Spoilers ahead for Episode 5 of The Good Doctor Season 7, called "Who At Peace" on April 2.
The Good Doctor just delivered a major tragedy in the 2024 TV schedule, sadly just a day too late to even hope for an April Fools' Day joke. "Who At Peace" ended on the shocking death of Dr. Asher Wolke, just when he was on the verge of getting engaged. He was murdered by a pair of violent antisemitic and homophobic men, struck on the head from behind as he was walking to his car. It was a twist that few could have seen coming when Season 7 started on a happier note, and actor Noah Galvin has shared a message in the wake of his character's death.
Noah Galvin joined the cast of The Good Doctor in Season 4 and was bumped up to series regular status starting in Season 5. There was no real reason to doubt that the case would be any different in the ABC drama's seventh and final season, but Asher's murder presumably ended Galvin's time on the show. If the image of a lifeless Asher is still stuck in your head, you might enjoy the happy photos that the actor chose to go with his message to fans:
While Asher's happy ending with Jerome was cut short and we won't get to see the rest of the final season with him as part of the St. Bonaventure team, the actor shared that all the challenges were "worth it" and he still has a lot of love for the show. It's a sweet message, particularly when other characters – like Claire and Dr. Andrews – were given more optimistic sendoffs, even without Hill Harper on hand for the latter. (Nicholas Gonzalez wasn't so lucky as Dr. Melendez.)
And as nice as it is to see some smiling photos of Noah Galvin after what happened to Asher in Episode 5 (available streaming now via Hulu subscription), it's even nicer to see the supportive comments in his Instagram post, from the show's official account as well as several of his former cast members:
- The Good Doctor: "Always our Asher 💙"
- Paige Spara: "You make everything better I love you so much Noahy you are so loved"
- Antonia Thomas: "❤"
- Kayla Cromer: "I’m so glad that I had an opportunity to meet you and work with you! Your amazing!"
- Bria Henderson: "I LOVE YOU DEEP"
- Christina Chang: "Lerve you ❤️"
Yes, Paige Spara (Lea), Antonia Thomas (Claire), Kayla Cromer (Charlotte), Bria Henderson (Jordan), and Christina Chang (Dr. Lim) all hit Galvin's comment section, with everything ranging from a single emoji to an expression of love to a full message. It's a nice show of support in a show that doesn't often inflict permanent damage on its core cast of characters, with co-showrunner Liz Friedman describing the series to CinemaBlend as "a pretty hopeful show." At least it wasn't as graphic as it could have been?
In case you thought – or hoped and against hope – that Asher seemingly lying lifeless on the ground was a fake-out and he's actually alive, the promo for the next episode debunks that pretty thoroughly. Take a look:
While Asher is truly dead, it appears that the next episode is going to explore the aftermath of the tragedy on his coworkers. Based on the promo, it's not going to go well for Shaun when Lim overestimates how much he can emotionally handle when he has been bottling up his feelings for days. Keep tuning in to ABC on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET for the rest of The Good Doictor's seventh and final season.
