State of the Shea, Pt. 83: The “Skin” You’re In (“Skin in the Game”)

Oh, look, two weeks in and ABC’s news division kicked TGD out of its slot to cover a major day in the U.S. election journey– or it would’ve been, if there were any question who both candidates were going to be… 

But I digress. With this and next week pushing the next new TGD to March 19 (a repeat of “Baby, Baby, Baby” is scheduled for next week… yes, already), it’s likely that the series finale will now land in early May. Believe it or not, I’m somewhat OK with this. Upset still that TGD is getting the bum’s rush off the ABC schedule, yes. But a little extra time to breathe and digest each of the offerings we have left? I’ll take that. (Says the consistently late-posting blogger…)

All that said, I DO intend to write a new post for next week… there’s plenty to talk about, and there may even be a survey involved (oooooh!) So stay tuned, watch this space, and all that good stuff. 

I will return to the “Skin” theme associated with this week’s episode title… but first, let’s go to my preferred title, which is more likely to apply when one’s skin is covered with feathers…

MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS

This is a sculpture by Nancy Schön, which recreates the duck family in Robert McCloskey's children's classic. It’s been a part of Boston’s Public Garden since 1987.

Thanks to a deal made by Glassman (much to Lim’s chagrin– more on that later), St. Bons has suddenly been entrusted with the care and nourishment of med-school students. This is quite a bit different than the newbie 1st-year residents to which we’ve grown accustomed, as they’re younger, even greener around the gills, and even more uncertain where their specific interests lie… well, at least in some cases. 

For TGD’s purposes, we are getting acquainted this season with two “ducklings” in particular:

DOMINICK “Dom” HUBANK

Known as “the Dominator” in his football days, Dom came across in his first St. Bons days as eager to learn and grow, though relatively soft-spoken. He’s a big guy, but for now, he may nonetheless find himself in classmate Charlie’s shadow.

(To be fair, even the SUN might find itself in Charlie’s shadow. More on her in a moment.)

Given his size, Dom’s acute case of hemophobia (fear of blood) made for a great sight gag in the “Skin” episode… but how prominent will it be and should it be throughout his St. Bon’s tenure? I’m glad he was given an in-a-pinch coping mechanism via the glove snap technique, but he’ll need to learn to manage this fear comprehensively going forward. Hopefully we’ll see signs of such going forward without it dominating (forgive the pun) his entire story arc.

Is his interest in medicine as strong as that of the brother he mentioned? Or is he struggling at all to uphold the promise he made to his mom? Those are the things I’m most interested in with Dom.

CHARLOTTE “Charlie” LUKAITIS

Maybe this comes as no surprise if you watched the episode I watched, but the introduction of Charlie left even more of that “farewell season” bittersweet taste in my mouth… wishing futilely that we had a TGD Season 8 to look forward to. What a presence! What fun they’ll surely have writing for her! What havoc and heartbreak she’s likely to encounter with Shaun as she becomes familiar with the adage “Never meet your heroes”...!

Noteworthy similarities– and glaring differences– shimmered between Shaun and Charlie from the moment they first shared the screen. And Shaun is at the perfect point in his life journey to take only what he wants from this new relationship: the unbridled adulation. (Compliments may be difficult for him– as he stated several seasons ago– but this kind of appreciation for his unique gifts must be intoxicating on some level.)

But the comparisons between 2017 Shaun and 2024 Charlie were being drawn– by us, by Kalu– before we were halfway through the episode. They weren’t damning comparisons; on the contrary, they were rather endearing at this point. But as with so many things, Shaun saw it– saw her– differently. Full-circle situation, anyone? More about Shaun later.

NOTE: Did you notice that Charlie shares a last name with the man to whom TGD paid tribute in the season premiere? Paul Lukaitis was a stage manager for the show until cancer claimed his life last fall. You can read more about him here. 

The “Ducklings” may have been prominent in the episode, but the titular theme of “having some skin the game” to make life more interesting, or fun, or exciting, or what have you… let’s go around and see who had more “skin” involved than others.

PARK’S “TRICKY” BRAIN TUMOR SURGERY

Either Park gets stuck with tougher decisions than fellow attending Shaun, or he’s considerably less decisive… for this episode marked at least the second time Park has leaned on Lim for guidance and been told Nope, I can’t make that call for you, figure it out. 

Figure it out he did, and succeed big time he did as well, but I had mixed feelings about this case. POTW Sal the Gambler (played by House alumna Peter Jacobson) was not particularly likeable due in part to his gambling addiction… but Park essentially daring the man to give him a reason to perform an extremely high-risk operation on his brain was problematic, to say the least. (The writers covering their butts with exchanges like “This doesn’t seem ethical”/It’s not” didn’t cut it for me.) It got even stranger when Sal’s “reason” actually proved to be good enough for Park– the reason, if you’ll recall, was I don’t want to die. 

(FUN FACT for those of you who grew up in the Chicago area… Peter Jacobson, AKA Sal, is the son of longtime WBBM anchorman Walter Jacobson!)

Did Park think Sal had a death wish until that point? Or was it THAT important for him to hear Sal make a promise to turn his life around that he was unlikely to keep (because of the whole messy addiction matter)? I recognize that Park is a doctor unafraid of climbing his moral high horse for a trip around the grounds every now and again, but from the exchange I just mentioned to the one post-suregery– where it became all the clearer that Sal’s gambling days were not behind him after all– the whole case had a disconcerting vibe about it. 

Having said all that, I have some ideas as to why TGD laid this story out as it did. The basics of it, anyway. And they might just make a whole lot of sense.

(I’ll circle back to this too.)

As for Shaun… should the only “skin” we speak of be that which is rapidly expanding to accommodate his swelled head? Nah, let’s cut him a break and talk about three other of his “skin” investments instead:

1) His investment in his POTW Rich, who had silicosis and needed a dual lung transplant. Season 7 Shaun is so confident and self-assured, he managed to help salvage RIch’s relationship with his daughter and brag about his empathy skills later! 

(But, um, did you notice that he still delivered that initial “You need a dual lung transplant” news the same way he might say “You should avoid spicy foods for the next two weeks”? Yeah, Shaun’s still gonna Shaun.)

2) His investment in Charlie. What investment, you ask? Back in S3, when Shaun had the opportunity to grab the spotlight (in 3 x 14 “Influence”), he declined… telling Glassman he wanted to be known as “a good doctor, not a good autistic doctor.” But what he didn’t realize was that his (unplanned) viral moments from a few years earlier would come to influence at least one other person on the spectrum… much less that she’d be all but kneeling at his feet one day hoping for any crumb of guidance he was willing to toss her way!

So his first round with Charlie put him in the driver’s seat in a way we’ve never seen before. Was it because he’s never had an underling make such egregious errors? Or does knowing she’s on the spectrum too make him want to push her harder…? There’s plenty of time for him to give voice to the latter… even if he hasn’t quite figured out his feelings yet.

But I hope there’s a scene coming where Shaun tells Charlie about his toy scalpel. Because if he could’ve worn that scalpel as a piece of jewelry, he might have contaminated his first surgical area too.*

*= On second thought…I think TGD took some artistic license with Charlie’s “earrings” scene… such jewelry is required to be either covered by the surgical cap or removed completely, isn’t it?

3) His investment in his relationship with Glassman… which, after this episode, had most of us saying Thank goodness those two are on the mend but also had many of us saying Wait a minute… was that it? The whole journey-to-healing whatever they’re supposed to be in this season reached its destination by the end of EPISODE 2???

I mentioned last time that Shaun was perhaps as mad at Glassman now (about boycotting Steve’s birth) as Glassman was about Shaun’s role in his forced surgical retirement. Taking care of Steve must’ve melted some ice in Glassy’s heart, for one week later it felt as if Shaun was carrying almost ALL the anger:

“Don’t you think we should move past this stuff?” Glassman asked Shaun, adding “I’m trying to… I’m the one who should be mad at you.”

“You should have met Steve on the day he was born,” Shaun countered.

“Yes, I should’ve done that,” Glassman admits before also recalling his humiliation that involved Shaun. “Did you forget that?” he asked.

Without reacting or responding to Glassman’s question, Shaun said “That… is not an apology” before storming out.

Just a handful of family-related conversations later, we saw Shaun not only showing up at Morgan’s “Sip & See” party after all, but initiating a conversation with Glassman that led to the apology Shaun desired… even if it was, technically, an apology to the little peanut in Shaun’s arms that hasn’t a clue yet what’s going on.

Yet it’s pretty clear Shaun sees no reason to acknowledge his role in what happened between them. Are we supposed to conclude that Glassman’s absence at the birth is considered Shaun’s penance? Given how big a deal it is for Shaun to apologize for his actions— last year’s storyline with Lim being an example— I have a problem with that.

BUT… I also have a theory.

Both operations in the “Skin” episode seemed bigger than usual for attendings to handle. Yet Shaun’s dual lung transplant was such a non-event it was handled entirely off-camera (remember it was the earlier procedure on POTW Rich that got Charlie kicked out of the OR), and Park’s super high-risk brain surgery was ultimately completed without a hitch.

It never got mentioned in the episode that this kind of surgery had previously been Glassman’s specialty. That, had Sal the Gambler turned up at St. Bon’s six weeks earlier, Park wouldn’t have spent hours at the teaching simulator trying to perfect his technique because he likely would have, at best, been assisting Glassman. 

It never got mentioned, but did you notice who’d joined the onlookers by the time the gallery showered Park with applause? (HINT: it’s the one who was forced into surgical retirement.)

WHAT IF… the underlying purpose of Park’s storyline this week was to snare Glassman’s attention to his potential as a neurosurgeon going forward?

WHAT IF… Glassman takes Park under his wing, mentoring him specifically… which starts to draw time and energy away from Shaun/Lea/Steve?

And WHAT IF all that leads Shaun and Glassman back to a bigger conversation about why Glassman is in the torch-passing role in the first place?? And leaves Park wondering if Glassman truly sees something in him, or is he using him to get to Shaun… knowingly or otherwise?

It makes sense, yes? 

I hope I’m on the right track with this. I really do.

Ok, moving on to some #Parnick skin…

In between non-ethical conversations with his patient and agonizing practice sessions on the simulator with Dom passing out behind him (at the sight of FAKE blood!)... we were treated to a lovely late-night pep talk from Park’s blonder half. Which means they’ve each had a turn now at building up each other and/or fortifying the relationship since getting back together. Overall, it still feels like Park builds up Morgan more than vice-versa, but maybe that’s because she’s had more on her plate with a) trying to get pregnant and then b) becoming an “instant mother”. 

All in all, #Parnick is still moving in the right direction. But it’s early. If I’m right about the neurosurgeon thing, I wonder how it would factor into this relationship…

PRESIDENTIAL PRANKS

(For neither Lim nor Glassman want ANY “skin” in this game)

For now, it’s hijinks time for these two, as neither wants to do things the way the other one does (working together for Lim, divide-and-conquer for Glassman). It’s hard to say what the end goal is here; even if the presidency returns in full to Glassman (as I predicted), there’s no clear path to that at the moment. Will these two just pass the ball back and forth for a while, treading water until later in the season? Or will their differences fade to the back burner as other challenges await?

I have to say that, for now, I enjoy this dynamic between them. But just as Lim called out Park and Morgan years ago when their (pre-declaration of love) antics escalated… the fun only goes so far, especially in a hospital setting.

Finally, let’s move on to the

STATE OF THE #SHEA

Or, more to the point in this episode, the State of New Mom Lea.

TGD Showrunner Liz Friedman indicated that Lea’s breastfeeding woes were inspired by a friend of Friedman’s who went through something similar as a new mom. And while I had a somewhat different issue back when I was nursing my two kids– look up “latch-on difficulties” if you’re curious–  I felt that same sense of failure. (I’d say it really sucks, but…) 

Shaun was always going to have a limited ability to understand her frustration (as might any husband), so it was the perfect time to get Morgan to get involved. I’ll never get tired of Lea/Morgan conversations (probably because there haven’t been enough of them), so having Morgan talk Lea off that mountain was an absolute treat.

Or was she talking Lea off a molehill, considering she called her “raisin boobs”?

(By the way–imagine Paige Spara reading through this script for the first time and discovering that line being written to describe HER body…! Yikes.)

One more thing about this storyline… I had to chuckle about the whole idea of Steve being underweight because, for obvious reasons, Steve is played by a baby that is much older than 3 weeks. Who looks to be a healthy weight. If Lea is now supplementing with formula, “Steve” might be big enough to roll out of Mom’s arms and start toddling towards the fishbowl the next time we see him!

Sorry, another “one more thing” about the storyline…

They showed Morgan handing a champagne flute (or wine glass, or whatever) to Lea at the party as she demonstrated one of the benefits of supplementing. I wish they’d also given Morgan a line about “pumping and dumping,” which is shorthand in English for taking care of your nursing needs while consuming alcohol, or certain medications, or even being away from your baby for an extended period of time. 

LASTLY… while we’re talking about Google-able terms like “pump and dump”... how many of you knew what a SIP AND SEE was?

Apparently it’s been a southern U.S. thing for a while, this opportunity for friends and family to come over, sip a beverage, and see the new baby. (And bring a gift if you haven’t done so previously, I imagine.) I think I preferred the pre-arrival baby showers in my own situation, but I can imagine that’s not always ideal. Or possible, in the case of adoptions like Eden.

Is she legally adopted yet? Or is there gonna be some unfathomable loophole creeping in by early April?

No, no, no. I think Park and Morgan should be preoccupied with Park’s neurosurgical future instead…

(But enough about my thoughts on “Skin in the Game.” What were yours? Drop a comment and let me know!)