State of the Shea, Pt. 70: Show Me Some Patience Along The Way (“The Good Boy”)
Who’s got good dog stories? I know I do. Chances are that you do too.
Even though I’ve been a cat person in my adult life, there was a time when we seem to have a little of everything in my childhood… cats, hamsters, hermit crabs (don’t ask), a rabbit, an African gray parrot, a snake (!)… And, yes, a dog. We didn’t have all those at the same time, mind you, but Danny – our golden retriever– spent his 12 years in various forms of the menagerie.
He was big, he was friendly,and he was incredibly excitable; when he wagged his tail at those times it seemed his body would almost fold in two because he was so engaged in the wagging part. Danny drove mom crazy with the shedding, and drove us all a little crazy when an open gate sent him on a blind tear through the neighborhood, and I got my only broken bone thus far, a finger, when things took a turn while I was walking him at age 10.
He was loud, rambunctious and sweet, and the day I had to return to college, knowing that he was ill and I would not see him again, was a BRUTAL day. I adored him. We all did. He was a good thing in a family dynamic that was not so good… how could we not?
And then we have the backbone of this TGD chapter, which could almost have been called Parenting II- The Sequel if not for the absence of Pam and Mike Dilallo— and even they still got a few shoutouts. (Lea’s parents were featured in S4’s “Parenting” episode). There was no Lim and Clay in this one, no Jordan and Perez, no Shaun versus anyone of note. Just a deceptively simple way to bridge a few arcs on the show while bringing a fitting end to another one. Let’s start with the centerpiece– and the source of this episode’s title.
Shaun/Lea/Glassman/”Buddy”
Given the emotional wringer that the “Quiet and Loud” episode gave us for Shaun and Lea, we were all due for some levity. And the introduction of Buddy – or should I say Cooper– did double duty as both a lighter medical moment for Shaun and Glassman, and the
classic metaphor for expectant parents.
Arguably we got our first dose of that way back in season 2’s “Hubert”... but those days of playing house, shopping for goldfish, and being mere friends and roomies are long gone. Now, with a major pregnancy complication in the rearview mirror and Lea having “popped” (that’s 2nd-trimester talk for clearly looking pregnant), their parenting challenges never felt more in need of an upgrade.
I had to laugh at the Wikipedia synopsis of this episode for stating that Lea “demanded” Shaun come up with a surgery for the dog’s primary ailments. I think “implores” is a much better verb for the situation, don’t you? Sure, she was working the hormone card a bit throughout the episode (who wouldn’t), but she’s no Veruca Salt.
(Go read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory if you don’t get that reference. Better yet, watch the film. I hear a pretty fine young actor played Charlie (wink)).
Anyway, I suppose much of it was quite predictable: boy and girl meet injured dog… boy and girl struggle to make decisions about dog’s welfare while trying to find dog’s owners… boy and girl get attached to dog… boy and girl revel in dog’s healing and recovery…then boy and girl get their hearts broken a little bit when the real family comes to claim him.
But we all know a Shaun and Lea tale is going to have its unique elements:
Glassman‘s involvement
Shaunvision
A reluctant lead physician (and a backseat-driver doctor telling you what you’re doing wrong at every turn)
An updated “how are we going to do this?” #Shea conversation
The references to their respective parents were much more revelatory for Lea than Shaun, but given the unfortunate things we already know about Shaun‘s family, a little lopsided sharing was welcome. But I got a kick out of hearing Shaun say “I don’t plan to treat our children the way they treated me and Steve”. He’s already thinking multiples- heh.
It gave the writers a fresh opportunity to reference Lea as “flaky “– gee, haven’t heard that one in a while– but it also gave us good assurances about the two of them working together well in the future. (Nothing like a urination situation to show true teamwork, huh?)
Obviously this compatibility thing will continue to crop up in various editions; it started with “Two Ply (or Not Two Ply)” years ago, and looks to be a prominent theme in the upcoming “39 Differences”. But I like to remember that it’s no longer a question of if Shaun and Lea will get through a challenge, but how.
And if they themselves ever need a reminder of that fact, it’s quite clear that they need look no further than Dr. Aaron Glassman. The days of his borderline disdain for Lea, and concerns that Shaun and Lea are moving “too fast”-- they’re as long gone as, well, Hubert (R.I.P., you poor short-lived creature of the sea). His heartfelt conversation with Lea in “The Good Boy” drew yet another interesting parallel– to his “you’re going to be a parent someday, maybe… right?” conversation with Lea in the gamechanging “Friends and Family” episode…
(NOTE: I used to have a clip of said scene here, but I can no longer find it on YouTube.)
I had extremely mixed feelings about Glassy’s all parents can use some mercy speech in that one, but this more recent edition– featuring the line “If I was a betting man, I’d bet the house on the both of you”-- YES. Lock that in, Lea. It’s been a long time coming!
Park/Morgan
Like a lot of us, I haven’t been quiet about my on again/off again exasperation for the park and Morgan shenanigans of late. But as I mentioned last week, it is sniping with a purpose more often than not. The former lovers shared a patient for the week, and while it was frustrating at first to (again) see Morgan pitching her snide comments from the gallery and Park (again) lobbing them right back, the reasons this time became clear— and fairly progressive (whew)— in the second half of the episode.
I guess they had Park more confident and decisive about the risky surgical choice of the week (saving Lala‘s arm) in the name of Parental Wisdom, but it’s easy to see how Morgan could initially interpret that “dick move” as a personal slam.
In any case, the best snapshot of their current status came in their locker room scene. Park’s college-age son Kellan remains distant–so much for my hope that Park gets a new father/son storyline soon!-- and apparently Morgan’s first implantation didn’t work. Park didn’t come to this scene in the same state of mind as he’d had earlier, so thankfully he did not say something rude about it being a sign that she wasn’t as cut out for motherhood. Instead, we caught them both in a more vulnerable place. with a possibility of real friendship lingering.
Well, at least for a few days.
Powell/Asher/Lim
So last week had one “Danny” in the spotlight… this week was the other, one last time.
From the time they were both introduced as newbie sharing the name Danny/Danni, it seemed unlikely that both were going to stay for the long haul. And when we heard that Dr. Danny Perez got the bump to “series regular” earlier this season, it seemed only a matter of time and circumstance until Dr. Dani Powell was outta there. And they definitely gave her a sendoff that was fitting to the character that we knew thus far: headstrong to a fault, loyal, a little manipulative (a little!?), and rarely sorry for her actions.
So although her friendship with Lim felt genuine from both sides, it was maddening to see her abuse that friendship and overexaggerate her role in Lim’s surgery options. It gave us additional insight that overshadowed her harrowing life stories, and subsequent justification for doing as she does. Even when she forced Lim’s hand and got booted out of St. Bon’s program, the lack of remorse (and possibly the lack of true gratitude, for what Lim did with the bullet) overshadowed the great things she was able to do for a different friend.
(To say nothing of Asher now being on probation because of her! Jeez…)
She literally walked out of the hospital with her head held high, so good for her I guess. But I feel a lot worse for Lim than I do for our now-departed newbie. Bon voyage, Combat Dani. Time to take your battles elsewhere.
How did YOU feel about Powell’s exit from the show? Or Park and Morgan’s latest chapter? Or, of course, all things canine with #Shea? The comments section is hungry for your input!
