Fans finally know why Asher left The Good Doctor thanks to new comments from the series' producers.
The hit ABC medical drama shocked fans with its Season 7 mid-season finale, killing off Noah Galvin's Dr. Asher Wolke, one of the major characters.
Asher, who has been a part of the series since Season 4, came to his tragic end at the hands of an antisemitic attack following getting back in touch with his faith in Season 7.
[ The Good Doctor: Does Asher Die? ABC Confirms Fate of Noah Galvin's Character In New Trailer ]
What Happened to Asher in The Good Doctor?
Following Dr. Asher Wolke's death in The Good Doctor Season 7, fans are wondering what exactly happened to the longtime character.
It seems as though Noah Galvin's TV doctor was killed off to give the long-conflicted character some closure, even if it may have been fatal.
In a conversation with The Wrap, series producer Adam Scott Weissman revealed they felt Asher was given a "satisfying ending" in Season 7, Episode 5, ramping up the stakes as the series enters its final few episodes.
After the character grappled with both his faith and sexuality as an openly gay man in the series, Weissman believed Asher's reconciling with those two parts of his identity in his final moments was something meaningful for the series to do:
"Asher’s final line when he says, ‘I’m not just a Jew, I’m a gay one, too.’ Those were two identities that prior to that 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. Him being able to come to that conclusion that I can be both of these two things was super important to us."
He continued, adding that Asher's death was important, as it showed the character finally "embrac[ing] all sides of his identity:"
"It’s a sad note, but it’s also a high note in that it’s a heroic moment for him where he embraces all sides of his identity, and does it to protect someone else and to protect the sacred space."
While the rest of The Good Doctor cast got to mourn their fallen comrade on-screen, Galvin was left to say goodbye to his character elsewhere.
The Asher actor took to Instagram, posting a series of photos from production on the series with a caption saying "thank you for everything" to the Good Doctor team:
"I spent the last four years in Vancouver working away from my fiancee and dog and family. It was hard but these people made it really worth it. I love you 'The Good Doctor.' Thank you for everything!!"
How The Good Doctor Honored Asher?
While fans have been memorializing The Good Doctor's Asher since his tragic demise at the end of Season 7, Episode 5, the series itself has now given the character the send-off he deserved.
Season 7's sixth episode saw the cast eulogize Asher and celebrate his memory by way of a proper funeral service.
The funeral featured a stirring speech given by the devout Christian Dr. Jordan Allen (played by Bria Samoné Henderson).
She said that while the pair came from two different worlds theologically, they came together to save people's lives.
Her speech also featured the doctor getting quite upset with the reason for Asher's death (being a faith-based hate crime). This anger would bubble to the surface later in the episode as Dr. Allen operated on a man who drove his car into a crowd of local festivalgoers.
However, Jordan eventually realized that she needed to put her prejudices aside - just like Asher would have - and operate on the man lying on the table in front of her no matter who he was.
Other characters dealt heavily with the fallout of Asher's demise, including the character's soon-to-be fiancé, Jerome. Jerome was planning on proposing to Asher on the night of his death, but he never got the chance.
He was seen in Episode 7 justifiably shaken by the entire ordeal as the rest of the St. Bons hospital team came to his aide and helped him pick up the pieces left behind by his lost loved one.
The Good Doctor is streaming now on Hulu. Season 7, Episode 7 is set to debut on ABC on Tuesday, April 16.
