The Good Doctor shockingly killed off a series regular, and it's such an important decision
TV shows deliver shocking deaths now and then. The Good Doctor is no stranger to that, but usually, we have an idea that they’re coming. The one in Episode 5 of the final season was one none of us saw coming.
Caution: There are major spoilers for The Good Doctor Season 7, Episode 5 in this post.
The episode seemed like a pretty normal one in terms of medical situations and personal storylines. It wasn’t until the end that we were left with a haunting moment that is even eating away at my mind the following day. It’s not often that this happens in TV, but the writers got me with this one. And that’s because of how important it is to talk about right now.
The Good Doctor is no stranger to discussing and showcasing very real social issues at the moment. If you look at reviews about the first season, you’ll see how people called it “woke.” Well, that’s because it wasn’t afraid to bring up some important social topics of the world as we know it now. That’s not woke. While being entertaining, TV and movies also have a duty to showcase real problems and bring up all sides for a debate.
The Good Doctor death reminds us that hate is not the answer
In the most recent episode, Asher Wolke reconnected with his Judaism (and TVLine gives a great breakdown as to why he turned away from his faith in the past) and helped at a patient’s wedding. When the synagogue was attacked by vandals, Asher drove the rabbi back to see the two vandals there. Asher was brave in standing up to them, pointing out that he’s not just a Jew but a gay Jew.
The two thugs left, but they returned when Asher had his back turned and struck him over the head. By the time the rabbi found Asher, he was already dead. And just the reminder of the events sends shivers down my spine.
The haunting hour ended with:
"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."
It brings up the reminder that hate kills, and it shouldn’t be welcome in our society. This hatred was mostly toward the Jewish community, which we’re seeing a lot of right now due to the war between Israel and Palestine. Jewish hate and Muslim hate aren’t needed, but people are choosing sides and persecuting innocent people for the actions of terrorist groups and government.
We’re consistently seeing hatred toward the LGBTQ+ community. There’s racism still happening around the world. And hatred is leading to the deaths of innocent people in the types of attacks that Asher faced.
We're losing the best people in the world
Asher was one of the sweetest and kindest characters on The Good Doctor. He fought for his patients, and he found ways around problems that he ran into. He treated everyone equally, even when they didn’t treat him that way. The world is a worse place without people like Asher in it, and why are they taken out? Because of religion, race, sexuality? It doesn’t make sense, and that’s what makes this episode of The Good Doctor.
Now is a time to stand up against hate. If the last few years have taught us anything it’s that change can come, but those who aren’t directly affected also need to be allies. We all need to fight against those the thugs represented in the episode together. We need the Ashers of the world in it.
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The Good Doctor airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on ABC.