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 ends 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 remains unnamed during this sequence, but The Good Doctor showrunners recently confirmed the daughter’s name and its significance.
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.
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.
