Only a few episodes of The Good Doctor are leaving in the 2024 TV schedule before the final credits roll on Dr. Shaun Murphy’s journey at St. Bonaventure Hospital. “Faith” ended on a potential reveal that is definitely going to cause trouble in paradise for Shaun and Lea with baby Steve, but Dr. Glassman also kicked off what could be a very emotional storyline…with Richard Schiff’s real-life daughter on board. While there’s a lot to be excited about in the wake of that terrible tragedy with Asher, there are also some clues that something might be seriously wrong for Glassman.
Let’s start with what we should be excited about! The West Wing alum confirmed on Instagram shortly before “Faith” aired on April 30 that he’d be acting opposite a “very special guest star,” who was none other than his daughter Ruby Kelley. Schiff also confirmed that his daughter’s character of Hannah isn’t just a one-off patient for Dr. Glassman, as she’ll return multiple times in the remaining episodes. Take a look at his post:
Richard Schiff isn’t kidding in his post about “introducing” his daughter, as The Good Doctor is Ruby Kelley’s first credit that’s more substantial than a short. With only three episodes of the medical drama left before the end and “Faith” as one of Kelley’s three, it seems like a safe bet that Hannah will be an important part of Glassman’s final story, and that Kelley probably had plenty of time filming with her dad. Ahead of her debut episode, she posted on her own Instagram account:
As Ruby Kelley noted, new episodes of The Good Doctor are streaming next day on Hulu, and I can imagine that many fans will be signing in to revisit the clues that “Faith” seemed dropped about Dr. Glassman. Early in the hour, he called another medical office about certain images, although he didn’t drop any details about what exactly he was looking for. Later, though, he got a call that is mostly responsible for making me nervous. We could only hear his side of the conversation about the images, but he asked whoever was on the phone if “they’re conclusive” and for “them” to be sent over so he could take a look.
And consider that Dr. Glassman is a neurosurgeon who already battled a brain tumor once before, is there any conclusion but to wonder if his cancer has returned? The speed at which he became attached to Hannah due to her similarities to Maddie makes me think that he’s taking stock of his life, and sees Hannah as a way to make up for how he couldn’t save his daughter. He did save Hannah from her underlying ailment in “Faith,” but it remains to be seen if she can kick her painkiller habit. Honestly, I’m just glad that he and Shaun were able to move past the worst of their feud!
Neither Glassman nor Hannah appear in the promo for the next episode on May 7, but the episode description for the episode on May 14 – which will also be the penultimate episode of the series – will involve the good neurosurgeon attempting to manage Hannah despite her resistance to his efforts. The episode description notes that she “remains unresponsive to his attempts,” so it’s possible that Ruby Kelley does have an important role in the next episode, but simply wasn’t featured in the promo or the episode description.
