Dr. Aaron Glassman recently married his girlfriend after a very short courtship. Much to his horror, as she went about putting her things away in his home, Glassman noticed she has a gun. Oh, the horror.
In the October 21 episode of ABC’s The Good Doctor titled “First Case, Second Base”, Debbie (Sheila Kelley), Dr. Glassman’s (Richard Schiff) new wife, proudly tells him that her gun is a Walther PPK .32 and then shows him how she stores it in a gun safe in her bedside table. Unfortunately for Debbie, the panic Glassman feels at the mere sight of a gun immediately spreads across his face. This is clearly going to be a problem for the newlyweds.
Grossman checks the pulse of his colleagues on gun ownership when he sees some residents sitting in the cafeteria.
Grossman: Hey. Do any of you own a gun?
Claire: Is there someone you'd like "Taken care of"?
Grossman: Ah.
Alex: I still have my service pistol.
Morgan: I have a Sig P365.
Grossman: Do any of you have, or have you ever had, issues about it with your significant others?
Alex: After our son was born, my wife suddenly hated having a firearm in the house. And one night, I came home late to a... power point presentation. 90 minutes of horrifying statistics. Now it's in a locker at my gun range.
Grossman: Lotta set up but I like that.
Morgan: I had a boyfriend who felt very weird about me having a gun. He wasn't big on logic, so I took the emotional approach. Told him it's not for the firepower, it's for the confidence it gives me as a woman when I carry it.
Claire: I lived with a guy who had a gun. Had to use the nuclear option. It goes or he goes. It worked -- they both went.
Grossman: Well, that’s just wonderful.
Dr. Grossman buys a home security system for their house but Debbie explains that it isn’t a substitute for a gun. Liberal gun-grabbers don’t understand that something like a home alarm system only alerts the homeowner, while a gun actually stops a home intruder from harming people in the house.
Coincidentally, as the couple goes around and around on this subject, Grossman just happens to work on an 8-year-old boy in the emergency room who was shot by his sister in their home. This led to an exchange of gun statistics.
Dr. Glassman: Actually, I'm -- I'm gonna need an extra shot.
Debbie: Rough day?
Glassman: Had to help out in the E.R. With an eight-year-old boy who was accidentally shot by his sister. He'll survive, but with brain damage.
Debbie: That's horrible.
Glassman: Yes, it is.
Debbie: And quite coincidental.
Glassman: Like so many other coincidences. You know how many kids are shot every day in this country? 19. You know you're three times more likely to be shot if you have access to guns than if you don't?
Debbie: Here's another fact -- one in four women are victims of violence at the hands of their intimate partner. No, no, no. I'm not afraid of you. This isn't about you.
Glassman: Did something happen? 'Cause if it did, I want to know about it.
Debbie: You figure something horrible must have happened to drive me to such an irrational, fear-driven choice?
Finally, Glassman sits down next to Dr.Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) who counsels him on the impasse Glassman finds himself in. Recently experiencing the pleasure of feeling his girlfriend’s breast, Shaun says if Debbie allows Glassman to feel her breast, nothing else matters.
Shaun: Are you still having a gun fight?
Grossman: Oh, yeah. Second day of my marriage and we are at an impasse. Tried the logical approach, I tried the emotional approach, no compromise. Only thing left is the nuclear option, which really sucks. The thought of having a gun in my house makes me sick...
Shaun: Has Debbie let you touch her breast?
Grossman: What?
Shaun: Has Debbie let you touch her breast?
Grossman: Yeah.
Shaun: Then you shouldn't worry about anything else.
And, just like that the problem is solved. Grossman realizes he should compromise with Debbie. Their final scene in this episode is one of him literally reaching for her breast as Debbie wants to bring up the subject again. I wish I was kidding, but I’m not.
