How does Good Doctor end? The ending explained
Freddie Highmore and creator David Shore decipher the last episode of the series, broadcast on American TV last night. So how do Shaun Murphy's medical adventures end?
7 years ago, Shaun Murphy took his first steps at Saint Bonaventure Hospital in San José. 126 episodes later, the Good Doctor hung up her blouse. Figuratively. The medical series ended last night in the United States, with a final episode which brings the story to a definitive conclusion. Spoiler alert!
Good Doctor ends with a TED talk, led by Shaun himself, recounting his phenomenal journey. The scene takes place 10 years later, and therefore 10 years after Glassman's death. Shaun, who is now chief of surgery, still at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital, praises the man who made it all possible, in whose honor he established the Aaron Glassman Foundation to neurodiversity in medicine, which he directs with Claire. In just a few years, the foundation is already affiliated with 17 hospitals and 32 medical faculties. In the audience, his friends and loved ones are there to support him. There is of course Lea, their son Steve… and a daughter, born after Glassman's death. Also present are Dr. Alex Park and DR Morgan Reznick, who officially adopted Eden; Dr. Browne and Jared Kalu, who also have a daughter; Dr. Jordan Allen and Danny Perez are married; Dr. Audrey Lim left St. Bons and joined Medecins Sans Frontières… We also see nurse Jerome Martel, holding the hand of a new partner, years after the unexpected loss of Dr. Asher Wolke . Former medical student Charlotte Lukaitis now teaches her interns at St. Bons. Another former student, Dom Hubank, left St. Bons and opened a community care center…
David Shore explains that this great happy ending was not really planned from the start : “No. When you start a series, you think about doing 12 episodes and then that's it”confides the creator to TVline. “It would have been a bit rushed to imagine that. We always wanted him to take on challenges, to struggle and ultimately succeed. The idea of him being head of surgery was a ( specific idea) that we didn't really think about until the end.”
The biggest challenge was the death of his dear D. Glassman. Because “Shaun faces a truly unique challenge due to his autistic disorder. He is a doctor and his mentor suffers from a very serious illness” explains the showrunner, Liz Friedman. “He wants to treat him like a doctor, but Glassman doesn't want that, he just wants to have a personal relationship. This is as hard for Shaun to accept as it would be for me to figure out how to treat Glassman's cancer. He had this very close, very vulnerable relationship with Glassman, and that was key to his development. Quite naturally, he wonders how he will manage life without him?“
With family, since Good Doctor ends with the beautiful image of Shaun and Lea, leaving the hospital holding hands with their son and daughter:
“This family is Shaun’s greatest achievement,” estime Freddie Highmore in TVLine. “It made Shaun a better doctor. He has always been a brilliant surgeon. Medically, he's always had this ability to see things that others can't see. He thinks differently and comes up with incredible solutions to cases that other people could never see. Seeing him go through the first days of his relationship with Lea, getting married, having a baby… These are not things Shaun dreamed of at the very beginning of the series. So getting it to this point is pretty huge.”
And for those wondering, even that is never mentioned in this finale, the daughter of Good Doctor her name is Maddie: “It's written in the script, but it's never said out loude”, confirms David Shore. “Freddie and I were joking about it because Freddie thinks Lea will never get to name their kids…”
