Good Doctor EP Ponders If Shaun Will Ever Overcome Guilt About [Spoiler]'s Death Following Season 6 Premiere

The Good Doctor's intense Season 6 opener ended without a single casualty — but that doesn't mean there aren't physical and emotional scars left to heal.

Both Dr. Audrey Lim and Nurse Dalisay Villanueva survived their stab wounds — though it might be a while (if ever) before Lim gets back on a motorcycle. After pulling through back-to-back surgeries, Lim woke up in recovery to discover that she was paralyzed. Is Dr. Shaun Murphy to blame?

The newly married surgeon went against Glassman's orders and carried on with an alternate procedure in an attempt to save the chief's liver. Eventually, the pressure of having a friend and colleague on the table triggered Shaun's dormant trauma about the death of Steve. It wasn't until he was visited by a vision of his dead brother (played again by Dylan Kingwell) that he was able to compose himself and proceed with Lim's second surgery.

Villanueva's violent ex-boyfriend Owen also survived the rampage he started, but not for lack of trying to end his own life.

Grade the Season 6 premiere via the following poll, then keep scrolling to see what co-showrunner Liz Friedman had to say about Shaun's latest outburst and Lim's life-altering outcome.

TVLINE | Why does Shaun's guilt about Steve's death creep back up at this particular moment? What is it about this surgery that unravels him?

Shaun always finds clarity, and to some extent peace, in surgery. We have always seen surgery as his happy place, so when you want to affect his ability to work in [the operating room], it's got to be something really big that shakes him. That's what we loved about this situation with Lim and Villanueva being hurt. It's a very different thing to do a complicated surgery on a patient versus a complicated surgery on someone who is a friend whom you love.

TVLINE | Since Steve is a figment of Shaun's imagination, what we see here is not Steve telling Shaun to forgive himself, but Shaun letting Shaun forgive himself. But can Dr. Murphy ever really do that? Can he let go of his guilt?

Shaun is still conflicted, but he is trying to believe that it is not his fault that his brother died. I'm not sure that he'll ever be completely free of that [guilt], but that notion occurred to him, and I think that that allowed him to get himself clear enough to be able to go and do what was really important and help Lim.

TVLINE | Lim's outcome might have been different had Shaun followed Glassman's orders in the OR. Will there be repercussions?

There will be emotional repercussions. Shaun and Glassman find themselves in a situation they haven't been in before. For so long, Glassman has been a tremendous mentor to Shaun, but Shaun is now in a situation where he doesn't see himself, at least in certain instances, in need of a mentor in the same way. That change in their relationship is going to be complicated for both of them.

TVLINE | Does Shaun feel guilty about Lim's paralysis?

Shaun's feelings about Lim's [outcome] are really interesting. I think you're going to find them really surprising. It is going to be a big source of conflict for the first [few] episodes. These events continue to reverberate for our characters.

TVLINE | Is Lim's paralysis permanent, or will she make a full recovery?

Her recovery is a part of future episodes, but I'm a little uneasy with the word "recovery," in the sense that recovery doesn't necessarily mean a return to exactly who you were. That is something that Lim is going to come to grips with. As to whether or not [her paralysis] is permanent, I don't want to ruin the surprise.

TVLINE | Fair enough. Can you say if she'll continue to work as a surgeon? Or will she be forced to switch fields, like Morgan did when her arthritis became an issue in Season 3?

She is going to be continuing as a surgeon. The big question is whether or not she's the same doctor as she was before. You're going to see this character struggle to figure out who she is in a different physical reality.

TVLINE | Villanueva's ex Owen survives an attempt to end his own life. But before he tries to get himself killed, he opens up to Asher about how he grew up with an abusive father. Why was it necessary to inform the audience of this generational trauma?

On The Good Doctor, we don't believe in "good guys" and "bad guys." That doesn't mean that people don't do bad or hurtful things. It is certainly not our intent at all to excuse or justify the violence that Owen carries out. He does a really, really terrible thing, and then has to deal with the consequences of it. He is not running around that hospital thinking that he has done something good. He is running around that hospital filled with regret over what he has done, particularly to Villanueva, and then trying to come to terms with it, and he can't...

TVLINE | Hence his decision to point the unloaded gun at a member of the S.W.A.T. team versus simply surrender. He doesn't know how he'll live with himself now.

Yes, yes.

We'll have more from our interview with Friedman in the coming days. In the meantime, hit the comments with your reactions to the Season 6 opener.