'Nothing Moves Slower Than Free Time' and the Middling Season Finale of ‘Doctor Odyssey’

Ultimately Doctor Odyssey turned out to be another victim of the Ryan Murphy Paradox. It started out strong, with a lot of promise, and then collapsed. Usually, Murphy’s projects fall apart under the weight of overcomplicated plots. This time, the show couldn’t commit to being the sexy, soapy mess we wanted it to be. Promises were made at the beginning of the season that were not kept. And we ended up with just another network romantic drama with some entirely unbelievable shipboard medical procedures.

In the very slow-moving two-part season finale, an earthquake hit the island where Max and some guests were taking a hiking excursion. The earthquake triggered a tsunami, requiring The Odyssey to take on as many locals as possible and leave port to head for deeper water. Max and some passengers were left trapped on the island, and medical emergencies ensued.

The shipboard drama revolved around Captain Massey (Don Johnson) needing to decide if he was going to follow orders from corporate leadership to leave Max on the island and head back to port. Or if he was going to have The Odyssey stay where she was to offer aid to local citizens and wait for the doctor and the other injured passengers to come back.

The will they/wont they/will they/wont they between Avery, Max, and Tristan came to a head just before the earthquake. And this was where my problem with this season really lies. Avery (Phillipa Soo) is a strong, intelligent woman who has known what she wanted all season. She wanted to be in charge of the medical bay. But they brought in Dr. Max (Joshua Jackson). She wanted to have a sexy, three-way fling with two incredibly handsome men. But the pregnancy scare ended that because repercussions are not sexy. She wanted to go to medical school unencumbered by the emotional baggage of a long-distance relationship. She wanted to follow her childhood dream of becoming a doctor and put herself first for once. But Max couldn’t let that happen for her. He HAD to tell her he loves her. That admission, which he honestly could have kept to himself if he really cared about Avery, made it impossible for her and Tristan to continue their no-strings-attached physical relationship. And it made her decision to leave The Odyssey more difficult. It’s almost like the men in Avery’s life, and the showrunners couldn’t help but punish Avery for being all of the things the audience loves about her.

Speaking of things the audience loves about Avery. Do you know what we love most about Avery? That she’s played by Phillipa Soo. Do you know what we love most about Phillipa Soo? That she’s got an incredible singing voice. I can’t believe this season lasted eighteen episodes and they didn’t let Soo sing in a single one. And in the last ten minutes of the finale, they kind of made fun of us for wanting her to sing.

Everything we enjoyed about the first few episodes of Doctor Odyssey, the kinks, the fun, the sexiness, the excess, and the innuendos, were all tapered down over the season. It became a morality tale about the dangers of excess, like an after-school special for grownups. Tristan enjoyed drinking, which made him an alcoholic. Avery enjoyed sex so they made her think she was pregnant. Doctor Max and Captain Massey escaped that for the most part. Max was able to go ashore and explore the idea of practicing medicine in a hospital, and decided it wasn’t for him. And Captain Massey also had a pregnancy scare that left him sad when the pregnancy ended. But he was never really sure he wanted to be a dad at his age. And the girlfriend disappeared from the show completely, so he didn’t have to worry about dealing with how it would affect their relationship. How convenient.

The good news is that there was no cliffhanger. Max made it back to the ship safely; everyone survived the earthquake. The Captain wasn’t fired for disobeying corporate orders, and Avery decided she wanted it all! A long-distance relationship with Max and medical school. And Max assured her that they’d figure out how to make it work together. Those two are going to be insufferable as a couple. So, if you were disappointed in the direction the show took, Doctor Odyssey can have the perfect ending right here at the end of season one, without having to worry about any dangling story threads.

And they all lived happily ever after.

All episodes of Doctor Odyssey are now streaming on Hulu/Disney+.