Diagnosing Doc Season 1: Scrubs, Scandals, and Second Probabilities

Until you’ve been beneath a rock, you’ll know that Doc has been probably the greatest and most profitable choices of the yr.

With its character-driven storylines and robust solid, we’ve all fallen in love with Amy Larsen and this pleasant genre-bending medical drama.

Hopefully, you’ve checked out our Doc Critiques and exclusives, however now, it’s time to interrupt down the highs, lows, and Amy of all of it relating to Doc Season 1.

From the very best characters to the very best episode, we’re right here to unpack every little thing about Doc Season 1.

There’s lots to debate, however be sure you hit the feedback beneath together with your ideas as properly.

Did Doc make the grade? Test it out!

Greatest Character – Amy

Is it even a shock that the very best character on Doc is Amy? It shouldn’t be. She’s one of the vital complicated main characters presently on the air, and to say I’m obsessed is an understatement.

On the middle of Doc is watching this actually intriguing character navigate so many adjustments and shifts in her life, and there’s nothing linear or clear-cut about how she does it.

Molly Parker is the present that retains on giving as Amy Larsen.

She buoys an extremely robust solid as she brings these fascinating human tales and situations to life in a method that connects with the viewers.

This season, the spotlight of Doc’s journey has been following Amy’s journey, which has been fairly emotional whereas concurrently peeling again layers of this profoundly multifaceted character.

Amy’s grief doesn’t make her a straightforward individual to like, but her humanity and relatability make her lovable regardless of that.

The season does an exquisite job of exploring how she bought to the model of herself earlier than the accident and the way she will waver between that model and one other afterward.

By the top of the season, she nonetheless leaves craving extra, not sure if we’ve got barely even scratched the floor of unpacking who and what this character is.

I eagerly await the return of her character onscreen. She’s undeniably gripping.

Greatest Episode – Doc Season 1 Episode 10: … Should Come Down

Sure, relying on who you ask, it might be a controversial opinion, however the season finale was the season’s strongest episode.

A lot of what we constructed up all season got here to a head through the finale, which made a lot of the payout worthwhile. It was significantly nice when the reality about Richard got here out, and the man bought his comeuppance.

The practice derailment was an interesting case, and it was a few of Doc’s most substantial medical work on the collection. Usually, it feels much less concerning the medical care and extra concerning the medical doctors themselves.

However the season finale was thrilling and fast-paced. They managed to cram rather a lot into that ultimate hour whereas setting us up for an enormous return. We’re left with many questions and in dire want of solutions, specifically about Doc’s relationships.

The cliffhanger, whereas controversial, could possibly be the right setup for a robust opener subsequent season. The finale, teasing Amy’s darker aspect once more, leaves the door open for her to discover extra of her character, which fits past what we’ve seen.

Worst Episode – Doc Season 1 Episode 4: One Small Step

Properly, “worst” appears harsh when Doc persistently places ahead some actually nice content material.

But when I had to decide on a weak installment from this season, it might be Doc Season 1 Episode 4.

The astronaut’s medical case wasn’t precisely gripping. Its solely spotlight was that includes TJ properly.

We additionally had Katie and Amy working towards reconnecting, however a protecting Michael lashed out at Amy in a genuinely offputting method. His character was not at his greatest for your entire hour, together with the peek into his cracked house life with Nora.

The one factor that made up for it was the emotionally uncooked second on the museum the place he relived the trauma of dropping his son to assist Amy, and so they prolonged grace and forgiveness to 1 one other—a vivid spot in an in any other case underwhelming installment.

Most Irritating Character – Sonya

Generally, we are able to’t assist however surprise if we’re too arduous on Sonya as a personality. Nevertheless, she additionally makes it tough based mostly on her involvement in some plots.

Sonya’s strongest episode was Doc Season 1 Episode 7, the place we bought to see one other aspect to her as her previous sexual assault got here to gentle and prompted a harmful response upon crossing paths together with her rapist.

It was beautiful to see extra of Sonya, and Anya Banerjee gave her strongest efficiency of the season all through that hour.

However then Sonya reverted proper again to the one-dimensional character she was earlier than. It stays irritating that a lot of Sonya’s character revolves round her animosity and resentment towards Amy and nothing extra.

Storyline That Despatched Us on a Rollercoaster Journey – The Love Triangle

Whether or not you really liked it, hated it, had an extremely scorching canine on this race, or didn’t, EVERYONE is speaking about this love triangle. How might you not?

We haven’t seen a love triangle fairly like this one on primetime tv, because it’s giving cleaning soap opera at its absolute most interesting. Nonetheless, the funding degree and complex feelings make it an unbelievable journey, regardless.

Amy’s coronary heart holds house for 2 completely different males, and each are head over heels in love together with her, however so many components are in place that ping-pong us backwards and forwards.

Amy and Michael’s chemistry has simmered all through the season, and it looks like their relationship was at all times completed—a semicolon, however not a interval.

Nevertheless, regardless of Amy not remembering that they have been relationship earlier than the accident, she finds her method again to Jake anyway. The attract and chemistry between them have been too robust, as properly.

It ends in an extremely layered mixture of dynamics and an unattainable scenario through which the feelings of all events typically conflict with the truth of what’s taking place.

Extra so than Amy’s TBI and try and reclaim her life in some capability, the love triangle was the season’s largest hook and sparked essentially the most ardour.

Character Who Wants Extra Exploration – Jake

I do know it’s like whispering within the wind as a result of, setting apart that Jake is, in actual fact, the least developed character regardless of a lot display time, he’s additionally essentially the most genuinely good and likable character whom everybody adores.

Jake is a stable sufficient character. He’s an amazing physician, and Jon-Michael Ecker is charismatic on this function.

However if you put aside Jake’s involvement with the love triangle, we don’t know a lot about him as a person. Every thing about Jake up to now is outlined by his unwavering love and devotion to Amy.

His clearly outlined love and devotion make him a stable romantic lead. Nevertheless, he additionally suffers as a person character exterior of that when the season largely has him enjoying a needed however restricted supporting function for Amy.

We don’t study a lot about Jake through the season, and it’s simple to miss that when there’s a lot else taking place. He’s an amazing physician, a loving dad to a daughter we’ve solely heard about and appears to be a person of religion. His ex-wife probably cheated on him.

He’s seemingly good, dangerously near a Gary Stu, however the thrilling factor about Doc’s 22 Episode Season 2 Order is that we’ll have a lot time to construct on this character subsequent season. It’s truthfully one of many issues I’m most enthusiastic about!

Most Underrated Dynamic – Amy and Katie

Doc juggles many issues, however one of the vital compelling dynamics on this collection is that of Amy and Katie. We don’t see the exploration of a mom and daughter attempting to reconnect beneath circumstances like this.

What’s refreshing is that Doc doesn’t depict Katie because the obnoxious teen or lean into the tiresome tropes that usually crop up with youngsters onscreen.

Amy and Katie’s well-established previous defines their relationship and its present state. We additionally see how the pair is engaged on it, and Doc permits this to unfold organically with out invalidating both of their emotions or positions.

Doc doesn’t appear too involved about boxing any of its characters into hardline archetypes of fine and unhealthy or fallacious and proper (even when viewers handle to anyway), which liberates them and permits them to discover the characters as susceptible people.

That’s what makes Katie and Amy’s relationship so intriguing within the current. Amy doesn’t know the best way to navigate motherhood in addition to she does training medication. Nevertheless, teen Katie retains Amy grounded and trustworthy, and watching these two determine issues out between them is considered one of Doc’s strongest arcs.

Most Misunderstood – Michael

I’ve to be trustworthy; I don’t significantly perceive the extent of animosity waged towards Michael, and I most likely by no means will.

Michael isn’t a lot Amy’s foil however as an alternative serves as the opposite aspect of the coin. They’re so inextricably linked as characters, significantly by mutual grief, that it’s difficult to contemplate one’s stance with out contemplating the opposite. Properly, no less than for me.

Michael’s function performs off Amy’s superbly in telling this wealthy story of how grief totally shatters individuals. Extra overtly, we deal with Amy’s grief and the way the lack of her son ends in eight years of her shutting down emotionally earlier than making a flip forward of and post-accident.

Nevertheless, in the identical vein, Michael’s grief additionally defines the character and his relationship with Amy. On the floor, we see a person nonetheless in love along with his ex-wife and resentful of his new, pregnant one.

Nevertheless, after we study that Daniel died in his arms, Amy spends a unprecedented period of time blaming him for not saving his son.

He distracted himself and by no means absolutely processed his personal grief due to the guilt and necessity of caring for Katie when Amy checked out. Now we have one other engrossing exploration of what grief does to a personality, and the scenario is way extra layered than simply his function in a messy love triangle.

Michael is about as damaged, flawed, and sophisticated as Amy herself. Sadly, he isn’t typically acknowledged that method, which is unlucky and why he’s considered one of Doc’s most misunderstood characters.

Criminally Underused – Gina

In hindsight, we didn’t get a lot improvement or an actual peek into Gina (or her and Amy’s friendship) till the season finale. It was riveting — Gina’s breakdown with Michael nonetheless offers me chills.

Like Jake, Gina has spent the season, most of the time, in a supportive function to Amy, besides she didn’t have the identical quantity of display time.

Amirah Vann is phenomenal, and it’s at all times nice when she’s onscreen, particularly as we study extra concerning the character or discover that dynamic with Amy additional.

Gina additionally has an interesting place as each a psychiatrist and a neurologist. Therefore, the variety of medical circumstances they will discover in her area makes her Doc’s personal secret weapon on that entrance.

Her worth to each the hospital and in lots of characters’ lives as a buddy, confidant, and therapist ought to make her considered one of Doc’s most formidable powerhouse characters come subsequent season now that they’ve laid the groundwork for it right here. Hopefully, they’ll proceed to construct.

Greatest Storytelling Car – Flashbacks

Not each collection can pull off flashbacks, or they will typically really feel overdone or pointless to the plot.

Nevertheless, Doc’s flashbacks are instrumental to the character constructing for Amy and lots of different characters, touching upon all these dynamics with out counting on heavy exposition or detracting an excessive amount of from different plot factors.

Whereas it’s endearing to see the burgeoning of Jake and Amy’s love story in tender moments or how a prickly Amy spurned Sonya, Richard, and others, what’s most compelling concerning the flashbacks is how they discover grief.

We see the devastating moments of when and the way Danny died.

However we additionally witness these uncooked moments within the aftermath and the way the Larsen-Hamda household fell aside due to that.

The flashbacks are a superb method for viewers to reconcile who Amy was earlier than this tragedy, instantly after, and now, and the way it’s formed her life and relationships.

Doc’s flashbacks are so illuminating as a result of they do wonders at additional increasing upon the characters, largely Amy. Hopefully, they’ll proceed subsequent season as properly.

Honorable Point out: The Needledrops

Critically, Doc’s music advisor and your entire musical workforce are laudable. The collection makes use of the right songs and music to seize the feelings of each second.

There’s a cause why followers have been looking each crevice of the web for the unreleased Birdy music swelling throughout Doc Season 1 Episode 4’s devastating Michael/Amy museum scene.

And the knowledgeable use of a coveted needle drop punctuated the season’s cliffhanger splendidly.

Between you and me, this collection has added so many underrated or beforehand unknown songs to my playlist, which harkens again to the times of one other medical drama spawning a musical revolution in popular culture.

Most Stunning Second – Miller Blaming Amy for His Error

Miller was by no means a one-dimensional antagonist for the collection, which made him extra fascinating to observe. Plus, Scott Wolf is at all times wonderful.

As we discovered extra about their earlier friendship and his house life, it offered sufficient context to possibly perceive how Miller landed on this horrible place.

Simply as we turned a nook in coming to know Miller, he orchestrated a last-ditch effort to cowl his behind by weaponizing Amy’s TBI and blaming every little thing on her.

It was so jaw-droppingly despicable it left many people reeling till the collection returned.

Miller sank to an unthinkable low with that maneuver, and what little goodwill and religion he earned over time utterly vanished after that transfer.

Total Grade: B+

There’s a cause Doc has taken Fox and broadcast tv by storm. It has robust characters and nice storytelling, and it retains you wanting to observe it many times.

By specializing in character-centric storytelling, Doc resonates with its viewers in a method many collection fail to do today, and as we watch characters we love (or possibly even hate) expertise the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of life has made Doc the precise sort of consolation tv that we would have liked.

Amy is without doubt one of the most exceptional and fascinating characters onscreen, and essentially the most alluring side of the collection is following her journey as a girl who will get a second likelihood at life.

The primary season solely gave us a style of what this collection may be transferring ahead and, in type, left us clamoring for me. From the friendships and mentorships to the romantic drama and angst and even the thrilling medical circumstances, Doc is well one of many yr’s greatest watches.

It’s no shock that its debut season was so robust. This pleasant collection has really warmed the cockles of our hearts, and we can’t look ahead to its return.

The primary season had just a few bumps right here and there, however it’s in any other case a robust collection. However there are our ideas on the matter.

What Would You Grade Doc Season 1?

Hold forth beneath with all of your ideas on the highs and lows of the collection. Will you be returning for extra?

What are you most trying ahead to when the collection returns? Let’s hear all of it beneath within the feedback. I’ll see you there!

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