'The Good Doctor' Fans Are Upset over New Trailer for the Show's 4th Season — Here's Why

The fan-favorite medical drama series is set to return early in November, but after having watched the upcoming season’s official trailer, fans of the show are missing something and are heartbroken over it.

The official trailer for Season 4 of the ABC drama series “The Good Doctor” was released on October 21, 2020, and it has brought bittersweet feelings among its fans, since they cannot ultimately come to terms with the absence of one character.

While the trailer gives us glimpses of an upcoming season that sees the doctors from St. Bonaventure Hospital in San Jose, California, dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic apart from introducing several new characters, many viewers took to the comments section of YouTube to complain about the departure of Dr. Melendez.

(Season 3 spoilers ahead). Dr. Neil Melendez, played by actor Nicholas Gonzalez, was an important part of the series since its inception in September 2017, but as part of Season 3’s tragic ending, Dr. Melendez died of a septic shock.

However heartbreaking, the character’s death meant a dignified exit from the show, since Dr. Melendez died as a hero after refusing to receive treatment for injuries sustained on an earthquake, choosing to perform an emergency surgery instead.

The premiere of Season 4 was delayed by a couple of months due to the pandemic, and it gave the medical drama the chance to make the COVID-19 health crisis the big theme of the upcoming season.

In response to the trailer, which sees Dr. Melendez’s love interest, Dr. Claire Browne, played by Antonia Thomas, trying to cope with her loss, fans of the show remembered Dr. Melendez and discussed their feelings over him not returning.

“I can’t believe I’m watching a new season without Melendez,” a user wrote, having a hard time dealing with the direction the show just took. “No Melendez, no Good Doctor,” a passionate fan added.

“All we wanted was Melendez but they gave us a bunch of new characters instead. Great,” a third commenter added, joining the feeling of thousands of other members of the audience that can’t picture the show without Dr. Melendez.

FROM SEASON 3

Season 3 also ended implying the upcoming departure of another beloved character from the show, that of Dr. Alex Park, played by Will Yun Lee, who announced his intention to leave town to live closer to his son.

Nevertheless, Dr. Park is featured on the recently-released trailer, meaning that he will still be around in some form on the next season, which is set to return to the screens in November.

The romance between the main character, Dr. Shaun Murphy, played by Freddie Highmore, and Lea Dilallo, played by Paige Spara, came to a turning point when the two kissed and said “I love you” to each other, and as we can tell from the trailer, they have become a couple.

WHAT TO EXPECT FOR SEASON 4

At least four new characters will join the cast of the series in the upcoming season, consisting of a group of young doctors that enter into the hospital’s staff and have to be trained and supervised by no other than Dr. Murphy.

The showrunners also revealed that the season will dig into the friendship between Dr. Brown and Dr. Melendez’s ex, Dr. Audrey Lim, played by Christina Chang, now that they share a big loss and will need each other to cope with it.

We should expect other characters deal with the loss of Dr. Melendez for some part, to provide the closure and emotional depth the show needs to not all flat, and even as the plot progresses, the main characters will have to address the character’s death.

The premiere of Season 4 was delayed by a couple of months due to the pandemic, and it gave the medical drama the chance to make the COVID-19 health crisis the big theme of the upcoming season.