Summary
- Naming their daughter Maddie honors Glassman’s memory and represents closure for Shaun in The Good Doctor series finale.
- Maddie’s significance ties back to Glassman’s heartbreaking storyline, bringing a full circle to Shaun and Lea’s journey.
- Shaun’s choice to name his daughter after Glassman’s daughter symbolizes love, grief, and moving forward in life.
The name Shaun and Lea chose for their daughter after the time jump at the end of The Good Doctor adds to the finale’s poignance. The Freddie Highmore-led medical drama about an aspiring doctor who is autistic flashed forward ten years after resolving its final storyline, which was the heartbreaking story of Shaun’s inability to find a miracle treatment for Dr. Glassman (Richard Schiff)’s brain cancer. Although Dr. Glassman’s death at the end of The Good Doctor was sad, the series ended on a positive note that resonated with a large segment of the audience.
The Good Doctor ended after season 7 with a flash forward of ten years, where Shaun making a speech introducing the Aaron Glassman Neurodiversity in Medicine Foundation was interspersed with clips of most of the characters’ current lives. For Shaun and Lea, some of these clips included them riding on the carousel that Glassman’s daughter loved while Lea was pregnant again and later with their son and daughter. The little girl remained unnamed during this sequence, but The Good Doctor showrunners recently confirmed the daughter’s name and its significance.
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Shaun & Lea’s Daughter Is Called Maddie, After Dr. Glassman’s Daughter
Her Name Brings Glassman’s Painful Story to a Close
Maddie Glassman passed away from a drug overdose before The Good Doctor began, and her death was a traumatic experience that affected Glassman throughout the series. While undergoing chemotherapy during season 2, Glassman imagined seeing Maddie and discussing the circumstances of her death, and during season 7 he became overly attached to a patient who had an opioid addiction because he thought he could save her, unlike his real daughter.
Hannah, the patient who had an opioid use disorder, was played by Richard Schiff’s real daughter, Ruby Kelley.
There was nothing anyone could do to bring Maddie back or ease Glassman’s guilt over his role in her death. However, naming Shaun and Lea’s daughter after Maddie allows Maddie to live on in the world. Giving Shaun and Lea’s daughter this name was part of The Good Doctor series finale allowing Shaun to come full circle from the beginning. Glassman was a father figure to Shaun throughout the series, and Shaun is now the parent to a son who has Glassman’s name as his middle name and a daughter who has the same name as Glassman’s did.
Why Shaun & Lea Calling Their Daughter Maddie Was Perfect For The Good Doctor’s Finale
Shaun Honored Glassman in Several Ways By Making This Choice
Naming his daughter after Glassman’s was one way that Shaun honored Glassman’s memory rather than continuing to remain angry about Glassman’s death.
Shaun struggled with accepting Glassman’s prognosis throughout the finale, even threatening to cut off Glassman permanently if Glassman did not agree to accept experimental treatment that might extend his life long enough to find a more permanent solution. However, the ending demonstrated that Shaun had come to terms with Glassman’s death. Naming his daughter after Glassman’s was one way that Shaun honored Glassman’s memory rather than continuing to remain angry about Glassman’s death. Additionally, naming Maddie after Glassman’s daughter showed that Shaun considered the original Maddie the sister he never had the opportunity to meet.
Glassman blamed himself for Maddie’s death because he had kicked her out of the house until she sobered up on the day she overdosed, and he struggled with those feelings throughot the rest of his life despite the positive influence he had on Shaun. Shaun naming his daughter after Maddie at the end of The Good Doctor was a poignant display of Shaun’s love for Glassman, his grief over Glassman’s death, and his willingness to move forward in his life as the series drew to a close.
The Good Doctor
season 7 streams on Hulu.
The Good Doctor
The Good Doctor is a medical drama television series that tells the story of Dr. Shaun Murphy, a young surgeon who has autism, as he navigates his career and personal life at the fictional San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital. Freddie Highmore plays the title role. The series premiered in 2017 on ABC.
- Cast
- Freddie Highmore , Nicholas Gonzalez , Antonia Thomas , Chuku Modu , Beau Garrett , Hill Harper , Richard Schiff , Tamlyn Tomita , Will Yun Lee , Fiona Gubelmann , Christina Chang , Paige Spara , jasika nicole
- Release Date
- September 25, 2017
- Seasons
- 7