[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for The Good Doctor series finale.] Freddie Highmore ‘s Dr. Shaun Murphy will always be out there somewhere helping people heal.
That was the main message The Good Doctor creators wanted to deliver in the May 21 series finale, and they did that through a time jump that revealed how Shaun and Dr. Claire Browne’s ( Antonia Thomas ) careers evolved after the events of the finale — and what memorable events they were. Shaun was determined to craft a miraculous solution to Dr.
Aaron Glassman ( Richard Schiff ) and Claire’s cancer cases, but Glassman refused treatment. Rather than spend his final months undergoing potentially painful medical procedures, Glassman chose to make the most of the six months he had left. Since he was leaving his job because of his prognosis, Glassman performed Shaun and Charlie’s ( Kayla Cromer ) non-FDA approved experimental treatment on Claire.
Glassman no doubt lost his medical license because of this, but he saved Claire’s life and Shaun’s career in the process. It was an easy decision for him to make, one that Shaun was prepared to make first. For Shaun to be willing to give up his career as a surgeon was the ultimate sign of his evolution from the beginning of the series to the end.
The character was a revolutionary one when the series first began. Before The Good Doctor premiered in September 2017, it was rare to see an autistic character at the center of a series, and even more rare to.