State of the Shea, Pt. 68: All the “Broken” Questions… (Or Not)

Question 1: Why isn’t Shaun wearing his wedding ring in this shot?

At first I thought it was a blooper of sorts; that Freddie Highmore had (somehow) forgotten to put it on during this brief (but powerful) closing scene of TGD’s S6 Winter Finale “Broken or Not” and (somehow) no one caught it. But consider the following:

• Shaun was on his way to the OR (for Lim’s spinal cord surgery) earlier in this final act/segment of the episode, and was presumably in the OR or prepping for it when Lea got the news about her pregnancy. The assumption is that Lea either paged Shaun citing an emergency (in the case of the former), or he got a text from her before the surgery began (in the case of the latter). Shaun also isn’t wearing his name tag… or a surgical cap (yet). So my guess is that Lea caught him midway through the prep.

• Doctors generally remove their rings— even wedding rings— when performing surgery. Some don’t wear rings on the job at all, for a variety of reasons (though we’ve all seen that Shaun wears his). Here’s a “student doctor” forum that addresses the subject.

• So, kudos to TGD for getting this detail correct! I’m sure they do it all the time, but now #Shea Nation has a vested interest…

Anyway, in case you haven’t guessed: ‘tis the season for a new round of Winter Finale questions!

Last year, I came up with three dozen questions about S5’s “Expired”— some I tried to answer myself, others I left wide open— to theoretically keep us deep in speculation-land during what was feared to be a looong winter’s nap for TGD. It wasn’t that long after all… and, lucky us, S6 will resume even sooner (January 23, last I heard). But it’s still a long enough break for me to keep us busy!

Only 30 questions this time, though. Ready to take them on?

Question 2: How soon might Shaun and Lea actually be buying a house?

Now that Lea’s pregnant again, I suspect the house stuff will fade to the background for a while. Maybe all the way until next season.

Then again, if she carries to term they could use more room sooner rather than later…

Question 3: What do you think Perez would have told Jordan at dinner the next night…?

I’m guessing he was trying very hard to move forward, and put his addiction behind him… but he truly wasn’t ready, which contributed to his relapse. Back to this matter in a few minutes.

Question 4: Did Shaun get back to being overly familiar with Lim sooner than you expected?

Maybe, but we know how quickly Shaun and Lea skipped past that “hard work” that they both said they needed after Lea briefly moved out…

Question 5: After Lim said she had to “think about” the new surgery proposal, was anyone surprised that Shaun bounced right into the next thing on his to-do list…?

I was, just a little… but things are definitely different now. Plus, if Shaun’s new ratings system (a.k.a. “the next thing”) was his personal distraction from the sadness of the Asherman’s Syndrome, it makes sense that he’d want to get busy being “distracted” as soon as possible.

(And the fact that the ratings system was something he could actually control surely didn’t hurt.)

Question 6: Was anyone waiting for Salen Morrison’s name to get mentioned when a “ratings” system came up?

When the ratings thing came up in the original synopsis for the episode, I immediately thought of the Ethicure days and wondered how Shaun, of all people, would get caught up in something that caused so much frustration (for him AND Lea, obviously) a year ago?

But attendings rating residents is quite different from patients rating doctors. And, according to Glassman, Shaun was already working with a self-made ratings system before he overhauled it. So there were zero references to Ms. Morrison, and rightfully so.

Question 7: Are you tired yet of seeing Park and Morgan apart when they seem destined to get back together?

I feel for the die-hard #Parnick shippers out there, loving a couple that is destined to be bounced here, there and everywhere. Like so many other opposites-attract TV couples of the ages, they tend to be seen as more interesting APART than together— which is why the writers created an obstacle (Morgan’s East Coast job offer) that led to Park’s decision to break up. It looks like this won’t last, but how long will it take…? And how will Morgan’s desire for a child factor into it all?

( I guess I worked a couple sub-questions in there.)

Question 8: You know what I’d like to see from Park?

Some “flappability”. He’s so damn cool every time someone calls him out about Morgan. I know blowing his stack is not his style. That’s why I want to see him do it.

Question 9: What’s the thought on Jordan filling Asher in on Perez’s “recovery-related boundaries” (as Asher put it)? Surprised? Disappointed? Totally expected?

Even though it may a moot point, if Perez’s OD becomes common knowledge at St. Bon’s… I still say this would have been a better thing for Jordan to share with Lea than fellow doctor Asher.

Of course, that would require at least ONE Jordan/Lea scene since the season premiere… (grrrrr)

Question 10: We know Danny Perez has issues, but being over-the-top ambitious about his career doesn’t appear to be one of them. Can we say the same about Danni…? Or is it her combative nature that just gives her the appearance of such?

  This one I leave to you… is Danni driven in a “good” way, or a destructive way?

Question 11: Hope this doesn’t sound too smart-assy of me, but… Don’t you think Teddy already KNEW he was bulimic and didn’t need three doctors to tell him?

Maybe it should have been worded “Your bulimia is what caused this” in the script. After all, is it truly possible a young man wouldn’t know that the extremes to which he takes his body has a name?

Or am I thinking BULIMIA is a more recognized illness than it actually is in 2022?

Question 12: “I’m not what you want, so I need you to move on”,” Morgan told Park in one of their walk-and-talk scenes. Is THAT why Park later acted as if Lily hadn’t dumped him…? Out of an effort to respect Morgan’s “needs”?

I can see it. I can also see it biting Park in the butt once the truth comes out. But maybe only temporarily.

Question 13: If Lim resumes her “old life” and she and Clay don’t make it… will she blame Shaun all over again?

Hee. Just kidding.

(But she better not…)

Question 14: Are we surprised that Lim not only agreed to the surgery , but was prepped for it by the end of this episode?

I’m not sure about the rest of y’all… but I was.

Question 15: We don’t know how Perez’s heroin issues will play out yet, but… If Danni had been the first to learn of Perez’s history of drug abuse do you think she would’ve used that information against him without much thought, or would she have agonized over the decision first?

Notice I’m not giving the option of keeping her nose out of it!

Question 16: What do you think Shaun’s notes indicated? Did he have Danni in the “lead”, or was it Perez? Or was it a virtual tie, which could have factored into his decision to retire the whole idea?

Assuming his “I don’t like Dr. Powell” days are truly in the past… I’ve no idea. I doubt it was a tie, though. Or at least that a tie prompted him to tear up his notebook, since the whole thing took place shortly after his “only step forward we make is one we make TOGETHER” conversation with Lea.

Question 17: Clay and Lim and that ring… what do you think…???

Symbolically, I get it. The writers wanted Lim to have a BIG assurance that Clay had no plans to go anywhere, surgery or no surgery. Still, I felt that storyline rush again… and I’m sorry that I can’t fully lean into this whirlwind romance of theirs. I do think chemistry abounds with them, as well as potential, but they’ve known each other SIX WEEKS. Maybe.

Then again, I suppose we consider the same TV time/space continuum that allowed #Shea to act as if Lea had her miscarriage in November 2021 rather than six months earlier. The pendulum swings both ways, right?

Question 18: All that aside… Do you think “Clim” are really in for the long haul? 

Sorry, but I say “no.” I want them together too, but while I believe Clay’s intentions are true as can be, I have a tough time believing they have a firm enough foundation to weather whatever comes after Lim recovers.

Question 19: What do you think will happen regarding Morgan’s wish for a child?

One possibility: she and Park let their guards down enough one night and she becomes pregnant as a result, “forcing” them to stay civil… which leads me to

Question 20: Do you think TGD would make room for TWO newborns in the near future?

I’m afraid the words that keep coming to mind here are— thanks, reader Steven Hamburg— “Shore Tax.” Know what I mean?

But it’d be quite interesting if I’m wrong.

Question 21: How could they determine Lea was pregnant when she simply went to get a scan of her injured hand?

I’m answering this because it came up in the post-show Twitter Circle chat led by Natty, aka @TheGoodDoctorAr… in the U.S. (not sure about other countries), most women are required to take a urine-based pregnancy test before undergoing a procedure that uses radiation (since the radiation could harm a fetus). Lea’s hand scan falls into that category.

Question 22: What do you think sent Perez over the edge and back to heroin? Guilt over his handling of the situation with bulimia patient Teddy and his brother? Distress over his feelings for Jordan? Neither? Both?

I’m going with “both”— but it’s probably much more complicated than even that. I wonder how far TGD will delve into it?

Question 23: Are you as concerned for Perez’s survival as Jordan is?

Here’s the easiest answer I’ve got: DON’T BE. Brandon Larracuente (who plays Perez) was promoted earlier this season to series regular, so it’s very unlikely he’s going anywhere.

Question 24: Do you think Jordan and Perez will truly connect as a couple anytime soon?

Unfortunately— yep, here I go again— I don’t see how they can. Perez’s need to focus on staying clean is obvious; Jordan’s feelings about all this remain to be seen, but I doubt they’re simple enough to push for a relationship now. 

And finally… Lea is pregnant again! Let us count the questions for this development alone:

Question 25: How is her pregnancy once again coming as a surprise?

The first time around, we pointed to the ways in which various contraceptives fail and chalked it up to “the odds”. But this time we have contraceptive failure AND the sizable challenges brought on by Asherman’s Syndrome…

Eh, I suppose the best answer to the question is IT’S TV, AND WHEN IT COMES TO PREGNANCIES THERE’S ALL KINDS OF WIGGLE ROOM. Next question…?

Question 26: Was there anything not to like about this twist?

The improbability (see above)-- but hey, I’ll get over it.

Question 27: What did you like the most?

Speaking for myself: In that moment, in that scene, it was Shaun’s reaction— the processing (faster than usual, given his intimate understanding of the situation at hand), the recollection of Lea’s own words as a beacon of hope, that careful way of enveloping her in his arms. Sometimes it’s astonishing to think of how much he has grown since Season 1– I know someone says this at least once an episode, but it really shone through at the end of “Broken or Not.” 

(I also loved the way Lea told him, almost in a whisper… almost as if she was afraid of awakening all the painful possibilities if she spoke too loudly about it.)

Generally speaking, I’m very much up for whatever this pregnancy has to offer. My immediate question was “Why did they send Shea through the tunnel of despair just two episodes ago if they were going to have her pregnant this soon?”... until I answered myself with “It’s the drama, dummy”...The shock, the surprise, the joy overshadowed (for now) by grave concern for both Lea and the child to come. 

For me, the upswing of all this is that this time we already KNOW the basics of the battle ahead for Shea. First time out, the options were wide-ranging– Shore and Co. could have given us a mostly lighthearted, straightforward, B-plot pregnancy and delivery…. OR a bumpy-road, A-plot version… OR have the journey end prematurely, letting the drama stem from that sorrow.  We saw what path they chose last time. And I think we already see the path ahead. I like this one a lot better.

Question 28: Do I think Lea will carry to term this time?

Yes.

Question 29: Do I think the baby will be completely healthy from the start?

I’ll get back to you on that one.

Question 30: Boy or girl?

I’m thinking BOY this time… and that we won’t get that confirmed until his day of birth.

OK, now it’s your turn! What developments are you thinking about the most? What answers have you come up with? What questions remain unasked? Let me know in the comments!