The Best Episodes of The Good Doctor
Last Updated: Nov 16, 2018
Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, relocates from a quiet country life to join a prestigious hospital surgical unit. Alone in the world and unable to personally connect with those around him, Shaun uses his extraordinary medical gifts to save lives and challenge the skepticism of his colleagues.
#1 - More
Season 1 - Episode 18
The team at St. Bonaventure needs to quickly discover the truth behind a young college student’s unexplained injuries before his condition worsens. Meanwhile, after losing his most prized possession, Shaun’s distraction during a surgical procedure may end up risking more than just his job.
8.13
#2 - Burnt Food
Season 1 - Episode 1
Dr. Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon with autism and savant syndrome, relocates from a quiet country life to join the prestigious St. Bonaventure hospital’s surgical unit. Alone in the world and unable to personally connect with those around him, his only advocate, Dr. Aaron Glassman, challenges the skepticism and prejudices of the hospital’s board and staff when he brings him in to join the team. Shaun will need to work harder than he ever has before, as he navigates his new environment and relationships to prove to his colleagues that his extraordinary medical gifts will save lives.
8.01
#3 - Mount Rushmore
Season 1 - Episode 2
Dr. Shaun Murphy’s attention to detail complicates his first day at St. Bonaventure Hospital. Meanwhile, Dr. Claire Browne learns a valuable lesson about honesty when confronted with a difficult diagnosis for her patient.
7.99
#4 - Not Fake
Season 1 - Episode 6
Dr. Shaun Murphy and Dr. Claire Browne devise an experimental procedure that can save the leg and life of a young groom, that is if his bride-to-be and parents can learn to work together. Meanwhile, Jared struggles to emotionally connect with his patient whose scars may prove too deep to overcome.
7.92
#5 - 22 Steps
Season 1 - Episode 7
Dr. Shaun Murphy has to confront prejudice from an unlikely source when he takes on the case of a patient with autism, and Dr. Jared Kalu has to learn to accept his limitations as a surgeon.
7.91
#6 - Islands: Part Two
Season 1 - Episode 12
The twins suffer complications from their surgery forcing the team to make a life-changing decision. Shaun returns to the hospital after his trip with Lea and decides he needs a more permanent change – and gives Dr. Glassman his two weeks’ notice.
7.90
#7 - Smile
Season 1 - Episode 17
Dr. Shaun Murphy questions the need for an elective surgery that will allow his young patient to smile for the first time. Meanwhile, Dr. Claire Brown and Dr. Morgan Reznick discover that their patient lied about her identity.
7.90
#8 - Apple
Season 1 - Episode 8
During a robbery at the grocery mart Dr. Shaun Murphy is shopping at, his communication limitations puts lives at risk. Meanwhile, after Shaun’s traumatic day, Dr. Aaron Glassman worries that he isn’t doing enough to help Shaun.
7.90
#9 - Hello
Season 2 - Episode 1
Shaun’s proposed treatment for a homeless patient puts him and Dr. Kalu in Dr. Andrews’ crosshairs. Claire tries to overcome Dr. Melendez’s reluctance to do a risky heart operation. Dr. Glassman faces a difficult decision about his health.
7.88
#10 - Intangibles
Season 1 - Episode 9
As part of St. Bonaventure hospital’s international humanitarian program, the team takes on the case of a young boy from the Congo who has severe congenital heart anomalies. Dr. Neil Melendez has doubts about the safety of the procedure, while Dr. Shaun Murphy works out the best course of action. Meanwhile, Murphy’s latest encounter with his neighbor Lea has him confused.
7.88
#11 - Sacrifice
Season 1 - Episode 10
Members of the hospital’s surgical team are initially impressed with a charming young doctor, but his true character puts one of them in an awkward position at work. Meanwhile, Dr. Glassman feels Dr. Shaun Murphy needs a little more support with his personal life and suggests he meet with a therapist. However, Shaun is determined to show him that he can do it on his own.
7.88
#12 - 36 Hours
Season 2 - Episode 3
Dr. Melendez, Dr. Brown and Dr. Park have given a young married couple two choices about their future: save the wife’s life or their future ability to start a family. Meanwhile, when Dr. Lim has to take care of some personal business, she leaves oversight of the emergency room to Dr. Murphy and Dr. Reznick; and Dr. Glassman’s post-op recovery leaves him struggling to get the rest he needs for recovery and also confronting his relationship with his daughter.
7.87
#13 - Point Three Percent
Season 1 - Episode 5
While in the exam area of St. Bonaventure Hospital, Dr. Shaun Murphy encounters a young patient who looks eerily similar to his deceased brother, Steve. After discovering his parents have hidden his diagnosis from him, Shaun struggles to understand why he doesn’t deserve to hear the truth about his own health. Meanwhile, the team can’t figure out what keeps triggering their patients’ increasingly severe allergic reactions and races to find the cause before the next one kills another patient.
7.87
#14 - Tough Titmouse
Season 2 - Episode 4
Shaun recalls his own past to help an intellectually disabled teenager face separation from his mother, while Claire is put between an injured teenage rock climber and her worried parents. Meanwhile, Glassman’s post-op hallucinations force him to confront a personal tragedy.
7.87
#15 - Two-Ply (or Not Two-Ply)
Season 2 - Episode 6
Morgan and Shaun’s indecision on how to treat a young violinist who visits the ER with an infected finger could affect her future in more ways than one. Meanwhile, Lim, Claire and Park can’t figure out if their young patient is really ill or looking for attention.
7.85
#16 - Oliver
Season 1 - Episode 3
Dr. Neil Melendez and Dr. Jared Kalu discover their patient isn’t being completely honest with them which may cost him his chance at a life-saving surgery. Meanwhile, Dr. Claire Browne must learn to communicate with Dr. Shaun Murphy as they race back to St. Bonaventure Hospital with a donated organ.
7.85
#17 - Pipes
Season 1 - Episode 4
Dr. Neil Melendez and the team have to wade through legal waters when a husband and wife have to make a life-changing decision about their unborn child. Meanwhile, Dr. Shaun Murphy struggles to adjust to his new environment at home and makes a huge step forward with his colleagues.
7.83
#18 - Middle Ground
Season 2 - Episode 2
As Shaun pushes back against Dr. Melendez in order to treat a gravely ill hospital janitor, Dr. Lim risks a lawsuit to repair a teenage girl’s ritual circumcision. Dr. Glassman exercises demanding oversight in choosing a doctor for his brain surgery.
7.83
#19 - Carrots
Season 2 - Episode 5
When a patient suffering from anorexia can’t gain the necessary weight needed to survive heart surgery, Claire suggests they perform an experimental surgery which Melendez strongly opposes. Shaun worries Glassman’s refusal to walk the hospital floor will keep him from being discharged and tries to persuade him to ambulate. Meanwhile, Shaun and Lea change the terms of their current relationship.
7.81
#20 - She
Season 1 - Episode 14
Shaun is surprised to learn that his young cancer patient identifies as a girl while being biologically male. He must quickly learn to understand his patient, her medical needs and how to work with her family, who all feel they know what is best for her.
7.79
#21 - Seven Reasons
Season 1 - Episode 13
Shaun suspects his patient is lying about the reason for her injury and makes a controversial assumption about her motives. Dr. Melendez’s personal life could be affecting his work and, ultimately, his patients' lives.
7.78
#22 - Hubert
Season 2 - Episode 7
Dr. Shaun Murphy and Dr. Morgan Reznick must contend with two brothers who are bargaining over life and death. Meanwhile, Dr. Claire Brown’s friend who is dying of cancer asks her for something she doesn’t think she can give her; and Dr. Aaron Glassman is dealing with the effects of his treatment.
7.76
#23 - Islands: Part One
Season 1 - Episode 11
Dr. Marcus Andrews enlists Dr. Neil Melendez on a very sensitive kidney transplant between a pair of twins; Dr. Shaun Murphy decides to take an impromptu trip with his friend Lea and leave his problems behind.
7.76
#24 - Heartfelt
Season 1 - Episode 15
Dr. Shaun Murphy's teenage patient has been confined to her home her entire life due to a rare heart condition. Despite her condition, she has cultivated a large group of friends online and hopes that the surgical team can find a way to give her the life she has always dreamed of having. Meanwhile, a young patient's perfectly matched organ donor is causing a moral dilemma for the parents and the patient.
7.74
#25 - Pain
Season 1 - Episode 16
When the team treats a patient who has to decide between a dangerous surgery that could change his life or remain the same, he asks Dr. Shaun Murphy what he would if he had that same choice.
7.73