Tries to do 2 things at once and fails at both.
First thing it tries to do is depict an autistic person. While I would not say there are necessarily "errors" in depictions of certain behaviors or reactions, they seem mostly shallow. On the other hand I've watched only 2 episodes, so maybe it becomes better later, but what I saw did not spark much interest. In fact, I'd argue that Patience actively getting involved from the start by sharing extra information felt... Out of place somehow. It did not fit the rest of her character shown. But what's worse, there was simply no chemistry between any characters.
You can complain about The Good Doctor all you like, but it can hook you right away with the chemistry between characters. They are dynamic, and Shawn's struggles felt real and heavy, and reactions to him felt more than just "playing a script". That show also incorporated his "peculiarities" into the narrative much better. And that is the 2nd thing that this show fails at.
It simply does not make sense. Even besides Patience getting involved, it felt like everything in the case presented was created specifically so that she and only she could solve it (especially the cigar thing, which was extremely forced). Unlike Shawn, Patience did not strive to get to her position, she did not hone her skills in any way. This makes her look... Unnatural. As if autism is a superpower. And maybe in some ways it may be seen like that in very isolated cases, but it generally is not a super power.
I see quite a few people compare this show to original, "Astrid et Raphaëlle". I have not watched it yet, and so far I've found only French version without English subs, but I scrubbed through first episode, and it looked better. Astrid looked more natural and stressed under her new conditions, and Raphaëlle looked genuinely interested in getting to know her even outside the case. Let alone the fact, that actresses seemed to have actual chemistry. Once I find subs, I will probably give that one a try. But as for Patience - I have none for this show (pardon the pun).
