There will be spoilers for the “Sons” season finale of The Good Doctor on ABC.
The Season 5 finale of The Good Doctor felt like it was going to conclude on a happy note with Shaun and Lea finally getting married after so many ups and downs, despite the fact that the show has a reputation for delivering game-changing finales that contain big catastrophes. except that they said their vows with just a few seconds left in the episode, which practically ensured a cliffhanger. Dr. Lim and Nurse Villanueva were involved in the cliffhanger, which was reminiscent of a famous moment from another medical show. But does the fact that The Good Doctor made me remember a gory ER episode portend well?
What Happened To Lim And Villanueva?
Fans will recall that Villanueva has been residing with Lim ever since the latter rejected her resignation and provided her with housing so she could leave her domestic abuser. Villanueva attempted to leave Lim’s home and stand on her own, but her boss made it plain that she was more than welcome to stay because ending her connection with her abuser wouldn’t be simple. They were all planning to stay together, and in the excitement of the St. Bonaventure doctors planning Shaun and Lea’s wedding on the hospital’s roof, I actually lost track of the plot.
I started having flashbacks of ER when Lim walked into the break room looking for more glasses while everyone was still partying two levels up – with no one else around, music blasting, and only a few minutes left in the show. It turns out that I wasn’t altogether off-base. (More below regarding the ER scenario.) She slid into what turned out to be a puddle of Villanueva’s blood as she entered the break room while The Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows” was playing. Villanueva had to make an effort to alert her buddy that someone else was around before she sprang into action, applying pressure to her injuries and called for a cart while ordering the nurse to remain silent.
That someone turned out to be Villanueva’s violent ex-boyfriend Owen, who emerged from the shadows, lunged at Lim, and then stabbed her twice in the abdomen before fleeing. Villanueva and Lim were found bleeding profusely on the floor of a room that was otherwise empty at the end of Season 5. The people who could have saved them were partying carelessly above, and music was playing loud enough to drown out any cries for help. Fans will have to wait a long time to learn what happens next, but at least Lim was still alive and Villanueva was still breathing when the camera last concentrated on her face.
If you’re a fan of ER like we are, you probably already know what might happen if The Good Doctor follows the example set by the venerable medical drama from more than two decades ago. Below are ER Season 6 spoilers.
What Happened To Carter And Lucy On ER?
When it came to Dr. Lucy Knight and Dr. John Carter (played by Noah Wyle), who had been treating a patient who vehemently did not want their help—or their spinal tap—in Season 6 of ER on NBC in 2000, the show delivered a massive and horrific twist. The programme continued after Carter had the situation under control (and yelled at Lucy), and a psychiatric consultation was on its way. With a Valentine’s Day party taking over the Emergency Room, replete with loud screaming music, it appeared like the episode would close on a happy note. Then, as Carter entered the dim exam room to check on Lucy and the patient, something went awry.
That patient sprung out of the shadows at Carter as he entered the room, stabbing him twice before running away. Carter screamed for assistance but the music drowned out his voice, so he fell to the ground and found Lucy, who had already been viciously attacked and was laying in a pool of her own blood, conscious but not in a good way. The Good Doctor Season 5 ending immediately got me thinking about it because of the Season 6 episode’s unsettling conclusion, which you can watch with a Hulu subscription or just check out the scene below.
Are the two scenes the same now? No. While Carter was attacked in the back and didn’t notice Lucy until he too had fallen to the ground, Lim saw Villanueva bleeding on the ground first before being stabbed from the front. However, two medical professionals getting stabbed as the episode’s cliffhanger follows a joyful party scene where music muffles cries for assistance? Of course, I was considering ER! And to be quite honest, I’m almost ready to rewatch “All in the Family” from Season 6 and the subsequent episode just to relive the moment.
On the one hand, if the Good Doctor sequence was actually motivated by what occurred to Carter and Lucy back in 2000 and not merely by happenstance of the script, I support any show that pays homage to a classic ER moment. However, I don’t necessarily want the resolution of this cliffhanger to be handled in the same manner as ER did. Carter pulled through, but he later developed a long-lasting emotional addiction to his painkillers. Lucy’s wounds caused her death. Villanueva deserves a break after attempting to avoid domestic violence, and Lim is too important and important of a character for me to want to see her die.
At this point, one thing is certain: The Good Doctor gave viewers a jaw-dropping cliffhanger to hold them over over the months-long break. The good news is that the medical drama has already been picked up by ABC for a sixth season, so their futures won’t be indefinitely in doubt. To learn more about whether they survive and whether their attacker is apprehended, fans can only hope that it airs earlier rather than later in the 2022–2023 season.
The Good Doctor is over for the 2021–2022 television season, but there are still a tonne of finales coming up. For the dates you need to know for some of the most popular shows on television, be sure to check out our spring TV finale schedule.
