Dr. Shaun Murphy hit a personal and professional crossroads during The Good Doctor series finale while struggling to save two of his loved ones.The Tuesday, May 21, finale begins with Shaun (Freddie Highmore) trying to process the return of Dr. Aaron Glassman’s (Richard Schiff) cancer. At the same time, Shaun is working to find a cure for his longtime BFF Dr. Claire Browne’s (Antonia Thomas) own illness.
Once Glassman a.k.a. “Glassy” reveals that he has only three to six months to live, the rest of the doctors start to reminisce about all their good times together. Shaun, however, is committed to finding a treatment plan to save his pseudo-father.
“I’m not going to do it. I don’t want to spend my remaining days sick and in pain,” Glassman tells Shaun of the planned procedure, noting that he’d rather “spend those good months” with him, his wife, Lea (Paige Spara), and their son, Steve.Claire, meanwhile, goes into septic shock while hospitalized for Acinetobacter, which is an infection that is resistant to most remedies. The only way to give her a chance at survival is putting her in a coma.
“I can’t say goodbye, I just got you back,” Dr. Jared Kalu (Chuka Modu) tells Claire after rekindling their romance one episode prior.
Claire tears up, saying, “I love you. I’m so sorry, we lost so much time.” Jared reassures her, it was the right call for her to go to Guatemala, replying, “I love you too, Claire Brown.”
The heartwarming moment is interrupted when Claire realizes that Shaun isn’t there to say goodbye in case she doesn’t come out of the coma.
“I will find a way to save them both!” Shaun yells when confronted by Dr. Audrey Lim (Christina Chang) in his office, revealing that he’s been going back and forth between Claire and Glassman’s cases all night.
Only after Lim calls out Shaun for being “scared” and a “bad friend” does he have a lightbulb moment. In typical Shaun fashion, his brain spits out a crazy idea that can potentially save Claire: use viruses to get rid of the infection.
While one problem appears to be solved, Shaun can’t get over Glassman’s choice not to receive treatment for his cancer.
“You are being selfish, and you are a coward. … You are giving up on all of us,” Shaun yells at Glassman. “If you are giving up on me, then I have to give up on you.”Shaun eventually comes around, but only after he realizes that the only way to save Claire is to break FDA rules. In a pivotal moment, Shaun tells Glassman, “On the day that you go to heaven, I will have Lea. I will have little Steve.”
Shaun promises that he will go bowling with Glassman and make sure to ride the carousel — which the father-son duo did when Glassman’s wife died — both before and after his death. He notes that he knows he doesn’t need to “save everyone,” but confesses, “I just need to save Claire.”
Shaun reveals that since the FDA did not approve her treatment, he is “going to give it to her anyway,” which could result in getting his license revoked, meaning he “won’t be a doctor” and he’s “OK” with that.
