Note: The following story contains spoilers from “The Good Doctor” Season 7, Episode 5.
“The Good Doctor” Surprised viewers when a major character was killed during a hate crime in Tuesday night’s episode. This adds a dark twist to the ABC medical drama as it reaches the midway point of its seventh and final season. Writer Adam Scott Weissman explained that the death of Dr. Asher Wolke was due to actor Noah Galvin wanting to leave the series. It also provided an opportunity for the show to shed light on the increase in antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ+ attacks in the U.S.
“We approached this [episode] with the idea that life doesn’t always have happy endings. Sometimes things happen suddenly and in a tragic way,” Weissman told TheWrap in an exclusive interview. “These issues become real when it happens to someone you know, or someone we love on TV, so this horrible thing happens that also brings it home for our viewers.”
The episode, titled “Who At Peace” and co-written by Weissman and Peter Blake, showed Asher (Noah Galvin) reconnecting with his Jewish upbringing while assisting with a dying patient's wedding. This helped him deal with his own struggles with the religion after growing up gay in the Hasidic community. It also depicted Asher grappling with the decision to propose to his partner Jerome (Giacomo Baessato) as they approached their two-year anniversary. After the patient’s wedding, Asher accompanies the rabbi back to the synagogue and encounters two vandals. Although Asher initially scares them off, the episode ends with them returning and killing him while Jerome waits in a restaurant, ready to propose.
A source close to production confirmed that Galvin wanted to pursue other opportunities, leading the writers to orchestrate an earlier departure for Asher. Asher was introduced in Season 4 as a recurring character before becoming a series regular in Season 5.
Although Asher’s fate addressed real-life issues, Weissman stressed that the goal of Episode 5 was to bring the character’s story to a “satisfying ending.”
“Asher’s final line when he says, ‘I’m not just a Jew, I’m a gay one too.’ Those were two identities that previously he hadn’t been able to reconcile. He felt like he had to choose, which is what he is sort of going through in this episode,” Weissman said. “Him being able to come to that conclusion that I can be both of these two things was super important to us.”
Weissman acknowledged that the writers were “aware” of the show potentially falling into the “bury your gays” trope of killing off queer characters for the sake of tragedy, but praised showrunner Liz Friedman — who he noted is herself a member of the LGBTQ community — for guiding the writers through crafting the emotional episode.
“It’s a sorrowful message, but it’s also a positive one in that it’s a brave moment for him where he embraces all aspects of his identity, and does it to protect someone else and to protect the sacred space,” Weissman said.
A sneak peek for next week’s episode promised a tribute for Asher’s memory, before the doctors are rushed back to the hospital for an urgent situation. Without revealing too many details, Weissman assured that the aftermath of the attack and Asher’s death will play a crucial role in the remaining characters’ trajectory in the show’s final episodes — including Jerome.
“The Good Doctor” is shown on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Episodes are accessible to stream the day after premiering on Hulu.
