That “sorry not sorry” thing– it’s a toss-off of the times; that kind of thing my college-age kids were raised on, but not myself. I’m more than kind of person who apologizes too much… You know, saying “sorry” when I’m stepping 6 feet in front of a person because I’m afraid I’m blocking their view when I’m clearly not. It wouldn’t have occurred to me to use the term facetiously. (At least, not out loud.)

Nor would it occur to Shaun to do that, and that’s exactly why titling this episode “Sorry, Not Sorry” was a stroke of brilliance. I presume the credit for that goes to the episode’s scriptwriters (Tracy Taylor and Sam Chanse), but whoever it was managed to capture the literal feel of Shaun‘s impassioned speech to Lim– that he was still not sorry about saving her life, but did understand they were many other things to be sorry about. And he is and he perhaps has been for a long time now, but through no real fault of his own could not all the dots lined up in a way to successfully underscore the sorrow of the situation. 

(Taylor wrote S5’s “The Shaun Show” and co-wrote “Cheat Day” for those keeping track of such things; Chanse’s most recent contributions were co-writes on the S5 episodes “Dry Spell” and “Crazytown.”)

So I hope you don’t mind if I riff off this whole sorry/not sorry thing for the duration of this post… I think it fits, given “the stellar stand-alone story, beautiful long-awaited conversation, frustrating turn of events... and a few head-scratchers” that I wrote about when promoting this post on Twitter. 

And if you’ve no clue what I mean by all that, give me a minute…

SORRY… that I have to applaud the reality of the episode’s date rape storyline.

For it shouldn’t be the story of so many women… but it is. And for this, I give special credit to the episode’s director Bosede Williams for clearly bringing both POTW Toni’s and Dr. Morgan Reznick’s traumas to life. Toni’s situation was illustrated from the moment she staggered into the ER; a lurching, out-of-focus POV shot that put us immediately on edge as much as she was. And while we thought we were seeing her story (told in flashback across the episode), what we actually got from her was a series of verbal responses that must hit so close to home with other victims of sexual assault – particularly those who have ever weighed the options with regards to bringing up charges. The rape kit scene that we eventually witnessed was a harrowing one as it showed how invasive the process of completing that kit can be. But it was imperative to show it. Such a sequence has probably turned up on numerous other dramas dealing with sexual assault, but it was the first time I’ve seen it, and it helped me understand the process so much better than simply talking about it. The “Are you ready to continue?” line being asked step-by-step, until it sounded so far off you could tell the whole thing was an out-of-body experience for her… so provocative and powerful at the same time. Big big props to Williams for her thoughtful additions to this entire story… And I haven’t even gotten to the Morgan part yet.

NOT SORRY… that Morgan’s revelation led to Toni’s agreement to the rape kit, or that it showed Park a new side of his ex.

Morgan’s had her turn of being the odd character out in certain episodes thus far this season, but this sharing of some pretty serious backstory was a worthwhile wait. By giving Fiona Gubelmann (the actor who plays Morgan) some darker, lowlight extensions to change up the look of her hair, the flashbacks successfully created the terrifying feel of the assault without revealing whose assault we were actually talking about… Until we got the shot of Morgan, looking at herself in the mirror, bloodied and bruised, and, in that moment, shattered. 

When Shaun went into Lim’s office near the end of the episode and said “I need to talk about your surgery,” my first thought was Oh, no, don’t lead with that! Except… I thought he was referring to her (rejected) reverse paralysis procedure. What he meant was THE surgery, the one from “Afterparty” at the top of the season, the one that saved Lim’s life but also changed it so dramatically. And what followed was the cascade of personal revelations that must’ve hit Shaun like a ton of bricks, yet with painstaking care he unveiled them to her. The apology for “other things,” the acknowledgment that his decision saved her life but also caused her harm, the awareness that the life he saved has been “very hard” for her ever since… he even brought up missing her and her friendship (which was the last straw if you were trying not to cry during this scene). It was beautiful and thoughtful and emotional and every other adjective ending in “L” you want to attach to it. So big, big props to scriptwriters Taylor/Chanse, and (of course!) to Freddie Highmore and Christina Chiang for handling those lines with the care that they did.

There’s at least one time before that TGD had a little bitty subplot on an episode that felt like borderline filler… The one I’m thinking of was the S3 episode where Lim got caught up in the whereabouts of a young girl roaming St. Bon’s because her mom had just had a baby and she didn’t feel important anymore, or something like that. You can recall the synopsis of all that in the comments if you like, but it was a sidetrack to absolutely nowhere Lim so I just don’t consider it important enough to remember. My point is, this was one of those times when I felt like the time could’ve been spent better in any number of ways.

Sorry, not sorry that I said that 😉

What did YOU think of “Sorry Not Sorry”? The comments section below is eager for your input!