Doctor Odyssey fans received a shock in the form of a positive pregnancy test during last week’s mid-season finale (Episode 8, “Quackers”). And the viewers weren’t alone.
Talking with Decider, star Phillipa Soo shared that she too was taken aback to find out her character, Avery, has a baby on board.
“I was definitely surprised,” Soo said with a laugh.
According to the Hamilton: The Musical alum, the reveal is even more powerful given that Avery, as shown in the episode, is unsure if she wants to continue with the pregnancy.
Realizing that she became pregnant during her threesome with Tristan (Sean Teale) and Max (Joshua Jackson), Avery confirms her pregnancy with a blood test before coming clean to both men. During their honest conversation, Max takes an almost pathologically clinical approach before literally and figuratively taking a seat to give the floor back to Avery. Meanwhile, Tristan — who tells his coworkers that he has been through unexpected pregnancies twice before — says that it’s not his place to influence Avery’s choice on how to proceed.
“The thing is, Max, you and me, we can weigh in on this, but it’s not our body,” Tristan tells his fellow maybe dad. “And so it’s not our decision. But that doesn’t mean she has to be alone.”
For Soo, the opportunity to explore an unplanned pregnancy on TV and show all of the options available, it’s an important and meaningful moment for her as an actress. Furthermore, she points to the timing of the episode’s release just weeks after the election in highlighting the significance of a conversation like this one about women’s bodies.
“It’s been a couple of months since we’ve shot, we didn’t know where we would be at this moment just for our country post-election. But I’m really proud and honored to be an artist and to have the opportunity to bring truth and humanity — as much truth and humanity as possible — to this story of a woman’s conversation with herself about what choices she wants to make about her own body,” she told Decider.
The actress also touched on the concept of the show’s more absurd storylines during the discussion. Thus far in its freshman season, Doctor Odyssey has featured throuples, drag queens catching on fire, costume-clad cruisers sweating blood, and so many more compromising and confusing personal tales involving the crew members aboard the ship.
The show is so unbelievable that it has even sparked a widespread conspiracy theory that the entire plot is taking place inside the head of Dr. Max, who took the job on The Odyssey after a near-death experience from COVID-19. The train of thought is that Max never recovered from his severe reaction to the virus and is creating the entire situation in some escapist fantasy.
Soo obviously did not touch that conspiracy with a ten-foot pole but other cast members and creatives, including executive producer Ryan Murphy, have similarly sidestepped the question when asked. Questions ramped up even more after Murphy’s FX series, Grotesquerie, revealed its main character to have been in a coma for the first seven episodes. What Soo did have to say about Doctor Odyssey‘s wild storylines is that even in shining a light on the unusual, there is something to be said about finding truth and honesty in every diegesis.
“I think the beauty of this world that Ryan [Murphy] has created is it is ultimately a fantasy. It’s entertaining, it’s supposed to be an escape. But we are dealing with real life, inspired by real-life issues, including all of the medical stuff,” Soo explained.
She continued, “And what I find so refreshing about it, just as someone inside of that making it, is that though we’re not necessarily portraying something that is quote unquote, reality or real, we are trying to dig into it and find some truth there.”
The other unreal aspect of the show? That would be the guest stars, of course. In the first eight episodes alone, The Odyssey has welcomed Kelsea Ballerini, Shania Twain, John Stamos, Margo Martindale, Amy Sedaris, and many more. It’s
“I feel like Margo Martindale was a biggie,” she shared, referencing Episode 6 (“I Always Cry At Weddings”), which also featured Ballerini, who Soo said she was “delighted” by. “I thought she was just a fantastic actor. She had expressed that she had never acted before and I just thought, ‘Well, what what an incredible artist.’ She just fell right into it. It was so easy. She was so great.”
The actress also said she was “screaming in the lot” where they film upon finding out that Sedaris, Kate Berlant, and Margaret Cho would all be guest starring in Episode 4 (“Wellness Week”). The trio of actresses played wellness gurus and influencers aboard the ship to connect with their fans and sell their “health” products… a.k.a snake oil.
“That was a big one,” the actress said of having the three ladies on set. “But really, it’s just been episode after episode. [Each] has been so delightful and it’s been kind of like overwhelming but in a great way to just constantly be in the room with people that I’ve admired for years.”
So who can fans expect to see in the second half of Season 1? What will Avery do with the pregnancy? And is Dr. Max really in a dream and going to wake up at some point?
“I can’t tease a thing,” Soo said when asked for details about what is to come in the latter half of ABC’s too-good-to-be-true drama. “I would love to, but I can’t.”
Looks like you’ll just have to tune in come March if you want the answers to your questions.
The first eight episodes of Doctor Odyssey are now streaming on Hulu. The show will return for the second half of Season 1 on Thursday, March 6.
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