Why I will never watch ABC's The Good Doctor again

By Elizabeth Prata


I had been enjoying ABC's The Good Doctor from the first episode. The show features a main character of an autistic adult, a resident doctor at a teaching hospital, who, because of his autistic brain, happens to be a medical savant.

The first season especially, showed the character Shaun adapting to expectations of being an autistic employee in the real world. The character grew into relationships that abound in the employment sphere, such as mentor, boss, and colleague, and friend. The show did a good job of showing how Shaun's perspective also changed the expectations and attitudes of those around him. The writers struck a good balance in depicting the reactions and attitudes of the neuro-typical people in Shaun's sphere while also showing how Shaun sees the world through autistic eyes.

Season two began with Shaun in a romantic relationship. As with his professional employment aspects, the show delved into the issues of an autistic man relating to a woman in romance. Though the two maintain separate bedrooms, their moving in together represented a huge step for Shaun in dealing with someone in his personal space all the time, and the difficulties of relinquishing control and routine in deference to another person. And the same with the girlfriend regarding give and take with an autistic man.

I was pleased to see that the show dealt with the give and take in relationships in a manner similar to a romantic relationship between neurotypical people. There are just different amounts and types of the give and take expected.

Along the way, because it's secular liberal television, the 'medical drama of the week' often reflects the cultural concerns of the day. Issues such as female genital mutilation, image in homosexual relationships, Islam, sexual harassment, feminism/being female in medical world, and so on, have been covered. Some watchers note that the liberal agenda promoted by the show seems to be speeding up, with the introduction of ever more heavy topics handled in an ever more emotionally manipulative way.

I'd concur with that observation, I've noticed it too.

Which brings me to the last episode I didn't see.

I hadn't watched the show on November 26 and when I was ready to watch, I searched for reviews and recaps first. I usually do, to give myself advance notice of topics I would decide not to watch. I'm glad I did, because when I read the reviews and recaps, I was shocked. The episode was called "Empathy".

Apparently a man who has constant thoughts and sexual desires for children was featured. He hated his own desires and sought to rid himself of them, via medicines, mutilations, and therapies. He prided himself on never having acted on his desires, because he knew they were depraved. The build-up in the show, apparently, was to develop empathy for the 'in thoughts only' pedophile because of the extreme lengths he went to in order for him to make sure his desires remain unfulfilled.

This is called the "virtuous pedophile." The title is an actual title, based on a growing internet support group of people who acknowledge their depraved desires but do not act on them. Their restraint is supposed to be virtuous.

First, if you notice the language, over time, sodomite changed to homosexual changed to gay. Child molester changed to pedophile to virtuous pedophile. The liberal agenda will always try to attach noble language or at least neutral language to immoral acts in order to soften perceptions of its immoral qualities.

There is nothing virtuous about child molestation, acted upon or not. Jesus said,

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:28).

If I were to paraphrase, 'a man looks upon a child with lustful intent, he has already committed adultery with that child in his heart.'

Genesis 6:5 says,

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

We are depraved through and through. There is no distinction between those who have depraved thoughts and desires and those who have acted on them. Jesus' standard of morality and righteousness applies to those with adulterous thoughts and desires, people with homosexual thoughts and desires, or pedophilac thoughts and desires. Even having the desire is wrong. It isn't virtuous in any form.

I resented that the television show attempted to soften its audience to this fact. If you think about how a show is written, someone had to come up with this idea. They had to research it, sit around and write it, discuss it, and re-write it. I spend a lot of time writing a blog essay, you can imagine how much thought and effort goes into writing an hour-long television show. The writers had to work hard to get this to where they wanted it.

That's depraved in itself.

Everyone has a line in the sand across which they will not go. I won't spend time watching a TV show that puts across any sort of message with the words empathy, virtuous, and pedophile in the same sentence. I won't be softened by the liberal mainstream agenda sending out messages like this. I won't be manipulated into anything treading close to this idea. Therefore, I say goodbye to the Good Doctor.