The Good Doctor’s Latest Tragedy Will Change Shaun & Lea Forever
Shaun and Lea have been going through a lot in Season 4 of The Good Doctor, but the show’s latest tragedy will change them forever
Season 4 of The Good Doctor hasn’t been easy for Shaun and Lea. After the third season of the series ended in devastating fashion with the death of Dr. Melendez, Lea finally conffeses her feelings for Shaun, and they quickly begin their relationship. Soon after, the couple receives a wonderful surprise with the discovery that Lea’s pregnant. Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worse for Shaun and Lea in the show’s latest episode, “Dr. Ted.”
The Good Doctor’slast episode, “Waiting,” saw Shaun and the rest of the surgical team at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital deal with two young boys who came in with life-threatening gunshot wounds. They spend most of the episode trying to save them, and while they’re successful, another shocking event happens outside of the hospital.
As Shaun and Lea prepare to head home after a difficult day at work, Lea collapses as the episode comes to a close, and her fate is left up in the air. “Dr. Ted” picks up a day after Lea’s incident, as Claire’s checking on her. Claire and Lea’s OBGYN believe her collapse was nothing more than a complication of being pregnant, but Shaun isn’t so sure. He complies a list of possible explanations, and Claire, being the good friend she is, decides to run more tests.
Clair discovers that Lea has a condition affecting her fetal blood vessels and that she needs emergency surgery. Shaun comes up with a surgical plan, but Dr. Lim informs him that it’s a conflict of interest for him to work the case. Lea’s surgery ends up being a success, and all she and Shaun can do is wait for the results of further tests. Unfortunately, Lea begins to have a complication from her procedure, one that puts the baby’s life at risk.
After running further tests, the surgical team finds another issue in Lea’s blood vessels that imaging didn’t spot. It’s stopping the baby from receiving proper lung function, and without the ability to breathe, there’s no chance of survival. Shaun goes to tell Lea, and as she begins to break down, they embrace each other. The next morning, Lim explains that the couple has two options — Lea can either have a D&R, or they can induce labor, giving them the chance to hold their child at least once. Not wanting to go into labor without the opportunity to take the baby home, Lea decides to have the D&R.
After the procedure, Lea and Shaun leave the hospital as their colleagues watch on. It’s a tough moment to watch for many of them, and, as a result, several, including Park and Dr. Glassman, take stock of the good things in their life. Shaun and Lea then arrive back at their apartment, forever changed by the events that just transpired.
Created by David Shore, The Good Doctor stars Freddie Highmore, Antonio Thomas, Richard Schiff, Paige Spara, Fiona Gubelmann, Will Yun Lee and Christina Chang. New episodes air Mondays at 10 pm ET/PT on ABC.
