The Good Doctor ‘I am a surgeon’ meme, explained

If you’ve been on social media over the past few days, you’ve probably seen an incandescent doctor (played by Freddie Highmore) yelling that he is a surgeon while an impassive Dr. Jackson Han (played by Daniel Dae Hyun Kim) watches from his desk. It’s a fascinating few seconds of television, especially when it’s been divorced of all context, then remixed, amplified, and snipped into smaller memes. How did it even get started?

Good DoctorThis show was originally adapted by the South Korean Drama Good DoctorIt aired on ABC in the United States for six years. A seventh season was confirmed recently, as well as a possible spin-off. This show can be viewed on Hulu. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore), an autistic medical doctor, is the show’s main protagonist.

To be more specific, he’s a surgeon.

This clip, which is now being shared on numerous social media sites, was first interpreted in an ironic manner by TikTok. The clip was first posted in its entirety by users in late April. It then spread in an increasingly bizarre series of edits before being uploaded to Twitter.

People aren’t sharing this clip because they’re amazed by Highmore’s intense performance or the quality of the script. The contrast between Dr. Murphy’s intensity and Dr. Han’s stoicism reads as patently absurd, especially taken out of context. The emotional explosion paired with the repetition and a completely unconvinced witness has become fodder for memes — ranging from people extending the logic to Young SheldonTikTokers can overlay audio clips over videos of manual-dexterity maneuvers.

Any show with a sufficient timeline will produce some intense clips, which then become the memes for the show. Take the example of One Tree HillA dramatic storyline about organ donation was derailed by a man tripping, opening the cooler, then a dog walking up to eat the heart of a human that fell out. Alarming! The case for Good Doctor, people are taking the scene and running with it to create new memes that are not at all based in the show’s canon.

In perhaps the most absurd takes, fans have even adapted Highmore’s lines into memes about being a sturgeon.

The supervisor in the surgeon scene, Dr. Han, is a series antagonist and has become a meme in and of himself, with fans declaring themselves “Hanpilled” and posting their “Live Dr. Han reactions.” He ends up losing in the show. Spoiler alert: Good DoctorI suppose, but when he attempts to fire Shaun, he ends up firing himself. People still love him despite this.

Additional context coming from other clips in the show doesn’t help Dr. Han’s case, either. Transphobic, rude, aggressive, and explosive, Dr. Han is a jerk. Dr. Han is the subject of memes who fans like — though he is a jerk — and Dr. Murphy is the cringe surgeon.

In today’s age, everything is content — even an ABC show from 2017. The meme may simply pass on quickly, much like other jokes of its kind, but it’s a reminder that something doesn’t have to be new to become a viral sensation. Just make sure it hits the right note at the right moment.

Good Doctor can be streamed on Hulu, but it remains to be seen whether this running gag will have the kind of enduring appeal others — like that bit from One Tree Hill — have retained, long past its series finale.