‘The Good Doctor’: Claire Won’t Be OK

The Good Doctor Season 3 ends on a down note with the tragic death of Dr. Neil Melendez (Nicholas Gonzalez). Out of all the characters, Claire (Antonia Thomas) is hit the hardest by his passing. Before Melendez dies, he says, “You’re going to be OK, Claire.” However, we’re not so sure about that. Now that …

by Sheiresa Ngo

Published on June 10, 2020

2 min read

Claire and Dr. Melendez grew close

Nicholas Gonzalez and Antonia Thomas | Jack Rowand/ABC via Getty Images

Claire has been through a lot over the years. She is still reeling over the death of her mother, and she has been seeking therapy for her issues with men and her abusive relationship with her mom. She was finally getting to a good place in her life, but the death of Melendez might derail her progress.

Melendez and Claire’s friendship begins in an unusual way. Melendez consoles Claire after she is confronted by the angry wife of a man she was sleeping with. After vowing to stop sleeping with married men, Claire makes an effort to have healthy relationships. Claire and Melendez eventually develop a close friendship and lean on each other during tough times.

Morgan almost destroyed Melendez and Claire’s relationship

Fiona Gubelmann | Jack Rowand via Getty Images

Here to ruin everyone’s day is none other than Dr. Morgan Reznick (played by actress Fiona Gubelmann). Morgan notices Claire and Melendez are getting close, so she reports them to Dr. Lim (who also happens to be Melendez’s ex-girlfriend). When Morgan sees Claire and Melendez going for a jog together, it fills her with envy. Claire later discovers it was Morgan who reported them. Morgan says she filed a complaint because she was concerned about the appearance of preferential treatment. However, it’s obvious Morgan was simply jealous and wanted to break up a good thing.

Morgan’s meddling causes tension between Claire and Melendez. As Melendez backs away from the friendship, Claire is left lost and confused. However, she refuses to accept the situation and fights to make things right between them. They eventually patch things up, but it turns out to be too late. Just a few episodes later, Claire is saying goodbye to Melendez as he draws his last breaths. We wish Morgan would have minded her own business so that Melendez and Claire could have enjoyed their friendship uninterrupted.

Claire won’t be OK

Considering everything Claire has been through, we wouldn’t be surprised if she enters a downward spiral. We don’t think she will be able to focus on her work and she will probably go back to her reckless dating patterns.

As Melendez is dying, Claire whispers, “You saved me.” However, the trauma of his death will likely cause her to slip back into her old ways. The very man that saved her might be the one who destroys her.

We wonder if Claire will be able to let go of Melendez and move on with her life or if she will be haunted by the “what ifs.” If Melendez had survived, would they have started dating? Or would things have gone terribly wrong with him rejecting her advances and causing a rift in their friendship? We’ll never know the answers to those questions, but we do know Claire is going to have a hard time getting back to normal.