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

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)

• 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.)

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 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 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… 

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.)

• 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. 

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…

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!