The Good Doctor Season 7 Episode 10, “Goodbye,” brings the seven-season show to a conclusion with an emotional and mostly satisfactory finale.
The finale sees Dr. Shaun Murphy grapple with Dr. Aaron Glassman’s devastating diagnosis while also trying desperately to save Dr. Claire Browne’s life.
Although the episode is a bit predictable and rushed, it ultimately effectively wraps up a number of pressing storylines and proves to be quite an emotional goodbye to viewers.
At first, it seemed the finale was biting off more than it could chew when, in the previous episode, “Unconditional,” it revealed that both Dr. Glassman and Dr. Browne may need complicated procedures.
However, it avoids overstuffing by quickly establishing Dr. Glassman has no plans to receive treatment. He wishes to spend his last months making memories instead of coping with the side effects of chemotherapy or potentially suffering life-altering complications from surgery.
Unfortunately, Dr. Murphy refuses to accept Dr. Glassman’s wishes and continues searching for a treatment while simultaneously searching for a cure for Dr. Browne.
It’s an interesting direction for the show, as it delves into the denial one may experience when learning of their loved ones’ difficult diagnosis, but also highlights that trying to dictate how terminal individuals choose to live their last months is often done out of one’s own selfishness and grief instead of actual love.
Ultimately, Dr. Murphy grows to understand Dr. Glassman’s wishes and accepts them, acknowledging that he now has a family to guide him, even in his father figure’s absence.
Dr. Browne’s story arc is also well done, as she juxtaposes Dr. Glassman as a young woman who very much wants to live and highlights how doctors sometimes make difficult choices about which patients to prioritize and how experimental their treatments should get.
The amputation of her arm, though, felt very unnecessary. After all, the woman is already something of a sacrificial lamb, experiencing a sudden, devastating bacterial infection for little other purpose than bringing about the show’s end.
Does she really need to experience the loss of her arm, too? In the end, the show clumsily ties up Dr. Glassman and Dr. Browne’s stories by having Dr. Glassman perform an unapproved treatment on Dr. Browne.
If we’re going to ask if Dr. Browne really needed to experience a life-altering medical emergency, one must also ask if Dr. Glassman really had to die.
On the one hand, “Goodbye” makes the fortunate choice not to show Dr. Glassman’s death and also uses it to bring Dr. Murphy’s story full circle, as it highlights his growth into an independent young man who no longer relies on Dr. Glassman’s help to navigate life.
At the same time, it feels like the epilogue wouldn’t have changed much had Dr. Glassman lived.
In the end, “Goodbye” skips ten years ahead to examine where all the doctors ended up.
Dr. Murphy briefly speaks of Dr. Glassman in a TED Talk, reflecting on how much Dr. Glassman aided him and revealing he founded the Dr. Aaron Glassman Foundation for Neurodiversity in Medicine in his honor.
The Good Doctor also uses this opportunity to briefly show all of the main characters’ futures. Every character gets a largely satisfactory, if predictable, ending.
Dom and Charlie went on to have fulfilling medical careers, while Dr. Audrey Lim took a risk and traveled to Ukraine to provide her services. Meanwhile, everyone is married, and many now have children.
Again, these are all fairly generic and predictable conclusions, which feel a little too ideal to be realistic. Still, it’s enough to leave viewers satisfied that no one’s story lacks a conclusion.
The only reveal in the epilogue that is a bit strange is the revelation that Jerome Martel has a new partner after losing Dr. Asher Wolke.
Now, it’s not unusual for partners to remarry after this length of time. The problem is that Dr. Wolke’s passing is still so fresh to viewers that it almost feels like it’s too early to explore Martel moving on.
It’s especially odd because the show hardly delved into Martel’s grief or if he ever even returned to medicine after his loss. So, the sudden revelation that he moves on feels a bit jarring, especially since Dr. Wolke doesn’t get so much as a mention in the finale.
Fortunately, “Goodbye” does end its main story effectively, which is the story of Dr. Murphy.
The show ends by poignantly emphasizing Dr. Murphy’s growth, showing how he grew from a frightened and uncertain young medical resident to the Chief of Surgery with a wife and two beautiful kids.
Ultimately, the finale highlights one of the show’s most important themes: that there are no limits for neurodivergent individuals and that, regardless of the trials one faces, one can always go on to live a full and meaningful life.
The Good Doctor‘s final bow is a little bit clumsy and makes some questionable choices, but it manages to tie up almost all loose ends and gives Dr. Murphy the ending he deserves.
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The Good Doctor airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on ABC.
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Rachel Ulatowski
Rachel Ulatowski is a freelance writer from Oshkosh with a penchant for TV, film, and celebrity news. Her work can also be found on Screen Rant, The Mary Sue, and Monsters and Critics. When she's not writing professionally, she enjoys blogging, running, watching film and television, and conducting research for her future novel.
