The Good Doctor’s dramatic season five finale took viewers on an emotional rollercoaster, as the joy of watching Dr Shaun Murphy and Lea Dilallo finally getting married gave way to a horrifying incident that left two major characters on the edge of death.
‘Sons’ saw Nurse Villanueva’s violent ex-boyfriend Owen sneak into St Bonaventure Hospital, disguised as a delivery person, in order to stab his ex and leave her for dead.
After Dr Audrey Lim (Christina Chang) discovered a gravely injured Villanueva (Elfina Luk), she turned around and found herself confronted by Owen, who stabbed her twice in the abdomen before making his escape.
With the lives of both characters now hanging in the balance, executive producer David Shore has told TVLine that fans should be concerned about what might happen next after that almighty cliffhanger as the show heads into its summer hiatus.
“I hope they’re worried. That’s the whole point!” he joked. “We don’t do anything that’s not meaningful. As writers, we want to make sure that each story is significant. That’s not saying that we’re going to lose her. We love her. But there are challenges up ahead.”
Shore confirmed that actress Chang was aware of the twist ahead of time, saying that she had been “excited about it” and that it had been “a lot of fun to watch her” act out the dramatic scenes.
“She is such a strong character, and challenging her physically seems very interesting,” he added. “That is part of the appeal of most of our stories in a sense: Challenging our characters and giving them obstacles that they’re not sure they can rise above.
“We’re all confronted with various challenges in life. How we respond to them is the true test of our character,” he continued.
With the Good Doctor team already shooting episodes for season six, there are bound to be plenty of questions about what might be next for Lim, as well as the show’s other characters, following that game-changing finale.
And Shore teased that we can expect “a huge amount of intensity and fun” from the season six premiere.
“It’s difficult because it’s the immediate fallout [from the finale],” he said. “Lim’s journey is going to be a big part of it, we have some nice things planned for Glassman (Richard Schiff), and, of course, nothing but wedded bliss for Shaun (Freddie Highmore) and Lea (Paige Spara).”
Confirming that there will be a time jump between seasons five and six, Shore also promised that fans will see Shaun facing up to new challenges now that he is officially an attending physician.
“You will see very early into season 6 the responsibility [he takes on now],” he said. “He has shown that he can lead a surgery, but that’s a technical thing.
“There are emotional things that go with that, and interpersonal things that go with that, that are more challenging when there’s not somebody standing behind him [to make] the ultimate decision.
“Being an attending is different than being a senior resident in ways that Shaun didn’t necessarily anticipate. His role as a supervisor will challenge him right away. And, of course, he’s married. That’s different, too.”
