The Good Doctor's Finale Highlights Shaun's Evolution in a Very Subtle Way, EPs Say

Summary

• The final episode of The Good Doctor aired on May 21.
• The finale shows how much Dr. Shaun Murphy has grown socially over seven seasons.
• TGD's showrunners decided to end the show this way to highlight his development.

The current post-strike 2023-2024 television season has been quite exciting, with many new shows premiering and most of our beloved series returning. But it has also seen its fair share of sadness, as many fan-favorite shows have ended. Last week, CBS' hit family comedy Young Sheldon ended after seven seasons. Yesterday, ABC's popular medical drama The Good Doctor also came to an end after seven seasons.

Centering on Dr. Shaun Murphy, an autistic surgical prodigy from Wyoming who is invited to take up residency at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital after it launches a neurodiversity program, The Good Doctor has followed him on his journey to socialization since 2017. And the show's finale may have shown just how much progress he's made over the years.

Markers of Shaun's Development as a Character

As an autistic person, Shaun doesn't always understand social conventions, people's feelings and intentions, the meaning of words and actions. But on TGD, he had good friends who helped him become more socially savvy than before, which is evident in the show's finale, where the character has to make very difficult choices.

First, even though it is hard to understand the emotional aspect of the situation, Shaun accepts his friend Dr. Aaron Glassman's wish not to seek treatment for his cancer and to focus on enjoying the remaining months of his life. And later, Shaun's decision to sacrifice his career, which gave him a sense of purpose in the world, to save his other friend, Dr. Claire Browne, also shows how much more social he has become.

TGD's Showrunners on How They Subtly Demonstrated Shaun's Growth

'For Shaun to accept [Glassman's refusal to seek treatment], I thought, was such a big step for him,' Liz Friedman, one of the showrunners of The Good Doctor, recently spoke about the difficult choices the main character had to make in the final episode. 'Then also at the same moment to be ready to give up the exact thing that has given his life a shape and a meaning and it's given him a path to save his friend. That's a great heroic story, and that's who Shaun is.'

According to David Shore, The Good Doctor's other showrunner, the original plan for the ending didn't involve Shaun sacrificing the career he had built against all odds, but the writers collectively came to the conclusion that it was a much more emotionally charged move for him to make, one that showed his evolution as a human being. Being willing to sacrifice the thing that gave his life substance and meaning for his friends is the most human act Shaun could do.

The Good Doctor is available to stream on Hulu, Disney+, Netflix, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime.

Source: Deadline.