Not surprisingly, Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) dramatically wrestles one more life from the jaws of death in the series finale of the ABC medical drama “The Good Doctor.”
The genius surgeon with autism and savant syndrome spearheads an unprecedented treatment to save his friend and former colleague Dr. Claire Browne, played by original cast member Antonia Thomas, who returned for the final two episodes.
The bigger shock in Tuesday’s “Good Doctor” conclusion is the patient Shaun could not save.
RIP Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff), the mentor and father figure who fought to hire Shaun at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital seven seasons ago. Glassman’s brain cancer returned in the penultimate May 14 episode, and the brilliant neurosurgeon dies in the finale.
“The finale presented one case where the solution was found due to Shaun’s refusal to give up, and one case where Shaun needed to accept what he couldn’t help,” says executive producer Liz Friedman. “The most challenging thing for Shaun is letting go of the idea of helping Dr. Glassman medically and simply being there for him emotionally.”
Here’s how Season 7 and “The Good Doctor” finale (now streaming on Hulu) played out:
Who dies in ‘The Good Doctor’ finale?
“Good Doctor” fans have seen this high-stakes scenario before, with very different results. In the Season 1 finale, Shaun went on a mission to find a cure for Glassman’s terminal brain cancer diagnosis. Glassman was ready to give up, taking Shaun on the carousel he frequented with his daughter to talk about dying.
“But Shaun couldn’t stop obsessing about the medicine in that case, and in Season 1 he was right,” says Friedman. “Shaun found a way that (Glassman) could be saved.”
In the finale, Shaun ponders a medical solution for Glassman and Browne, who returned from her doctor’s post in Guatemala to be treated for a tumor that turned out to be breast cancer.
This time, Shaun realizes there won’t be a miracle solution for Glassman. However, the surgeon is adamant about administering untested treatment to Claire, even though the Food and Drug Administration denied the emergency use of the potential cure his team developed.
“I’m going to give it to her anyway, And I won’t be a doctor anymore. And that’s OK,” Shaun tells his wife Lea (Paige Spara) and Glassman, knowing he’ll lose his medical license. “I don’t need to save everyone; I just need to save Claire.”
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The location of Shaun’s speech is crucial: It’s the same hospital conference room where Glassman passionately pounded the table and carried the day advocating for Shaun’s hiring in the September 2017 pilot episode. In that premiere, Shaun spoke poignantly in the same boardroom about wanting to be a surgeon to save lives. “And I want to make a lot of money, so I can have a television” he added.
The boardroom set had to be rebuilt for the finale, where the dying Glassman makes one more bold stand: He agrees to administer the unapproved procedure to Browne, protecting Shaun right to the end.
What happens at the end of ‘Good Doctor’ finale?
There is no Glassman death scene or funeral. In a sequence of images, Shaun rides the merry-go-round once more with Glassman. Then Shaun is pictured in successive shots without his mentor – first alone on the ride, and ultimately with his wife and two children.
The finale jumps ahead 10 years, as Shaun, now chief of surgery, gives Glassman a eulogy of sorts during a TED Talk that he dedicates to his mentor. The audience is filled with Glassman’s Bonaventure Hospital family, including Browne, who sits with her partner Dr. Jared Kalu (Chuku Modu) and their smiling young daughter.
The TED Talk screen features the names of the patients Shaun has saved, which the surgeon credits to Glassman. “He taught me that when you touch one life, you don’t just touch one life,” he says. “You touch every life that life touches.”
Claire’s is the last name to appear on the screen. The next slide shows that Shaun has honored his mentor’s life with The Dr. Aaron Glassman Foundation for Neurodiversity in Medicine, which he runs with Browne.
After the applause, the hospital staff leaves the TED Talk forum with big hugs all around. In a voiceover, Shaun pays a final tribute to his mentor. “Because of Dr. Glassman, I have many friends, and I have a family,” he says. “And I have two televisions.”
Shaun’s work and perspective will continue even as “Good Doctor” ends.
“In my mind, Dr. Shaun Murphy is still out there helping people and saving lives with his unique, fascinating take on things,” says Friedman. “I hope the audience feels those adventures are still happening. We just don’t get to see them every week.”
