State of the Shea, Pt. 92: The Long and the Short of “Goodbye” (Part 2)
Between being in a show, supporting local friends in their shows, attending a family funeral, stepping up to my tiny role in supporting democracy, shuttling family to and fro, and prepping a new part of my website for public consumption (among other things)… I continue to either make my way through TGD post-finale articles, or tab them to read quietly as Monday-at-10PM ticks by this autumn. I referenced one at the top of my last TGD POST– though I forgot to include a hyperlink for it (sorry! The link is there now). But as I dive into the second part of the finale analysis, I’ve gotta bring up Screenrant’s piece entitled 7 Reasons The Good Doctor's Series Finale Nailed The Landing.
If you haven’t read it yet, you’ll find it every bit as upbeat as its heading indicates… and in this era of confusing, frustrating, or otherwise disappointing Final Chapters, it’s lovely to see TGD acknowledged in such fashion. I cannot argue with any of the seven “reasons” listed.
But that’s because it discussed the episode in broad strokes. Nothing wrong with that. Except I’m a detail girl, you see. I nit-pick. I head-scratch. Which is why I give “Goodbye” just 3 ½ stars out of 4… not a “nailed” landing per se, but one with a noticeable stepout.
(Hey, it’s Olympic season as I write this… might as well stretch that gymnastics metaphor!)
Several of you took the time to share your own thoughts about the finale on part one of my analysis (thank you!), so I’ll be incorporating some of that input in this post. Some had more to do with Season 7 in general; I’m saving that conversation for next time.
So much still to discuss! Let’s get to it!
THE PRAISEWORTHY…
“What a goodbye. The writing, directing, and especially acting were what TV should be.”— Julianna
“In my opinion, the finale was one of the best I've ever seen, right up there with The Golden Girls, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Wonder Years. I'll miss TGD, but I'm glad it got the send-off it deserved.”— Danielle
“Everyone brought their ‘A’ game in this finale. The episode was so beautifully emotional, poignant, dramatic and hopeful. Just like the show's 7 year run.” — Pamela
“…The end (the last 10 minutes) was what we’ll remember, and they delivered.” — Steven
“Did you notice how he hugged all his friends so comfortably at the end? No sign of that awkwardness he had when that gesture was oftentimes foisted on him in earlier seasons.” — Pamela
Here’s what I personally enjoyed most about “Goodbye”:
THE OVERALL EFFORT. There was much about this last, abbreviated season of TGD that viewers like me found frustrating (and some have gone as far as to say they wish the show had simply ended with the birth of baby Steve). But for me, Shore & Co. get big props for ending TGD on a high note. Maybe a high note in a minor key (with Glassman’s offscreen death), but one that was textured and triumphant. And I definitely cannot say that for every show I’ve followed to the end.
The “full circle” vibe of this season that started with Charlie’s arrival at St. Bon’s, and continued in force through this episode. (Think Mallomars, the return to the boardroom, the line on the ground for Shaun to follow, and quite literally, the carousel/merry-go-round)
Using the ensemble feel of the episode to illustrate how much love and compassion Shaun’s peers had for him… particularly Park, who was both Shaun’s office-mate and closest male friend after Glassman.
The writers doing their best (via the single scene in “Goodbye”) to tie up the Jordan/Kalu storyline that never took off. Or couldn’t take off– you choose. (I’ve got a lot more to say about this later. Keep reading.)
I especially appreciated the final segment (Shaun’s TED talk/the montage). For TGD in particular, I thought it was an outstanding way to show not only how far he’d come in his professional AND personal life (and his colleagues, to a certain extent)...but how Glassman’s legacy extended far beyond what he did for Shaun.
Speaking of Glassman– I sense there was disagreement between fans as to whether or not he should’ve been “killed off”. Here’s my take: with this seed (Glassman’s cancer) initially planted and dealt with early in TGD history… and then resurging not once (false alarm (S6) but twice (S7)... it didn’t feel like a trope to me. It just felt like life.
ALSO– I’m glad they handled it as they did, with Shaun’s solo carousel ride symbolizing his passing rather than a sentimental deathbed scene. Also, longtime reader Pamela (quoted earlier in this post; she lives in the Vancouver area, where TGD was shot) mentioned they’d reportedly done a cemetery scene for the finale…
…Again, I like what they went with much better. Got the point across in a beautiful way that was uniquely TGD.
THE HEAD-SCRATCHERS…
What was up with all the bowling talk when we’d never seen a second of the game on TGD and didn’t see it here? It almost felt like that was an idea they floated for the final montage until they said We forgot about the carousel! Damn! We’ve GOT to use that! … but by then, it was too late to cut all the bowling references. (And not even that theory makes sense, given that Shaun mentioned bowling AND the carousel in his boardroom monologue.)
Was it ridiculous to imagine the entire onscreen staff being summoned (and accepting) to drop everything and help Shaun find a remedy for Glassman… and then follow that up with muckracking, or sewer-scooping, or slaughterhouse-slumming, all on Claire’s behalf? Or do we say C’mon, it’s the finale, cut them some slack?
Was it unethical (or otherwise wrong) for Lim and Kalu to be the ones amputating Claire’s arm? Technically not family of course, but two doctors very close to the patient?
How contrived was Claire’s secondary (more life-threatening) illness? Obviously the writers needed to come up with a very specific situation for Claire that would require Shaun to think he needed to put his career on the line in order to save her. How much leeway did you give them for that? Was it part contrived, part genius?
Was it believable that the med students would not only be brought in on the Glassman/Claire convos, but would contribute significantly to both “solutions”? And on that same note, why did Charlie accompany Shaun to the FDA branch (and direct him on what they would do)... why wasn’t that Park, or Morgan? My only guess is that they wanted to show that Shaun didn’t need a neurotypical person to help him make his case. But it still felt like a huge stretch.
Was it believable that the med students would not only be brought in on the Glassman/Claire convos, but would contribute significantly to both “solutions”? And on that same note, why did Charlie accompany Shaun to the FDA branch (and direct him on what they would do)... why wasn’t that Park, or Morgan? My only guess is that they wanted to show that Shaun didn’t need a neurotypical person to help him make his case. But it still felt like a huge stretch.
Was Eden’s absence in the flash-forward indicative of anything, given that she was born with a significant genetic disorder (Turner Syndrome)? My guess is the writers deliberately left that up to viewers’ interpretation.
I think I’ll “interpret” that Eden didn’t come because was on an overnighter with her Girl Scout troop, and she didn’t want to skip it because she’s thisclose to being the first in her troop to have all the sash badges…(#MorgansDaughterDoesNotMessAround)
Was it disappointing that neither Asher, Melendez, or even Dr. Andrews received any mentions in the finale? (Not sure what would’ve been said, though I wondered if Hill Harper could sit in the audience in the TED Talk scene…but I suspect, even if he’d been available to fly to Vancouver for it, campaign rules would forbid the Senate candidate from doing so.
THE COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT
“It was definitely an emotional episode. I can’t honestly say that I didn’t like it, and I’m aware that most fans loved it.
But for me it was too little, too late. There was so much that I would have wanted to see (in Season 7), and I’ll never be able to.” — Daniela
Daniela may not represent the majority of TGD’s viewers— at least, not the ones I’ve heard from— but I’m sure there are plenty of “unpopular opinions” floating around out there. If you’ve got a few of your own, I hope you feel like you can unload them… without judgment… here in the comments.
As I said earlier, I’ll talk more about S7 in general next time. For now, here are my complaints (popular? Unpopular? You tell me!) about “Goodbye.”
(3 minor ones, 1 average, 1 serious WTF)
A missed #Shea opportunity:
The one little thing that rankled me a bit about the TED Talk was that Shaun didn’t give some sort of shoutout to Lea and/or his kids. Years ago, as I pondered how TGD might end someday, I envisioned Shaun delivering a speech/presentation kind of like the one we saw (Except not a TED talk, no Glassman memorials, no list of lives saved). And I envisioned Shaun crediting his wife for helping him be the man he is today… (specifically saying “but she is MY Lea… you will have to find your own”... his own take on how special and cherished she is.) To be clear– I thoroughly enjoyed the glimpses of their future life; it was lovely to think of them having a daughter down the road to accompany Steve. I just wish there had been 20 more seconds of that TED talk…
There was a line between Glassman and Lea where Lea gently reminds Glassy that Shaun’s probably going to need “more than 48 hours” to process Glassman's medical status and his consequential wishes. Uh, yeah…?! I suppose pairing Shaun’s need to save Glassman (again) alongside his need to save Claire was irresistible drama for Shore & Friedman, but a reckoning such as Shaun had would be very tough for a neurotypical person to make in two days. Shaun’s processing could have/should have taken weeks!
(I’ve heard that the original plan was for Glassman’s returning cancer to be dealt with in Season 8… so why didn’t they introduce it halfway through S7 instead?)
And about those individual character “endings”... While I enjoyed seeing most of them (cough-LIM?-cough) get a version of the quintessential happy ending that fit their respective situations… and I wouldn’t have changed much of it (ach– LIM?!--choo), I’ve still got some things to say. (If you loved every second of the “endings” montage, you might want to skip this part.)
Most predictable: Parnick together, happily playing with Eden… for after all, Park and Morgan weren’t married until the penultimate episode and didn’t have time to build any new trouble-in-paradise warning signs. Did you find #Parnick-ever-after a head-scratcher all the way to the end, wondering how they’d gotten past such mega-hurdles as Park’s financial frustrations (as referenced in S5), likely disagreements on child-rearing, and Morgan… being Morgan? (See S7’s “Critical Support” episode for the most recent example of this.)
If so, consider the possibility of complications arising with Eden’s adoption, and the bond they would have formed as they dealt with that. I can’t help but think this was one of those plot developments that was forced down the drain once the abbreviated final season was announced.
Safest: the med school students (Charlie/Dom). Initially I wondered if they’d even be in the last episode, given that TGD kept the S4 newbies out of that season’s Guatemala 2-part finale (allowing the focus to stay on its core cast). But Charlie turned out to be a key participant in both medical scenarios (Glassman’s and Claire’s), so it would have seemed odd to leave her out of the flash forward– especially when she got to lead residents around St. Bon’s with such purpose and confidence. As for Dom… he was along for the ride as usual; his FF was a nice nod to his past aversions to the sight of blood. But as with much of the season– sorry– I wouldn’t have missed him if he wasn’t there. That’s not a knock on Waavy Jonez (the actor portraying Dom), but rather The Powers That Be, and it’ll definitely come up in a later post.
Most “Whatever”: Jordan and Perez, singing together in Jordan’s church choir. Because…
As you know if you’ve been reading a while, I didn’t much care for them as a couple. Not necessarily because of a lack of chemistry… but moreso how it was (and wasn’t) written.
For those that DID enjoy them as a couple… come on, TGD, you couldn’t take the 10-20 seconds allotted to them in the flash-forward and show them in a loving embrace or something? I get that their scene in the church (from the S6 episode “365 Degrees”) was poignant enough to want to circle back to it, but… the two of them standing side by side in choir? Sing, clap, sing, clap? That’s it??
And for those who hoped they were slow-burning Jordan and Kalu throughout S7… well, they were. Sort of. Except they kept Jordan and Perez’s text game relevant throughout, and once Claire showed up, any question of Kalu’s feelings went out the window.
They surely had much more planned for Jordan and Kalu, had S7 been a proper 18-20 episodes. But rather than scrap the idea altogether, they did what they could in the time that they could. Or did they…? An actual physical encounter of some kind between these two would have upped the ante so much more.
The news that Brandon Larracuente was returning for the series finale came out at the same time as Antonia Thomas’ return… and yet, all he got was a cameo in the final minutes? With zero lines? If I were him– or a big fan of his work– I’d be frustrated, to say the least.
Speaking of frustrated… I’ve tried to give Lim’s “happy ending” space to simmer in my brain, but it’s only become more outrageous in the process.
To recap her trajectory this season…
She was required to share co-presidency duties indefinitely with Glassman while also remaining chief of surgery… all of which exacerbated her stress levels, and triggered her need to be hyper-responsible.
At some point (offscreen), her live-in boyfriend Clay moved to Chicago (reportedly because of her over-dedication to work and continued resistance to commit), and their relationship ended.
She suffered PTSD recurrences in the wake of Asher’s murder, as well as the mass casualty event that followed the day of his memorial service.
She learned (by way of her mother) that her beloved father had suffered from clinical depression throughout much of his career… causing Lim to pause and take stock of her own mental health situation. (Or so we thought…)
When it appeared she’d “get” the presidency by default (due to Glassman’s terminal illness), she confided to Claire that she’d been offered Chief of Surgery at a Chicago hospital. The opportunity, combined with a chance to re-kindle things with Clay, sounded too good to pass up. (As did a chance to watch her drive her badass self outta town on her motorcycle.)
But…………
She went to work for an international medical unit in Ukraine instead. If she received therapy, we never saw it. If she came up with a concrete reason to ditch the Chicago/Clay idea, we never heard about it. What we DID get was selfless Lim being more selfless than ever before, opting to explore new roads (one might say run desperately from what she really needs… AGAIN). And as noble an idea as it would be to serve in Ukraine, it hardly seems the right step for someone who actively battles PTSD already.
Whose idea was this??
I’ve struggled to play Devil’s Advocate with the Lim decision. Are we supposed to believe it gave her the terrifying/exhilarating feeling that overcame Claire when she moved to Guatemala? And even if it did… Lim is not Claire. Not at all. So why in the world would they saddle her with a relocation decision similar to Claire’s when the image of Lim motorcycling her way cross country to join Clay was so strong, we could feel the wind in her hair…??? It STILL would’ve been terrifying and/or exhilarating. UGGGGGHHHH. They even brought Lim’s MOM back in to sign off on the idea, even though she’d have been begging Lim to head to Chicago.
UGGGHHHH! Now I’m mad all over again.
(And if Shore and Company bailed on the Chicago idea because the actor who played Clay was unavailable for the finale– I call bullshit. There were plenty of ways around that.)
So yes, this is the primary thing keeping me from giving the finale an A+, or 4 Out of Four Stars, or whatever metric you choose. I bought into most everything they were selling– or at least didn’t care enough about certain choices to be bothered by them (hello, Jordan/Perez)-- but this “future” for Lim was extremely disappointing to me. I can only imagine how the Christina Chiang Superfans felt about it…
(If any of you are reading, DO TELL! Venting in the Comments section is free… and therapeutic!)
NOTE: I know I continue to get these TGD posts out at a snail’s pace, but I still have several more planned! I’ll continue to announce them on Twitter/X (@KLBSt8ofSk8) and Instagram (@st8ofsk8) … or just check back here regularly!
