A TGD Wish List for Season 6
By the time you read this, we’ll be somewhere around TWO WEEKS away from the season 6 premiere of The Good Doctor. This means any time now we ought to get more of those crumbs of clues that we gobble gleefully while waiting…
Episode title(s)!
Promotional photos!
A clip to accompany the S6 Premiere promo dropped at the month's start!
Slices of Shaun and Lea’s birthday– sorry, WEDDING– cake mailed to every viewer whose last name ends in y, o, or e! *
(*Um, for some reason the show has not yet responded to my request for this one.)
But there’s not much chance of any such information impacting our wide-ranging desires for the show in the 2022-23 primetime season, so the guesswork will likely continue all the way through the first part of the fall. If you like to compare notes on that kind of thing… well, you’ve come to the right blog. What we’ve got here is not just a list of the most popular wishes I’ve read of thus far, but at least a dozen more ideas– some #Shea-related, others directed at the rest of TGD’s cast. (I came up with many of them, but so did you– hopefully I’ve properly represented all that I’ve been told and credited appropriately!)
Let’s see what we’ve got…
The Top 5…
all had to do with stories established in previous seasons.
A BABY FOR SHAUN AND LEA
Yep, a lot of #Shea Nation is very vocal about this… which many see as a natural next step for the newlyweds. But the heartbreak of Lea’s S4 miscarriage is still a relatively fresh wound for some. We’ll talk more about this later.
PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, SHOW US DONNIE DILALLO ALREADY (Lea’s presumably estranged brother, first referenced way back in the early part of S2)
“He wasn’t mentioned when Lea’s parents visited in Season 4. And in Season 5, even though Shaun DID mention him to Sophie in her first episode, it doesn’t seem that he was invited to the wedding. Money wasn’t an issue, as the reality show’s budget was able to bring back Claire AND a patient from Guatemala. There must still be some bad blood between the Dilallo siblings after the collapse of their grandfather’s auto shop in Hershey, and I would love to see it addressed.”-- Tony
TIME FOR MARCIE MURPHY TO RETURN (seen here, sort of, in S3)
“I mentioned how some people would love to see this wrapped up with a neat little bow. Count me with the other side of that, who actually appreciates that some relationships in life are simply not meant to be! I don’t mind seeing this addressed, as long as it’s not an overly simplistic, happy little resolution. If this means that the Lea/Donnie relationship has to end up the same to provide a narrative parallel between Shaun and Lea, then so be it.” – Tony
“I know many disagree with me, but I think Shaun needs (a confrontation with Marcie). Lea hates Marcie because of what she did and didn't do for Shaun, but even she admitted that he needed to deal with her (although not at the wedding!). Not saying that there will be any kind of reconciliation, but I think confronting her and his childhood would be part of Shaun's continued growth.”– Juliana
CONTINUE WITH THE “DILALLEN” DEVICE STORYLINE
“Lea and Jordan are great together, but they're both strong women with opinions. Friends in business together can get fraught; I don't want their friendship or business to go sideways, but the dramatic possibilities can be interesting.”-- Juliana
“Maybe their business could gett some input from Shaun this season… a touch of ShaunVision, maybe?”– Asa
THE DILALLOS AS IN-LAWS
“Lea's relationship with her parents is sometimes rocky, but they're certainly not estranged. Will Pam be the mother-in-law from Hell? And if we get Donnie too… can Shaun and Donnie (and maybe Mike) bond?”- Juliana
AS FOR THE OTHER WISHES YOU TOLD ME ABOUT…
A holiday-themed episode!
“A Christmas episode would be GREAT.” -Danielle
(Because of the winter hiatus given to most regular ABC programming, TGD has skipped Christmas-themed episodes for the most part thus far… with the only exception being the decidedly grim 2-parter known as “Quarantine.”)
More “Professional Lea”
“One of my favorite episodes was Decrypt in Season 4. She's built up an impressive rep in IT as outlined by Salen. She helped with one of Morgan's patients giving her a voice through technology. Clearly she's skilled as well as smart; she likely makes much more money than Shaun does (that may change when he's an attending in S6). A side note: will she keep her last name because she's professionally established as Lea Dilallo in IT? Hyphenate it? Inquiring minds want an answer to this burning question!” - Juliana
More Shaun flashbacks
“There's still a lot we don't know about Shaun's childhood and his relationship with his parents, particularly with Marcie. I think his relationship with her was and is complicated. In the very first Season 1 episode, when he and Steve were living in the bus, Shaun rather wistfully asked Steve if "Mom is coming for us?" Steve assured him that she loved them, but "she knows it's better this way". I am not in any way defending her; she was a terrible mother. She probably did love her sons, but she loved her husband more. In Friends and Family he soothed and defended him when he tore into Shaun even though she could see Shaun was in pain.” - Juliana
More team bonding outside the hospital
“More softball, or maybe a retreat of some kind?” - Danielle
“An episode directed by Paige (Spara)!!” - Asa
Shaun & Park’s next steps “in action”
“As Attending Surgeons, I hope they actually serve as leaders, just as we’ve seen with previous Attendings. I know we’ll have a couple of interns (which are NOT the same as Residents), with Jordan and Asher now in the “first lead surgery” territory of their Year 3 Residencies. I know the show still needs to put Lim, Andrews, and Glassman to use, but if those three senior docs are still leading most of the surgeries, then I feel it would cheapen what Shaun and Park have accomplished by getting to this point.” - Tony
As for my own, cover-all-the-TGD-bases Wish List— it goes something like this… (in no particular order)
Park & Morgan’s future…
We don’t think Morgan’s actually going anywhere, despite her confession to Park in the final minutes of last season that she wanted the East Coast job. But will she come to resent her decision to stay… especially if she and Park don’t survive living together? While it’s not necessarily my “wish” that we see a resentful, bitter Morgan burn #Parnick to the ground, I’m not sure I see them staying together through the entire S6. And if the top breakup reasons are Resentful Morgan or Resentful (because he can’t financially invest in their relationship the same way) Park, Resentful Morgan could be more fun to see.
Time to check in with Kellan?
As already mentioned, the talk remains strong for certain #Shea supporting characters to make themselves seen in S6. But what about Park’s son Kellan, who we last saw when he was graduating high school during the COVID-themed “Frontline” episodes of S4? I’d like to see how his relationship with Park stands, two years later… as long as they aren’t sent down the road (again) of Can Park convince Kellan that his work doesn’t always win the battle for his time and attention? In fact, with Kellan halfway through college (or maybe older, if the writers decided to take some creative license), it could be interesting to get a situation where Kellan is now the “too busy” one.
Someone cue up Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle”—!!
Moving on…
Jordan in the spotlight
Whether it’s an introduction to other members of the Allen family, or some on-screen romance to accompany her personal career triumphs… or BOTH… I think Jordan is more than ready for her close-up. And with her portrayer Bria Samone Henderson on a hot streak of her own, there seems no better time for TGD to capitalize on what Henderson brings to the series.
A couple of specific wishes for Lim
May Lim’s recovery from this awful assault test her in all the best ways, making her only stronger (mentally) – and may she find love that lasts!
(Note to TGD- please, PLEASE cast carefully when you get to that point.)
Let’s see “Kevin” again— and let it lead to Andrews becoming his foster (possibly adoptive) father
This would be a nice recurring storyline to see, not to mention a great way for Andrews to keep growing. Also, it kind of mirrors Hill Harper’s own turn on single parenthood.
Let’s meet Lea’s ex-husband-from-another-lifetime
Not as some sort of supposed threat to her marriage to Shaun, but rather in a way that is ultimately much more helpful than hurtful… kind of like Glassman’s first ex-wife was in “Expired,” but with a lot less agonizing emotional baggage.
A wish for Asher and Jerome…
If they break up, let it be authentic and not played for laughs. (At least, not more than any other couple on the show.)
A wish for Glassman, too…
Assuming he’s past his existential crisis of S5 (and the finale sure seemed to be proof of a man more at peace with his place in Shaun’s life and elsewhere), what’s next for him? May I suggest he continue to lay off the romance… and focus more on the medicine he loves? And if he feels a need to mentor that can’t be met in the same way now with Shaun, maybe he’ll make a connection with one of the newest (youngest) doctors to come on board?
(I’m sorry for any images this may conjure up of Oliver from The Brady Bunch, or any of those kids they brought onto later seasons of Little House on the Prairie…if you’re a reader of a certain age, that is.)
AND… Don’t crowd the storytelling canvas every week
Attention to all TGD writers taking the time to read (and, in this case, pilfer story ideas): I know we’ve got some great ideas here and we certainly would enjoy seeing them fleshed out by professionals like yourselves, but PLEASE don’t overstuff the S6 TGD episodes like a late Autumn lawn & leaf bag. If this means 4 characters get featured one week but are mostly AWOL the next, I think we’d prefer that to drips and drabs week in and week out. Learn from experience.
Finally (Best for last)… That Shea Wish List….
And since I didn’t see much detail among the wishes for a new #Shea Baby, I’ll start with my own details… which are about the variables at play.
It seems a “time jump” is taking place somewhere between 6 x 2 (the resolution to the situation in 6 x 1) and the 3rd episode. Given that, I’m wondering how much of a “jump” they’re talking about. Enough for Shaun and Lea to have been married several months, when talk of “trying again” (after miscarrying in S4) might be a natural occurrence? (Paige looks to be wearing hair extensions in new episodes, so I tend to think the time jump is going to be significant… 6 months later, maybe?)
Would they ever skip forward in time to where Lea was already, visibly pregnant? My first thought is maybe… but it feels like there is too much drama to be mined from at least two sources– a discussion of trying again, and actually discovering Lea’s new pregnancy– to skip ahead like that.
On the other hand… I don’t see them showing us an entire pregnancy if/when it happens. We went through much of the 1st-trimester stuff last time around (and more, considering they jumped ahead a little in the episode with the doula (“Gender Reveal,” 4 x 14).
Which is why it seems quite possible, to me, that they’ll set the baby question aside for much of S6, allowing #Shea to get even better rooted as a couple (and now a married couple) and maybe starting the baby talk again next spring at the earliest.
Before you get all grumpy at the thought of having to be patient for so long… this is where it’s important to note how often I’m wrong in my #Shea predictions!
More readers’ ideas where Shea is concerned…
#Shea as inspiration- Tony
“With Shaun and Lea as the only married regular characters, any other relationship that develops on this show will be looking UP at Shea! I hope to see this in action in Season 6!” (Perhaps in tandem with Tony’s double-date idea below…)
Ditch the damn #Shea PJs!! -Juliana
“The last straw for me was when they had an arranged "date" specifically for sex and there they were, in bed, in their pj's! Lea commented that it felt off; hey get nekkid, girl! I get that they can't do a lot on network TV, but they went as far as possible with Shaun and Carly. The closest they came with Shea was when she suggested shower sex.”
A #Shea double date- Tony
“Whether it’s with Asher & Jerome or Morgan & Park, or even a TRIPLE date, I think any of those combinations would be fun.”
#Shea/focus on growth- Tony
“Drama is fine, and I don’t expect everything to go without incident. But with Expired and the reality show arc now behind us, I think we’ve squeezed all the blood we can from that late Season 3 ‘real feelings’ stone.”
#Shea- good domestic stuff- Danielle
“Lots of romantic, sexy and funny Shea domestic scenes.”
And the following #Shea ideas are from the non-#Shea Baby side of my wish list…
At least one “caper” a la recovering the striped tomato in “Everyone is Crazy Sometimes”
“Domestic bliss” in the form of some sort of home organization project that could drive them both insane but doesn’t. BONUS: something unearthed during such a project could be the seed for, say, a re-introduction of Donnie.
Last year’s road trip of the season was Glassman’s jaunt to Montana (and Lea coaxing him back). Shouldn’t this year’s be whenever they send #Shea on a REAL honeymoon? (We know they had their “fake honeymoon” in staycation form last season.)
And while I’m completely on board with the wish that we’d see a ban on long-flannel PJs for these two, I must admit… I don’t trust that to change. Could we at least get a little more talk referencing a healthy sex life— either between themselves, or via an oversharing moment (hello, Shaun) ? A change-up in location, time of day, whatever. I think they’d find us surprisingly easy to please in this regard… don’t you?
That’s the list, Season 6 edition! What do you think… are there ideas you adore? Despise? Wish you’d thought of first? DID think of first, but neglected to share with me? Please go hit up the comments section with your thoughts!
