If this really is the end for Doctor Odyssey, Ryan Murphy is going down like the captain of the Titanic and having the orchestra play him out.
**Spoilers ahead for Doctor Odyssey Episode 17**
This certainly isn’t the first time that The Odyssey has welcomed a notable guest star but I am surprised by how casually faces belonging to Annie Mumolo, Jonathan Bennett, Jim O’Heir, Christopher Gorham, and Natalia Cigliuti popped up in the penultimate episode. When you remember that this is a Murphy-produced show — one still on the bubble of cancelation, nonetheless — it becomes a little less surprising that the Glee co-creator would call in a few favors.
With more guest stars also comes more drama, too. In this week’s episode, “The Wave,” Dr. Max (Joshua Jackson), Avery (Phillipa Soo), Tristan (Sean Teale) and Captain Robert (Don Johnson) are dealing with not one but two natural disasters, one on land and one on sea. While docked in Mexico, The Odyssey’s crew and passengers deboard for a day of coastal fun, only for a massive earthquake to shake the ground and trigger a tsunami warning. During the earthquake, one of the passengers falls off a cliff and injures his knee, requiring Max and Barry (O’Heir) — a well-meaning but talkative coroner aboard The Odyssey with his fiance — to have to carry him back. Before they can make it back in time, the ship takes off, fearing that staying could put all the other passengers in peril.
And speaking of being on shaky ground, after admitting in Episode 16, “Double-Booked,” that he is in love with her, Max and Avery could not be further from happily ever after. The episode even begins with Avery lambasting Max for being so selfish for making this admission to her, knowing it complicates things since she is going off to medical school in a matter of weeks. It’s the thought of Avery, though, that keeps Max going as he, Barry, and the injured passenger seek out higher ground while awaiting the tsunami.
Back on board, Tristan and Avery are in charge of the infirmary after a series of waves rock the ship and leave a bevy of passengers with injuries ranging from superficial to severe. The two nurses are so out of their depth that they even have to recruit random passengers with varying degrees of medical knowledge — from psychologist to teacher — to help out with injuries. One of those injured passengers is Marcus (Gorham) who was searching for his stepdaughter’s missing book when a chandelier fell and sent a glass shard into his heart.
Of course, for every passenger taking the situation seriously, there’s one like Blair (Mumolo), who is lying out on the pool deck as the sirens sound to take cover. She even fusses as Tristan tells her that the ship is harboring locals who could otherwise be injured if they stayed on land, leading her to make a pointed comment about “helping immigrants.” Yes, in their own country, she called them the immigrants.
The pressure of the situation combined with an awkward confrontation over his “no strings attached” sexual relationship with Avery causes Tristan to relapse, drinking what looks like half a bottle of liquor and passing out half-naked in his cabin. It immediately comes back to bite him in the ass, however, as he wakes up with a raging hangover and a frustrated best friend waiting on him to help try and treat Marcus, whose condition is worsening.
After avoiding the wave and providing first aid to people on dry land, Max and Barry head down closer to the beach where they find a gravely injured vendor who they met the day before. The pair are able to pull him to a small church and try to make him comfortable, but Max heartbreakingly shares that his injuries are too grave to survive, even if they were in a hospital. In a last-ditch attempt to comfort him, Barry goes out and finds the vendor’s dog, who lies with him as he dies, making for a surprisingly emotional scene that I did not see coming.
Just before the episode unfairly comes to an end (darn you, two-part finale!) Avery and Tristan are finally able to make contact with Max on land and explain Marcus’ worsening condition. As Max tells Avery that she is going to have to open him up and perform a complicated procedure she’s never done before — yeah, totally, that makes sense — his transmission cuts out as another earthquake hits and causes the steeple to collapse on top of Max.
The episode ultimately ends with Captain Robert telling the crew to ignore corporate orders and head back to shore as he does not intend to leave a man behind. But is there even a man, i.e. Max, that can be saved? We’ll have to wait and see.
The first 17 episodes of Doctor Odyssey are currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+. The second part of the season finale will air Thursday, May 15 on ABC and stream the next day.
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