Uh-oh. Lim’s in trouble now!
She fought the good fight on The Good Doctor Season 5 Episode 8, going up against Salen out of principle despite the lack of support from anyone else who knew the truth.
But it wouldn’t have been believable if Lim got rid of Salen that quickly, and now she’s made an enemy out of her. That can’t bode well for the future.
Lim’s struggle demonstrated how hard it is to fight back against someone in power who isn’t doing the right thing.
Pharmacist: I warned you this would happen if you made these changes.
Salen: That’s not how I remember it.
Pharmacist: You do realize I kept notes of every meeting, copies of every email?
Salen: You’ve never sued anyone before, have you? I’ve sued and been sued by everyone including the gardener who does my rose bushes. So if I were you I would stop arguing and start negotiating.
Pharmacist: I want my job. I deserve it.
Salen: No you don’t. You killed a baby. So that’s why you’re going to agree to this severance and sign this paper that is legally binding agreeing to go away and keep your mouth shut.
Salen knew precisely how to play this so that she came out on top.
In public, she put on a concerned, empathetic performance, telling the board members that she felt horrible about the baby’s death and was there for them, and offering her condolences to the poor woman who had lost her baby without implicating herself for the death.
It was only with the pharmacist who had proof of the truth and later with Lim that Salen showed another, more ruthless side of her personality. Anyone who saw only her public persona would be shocked by Lim’s allegations.
After all, Salen came across as caring and sensitive–why would anyone believe that this woman cut corners, caused a baby’s death, and then went into overdrive to cover up her involvement?
Once the pharmacist had signed that NDA, Lim needed to find a new angle. Even if he did give back the money and rip up the NDA, that likely wouldn’t be enough to protect him, Salen could produce a copy of the signed agreement, and he’d be on the receiving end of a lawsuit.
As frustrating as it was that neither he nor Glassman would back her up, I understood completely. The case was unwinnable and the stakes too high.
Yes, Lim was right, but as she learned the hard way, being right isn’t always enough. And now Salen’s going to find ways to make Lim’s life miserable, all while smiling and acting like she’s sweet and caring.
Look, I agree with you that Salen shouldn’t be running this hospital, but there’s not an AG in America who would take this on.
Glassman
The fact that Glassman talked to her the same way he talks to Shaun about picking your battles and considering social consequences should have been a red flag.
If Glassman thought Lim’s decision lacked consideration of anything other than her feelings of the moment, then she needed to take a step back!
It won’t end here. Lim isn’t going to give up.
If anything, Salen’s vindictive response will make her more determined.
The war is on! But Salen won the opening skirmish, and it wasn’t even close.
The medical cases both involved people concerned about their image and potentially making poor decisions due to low self-esteem.
It’s too bad the doctors on both cases never consulted each other! Maybe their patients could have offered one another support.
Shaun’s behavior doesn’t often irritate me, but his bluntness with Phil did.
He’s often blunt and doesn’t do well with going along with lies, but his comments went beyond that. I felt like he was being mean, and Park might not have been far off the mark by suggesting it had more to do with Shaun and Lea’s conflict than anything else.
Still, even Shaun’s extreme bluntness wasn’t as aggravating as Jordan and Asher’s constant bickering.
It was so bad that Morgan was getting annoyed despite how often she engages in similarly ridiculous banter with Park.
Jordan: You think that Morgan’s right? That we argue a lot because we like it?
Asher: No. It’s part of the job. We have to kick the tires on every case.
Jordan: But we don’t have to kick each other.
There was nothing funny or cute about Jordan and Asher’s constant arguments. The two of them kept twisting everything the other one said out of shape. It was as if they were searching desperately for reasons to feel offended by what the other had to say.
Jordan might have been on to something when she said that Asher was like her older brother, who often drives her nuts.
The two of them were undoubtedly acting like children, arguing over nonsense one minute and defending each other to authority figures the next.
Sheesh. Let’s hope the understanding they came to at the end sticks because I can’t take any more of that.
I also could have done without so much of the hour being dedicated to Shaun and Lea’s relationship woes.
Lea was fine when working with Lim on helping get documents to bring Salen down. But every time she opened her mouth about Shaun not wanting to give her another chance, it reminded me of all the reasons I never shipped this couple in the first place.
Not only did she label Glassman’s suggestion that she give Shaun space as “sexist,” but she nagged him into talking to Shaun when Glassman didn’t want to and didn’t think it was a good idea.
When she did get Shaun to talk to her, she didn’t listen to a word he said. She dismissed his complaints as senseless and insisted that he had to let it go so they could get on with the business of getting married.
And when Shaun finally did forgive her — which he did in his own time, as Glassman said he would — Lea somehow got offended that he dared suggest that he doesn’t need her to be his caretaker and twisted that into proof that he thinks she’s not good enough for him.
Shaun wasn’t blameless in this either. He was pedantic and stubborn, and his insistence that Lea was settling for him was also based on nothing.
But still, Lea’s decision to end the relationship and move out was overdramatic as usual, and I didn’t feel sorry for her at all when she sat in her car crying.
She brought that on herself, and I’m not sure how much of her upset was real heartbreak as opposed to disappointment that Shaun didn’t run after her and beg her to stay.
Can this be the end of this awful relationship, please?
Can Carly come back and offer Shaun a second chance at a relationship with an adult?
It’s your turn, The Good Doctor fanatics.
Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know your thoughts about Lim’s attempt to take down Salen, the cases of the hour, and whether you’re hoping for Lea and Shaun to reconcile or break up permanently!
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The Good Doctor airs on ABC on Mondays at 10 PM EST/PST.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.