The Good Doctor recently wrapped up Season 2, and the show has been making waves for a lot of reasons. Of course, there’s the fact that the main character is Shaun Murphy (portrayed by Freddie Highmore), an autistic surgical resident with savant syndrome. Then, there’s the fact that the show seems to tackle a social issue in nearly every episode.
The strong female representation was also something that immediately stood out to me about the show. And posts like these only make my heart even fuller:
View this post on InstagramCelebrating #InternationalWomensDay with the amazing women of #TheGoodDoctor! #IWD2019
That Instagram photo shows five cast members, but only three of them — Antonia Thomas (top left), Christina Chang (top center) and Fiona Gubelmann (bottom right) have really taken center-stage in The Good Doctor. Here, I’ll be highlighting those three. However, it’s worth noting Paige Spaira’s (top right) Instagram account because it (and she) is so adorable.
Antonia Thomas
In the show, Thomas plays Dr. Claire Browne, who is known for her empathy and strong communication skills. Because of these traits, she was the quickest of the surgical residents at San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital to befriend Murphy. In Season 1, Browne was portrayed as a bit of a damsel in distress, as she struggled immensely to fully determine her feelings for Dr. Jared Kalu (portrayed by Chuku Modu) and/or Dr. Neil Melendez (portrayed by Nicholas Gonzalez). (“And/or” is used here because her “romance” with Melendez was rather vague and only advocated for by the show’s fans.) In Season 2 (spoiler alert), with Kalu gone and Melendez pursuing a different love interest, Browne is recognized for her ever-growing intelligence—especially in the season finale, where she’s able to save a patient by (almost literally) assessing the situation in Murphy’s eyes.
Thomas is an English actress, although she hides it quite well on The Good Doctor (so does Highmore). Aside from The Good Doctor, she is known for her roles in Misfits and Channel 4/Netflix’s comedy series Lovesick.
Fiona Gubelmann
Gubelmann portrays Dr. Morgan Reznick, who essentially has a personality that’s opposite of Browne (it’s only fitting that on the show, Reznick is often seen as having a bit of a rivalry with Browne). This portrays her in a light that makes her seem extremely cold-hearted and uninterested in becoming friends with her fellow surgical residents. However, fans saw Reznick’s character drastically evolve when she witnessed Tyler Durness (portrayed by Dan Byre)—an EMT and Reznick’s extremely brief love interest — die when St. Bonaventure was under quarantine (Season 2, Episode 10). It remains to be seen whether The Good Doctor will move further with Reznick’s character development in that regard; the show seems to have only made a huge deal about Reznick’s reaction to Durness’ death in the episode that followed (Season 2, Episode 11).
Gubelmann is also well-known for her roles on the Hallmark Channel, specifically in Tulips in Spring, Christmas Next Door and Royalty Ever After.
Christina Chang
Chang plays the strong-willed Audrey Lim in The Good Doctor. In Season 2, fans got to see Chang much more often, since she was upgraded from a recurring role to a main role. They also got a glimpse at just how much of a badass Lim is in moments such as when she was riding her motorcycle or fearlessly talking back to the judge in traffic court (Season 2, Episode 3). Although she isn’t nearly as cold-hearted as Reznick, Lim also struggles to open up to others and doesn’t like to dwell on emotions for too long. Another huge spoiler: it isn’t until her blossoming romance with Melendez that fans really see her character grow beyond its badass-y nature.
Chang is also best-known for her roles in 24, CSI: Miami and Nashville.
