There were certain challenges to watching TGD 6.2 “Change of Perspective,” and I’m not really talking about Lim’s new reality, or the freshly scrubbed residents with the matching names, or even the idea that Glassman might hurt his back while shooting hoops with his clothes hamper (really, guys? You couldn’t have had the die-hard baseball fan Glassy pretend to pitch instead?)

Here are the kind of things I’m speaking of…

• The S5/S6 transition is the first time the show really gave us a cliffhanger to contend with– at least, one of that magnitude.

• As a result, episode 2 was decidedly calmer… perhaps jarringly so.

• It’s a difficult reset because SO much was happening in the previous episode, I really felt like 6.1 was the end of last season and 6.2 was the start of this season. So there’s an odd kind of unmet expectation in this episode that seems unfair to ask in the first place. 

• Is it because we missed a lot in those 14 ½ weeks? Specifically the early processing of Lim”s paralysis on the part of Lim/GlasslShaun/Andrews? The initial M&M? The healing of Villanueva? The immediate aftermath of Parnick? The earliest days of the Shea marriage? (Including a honeymoon ?)

Lim’s New Angle on Life

On the surface, it looked like all systems go. Lim gerting around her house; Lim driving her car. Lim feeling the love of an adoring staff; Lim publicly thanking Shaun for “saving her life.” Lim knowing her ADA rights; Lim working hard in PT, Lim struggling with doing surgery one way; Lim succeeds with another. Even with the built-in setbacks, it was almost going a little TOO smoothly.

New Newbie POV Pt. 1

First impression of Dr. Danni Powell, aka Combat Danni? Interesting. Challenging. Somewhat icy (Her de-escalating scene with the heart patient’s wife was textbook-quality, but I was almost surprised the wife bought it, if you know what I mean). Quite confident for a “newbie,” though not in a cocky way. A little rude– did she have to call Asher’s line of questioning “idiotic” in one scene? Would Jordan have done that, especially on day one? (More importantly, what would Jordan’s reaction be if Combat Danni called her line of questioning “idiotic”?)

Obviously her big test in “Change of Perspective” was the matter of the xenotransplant, and her refusal to be involved. Again, her confidence (in her beliefs) was quickly on full display… creating an instant dilemma for Shaun that put Lea’s advice (“fire her”) in one ear and Glassy’s advice (“It’s her first day; it’s also your first day (as an attending)... Take a minute, think about it”) in the other. But while he told the two of them that he was taking Lea’s advice, he ultimately took Glassman’s. Maybe it was by default; had “Wilbur” not arrived on site when he did (in all his radiant, Charlotte’s Web-homaged pig glory), Shaun’s requested meeting with Combat Danni would have happened earlier. As it was, though, Shaun ended up getting a THIRD opinion– from Lim, whose professional input he values at least as much as the others, if not a little more– and created the option of his new resident watching the transplant from the gallery. 

New Newbie POV Pt. 2

Then there’s Danny Perez, coined early on in the episode as Handsome Dan. Park said it, and apparently ALL the nurses agree with him, as the “more than a pretty face” notion kept cropping up in his debut episode. Me? I feel bad saying this, but I don’t see it. I should probably add that, historically speaking, I haven’t swooned over certain heartthrobs the way other women and girls do– my taste must be less conventional, and I think often rooted in other “attractions” such as humor. (Case in point… David Letterman was at the top of my Top 10 Men list throughout my college days. Do with that what you will.) 

But I digress. First impressions of Handsome Dan (Perez): Polite. Soft-spoken. Kind of charming. Talks a lot about his beloved grandmother; I’m assuming for now that it isn’t a ploy to make him seem more sensitive and sweet to certain colleagues. A little wary of having to prove himself as good-looking AND capable. Maybe not as intriguing as Combat Danni, but I like him better.

And I guess we know who ELSE likes him…? I’m not sure if the Jordan/Danny  ( Jordanny? Jordaniel? DanJor? HELP!) thing is going to take flight sooner rather than later, but I’ll support it. Honestly, my first thought (because of the “handsome” thing again- shame on me) was She can do better. But hey, wasn’t I putting it in writing a few weeks back that they needed to give Jordan a love interest? And she wasn’t falling for him the way the nurses were… she needed a peek under the cover first. (BOOK cover, that is. As in don’t-judge-a-book-by-its. Come on back, readers…)

I’m keeping an eye on these two. Namaste. Giggle giggle.

The role of Parnick will now be played by Park and Resnick :(

I mentioned in last week’s post that I was pretty disappointed in Park’s response to Morgan’s (declined) job offer, as well as the fact that they appeared to be over because of it. As we picked up the action in “Perspective” a couple months later, I found myself frustrated all over again…

• We never saw Park move out of Morgan’s house, taking his (ugly) recliner with him… even though the moving-in issue grabbed its share of screen time in S5.

• We never saw the immediate emotional aftermath, post-breakup.

• We didn’t see the Dammit! I could be doing something more rewarding in NYC right now but I’m stuck here vibe from Morgan.

In its place is the Park and Morgan banter we’re used to… but now it has an edge. A less charming, less amusing, SAD edge, to me at least. 

The best thing I can compare it to is– and I know my younger readers may have to do some research, sorry– is The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour vs. The Sonny and Cher Show.  The former was a smash hit variety show of the early 70s, featuring the then-married titular couple trading funny barbs at each other’s expense. The latter was an attempt at the same show, in the mid-70s, featuring the now-divorced titular couple trading funny barbs at each other’s expense. But the jokes didn’t hit the same way. Some felt awkward, while others were downright painful. 

(I’m taking this mostly from accounts I’ve read; I have more memories of commercials for the CHER fashion doll than any version of the show itself.)

Since there was no word of either Morgan or Park taking a break from St. Bon’s during the past couple months, I’m left to wonder why they’d still be acting this bitter? SO bitter, in fact, that they’re getting called into Andrews’ office and advised to clean up their respective acts? (Here’s where I would have appreciated a line from Andrews saying something like “Hey, guys, I thought we worked this out the LAST time I called you into my office…”) 

To me, as I sit here thinking about it, it feels like manufactured drama for these two because the time jump effectively swept away much of their “real” drama. Not that the resolution of a breakup isn’t a process– God knows it is, especially when you work alongside each other– but their problems just felt too fresh. Let’s see where it goes over the next few episodes.

Shea… in the background

Speaking of changing perspectives (I’m supposed to be, at least)... this episode brought us our first dose in a long while of #Shea without much, you know, #SHEA. Shaun was around, Lea was around (the writers must ADORE the fact that they can essentially write an IT director into any hospital scene they want), and we saw them side by side a few times, there was a cool gift (ALWAYS count on Thomas L. Moran to be one of the writers when “Tequila, stat!” finds its way into the script), and of course they practically skipped out the door at the end of the day… but it didn’t add up to much. And, as I think I said last week, I didn’t expect it to.

By the way (again)-- A whole lotta members of #Shea Nation have voiced some form of disapproval in watching the promo for the 10/17 episode (“A Big Sign”). Not the Why are you guys making life tough for #Shea already variety, but more of Why are you guys creating ASD/NT (neurotypical) domestic challenges as if Shaun and Lea haven’t already lived together for the past 4 years? And covered many of these along the way?

It’s a completely fair question; however, I’m trying to reserve judgment until seeing the episode in full. Is there a legit reason certain matters (like “folding the shirts vertically,” as Shaun says in the promo) are cropping up NOW? Do they resolve said matters differently and/or more maturely than in the past? And how do the matters tie in to current events (hello, Lim)? These are the things I’ll be looking for on Monday.