Perhaps unsurprisingly given its flair for high-stakes melodrama, The Good Doctor has been home to a swathe of jaw-dropping and soapy moments.
For seven seasons, fans have watched on as Shaun Murphy (played by Freddie Highmore) and his team of fellow doctors respond to the needs of various patients while tackling their own interpersonal dynamics. While some truly shocking moments have occurred throughout the course of the ABC drama, like the abrupt firing of Shaun in season two or his dramatic mid-surgery walkout in season three, perhaps the series’ most staggering moment arrived in its currently airing seventh and final season.
During the mid-season finale, The Good Doctor bid farewell to one of its staple characters and castmates, but what exactly happened to Dr. Asher Wolke?
What happened to Asher on The Good Doctor?
The Good Doctor viewers were left stunned by the conclusion of the fifth episode of season seven, when it was revealed that Dr. Asher Wolke (played by Noah Galvin) had died. Wolke had been a major player on the series since its fourth season, which made his death at the hands of an antisemitic attack all the more devastating. The tragic storyline occurred during an episode titled “Who At Peace”, during which Asher is beaten senselessly while his boyfriend Jerome Martel (played by Giacomo Baessato) waits at a nearby restaurant to propose.
The attack happens after Asher confronts a group of vandals who were defacing a synagogue, after which they sneak up behind him and deal him a fatal blow to the head. By the time Jerome reaches Asher, he had already died. The following episode, titled “M.C.E.”, traces the fallout of Asher’s death, as his friends and family hold a funeral service attended by the main characters. Jordan Allen (played by Bria Samoné Henderson) gives a stirring eulogy, and fellow doctors from St. Bons hospital are seen tending to a devastated Jerome.
Both writers and producers for The Good Doctor have cited multiple reasons for Asher’s death. Speaking with The Wrap, series writer Adam Scott Weissman said Galvin’s intention to move on from The Good Doctor was partly behind the character’s departure, as well as the need to shed light on faith-based and LGBTQIA+ violence in the US. “[These issues] become real when it happens to someone you know, or someone we love on TV,” Weissman said.
“So this horrible thing happens that also brings it home for our viewers.” Weissman added that while Asher’s death is a “sad note” for the series, it’s also a heroic one, since Asher’s final words are embracing both the Jewish and gay aspects of his identity. “Him being able to come to that conclusion that I can be both of these two things was super important to us.”
Weissman went on to reveal that the aftermath of Asher’s death will have implications for all characters on The Good Doctor throughout the final season, as it prepares to air its second batch of episodes from May 7, 2024.
