Why did Nick Gonzalez leave The Good Doctor? Exploring the actual reason behind Dr. Neil Melendez's sudden exit

ABC’s medical drama, The Good Doctor, introduces a cast of fascinating and deeply engaging characters who have managed to forge a strong connection with the audience. Similarly, Neil Melendez, the highly skilled and brilliant doctor of San Jose St. Bonaventure Hospital, portrayed by Nick Gonzalez, stood out as one of the highly lauded fan-favorite characters from the show.

Melendez was appreciated for his level-headedness and dedicated work ethic, making him an unforgettable character from the show. Unfortunately, Melendez didn’t stay longer than the fans expected as he made an unanticipated exit in the finale of The Good Doctor Season 3, which left fans utterly heartbroken.

Much to fans’ surprise, the departure of Melendez from the The Good Doctor wasn’t solely attributed to his on-screen death. It encompassed more intricate reasons beyond the narrative. Follow along with the article to learn about the mystifying exit of Neil Melendez from The Good Doctor.

Disclaimer: This article contains significant spoilers from The Good Doctor. Reader’s discretion is advised.

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The Good Doctor writers had to kill Nick Gonzalez’s Dr. Neil Melendez to “confront mortality”

Nick Gonzalez’s Dr. Neil Melendez appeared for the last time in the finale of The Good Doctor Season 3, titled “I Love You,” where the character breathed his last breath after sustaining severe internal bleeding. As witnessed in the episode, Melendez found himself trapped under debris following a powerful earthquake that struck San Jose.

Melendez’s situation worsened, where his bowel was critically damaged and deteriorated to the point that if saved, he would be living in a debilitated state for the rest of his life. This left him with no choice but to accept the impending death after bidding his goodbyes to Claire and Lim. The episode’s devastating ending left fans reaching for tissues.

During an interview with Deadline, the creator of the show, David Shore, revealed that Nick Gonzalez’s Neil Melendez was to “confront mortality,” meaning that one of the pivotal characters needed to be killed off.

Here’s what Shore had to say in his own words:

I don’t have a good answer. I mean, when you do a story like this, you want to be honest. When you do a series like this, you want to confront mortality. That’s what the series does. You need bad results every now and again to keep things honest and keep the audience believing that bad things are going to happen, just because you want to be honest, and because you want to put people in those positions.

He further said:

You want to see how people react to bad news, as well as good. So, you want, every now and again, bad things to happen, and to see the fallout from it. That’s what you want to explore as an audience; that’s what you want people to feel.

Shroff continued by revealing the important role Nick Gonzalez played in the series and even admitted that his character’s death has certainly left a void on the show:

You know, Nick was fantastic, and there’s nothing I can say to you that will make you go, “Oh, yeah. Okay. It had to be that way.” We wanted to lose a character that we would feel something about and feel pain about, and certainly, he’s a character that so many of them have been in touch with.

Shroff continued:

Lim had a relationship with him; Claire was starting a relationship with him; Shaun obviously had his thing with him, although their paths don’t really cross in the finale. I think that would have been largely true for any of our characters, but it’s particularly true for him.

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Does Melendez tell Claire he loves her?

During the final moments on his deathbed, both Melendez and Claire profess their feelings for each other, which the fans longed for almost the entire third season. However, it wasn’t anticipated that Nick’s character would be bidding farewell with his death in the finale. His sudden yet unexpected demise caught fans off, leaving an emotional impact that resonated throughout the audience.

Surprisingly, the character appeared in the fourth season, too, but as a figment of Claire’s imagination, who had a hard time getting over Melendez’s memories. Their love story saw a tragic end, and fans desired to see them as a couple. However, the unexpected twists in the plot dashed these hopes, leaving an emotional void in the hearts of dedicated viewers.

At the end of Season 4 of The Good Doctor, the series saw yet another exit, which was of Antonia Thomas, who plays the role of Dr. Claire Browne. However, the actor voluntarily left the show to get some time off and “explore other things.” Much to the fans’ surprise, she eventually made her grand comeback, which fans appreciated with joy.

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The six seasons of The Good Doctor are available to binge on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Apple TV, and many other OTT platforms. Stay tuned for more news and updates on the show as 2024 progresses.