The Good Doctor type TV Show network ABC genre Medical

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Freddie Highmore checks in as more than the titular doc in season 2 of last year’s runaway-hit medical drama The Good Doctor.

In addition to leading the series as Dr. Shaun Murphy, Highmore wrote the new season premiere, which sees Shaun and the ailing Dr. Glassman (Richard Schiff) facing the repercussions of telling Dr. Andrews (Hill Harper) about the near-fatal mistake Shaun made in surgery. At the top of season, Shaun is sidelined to manning the mobile clinic with Dr. Jared Kalu (played by departing cast member Chuku Modu), who hoped to do something more surgically interesting on his last day in the hospital.

“Of course, there’s a case that will develop during their time in the mobile clinic that will become more interesting than it initially seemed,” teases Highmore, who penned two episodes of his previous series, Bates Motel.

To preview the season, Highmore shares this script page — which picks up when Shaun and Jared return to the hospital — and dives into how Shaun is processing (or not processing) Dr. Glassman’s illness.

“I felt like it was an emotionally interesting scene, and my favorite scenes are those that you aren’t entirely sure where it’s going to go from the beginning, and there are many subtextual layers to what’s happening, some of which might not be apparent because, of course, you haven’t seen the rest of the script,” says Highmore. “But I enjoyed the pauses that are in this scene, the silences. I think so much is said in those unspoken moments, as opposed to purely the words that are on the page.”

Check it out:

Image zoom ABC

Image zoom ABC

1 THE END OF THE ROAD: “It’s the end of Jared’s day and he’s dejected because he didn’t go out with a bang, but with a whimper. Shaun, to some extent, is trying to comfort him.”

2. GOODBYE, JARED: “I felt very fortunate to be given the opportunity to give a great send-off to Jared. I think Chuku’s performance in this episode in general and the levels that he reached and the different ways that we get to see Jared not only interact with Shaun but with others is really interesting.”

3. THE GLASSMAN OF IT ALL: “I feel like this is how Shaun has reconciled the notion of Glassman’s illness to himself. This is a very particular fact that he has continued to hold on to.”

4. A BIT OF HUMOR: “I think we often do this with Shaun — playing into slight misdirects that aren’t purely there for the sake of it but make sense from Shaun’s point of view. We’re not entirely sure what he’s thinking and to what extent he’s engaged with the person opposite him. I like that the inherent humor of that last line comes from Shaun’s optimism and positivity.”

The Good Doctor returns Monday, Sept. 24, at 10 p.m. on ABC.