The Good Doctor’s Original Finale Made It Into the Show in a Very Unexpected Way

The Good Doctor ’s 7-season-long television run was officially wrapped up on May 21 when the final episode hit the screens, and fans were indeed left on a very emotional note with the show’s heart-shattering plot twists.

Despite the shocking turn of events shown in the series’ last episodes, the finale kept sticking to Shaun Murphy’s unconditional commitment to his vocation instead of turning to the character’s personal dilemmas.

Though it still was a right thing to opt for, The Good Doctor’s creators initially had a completely different idea for the show’s ending, eventually cramming it into the storyline, just a bit earlier.

The Good Doctor’s final episode finds Shaun and all the other doctors in San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital doing their best to save Claire Brown and Dr. Aaron Glassman. Both have previously been diagnosed with cancer, though Claire had to find a way to deal with breast cancer while Glassman made a disheartening revelation about his tumor being back in an already terminal state.

The finale thus sheds more light on Claire’s condition after her collapse, confirming that she also suffers from some kind of infection; meanwhile Shaun still doesn’t give up on Glassman embarking on a search for an effective treatment, just like he did in the early seasons when his mentor first got cancer.

Though it still seems like a very gut-wrenching and emotional, yet good ending for a medical drama, things could’ve been very different if the show’s creators had opted for an alternate finale.

The Good Doctor’s Alternate Finale

According to showrunner Liz Friedman and creator David Shore, The Good Doctor’s finale initially was supposed to be much more personal, showing Shaun Murphy becoming a father. Despite the fact that the idea was scrapped for the finale exclusively, it still made its way to the series becoming one of the highlights for the sixth season released back in 2022.

Even with the overall focus on Shaun’s life as a doctor who by the end of the show has to reconcile with big personal losses, his backstory still got to make a trick.

Before saying goodbye to all its characters, The Good Doctor took its time to explore Shaun not only as a medical worker becoming more and more experienced over the course of time, but also as a father new to all the challenges of raising a human being.

This later on contributed to Shaun’s improved relationship with his mentor Glassman who became a real father figure for the main character ever since the beginning and till the very end.

Source: The Wrap