Melendez and Lim are finally happy and together but Lim becoming the new chief of surgery is going to throw this relationship for a loop. HollywoodLife sat down EXCLUSIVELY with Nicholas Gonzalez and Christina Chang on the set of The Good Doctor about what’s in store for this fan-favorite couple in season 3 now that the power structure at the hospital is very different. “That new dynamic has a lot to do with this season for our characters, specifically. I would say that we have a little more tension,” Christina told HollywoodLife. Nicholas added, “A lot of tension. [They’re] definitely going to be tested. It’s very difficult when you see a relationship just drawing closer and closer together but then being pulled by so many forces that are almost bigger than it, you know, and it will just go to show if we can withstand it.”
Lim isn’t just going to be facing romance struggles. Being chief of surgery comes with its own set of obstacles. “She is in the minority being a female chief of surgery, so there’s that dynamic,” Christina continued. “And then there’s the dynamic of their personal relationship [where] I guess the question comes into play of — is she making decisions about him and everybody else fairly? Is she favoring him over all the other doctors? Or not because she doesn’t want to appear to be and then she has staff issues, she has things in the hospital to address, budgetary concerns.”
Nicholas also opened up about Melendez’s struggles this season. “Well, I think we’ve seen him struggle before in relationships and realizing that that’s probably not for him as much as he wants that and a child, but work has been a focus that he can’t help but be drawn to and he knows that anything else will draw him away from that,” Nicholas said. “I think that’s probably going to be one of the biggest challenges because he’s very exacting [and] very much a perfectionist. That’s going to be tested a lot. The refuge isn’t always there now [pointing to Christina].”
Regardless of the challenges that Limendez faces, Nicholas and Christina think that their characters can make it work. “We believe in love,” Christina gushed. The Good Doctor returns Sept. 23 at 10 p.m. on ABC.