In The Good Doctor‘s Season 3 finale, the surgical attending (played by original cast member Nicholas Gonzalez) died after succumbing to internal injuries sustained in Part 1’s brewery collapse. He passed away after sharing tearful goodbyes with former boss Aaron Glassman, ex-girlfriend Audrey Lim and third-year resident/current love interest Claire Browne.
Below, Gonzalez weighs in on his character’s tragic fate, confirms his ‘ship of choice and reveals why he’ll always be grateful for his time on the ABC medical drama — even if his exit feels “a little early.”
It was a creative decision [that] just kind of came at a good time, you know? There’s a lot about this job that I loved and was honorable to do, and a lot of that came out of the family that we created behind the scenes. But there also comes a time when you feel it’s time to move on, and I feel like I’m leaving Good Doctor at a really great place.
TVLINE | How so?
I love how we started. It kind of felt like even though we were this big network show, it was still like this “little show that could,” because we were taking a big chance on people’s hearts and people’s understanding, and I really enjoyed being a part of something like that from the beginning… So it’s been a joy to do the show, but at the same time, as an artist, you feel like you’re just raring to get out there and take on the next challenge.
TVLINE | When did you find out that Melendez wasn’t long for this world?
Right after the new year. We only had about six more episodes to go…
TVLINE | So you really only had a few weeks to process everything…
Which is really interesting, you know? Filming all that with the knowledge [that Melendez was going to die].
Warning: The following contains spoilers from Part 2 of The Good Doctor‘s Season 3 finale.
R.I.P., Neil Melendez.
In The Good Doctor‘s Season 3 finale, the surgical attending (played by original cast member Nicholas Gonzalez) died after succumbing to internal injuries sustained in Part 1’s brewery collapse. He passed away after sharing tearful goodbyes with former boss Aaron Glassman, ex-girlfriend Audrey Lim and third-year resident/current love interest Claire Browne.
Below, Gonzalez weighs in on his character’s tragic fate, confirms his ‘ship of choice and reveals why he’ll always be grateful for his time on the ABC medical drama — even if his exit feels “a little early.”
TVLINE | To confirm, it wasn’t your decision to leave?
It was a creative decision [that] just kind of came at a good time, you know? There’s a lot about this job that I loved and was honorable to do, and a lot of that came out of the family that we created behind the scenes. But there also comes a time when you feel it’s time to move on, and I feel like I’m leaving Good Doctor at a really great place.
TVLINE | How so?
I love how we started. It kind of felt like even though we were this big network show, it was still like this “little show that could,” because we were taking a big chance on people’s hearts and people’s understanding, and I really enjoyed being a part of something like that from the beginning… So it’s been a joy to do the show, but at the same time, as an artist, you feel like you’re just raring to get out there and take on the next challenge.
TVLINE | When did you find out that Melendez wasn’t long for this world?
Right after the new year. We only had about six more episodes to go…
‘The Good Doctor’ – Audrey Lim and Claire BrowneTVLINE | What was your reaction when you first read the script?
It was tough because I felt like nothing was good enough. It wasn’t going to be a good enough goodbye because, you know, I think it’s a little early… so I think that nothing was ever going to really feel appropriate. But it was very important to me that the relationship with Dr. Lim be honorable. I knew what was happening with Melendez and Claire, but I had to make sure that [his relationship with Lim] was not something that in any way seemed like second fiddle… You needed to feel the veracity of it and the present nature of it. And I hope that’s what came across.
TVLINE | In the finale, you have memorable last scenes opposite Richard Schiff, Christina Chang and Antonia Thomas, but none of your other castmates. Knowing that you were approaching the end, did you start tracking your final scenes with Freddie Highmore et al.?
I think I realized [it] a little late, but there were times throughout [production] where I was the only one who knew.
