The Good Doctor Season 7 Episode 5, “Who at Peace,” introduces two intriguing new patients and delicately broaches topics like obesity and religion, but most of the events are quickly forgotten due to a shocking end twist.
The episode follows Dr. Shaun Murphy’s ongoing struggle to be an effective mentor to Charlie, while Dr. Audrey Lim and Dr. Richard Glassman’s feud takes an unexpected turn when Dr. Glassman begins dating her mother.
However, the biggest plotline centers on Dr. Asher Wolke as he confronts the lingering problems he has with religion and marriage that stem from his Jewish family’s initial unacceptance of sexual orientation.
Dr. Wolke’s storyline is immensely satisfying — until the show turns it into a tragic and disturbing moment. Viewers know that Dr. Wolke has long struggled with complicated feelings about marriage and religion.
While his past makes him understandably wary of marriage and religion, he takes it to the extreme by completely swearing off each, to the point he jeopardizes his relationship with Dr. Jerome Martel and nearly misses the chance to provide a religious ceremony for a terminal patient.
As the episode progresses, though, he softens, beginning to understand marriage can be whatever he and his partner make it. He even begins to recognize that his family’s nonacceptance of him is not reflective of the views of the entire Jewish community.
Many viewers will find the unexpected twist shocking and disturbing. It can’t be denied that this is a controversial direction to take.
On the one hand, it raises awareness for the rise in hate crimes against the Jewish and LGBTQ+ community and realistically captures the brutality and senselessness of these horrific crimes.
At the same time, Dr. Wolke is one of the sole major LGBTQ+ characters on the show, making his death disappointing. The show easily could’ve both acknowledged hate crimes and continued the critical LGBTQ+ representation on the show by making the attack nonlethal.
Instead, the remainder of Season 7 will have a damper on it due to the absence of Dr. Wolke.
The final twist makes some of the story arcs in the episode feel almost trivial. While Dr. Lim and Dr. Glassman’s feud takes an interesting turn, the development doesn’t fit the somber tone of the rest of the episode.
Meanwhile, the ongoing conflict between Dr. Murphy and Charlie is still disappointing. Charlie shines at one point when she encourages support without stigma for individuals who have ASD or obesity.
However, it almost seems the show wants her to fail and comes close to depicting her in a negative light just to fuel the feud between her and Dr. Murphy.
Season 7 had an excellent opportunity for autism representation by introducing another neurodivergent character and exploring neurodivergent parenthood.
Unfortunately, instead of celebrating the individuality of those on the spectrum or illustrating that neurodivergent individuals can be wonderful parents, it has oddly chosen to focus on Dr. Murphy being discriminatory towards someone like him while making Charlie consistently jeopardize patients’ lives.
It’s clear that “Who at Peace” had good intentions regarding the Dr. Wolke twist, but sacrificing one of the few representative characters to highlight their experiences is a questionable tradeoff.
Additionally, the Charlie vs. Dr. Murphy and Dr. Lim vs. Dr. Glassman storylines are getting quite strange or just plain silly.
Since The Good Doctor chose such a tragic twist mid-season, though, the need to resolve petty feuds is even more urgent because it can’t simply abandon the new somber tone going forward.
What did you think of this episode of The Good Doctor? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
