‘The Good Doctor’ Finale: Freddie Highmore Says It Could ‘Make or Break’ Shaun & Lea’s Relationship

The first part of the Good Doctor Season 4 finale ended with a heartbreaking conversation for Dr. Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) and Lea Dilallo (Paige Spara), still grieving their loss after her miscarriage. Can they move forward together?

Lea admitted that “nothing” will help — even looking at his eyes hurts since she imagined their daughter having them. She’s thinking about taking her parents up on their offer for her to stay with them for a bit. But how might the events of the June 7 finale change that?

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'The Good Doctor' Finale: Can a Medical Mission Help Shaun & Lea Heal?

TV Insider turned to Highmore for a preview as the doctors turn to the surgical part of their mission in Guatemala. (They had to narrow it down to 12 from the many locals who need medical help.)

What’s next for Shaun and Lea in the finale, especially since he is going to be busy with surgery, too?

Freddie Highmore: It’s a huge end to the season for the two of them. I think it’s as big as you can get in terms of a relationship and the ending place for the two of them. It’s obviously been such a hugely dramatic, big, emotional latter half of the season for the two of them. Going through something that huge and that meaningful can either make or break a relationship and we’ll see what happens to the two of them in this last one.

And not just for Shaun and Lea. I think this is a huge episode for pretty much all of the characters on the show. Claire [Antonia Thomas] has an incredibly emotional journey being in Guatemala and is very touched more than others about the work that they’re doing there. Dr. Lim [Christina Chang] and our new doctor, Mateo [Osvaldo Benavides], have quite the connection and that’s explored more in this last episode. And there’s lots to be resolved for Morgan [Fiona Gubelmann] and Park [Will Yun Lee]. It’s a big one, and I can’t really downplay that too much because it’s just the truth.

ABC/Jeff Weddell

It sounds like the plan, at least, is for Lea to go spend time with her parents, but of course, plans can change, so will that?

Plans certainly can change. They might not change, but they can, of course. That’s the kind of wonderful stopping place, that conversation that they had at the end of Episode 19, and something they will continue to discuss and will continue to be important for them in the second part of the finale.

In the promo, Shaun says he wants to move forward.

I think Shaun is a very hopeful person. He’s very optimistic, and so I think he is the sort of person who looks to the future to find a solution and believes that things will get better. He brings that side to their relationship and he is just as sad and feels it as much as Lea does, but processes it in a different way. I think the way that Shaun deals with it is by trying to look to the future and wanting to believe that things will get better and they can get through this.

In the finale, Shaun performs a risky operation without electricity when the power goes out. How does he handle that?

The electricity does indeed go out. I think it’s exciting because we get to see Shaun thinking outside the box. It’s him at his very best, really, when presented with a situation that’s a little bit left of center. People are out of their comfort zones and Shaun is out of his comfort zone, but he also knows that and is able to think differently and to come up with a solution that others might not. We may end up getting another Shaun vision too, as he tries to process this reality and work out how to fix it.

Looking back on the season as a whole, what moments stand out to you for Shaun that he needed to go through for what we’ll see from the finale and heading into next season?

The miscarriage was so awful and heartbreaking and traumatic, of course, for Lea and also for Shaun. It’s the sort of moment that you never forget, and so it will forever change who Shaun is and forever change the dynamic between Shaun and Lea. We’ll continue to see that in this last episode.

ABC/Jeff Weddell

What can you say about how the end of the finale sets up next season?

We’ve already heard people who have responded so positively to Osvaldo, Dr. Mateo, coming on board and being there for these last two episodes. I think it will be interesting to see where he and Lim get to in this last episode. He brings this brilliant presence to the show, a presence that we’ve never really had before — easygoing, a confidence, and charm — and he’s such a lovely guy as well. I’m excited for people to see and learn more about him in this last part and maybe we’ll get to see him again next season.

Could there be a Good Doctor wedding next season?

That would be giving far too much away. To be honest, I don’t know the answer to your question in terms of next season but I know the writers’ room started up [this week].

The Good Doctor, Mondays, 10/9c, ABC