* MeaningfulEcho: "Maybe this is a good thing." First Betts says it to Duntsch in regards to his losing his football scholarship, then many years later, Duntsch's father says it to him in regards to him losing his medical license. Both football and medicine are things Duntsch has devoted years of his life to and tried again and again to be accomplished at with no success, but while being forced out of the first one isn't too significant, losing his license will inevitably save lives.
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* MedicineShow: Duntsch creates a slick informercial for himself, complete with a testimonial from one of his less-disastrous patients.
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* MedicineShow: Duntsch creates a slick informercial infomercial for himself, complete with a testimonial from one of his less-disastrous patients.
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** When Henderson performs a revision surgery one one of Duntsch's patients, he notes (with disbelief) the mess Duntsch made, including the dura mater (protective sheath around the spinal cord) dissected, offering no protection to the nerves. Ligaments cut and just hanging loose, bone fragments piercing nerves and otherwise messily smashed into the spinal canal "like putty".
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** When Henderson performs a revision surgery one on one of Duntsch's patients, he notes (with disbelief) the mess Duntsch made, including the dura mater (protective sheath around the spinal cord) dissected, offering no protection to the nerves. Ligaments cut and just hanging loose, bone fragments piercing nerves and otherwise messily smashed into the spinal canal "like putty".
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** This adaptation doesn't depict the full extent of the emotional and physical abuse that he inflicted on Wendy, which included an incident where he broke into her apartment and was found covered in blood and bruises while holding a knife and gun with a ransom note written in blood nearby.
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** This adaptation doesn't depict As nasty as his [[DomesticAbuse treatment of Wendy is]] in the full extent of show, it was even ''worse'' in real life. The show omits the emotional and physical abuse worst of it, such as a time when he beat her so badly while she was pregnant that he inflicted on Wendy, which included she needed to go to the emergency room, or an incident where after they'd separated when he drunkenly broke into her apartment and was found covered in blood and bruises while holding a knife and gun with a ransom note written in blood nearby.
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* CripplingOverspecialization: Duntsch gets on Kirby's radar precisely because they have vastly differeing specialties , orthopedics and vascular, respectively. Some spinal surgeries require access through the front of the body rather than the back. Orthopedic surgeons, however, lack the training to get to the spine through all the organs so they bring on vascular surgeons to clear the way, so to speak. Kirby came into assist Duntsch, thinking everything would be routine only to get an up-close look at Duntsch's horrifying behavior in the operating room.
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* CripplingOverspecialization: Duntsch gets on Kirby's radar precisely because they have vastly differeing specialties , differing specialties, orthopedics and vascular, respectively. Some spinal surgeries require access through the front of the body rather than the back. Orthopedic surgeons, however, lack the training to get to the spine through all the organs so they bring on vascular surgeons to clear the way, so to speak. Kirby came into assist Duntsch, thinking everything would be routine only to get an up-close look at Duntsch's horrifying behavior in the operating room.
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* CripplingOverspecialization: Duntsch gets on Kirby's radar precisely because they have vastly differeing specialties , orthopedics and vascular, respectively. Some spinal surgeries require access through the front of the body rather than the back. Orthopedic surgeons, however, lack the training to get to the spine through all the organs so they bring on vascular surgeons to clear the way, so to speak. Kirby came into assist Duntsch, thinking everything would be routine only to get an up-close look at Duntsch's horrifying behavior in the operating room.
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* TranquilFury: Dr. Henderson's testimony at Duntsch's trial is scalding, but Baldwin delivers each word in a calm, graceful manner.
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* BodyHorror: Lots and lots of it. The show doesn't hold back at all from showing just how horrific Duntsch's surgeries were and the gruesome effects they had.
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* {{Gaslighting}}: Duntsch uses his charm to convince a patient that her operation went wonderfully, and even gets her to record a testimonial for him. He didn't fix her pain, and actually left a ''sponge'' in her incision, but he convinces her that it was a suture and she's more or less as healthy after the operation as she was before it; by Duntsch's standards, this was a pretty good outcome.
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* {{Gaslighting}}: Duntsch uses his charm to convince a patient that her operation went wonderfully, and even gets her to record a testimonial for him. He didn't fix her pain, and actually left a ''sponge'' in her incision, but he convinces her that it was a suture and suture. At least she's more or less as healthy after the operation as she was before it; by Duntsch's standards, this was a pretty good outcome.
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* {{Gaslighting}}: Duntsch uses his charm to convince a patient that her operation went wonderfully, and even gets her to record a testimonial for him. He actually left a ''sponge'' in her incision, but he convinces her that it was a suture, and she at least is functional after the operation; by Duntsch's standards, this was a pretty good outcome.
to:
* {{Gaslighting}}: Duntsch uses his charm to convince a patient that her operation went wonderfully, and even gets her to record a testimonial for him. He didn't fix her pain, and actually left a ''sponge'' in her incision, but he convinces her that it was a suture, suture and she at least is functional she's more or less as healthy after the operation; operation as she was before it; by Duntsch's standards, this was a pretty good outcome.outcome.
* GoodLawyersGoodClients: Averted. Chris is an asshole, but his public defender is a decent person who's just stuck with a delusional lunatic of a client. She refuses to defend Chris's indefensible actions in court, and instead argues that he was poorly trained, never should've practiced in the first place, and that the tragedy came about thanks to flaws that were InherentInTheSystem. She (almost) convinces him that he won't get his medical license back and will worsen his situation if he keeps trying.
* GoodLawyersGoodClients: Averted. Chris is an asshole, but his public defender is a decent person who's just stuck with a delusional lunatic of a client. She refuses to defend Chris's indefensible actions in court, and instead argues that he was poorly trained, never should've practiced in the first place, and that the tragedy came about thanks to flaws that were InherentInTheSystem. She (almost) convinces him that he won't get his medical license back and will worsen his situation if he keeps trying.
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* GoodLawyersGoodClients: Averted. Chris is an asshole, but his public defender is a decent person who's just stuck with a delusional lunatic of a client. She refuses to defend Chris's indefensible actions in court, and instead argues that he was poorly trained, never should've practiced in the first place, and that the tragedy came about thanks to flaws that were InherentInTheSystem. She (almost) convinces him that he won't get his medical license back and will worsen his situation if he keeps trying.
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* GoodLawyersGoodClients: Averted. Chris is an asshole, but his public defender is a decent person who's just stuck with a delusional lunatic of a client. She refuses to defend Chris's indefensible actions in court, and instead argues that he was poorly trained, never should've practiced in the first place, and that the tragedy came about thanks to flaws that were InherentInTheSystem. She (almost) convinces him that he won't get his medical license back and will worsen his situation if he keeps trying.
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* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Many are delivered, mostly to Chris by virtually everyone in his life. But he isn't the only one to get these.
** Dr. Kirby, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold true to form]], delivers one every time he meets a person or an institution that in some way enabled Duntsch's madness.
** Josh chews Dr. Henderson out at a fancy dinner for giving into the medical bureaucracy and abandoning the Duntsch case once things got difficult. [[spoiler:It's just Henderson's imagination, but it persuades Henderson to stop working with the Texas Medical Board and get law enforcement involved]].
** Dr. Kirby, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold true to form]], delivers one every time he meets a person or an institution that in some way enabled Duntsch's madness.
** Josh chews Dr. Henderson out at a fancy dinner for giving into the medical bureaucracy and abandoning the Duntsch case once things got difficult. [[spoiler:It's just Henderson's imagination, but it persuades Henderson to stop working with the Texas Medical Board and get law enforcement involved]].
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* ForScience: Duntsch tries to rationalize his actions by saying that he needs the money that he'll make from surgery to fund his research. However, his lavish spending, and the fact that he seems to never enter a lab once he's done with residency, might make one doubt his sincerity.
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* ForScience: Duntsch tries to rationalize his actions by saying that he needs the money that he'll make from surgery to fund his research. However, his lavish spending, and the fact that he seems to never enter enters a lab once he's done with residency, might make one doubt his sincerity.
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* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Duntsch's behavior is actually toned down for the series, with this adaptation not depicting the full extent of the emotional and physical abuse he inflicted on Wendy, which included an incident where he broke into her apartment and was found covered in blood and bruises while holding a knife and gun with a ransom note written in blood nearby.
** The screenwriters treat Duntsch's research pursuits as legitimate, and portray his interest in biology as his sole redeeming trait. In reality, Duntsch's colleagues at Discgenics[[note]]a biotech startup that Duntsch was involved in, that went belly-up during the financial crisis of 2008[[/note]] have recalled him as a lazy drunkard whose only job was wining and dining prospective investors, and in behind-the-scenes material, the real Randall Kirby says that he reviewed Duntsch's research and found to be either plagiarized or nonsensical.
** The screenwriters treat Duntsch's research pursuits as legitimate, and portray his interest in biology as his sole redeeming trait. In reality, Duntsch's colleagues at Discgenics[[note]]a biotech startup that Duntsch was involved in, that went belly-up during the financial crisis of 2008[[/note]] have recalled him as a lazy drunkard whose only job was wining and dining prospective investors, and in behind-the-scenes material, the real Randall Kirby says that he reviewed Duntsch's research and found to be either plagiarized or nonsensical.
to:
* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Duntsch's behavior behavior, both personal and professional, is actually toned down for the series, with this series,
** This adaptationnot depicting doesn't depict the full extent of the emotional and physical abuse that he inflicted on Wendy, which included an incident where he broke into her apartment and was found covered in blood and bruises while holding a knife and gun with a ransom note written in blood nearby.
** The screenwriters treat Duntsch's research pursuits as legitimate, and portray his interest in biology as his sole redeeming trait. In reality, Duntsch's colleagues at Discgenics[[note]]a biotech startup that Duntsch was involved in, that went belly-up during the financial crisis of 2008[[/note]] have recalled him as a lazy drunkard whose only job was wining and dining prospective investors, and inbehind-the-scenes material, an interview with Christian Slater, the real Randall Kirby says said that he reviewed Duntsch's research and found to be either plagiarized or nonsensical.
** This adaptation
** The screenwriters treat Duntsch's research pursuits as legitimate, and portray his interest in biology as his sole redeeming trait. In reality, Duntsch's colleagues at Discgenics[[note]]a biotech startup that Duntsch was involved in, that went belly-up during the financial crisis of 2008[[/note]] have recalled him as a lazy drunkard whose only job was wining and dining prospective investors, and in
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** Josh Baker represents multiple medical professionals[[note]]largely Kyle Kissinger, a OR nurse who observed Dunstch's dirty and torn scrubs and alerted Dallas Medical Center's Chief of Medicine when Dunstch tried to order a craniotomy[[/note]] who worked encountered Duntsch's work and tried to put a stop to him.
** Kayla Gibson was distilled from various people who interacted with Duntsch during medical school and residency[[note]]the person who reported Duntsch's cocaine use to the University of Tennessee was a nurse who happened to be at the same party as Duntsch, but was never romantically involved with him[[/note]]. Her relationship with Duntsch exists to foreshadow Duntsch's abuse of Wendy and Kim.
** Kayla Gibson was distilled from various people who interacted with Duntsch during medical school and residency[[note]]the person who reported Duntsch's cocaine use to the University of Tennessee was a nurse who happened to be at the same party as Duntsch, but was never romantically involved with him[[/note]]. Her relationship with Duntsch exists to foreshadow Duntsch's abuse of Wendy and Kim.
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** Josh Baker represents multiple medical professionals[[note]]largely Kyle Kissinger, a OR nurse who observed Dunstch's dirty and torn scrubs and alerted Dallas Medical Center's Chief of Medicine Surgery when Dunstch tried to order a craniotomy[[/note]] who worked encountered saw Duntsch's work and tried to put a stop to him.
** Kayla Gibson was distilled from various people whointeracted knew with Duntsch during medical school and residency[[note]]the person who reported Duntsch's cocaine use to the University of Tennessee was a nurse who happened to be at the same party as Duntsch, but was never romantically involved with him[[/note]]. Her relationship with Duntsch exists to foreshadow Duntsch's abuse of Wendy and Kim.
** Kayla Gibson was distilled from various people who
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* DeterminedDoctor: Kirby and Henderson are a new take on this trope: when it becomes clear that treating Duntsch's patients after he's butchered them isn't enough, they go to court to protect the public from his "care."
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* DeterminedDoctor: Kirby and Henderson are a new take on this trope: when it becomes clear that they get tired of treating Duntsch's patients after he's already butchered them isn't enough, them, they go to court the law to protect the public from his "care."
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* DrFeelgood: As a resident, Duntsch runs a lucrative side hustle writing prescriptions for ADHD meds.
* DrugsAreBad: Duntsch's drug habit starts out innocently enough--he actually conceives a novel idea for treating spinal degeneration while he's on LSD--but by the time he's practicing independently, his drug use is presented in an entirely negative light.
* DrugsAreBad: Duntsch's drug habit starts out innocently enough--he actually conceives a novel idea for treating spinal degeneration while he's on LSD--but by the time he's practicing independently, his drug use is presented in an entirely negative light.
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* DrFeelgood: As a resident, Duntsch runs a lucrative side hustle writing prescriptions for ADHD meds.
* DrugsAreBad: Duntsch's drug habit starts out innocently enough--he actually conceives a novel idea for treating spinal degeneration while he's on LSD--butby unfortunately he also gets high in the operating room. By the time he's practicing independently, his drug use is presented in an entirely negative light.
* DrugsAreBad: Duntsch's drug habit starts out innocently enough--he actually conceives a novel idea for treating spinal degeneration while he's on LSD--but
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* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Duntsch's behavior is actually toned down for the series, with this adaptation not depicting the full extent of the emotional and physical abuse he inflicted on his ex, which included an incident where he broke into her apartment and was found covered in blood and bruises while holding a knife and gun with a ransom note written in blood nearby.
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* HistoricalVillainDowngrade: Duntsch's behavior is actually toned down for the series, with this adaptation not depicting the full extent of the emotional and physical abuse he inflicted on his ex, Wendy, which included an incident where he broke into her apartment and was found covered in blood and bruises while holding a knife and gun with a ransom note written in blood nearby.
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** He mistakes part of a patient's ''neck muscle'' for a cancer, cuts the muscle out for a biopsy, aborts the surgery without having even attempted the cervical repair that he'd promised the patient, and then sews the patient back up... with a sponge still inside. The patient develops a life-threatening infection. Kirby, who is called in to salvage things, likens the surgery to an "attempted murder."
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** He mistakes part of a patient's ''neck muscle'' for a cancer, tumor, cuts the muscle out for a biopsy, aborts the surgery without having even attempted the cervical repair that he'd promised the patient, and then sews the patient back up... with a sponge still inside. The patient develops a life-threatening infection. Kirby, who is called in to salvage things, likens the surgery to an "attempted murder."
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** A revision surgery performed by Henderson sees him note the mess Duntsch made of the patient, including the Dura Mater (protective sheath around the spinal cord) dissected, offering no protection to the nerves. Ligaments cut and just hanging loose, bone fragments piercing nerves and otherwise messily smashed into the spinal canal "like putty".
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** A When Henderson performs a revision surgery performed by Henderson sees him note one one of Duntsch's patients, he notes (with disbelief) the mess Duntsch made of the patient, made, including the Dura Mater dura mater (protective sheath around the spinal cord) dissected, offering no protection to the nerves. Ligaments cut and just hanging loose, bone fragments piercing nerves and otherwise messily smashed into the spinal canal "like putty".
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* MenCantKeepHouse: After Wendy leaves Duntsch, his once-luxurious suburban home becomes a pigsty, reflecting his mental decline. When she later stops by to pick up their son, she's disgusted by the squalor.
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** Kim dresses for her job interview with Duntsch as if it were a first date at a dive bar, showing her [[GoldDigger gold-digging]] tendencies.
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* AdultFear: Surgery can be plenty stressful, even if your doctor ''isn't'' a dangerous lunatic.
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* SnobsVsSlobs: Dr. Skadden attempts to invoke this by publicly comparing credentials with Drs. Kirby and Henderson. Kirby proves to be a bad target as he's a graduate of Rice and Baylor, two of the best schools in the country, but Henderson provides a slight opening by being a graduate of the University of Nebraska. However, Henderson is unaffected by the snobbery[[note]]In real life, Henderson is regarded as one of the best spine specialists in Texas with a stellar professional reputation[[/note]].
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* SnobsVsSlobs: Dr. Skadden attempts to invoke this by publicly comparing credentials with Drs. Kirby and Henderson.Henderson, having just boasted about having [[IvyLeagueForEveryone gone to Harvard]]. Kirby proves to be a bad target as he's a graduate of Rice and Baylor, two of the best schools in the country, but Henderson provides a slight opening by being a graduate of the University of Nebraska. However, Henderson is unaffected by the snobbery[[note]]In real life, Henderson is regarded as one of the best spine specialists in Texas with a stellar professional reputation[[/note]].
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** A revision surgery performed by Henderson sees him note the mess Duntsch made of the patient, including the Dura Mater (protective sheath around the spinal cord) dissected, offering no protection to the nerves. Ligaments cut and just hanging loose, bone fragments piercing nerves and otherwise messily smashed into the spinal canal "like putty".
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