Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
Additionally, some images and text may include affiliate links, meaning we may earn a commission or receive products if you make a purchase.
Plot Recap
Saving Dr. Glassman – Shaun, Lea, Dr. Glassman, Dr. Lim, Morgan, Alex, Charlie, Dom
Upon hearing Dr. Glassman’s cancer is back, it’s aggressive, and he has around six months left, Shaun goes into overdrive. He is able to convince Alex, Morgan, Charlie, and Dom to stick to the plan of finding a fix, even if unorthodox, but Dr. Glassman is done. He doesn’t want to extend his lifetime and have to deal with chemo, side effects, and feeling sick just because he is coming to the end of his life.
Shaun, of course, doesn’t understand why he wouldn’t want more time with him, Steve, and Lea and equates giving up on Dr. Glassman is akin to Dr. Glassman giving up on him. This, thus far, hasn’t happened, even when disappointed or annoyed with Shaun, so he finds it hard to let nature take its course. But, after a while, Lea breaks through, and Shaun joins Morgan, Dr. Lim, and others in accepting that Dr. Glassman is going to die and that it’s time to make the best of what time he has left.
Saving Claire – Jared, Jordan, Shaun, Claire, Charlie, Dr. Lim, Dr. Glassman
An infection is what plagues Claire and it is something serious. Shaun has to look into procedures not FDA-approved to treat her, and with Dr. Glassman having less than a year, Shaun refuses to accept he has to lose Claire, too. But being that Shaun has to find radical means to heal Claire, he sidesteps the one chance he has to say goodbye to her while she is conscious.
However, on a positive note, this gives Jared and Claire time to say their goodbyes and confess that they love one another. Also, Dr. Lim gets to talk to perhaps the only person in her life who is her friend and isn’t a current colleague. She is again considering stepping down and becoming chief of surgery, but in Chicago to be with Clay.
Before being put into a coma to help her body fight, Claire offers her support, and while she feels like this is a final goodbye, that doesn’t mean everyone still doesn’t fight for her. Jared makes the unfortunate decision to amputate Claire’s arm when it becomes clear her body is fighting a clotting issue in the arm over the infection they put her in a coma for. And while Charlie comes up with the bacteria needed, an emergency approval isn’t granted.
Luckily, Shaun decides to do the procedure anyway, and Dr. Glassman, refusing to let Shaun lose his license, decides to do the procedure himself. Everyone is watching as they hope the procedure will save Claire, which pushes the need to question why they wouldn’t get in trouble for being witnesses?
10 Years Later – Shaun, Lea, Morgan, Alex, Jordan, Danny, Claire, Jared, Dr. Lim, Dom, Charlie
After Claire’s procedure, we experience a ten-year time jump with Shaun revealing he is the chief of surgery at St. Bonaventure, and over the time jump, Shaun and Lea had an additional kid – a daughter. Also, Morgan and Alex are still together, raising Eden; Jordan and Danny are together; Dr. Lim ultimately did move to Chicago, but we don’t see Clay to know if they are together; Dom opened up the clinic with his brother; and Charlie is the new Shaun, taking on residents but no word if she had any of Shaun’s difficulties.
As for Claire? She is alive, missing an arm, but she is with Jared, and they share a daughter. And as Shaun gives a Ted Talk, he reveals his foundation to us, named after Dr. Glassman, which he runs with Claire, that focuses on getting people with neurodiversity in medicine, and with 17 hospitals and 32 medical schools pledging, it seems people like Shaun and Charlie may not face the same hurdles as those who came before them.
Cast Guide
| Character’s Name | Actor’s Name |
| Shaun | Freddie Highmore |
| Lea | Paige Spara |
| Morgan | Fiona Gubelmann |
| Alex | Will Yun Lee |
| Jordan | Bria Henderson |
| Danny | Brandon Larracuente |
| Claire | Antonia Thomas |
| Jared | Chuku Modu |
| Dr. Lim | Christina Chang |
| Dom | Wavyy Jonez |
| Charlie | Kayla Cromer |
| Dr. Glassman | Richard Schiff |
Other Noteworthy Information
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- I know Harper Hill is running for the US Senate, but he couldn’t have popped in for a cameo?
- Why wasn’t Hannah part of the time jump? She didn’t keep in touch with Shaun?
Review
Highlights
The Epilogue
While the epilogue lacked characters we’d hope would be there, there is no denying that a sense of closure could come from watching what happened to the majority of living characters. Also, ten years was a good amount of time to jump since it allowed for you to see that things will ultimately be alright.
Shaun and Lea are going strong, as with the rest of the couples; you can safely assume everyone’s career is moving in a positive direction, and while surely there were troubles and struggles, it has been seven seasons of people losing their ability to be a surgeon, people dying or being attacked, firings and more, so ending things on a positive note is the perfect send-off.
However, I will admit that I didn’t get through the end of this episode without crying.
On The Fence
Still Feeling Like The Trauma Was Unnecessary
With that said, having to amputate Claire’s arm seemed cruel. Similar to making it so Morgan can’t be a surgeon anymore, there is just this feeling that anyone who could compete with Shaun in his career had to get removed. If Claire decided to move back to the States for Jared, with Dr. Lim leaving and Claire having a better bedside manner and being as good as Shaun in some cases, you can see that would throw off his trajectory.
All of which I don’t say to downplay Alex and what he could do, especially with Morgan pushing him and maybe trying to live vicariously, but it isn’t lost on me that anyone who could have been Shaun’s competition, or who made his life difficult, by the end of the series, is moved out of his way.
Background Information
| Episode Title | Goodbye |
| Release Date | May 21, 2024 |
| Network | ABC |
| Director(s) | David Shore |
| Writer(s) | Davis Shore, Liz Friedman, Jessica Grasl |
| Previous Episode | Season 7/ Episode 9 |
| Series Page | The Good Doctor |
| Character Guide | N/A |
TV Shows We’re Covering This Season
Images used for editorial and commentary purposes. All rights remain with their respective copyright holders.
