The scene aired on March 4, 2019, during season 2, episode 17 of *The Good Doctor* on ABC4. In the plot, Dr. Han, the hospital's new chief of surgery, had reassigned Murphy from surgery to pathology, believing his autism made him unfit to work directly with patients6. When Murphy is called in for a surgical consultation but then barred from performing the actual operation, he snaps and storms into Han's office2.

The scene first caught meme attention on the Chinese internet in early 2021. Users dubbed Dr. Murphy "紅眼肖恩" ("Red-eyed Shaun," translated from Chinese)4. On May 18, 2021, YouTuber 羊貓貓 uploaded an edit giving Murphy glowing red eyes, picking up roughly 34,900 views over two years4.

On TikTok, the scene appeared as early as September 18, 2021, when user @x.hejo.x posted a recording of it, getting around 41,000 plays4. Through late 2021 and into early 2023, fans of the show shared the clip earnestly, treating it as a powerful dramatic moment.

The meme's speed was noteworthy. eBaum's World called it "the most memed internet moment since the Pope's fake white puffer coat"1. All four related terms trending on Twitter simultaneously was unusual for a four-year-old TV clip1.

The viral wave brought unexpected attention to a show most internet-savvy viewers had never watched. *The Good Doctor* had been on air since 2017 and ran for seven seasons (with the final season premiering February 20, 2024)5, but it was primarily watched by an older demographic10. Vulture compared the meme's surprise factor to the realization that *Young Sheldon* is one of the most popular shows on TV: network procedurals exist in a different media universe than TikTok9.

The meme also spotlighted the show's autism representation controversies. Multiple outlets used their meme explainers as opportunities to discuss whether *The Good Doctor* handled its autistic lead character responsibly6. The Mary Sue specifically noted that the meme wasn't intended to mock autistic people but rather took aim at how a show with neurotypical actors and writers depicted autism6.

Daniel Dae Kim's dual role as both the on-screen villain and the show's executive producer added an ironic layer that several publications highlighted9.

The story of this meme is really two stories: a mediocre network medical drama that aired a scene in 2019, and the internet's delayed discovery of that scene four years later.

*The Good Doctor* is an American adaptation of a South Korean drama of the same name3. Daniel Dae Kim, who plays Dr. Han, is also the executive producer who originally spotted the Korean series, bought the US rights, and brought David Shore (creator of *House*) on board to develop it5. Kim chose to play the villain on his own show, appearing in only four episodes of season 29. In the show's narrative, Han eventually gets fired by hospital president Dr. Marcus Andrews for refusing to reverse Murphy's termination. In a twist, Andrews himself was later fired for this decision, as it was considered an abuse of power6.

The Chinese internet picked up the scene two years before the English-speaking web did. The "Red-eyed Shaun" meme circulated on Chinese platforms throughout 2021, with edits adding glowing red eyes to Murphy's crying face4. This early wave established the clip's meme potential, but it didn't cross over to Western social media in any meaningful way at the time.

When the clip resurfaced on English-language TikTok in April 2023, context collapse did the heavy lifting. People encountering the scene cold, with no knowledge of the show, found it unintentionally hilarious7. "This show is hilariously bad," tweeted @TrnsShenanigans, "like the entire show is like this"1. Polygon noted that people weren't sharing the clip because they were amazed by Highmore's performance. The emotional explosion paired with the repetition and a completely unconvinced witness was simply absurd3.

The meme evolved through several distinct phases. First came the earnest shares from fans who found the scene powerful. Then came the ironic reactions from non-fans who thought it was ridiculous. Then came the absurdist edits: CapCut filters, distorted faces, laser eyes, modified audio6. TikTokers layered the audio over videos of tasks requiring manual dexterity, and others transplanted Highmore into scenes from *Batman* and *Avatar: The Last Airbender*6. One especially popular format turned the clip into anti-memes, content that is intentionally unfunny in a way that circles back around to being funny8.

The ironic Dr. Han fandom was one of the meme's most distinctive offshoots. Fans declared themselves "Hanpilled" and posted their "Live Dr. Han reactions"3. The two characters got slotted into the Virgin vs. Chad template, with Han as the Chad and Murphy as the Virgin2. This reading inverted the show's intended dynamic entirely. Dr. Han was written as the antagonist, but the internet loved his unflinching calm. YouTube comments on the original scene shifted dramatically. Old comments from four years prior hated Han as the villain, while new comments from 2023 praised him1.

Additional context from other clips didn't help Murphy's case. A season 1 scene where Murphy misgenders a transgender patient went viral alongside the surgeon meme9. Vulture noted that some viewers took away a specific conclusion: Dr. Han is the actual "good doctor" of the series, and Murphy is "the cringe surgeon"9. This reading was obviously reductive, but it fueled the ironic fandom.

The meme's virality also reignited criticism of *The Good Doctor*'s portrayal of autism. Autistic people were among those poking fun at the scene, noting the over-the-top depiction of a breakdown by a neurotypical actor playing an autistic character2. Highmore has said he consulted experts and members of the autism community, and that "when you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism"6. The Autism Speaks website had previously highlighted the series for its portrayal of people with disabilities8, though the 2023 meme wave treated the performance as camp rather than representation.