Dr. Aaron Glassman is the person everyone at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital goes to when they need counseling. He’s always there to lend an ear or offer tough advice, but after the events of “Forgive or Forget,” he’ll need to find his own support system. Glassman and his wife, Debbie, have had issues since the start of their relationship on The Good Doctor, and now things may be too far gone.
The opening of “Forgive or Forget finds Glassman heading home after a long day’s work. But as he enters his house, he triggers the security system and can’t seem to get it to shut off. After entering the passcode several times, Glassman finally turns off the alarm, only to find another problem standing right behind him. Debbie has him at gunpoint, believing he was an intruder attempting to burglarize the house. She quickly realizes it’s her husband standing at the door, and the situation is diffused.
However, as Debbie goes to put her gun away, she realizes there isn’t a bullet in the chamber. She always leaves her weapon loaded, meaning someone had to go in and manually remove the bullet. Glassman admits to doing it, and the two begin a massive argument that lasts the duration of the episode. Debbie can’t believe her husband would betray her trust, but as Glassman explains, he doesn’t feel safe with a loaded weapon in his bedroom.
Of course, this isn’t the first time the couple has had issues. As Debbie points out later in the episode, Glassman almost called off their wedding because she used poor grammar, which speaks to his issues about controlling situations. And even after they moved in together, they had a massive argument about having a gun in the house in the first place. Debbie convinced her husband that she needed it to feel safe, but clearly, that sentiment didn’t stick with him.
After their initial blowup about the gun, Glassman tries to make things right, but he makes a mistake when he refers to their home as “his,” another example of his controlling attitude. In need of assistance, he talks to Dr. Lim back at the hospital, and she tells him a story about how her ex-husband started as good-natured but eventually became controlling as he grew threatened by her. Understanding what Lim was trying to say, Glassman decides to head home and try to apologize again, but when he arrives, it’s too late.
Walking into the bedroom, he finds Debbie packing a bag, seemingly preparing to leave. While Glassman tries to talk her out of it, she’s already made up her mind, and despite how much she loves him, she doesn’t feel like she can make it work. So, as “Forgive or Forget” comes to a close, Glassman is alone, left to wonder if he’ll be able to save his marriage.
