The Good Doctor saw a major character getting killed off in its seventh and final season.
Ahead of Episode 5, “Who At Peace,” airing on ABC, the episode had been touted as a “must-see” hour with a “heart-stopping” moment.
At the end of the latest episode, which aired on Tuesday, April 2, Noah Galvin’s Dr. Asher Wolke suffered an antisemitic attack that ended his life.
The moment was juxtaposed with Asher’s boyfriend Jerome (Giacomo Baessato) waiting for him at a restaurant nearby to propose to him as a surprise on their second anniversary.
After Asher assisted a patient’s wedding, he drove the rabbi back home, where they encountered a couple of thugs vandalizing the synagogue. Asher told them to leave and they wouldn’t have a problem with the first assailant saying, “What do you care?”
“He’s a Jew, too,” the second thug said.
Asher added, “I am a Jew. A gay one, in fact, and I’m calling the cops.”
After believing everything had been resolved and there would be no problems, the couple of thugs returned and struck Asher’s head, leaving him for dead.
A title card at the end of the episode reads, “If you or anyone you know has experienced antisemitism, racism, anti-LGBTQ+ related incidents or hate crimes, or if you want to learn more about what you can do to stop hate, please visit splcenter.org.”
Asher was introduced in Season 4 when Galvin joined The Good Doctor as a recurring. He was promoted to a series regular at the end of that season.
The next episode of The Good Doctor, which airs on Tuesday, April 9 at 10 p.m. ET, is titled “M.C.E.,” where “the team must deal with a mass casualty event that forces them to put aside their emotions after a recent tragedy.”
