Reviewer Rating: 3.6/5.0
3.6
It’s time to talk about Doctor Odyssey.
It’s a show that’s deeply unserious but also valiantly tries to be serious, and what we get in return is a mixed bag indeed.
OK? Isn’t it bad? Am I happy? How do I feel?
Is it a cop-out to say I don’t know yet?
Plastic Surgery Week in Doctor Odyssey Season 1 Episode 2 was a lot different than Bachelor Week.
Where previously the ship was packed with people who wanted to relax, mingle and meet new people, this week’s guests were more or less looking to recover and relax after various surgeries.
It will be interesting to see how Max handles these few weeks as he is experiencing them for the first time as a new guy on the ship. This was always in stark contrast to Tristan, Ivory and Robert, who looked almost exhausted at this point.
Tristan and Robert joke around, and Avery isn’t too happy about the whole thing.
Should people who have just had surgery go on a cruise? This doesn’t feel like something that should be approved, but I’m just a TV critic.
If last week was a chance to get to know Avery and Robert better, this week is all about Max and Tristan. Tristan desperately needed some backstory, so sending his mom on a cruise ship was a nice touch.
We now spend time with these people every week, but we still don’t know them well beyond the fact that they are all very good at what they do.
So far, Tristan has devolved into an obsession with Avery and a bit of lewdness, but that’s all we know about him. After meeting Caroline, it became clear that there was a lot of deep-seated pain in the relationship.
Not only did Caroline love bomb her son; She’s manipulating him too, and it’s pretty sad to see Tristan try to remember how she made him feel and work through it knowing he might be hurt but still just wants his mother’s love.
It’s not explicitly stated here, but if that photo of Tristan alone on the beach is any indication, he’s a pretty lonely guy.
Working on a cruise ship, he’s constantly on the move and unlikely to spend much time each day soaking up the solitude of a new adventure, which may be a big reason why he seeks this kind of work.
With passengers dropping like flies, it seemed only a matter of time before Caroline became the latest patient in the medical wing. But finding out she had Huntington’s disease was a shock to both of them.
Caroline’s diagnosis hasn’t stopped her from continuing to live her life the way she wants, and while Tristan may have wished his mother could have stayed with him, all things considered, she hasn’t changed her tune. It saddens me to see this realization sweep over Tristan.
I’m not sure how people feel about Tristan overall, but this hour made me like him more than I did before, and it wasn’t out of pity or anything like that.
He shows a lot of self-awareness and vulnerability, and it’s nice to see a side to him that’s not mean or in the pain of a medical emergency.
There’s also some great stuff going on between Tristan and Max, who slowly form a pretty deep connection all things considered.
Max and Ivory’s latest date was hard to ignore because they hooked up in the medical field. Tristan may have been upset again at first, but thanks to Caroline, he did some serious soul-searching.
Tristan may have never loved Avery, but I wouldn’t completely discount his relationship with Avery. They spend a lot of time together in close quarters and those lines get blurred, but there’s also a lot of mutual respect between them and there’s a bond.
Tristan realizes that he may have romanticized their connection, which is fine. Many people never come to this conclusion because they are too afraid to look so deeply into themselves.
So, does this mean the three-hour love triangle is over? I’m not sure if I should be happy about this.
Max and Ivory are obviously narrative-leaning, but I appreciate the comfort and openness between them and the different pairings.
They could have portrayed this, especially the love triangle, very differently, but instead they gave us a relatively rich relationship between adults who happened to be working together on the high seas.
Speaking of Max and Avery, though, before their relationship, Avery comforted Max, who was devastated by Ken’s death.
I don’t understand why Max was so attracted to Ken out of curiosity in the first place, but Ken was definitely a source of comfort to Max. He hadn’t known Ken before setting foot on the boat, and although not literally, he still felt a connection.
Max’s story about watching Ken’s show during his darkest moments is very relatable, even if you can’t relate to yourself as COVID-19 patient zero.
Many of us have been in a situation where we’re curled up in bed or on the couch watching mindless TV and feeling like it’s the only thing keeping us sane. To Max, Ken is living life the way he would have wished if he had found himself walking out of the hospital’s sliding doors.
Ken himself is unapologetic, which is inspiring for him.
When we saw a scene of Ken going through his nightly routine shortly after Ken and Max had a very heartwarming conversation, I had a feeling something terrible was going to happen.
I also feel like this show is going to die sooner or later.
That’s not exactly what happens on a cruise ship if someone dies, right? There’s no body being wheeled onto a laundry cart and walking down an elevator with passengers, right?
I’m right about Max, it’s hard to see this as the right course of action.
Elsewhere in Lenore, chaos reigned during the hour. She’s really rooting for Avery because it’s clear that she’s the complete opposite of what Leno is used to.
Avery doesn’t pander to anyone, especially someone like Lenore, whose attitude is rude and boring. She would rather be fired than back down.
Ivory’s dismissal apparently wouldn’t last long. Still, the show is making the big deal about Avery wanting to be a doctor, so having her stand up like she did during Varner’s surgery helps the storyline.
One thing the show does really well is make me glad these guest stars only last a week. I also don’t expect any of these passengers to stick around for week two, either by design or because they literally bring us one uninspired group after another.
Come back to me in a few weeks to see if I’ve figured out what their goal is.
doctor notes
- When I say this show is very unserious, I’m referring to the woman who snorted coke and pulled her nose off. They then put a Phantom of the Opera mask on her until she could reattach her nose.
- It must have been bittersweet but also cathartic for Max to spend time with Ken before he passed away and talk to the other people in the Barbie show because these people were such a special part of his life.
- Hopefully Ivory and Tristan can have an off-screen conversation, because she was a little harsh when she accused him of projecting his mom’s issues onto her. His heart was in the right place and he hoped she wouldn’t lose her job.
Okay, everyone. The series is continuing and I’m still trying to figure out what I’m watching!
In the comments, let me know how you feel about things and what you’d like to see from the story going forward.
You can watch Doctor Odyssey on Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.
Watch Doctor Odyssey online
