There are just two episodes left of The Good Doctor. The ABC medical drama will come to a close on Tuesday, May 21, with the penultimate episode May 14. Next week, former series regular Antonia Thomas returns as Dr. Claire Brown, and she’s not the only familiar face that’s coming back before the series ends.
ABC previously announced that Brandon Larracuente will return as Dr. Daniel Perez along with Thomas. Thomas will appear in Episode 9 and The Good Doctor series finale, but it’s not clear when Larracuente will be back. There’s only two episodes left though, so it’s got to be one of them! Larracuente isn’t seen in the promo for The Good Doctor Season 7 Episode 9, but the video is all about Claire.
The promo reveals that Claire is back in California for a personal medical issue, and it hints that Dr. Aaron Glassman (Richard Schiff) could be risking his career to help Hannah (Ruby Kelley, Schiff’s real-life daughter) recover from an opioid addiction and overdose. Here’s what to expect from the last two episodes of The Good Doctor, from available episode titles and descriptions to the Episode 9 promo and more.
The Good Doctor Season 7 Episode 9, “Unconditional”: Tuesday, May 14
In Episode 8, “The Overview Effect,” Shaun (Freddie Highmore) and Lea (Paige Spara) fought over whether or not to have Steve tested for autism. They agreed to enroll him in a clinical trial that could potentially pinpoint signs of autism in infants, but they ultimately decided against it by the end of the episode. Navigating their neurodivergent-neurotypical dynamic is something that these young parents will have to continue for the rest of their lives, but even with this fight, Episode 8 proved that Shaun and Lea can work things out when parenting gets hard.
Brighter days are ahead for the family when Claire, Shaun’s best friend, returns in Episode 9, “Unconditional.” She left San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital to take a job in Guatemala and returns for a personal medical examination. The promo above reveals a heartbreaking truth after the happy reunion: Claire has breast cancer. Dr. Jared Kalu (Chuku Modu), Claire’s former romantic fling, seems to be breaking the hard news to her in the promo.
Glassman insisted that Hannah move into his apartment while she recovers following her overdose in Episode 8. He decided to prescribe her low doses of oxycodone, given to her by him on a strict schedule, to orchestrate harm reduction and ween Hannah off the addictive drug. This will threaten Glassman’s career. As Shaun warns with a panic in the promo, this could cost Glassman his medical license.
“Prescribing her oxycodone is unethical. You could lose your medical license, you need to make her leave,” Shaun tells his mentor, who appears unfazed by the risk. As Glassman told Hannah in Episode 8, his own daughter died of an overdose. Taking care of Hannah, for him, is deeply personal. It makes it all the more touching that this potential chosen family dynamic is being portrayed by Schiff and his own daughter.
Could Glassman seek advise from Perez, who’s a recovering opioid addict as well? Perez left in The Good Doctor Season 6 finale to go heal from getting treated with fentanyl following a medical emergency, so this would be a logical way to bring him back. Or maybe he just misses Dr. Jordan Allen (Bria Samoné Henderson)? We’ll take both options!
The Episode 9 logline says that “Dr. Glassman struggles to manage Hannah, who remains unresponsive to his attempts to help,” and that the newly engaged Dr. Alex Park (Will Yun Lee) will be seeking out “the perfect last-minute wedding location” for him and Dr. Morgan Reznick (Fiona Gubelmann). A Good Doctor wedding could be in the cards for the series finale!
The Good Doctor Season 7 Episode 10, “Goodbye”: Tuesday, May 21
Here’s the official description for The Good Doctor series finale: “As the doctors consider their futures, they work together to solve one of the most important cases of their careers.”
Fans can expect to see this season’s cast, along with Thomas, in the final episode. Other possible guest stars include Larracuente, if he doesn’t come back in Episode 9 (ABC previously said that Thomas would appear in two episodes, and Larracuente would appear in one), and Bess Armstrong as Dr. Audrey Lim’s (Christina Chang) mom Eileen. We’ll hopefully also see Jerome Martel (Giacomo Baessato) return to keep the late Dr. Asher Wolke’s (Noah Galvin) memory alive in the final episode.
What are you hoping will happen in the series finale? A time jump to baby Steve’s future? A wedding? Romantic connections revealed as endgame? Let us know in the comments below.
The Good Doctor, Tuesdays, 10/9c, ABC