilot episode, there’s a lot of groundwork being laid, and many characters that are introduced. We get some flashbacks of Shaun’s tumultuous childhood-- where he’s kicked and bullied by peers, and his hellhole of a homelife where his father’s screaming and constant aggression rains down on everyone causing Shaun (his childhood self played impressively by young actor Graham Verchere) to keep pushing his anxieties inwards.  This raging father’s disdain for Shaun and Shaun’s condition is heartbreaking and although it may not be the most original of backstories, these scenes are performed with such intensity that they rip at our heartstrings and leave us crushed under all the feels . The ones who love Shaun the most and bring him happiness, his bunny and his protective younger brother Steve (Dylan Kingwell) are tragically plucked from him far too soon-- leaving Shaun alone, and with a burning desire to pursue a career as a surgeon so he can help others heal and grow and experience their lives.

Many of the other main characters and supporting cast have yet to be entirely rounded and brought to life. But what is portrayed on screen in The Good Doctor is promising! The Good Doctor is diverse with a capital D. Shaun himself being on the Autism spectrum is differently abled, and although the other doctors have yet show any signs of disabilities of their own, the core cast is men and women of colour. Despite the discrimination and barriers many of them faced because of their race or gender, most of the doctors on staff are judgemental, grouchy and are only too willing to write Shaun off a lost cause. Ugh! Before even meeting him in person, many of the board members question his “sympathy” and “empathy” and his capacity for them as if he’s some robot or something. Glassman calls them all out for being judgy jerks (as he should.) and they eventually hear him out. Head of Surgery Dr. Marcus Andrews (Hill Harper) has the loudest complaints and is the most vocal opponent against Shaun. He’s fixed in his mind set that Autism is one-size fits all. That it’s a weakness, and practically a fatal flaw. Dude. Chill!  Glassman, ever the voice of reason (seriously, I love this guy already) reminds them, it wasn’t too long ago when black men like Dr. Andrews and women like Japanese vice president and chairwoman Allegra Aoki (Tamlyn Tomita) were barred from practicing.

Although he’s socially awkward and stiff as a statue around the busy as a beehive hospital Shaun isn’t “inhuman” in any way. We’re looking at you, Marcus. Shaun is SO much more than just his diagnosis. It’s his actions, not only his emotions, that show just how much he truly cares. For five years Freddie Highmore performed in AMC’s Bates Motel as young Norman Bates, a horror role he utterly dominated with his dramatic intensity and frightfully on point emotional displays. Here the 25-year-old Brit continues show his impressive acting chops. There’s a deep emotional quality to him one that he channels into his performance as Shaun. He’s the rare actor that can tap into those emotions and express them with the quickest of glances, briefest of body language and in his voice even he says barely anything.

Claire and Melendez don't give Shaun the warmest of welcomes.

As Shaun, he avoids eye contact with other characters, stutters and stammers and without hesitating says whatever is on his mind. He carries himself cautiously at some moments and unaware at others. Shaun’s frustrations and desperation to make things right are constantly buzzing around him and rev him up. Especially when he’s blocked from entering the hospital again and again by security.

There’s an innocence and tenderness to Shaun that isn’t often associated with how autistic characters are represented in media. His lack of filters adds a dash of humor to an otherwise serious and heavy show. Highmore’s acting has an elegance and deliberateness about it and although he plays an autistic man he has a confidence on screen that makes watching him effortless, and instantly gets us invested in this bright, awkward, young doctor and his dreams.

The episode comes to an end when Shaun’s heroic doctoring in the airport goes viral online. Unable to ignore the popularity swarming around Shaun, the board is pressured even further into agreeing with Glassman’s hiring decision. And although there’s a celebratory tone to Shaun introducing himself to these stern surgeons and company, this is no fairytale. At the closing of the episode, there’s a triumphant scene where, joining Dr. Neil Melendez’s (Nicholas Gonzalez)  team, he’s prepped for surgery, suiting up in his  gloves, mask, and scrubs like a hero ready to charge out onto a battlefield. The moment sours when Melendez glares Shaun, and fires off that Shaun will never going to do anything more than ‘suction’ duty while they work together. Unlike the tears welling up in Shaun’s eyes when he told the board why he wanted to be a surgeon, Melendez’s snipe doesn’t cut. Unfazed, Shaun remarks, “You’re very arrogant. Does it help you be a good surgeon?”

Well, The Good Doctor, you’re very socially conscious and driven by an exceptional young actor in a tremendously progressive role, does it help you be a good show? Yes, yes it does. A promising start to a promising show.  

Confession: Freddie, I love your face. Just so you know.

The pilot “Burnt Food” is streaming online for free on ABCs website (just be warned that there are an insane amount of ads that play and interrupt screen time-- ugh!) or on demand. The Good Doctor airs live on Mondays at 10pm on ABC.

Photos from IMDB